David Durbin, President of Trio Workforce Solutions, joins the podcast to discuss the state of the healthcare workforce, the ever-present challenge of “friction,” where MSP and VMS are heading in this sector, the impact of AI on talent acquisition, and so much more. Tune in!
Over the past three decades, the workforce solutions industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. It has evolved from a transactional staffing model into a sophisticated ecosystem that plays a critical role in business strategy. What was once a fragmented and largely manual process has become a technology-enabled, data-driven discipline that connects talent to business outcomes in increasingly intelligent ways.
Yet, despite all the innovation, one truth remains constant. This is still fundamentally a people business, centered on helping individuals find meaningful work and enabling organizations to access the skills they need to succeed. These sentiments were echoed during a Future of Work Exchange Podcast by Janette Marx, CEO of Airswift, who shared insights into the evolution of the workforce solution industry and the rise of total talent thinking.
Introducing a New Subscription Model
To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.
As organizations navigate a complex mix of economic uncertainty, workforce transformation, and rapid technological advancement, the extended workforce ecosystem is entering a new phase of maturity. During a recent discussion on the Future of Work Exchange Podcast, industry leaders Jennifer Torney, global vice president of Talent Solutions Tapfin, and Brian Hoffmeyer, SVP of market strategies for Beeline, explored how artificial intelligence, vendor management systems, and managed service providers are evolving to support the next generation of workforce strategies.
One of the most prominent themes in the conversation was the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence (AI) across workforce technology and operations. Over the past year, AI has moved from an emerging capability to a central topic of discussion in nearly every technology and workforce strategy conversation.
Introducing a New Subscription Model
To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.
Earlier this month, Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange held an exclusive LinkedIn Live event focused on both the state of the Vendor Management System (VMS) market and the findings from our latest VMS Technology Advisor landscape study. If there was one takeaway from last week’s event, it was this:
VMS platforms are both the nexus and the future of extended workforce management due to progressive innovations that push its strategic value.
Ardent’s Chief Research Officer, Andrew Bartolini, opened the event by emphasizing the rising importance of VMS and the talent technology ecosystem, stating that the “size and strategic impact of the extended workforce continues to grow, making the underlying processes and the tools that manage them that much more critical each passing year.”
This level of urgency is reflected in the VMS Tech Advisor’s core findings, which evaluate the industry’s leading VMS platforms across a series of critical criteria, such as functionality, depth of AI, execution of strategy, level of innovation, and overall customer impact.
Introducing a New Subscription Model
To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.
The contingent workforce landscape is entering a new phase of maturity, and one of the most important developments is happening in a segment that once received far less attention. Mid-market organizations are rapidly becoming a focal point for managed service providers (MSPs) and workforce solutions leaders. This was a recent topic of discussion between FOWX’s Christopher Dwyer and Denise Stalker, SVP, Managed Services for TalentProcure.
For years, the spotlight stayed on large enterprise programs with massive spend and global scale. Today, mid-sized businesses are stepping forward with similar needs for structure, visibility, and strategic workforce management. This shift reflects how the world of work has grown more complex. Even organizations with 25 to 50 million dollars in contingent workforce spend face regulatory pressures, compliance demands, and cost controls that rival those of much larger enterprises. They require reporting, governance, and risk mitigation. They also want savings and efficiency. The difference is that many mid-market firms do not have deep internal teams dedicated to contingent labor. Often, one HR or procurement leader is juggling multiple responsibilities. That reality creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
MSPs that focus on the mid-market recognize that these programs require a high-touch model. Smaller clients do not want smaller service levels. They expect the same care, responsiveness, and expertise that a global enterprise would receive. In many cases, they need more guidance because they lack internal subject matter experts. Regulatory updates, classification rules, and process design are not simple areas to master without support. A strong MSP can fill those gaps and act as an advisor rather than just a program administrator.
Introducing a New Subscription Model
To continue providing valuable insights and resources on the future of work and extended workforce management, we’re transitioning our site to a paid subscription model. While some posts will remain free, subscribing will grant you exclusive access to in-depth analysis, market research, expert interviews, and actionable strategies that will help improve your business. Solution providers and practitioners are invited to join today and gain a competitive edge by tracking the industry’s important innovations, emerging trends, and best practices.
Did you miss Ardent Partners’ recent FOWX podcast featuring a discussion with Kelly Rakowski, CEO of Trio Workforce Solutions? The conversation tackled the impact of the extended workforce in healthcare, the pathways ahead for AI in workforce management, and how VMS platforms are serving as “strategic hubs” for contingent workforce management.
In Part Three of this three-part article series, we highlight the major discussion points and a link to the full event.
Why VMS Technology and AI Are Becoming the Strategic Core of Healthcare Workforce Management
Healthcare has reached an inflection point where workforce management, technology, and artificial intelligence are converging to reshape how organizations staff, operate, and care for patients. Vendor management systems (VMS), once viewed as back-office infrastructure for processing contingent labor orders, have now evolved into strategic platforms powering the Future of Work in healthcare. As Trio Workforce Solutions CEO Kelly Rakowski explains, the modern VMS has become a mission-critical hub capable of orchestrating labor strategies across permanent, flexible, and contingent staffing pools, while also harnessing the power of data, automation, and AI to drive smarter, faster decisions.
Traditionally, VMS platforms in the staffing industry emerged to support the operational mechanics of contingent workforce programs: job postings, candidate submittals, credentialing workflows, timekeeping, and invoicing. In healthcare, these functions were vital but insufficient. The sector’s high-stakes requirements including rigorous licensing, clinical credentialing, patient safety standards, and the need for precise experience matching, demanded more specialized technology. Yet for years, VMS adoption in healthcare lagged, and systems were often disconnected from clinical workflows and broader workforce strategy.
That reality has fundamentally changed. The pandemic exposed the limitations of manual processes, fragmented systems, and visibility gaps. Health systems now see contingent labor not as a temporary supplement, but as an essential component of workforce resiliency. Meanwhile, new flexible labor models (e.g., float pools, internal agencies, gig-based marketplaces, and telehealth staffing) require integrated visibility that no spreadsheet or siloed tool can provide.
Modern VMS platforms, like Trio’s, have emerged as strategic engines for workforce orchestration. They are no longer passive systems; they are active decision-support platforms that connect supply, demand, credentials, shift data, and financials into a unified ecosystem. According to Rakowski, healthcare organizations increasingly want to manage all workforce modalities (not just contingent talent) within the same platform so they can optimize deployment, minimize premium labor, and make real-time staffing decisions based on predictive needs.
Integration. Integration is at the center of this evolution. Instead of functioning as standalone systems, VMS platforms now interface with HRIS systems, scheduling software, EMRs, payroll systems, and enterprise financial tools. This two-way data flow transforms the VMS into a true command center capable of providing real-time analytics, workforce forecasting, and proactive talent matching. For healthcare leaders, this is invaluable: sudden patient surges, unit-level census shifts, and seasonal fluctuations can be anticipated and addressed before they escalate into staffing crises.
Artificial intelligence. AI amplifies this capability. AI is rapidly becoming the catalyst for the next generation of VMS, offering powerful applications across clinical and staffing workflows. Trio, for example, is deploying AI across three critical domains: candidate submissions, timecard analysis, and contract interpretation.
AI-driven submission evaluation is perhaps the most transformative. Instead of relying solely on manual review, AI agents analyze job requirements, clinician experience, licensure, certifications, and clinical competence to identify the strongest matches instantly. This not only accelerates hiring but increases precision, meaning better fit, reduced turnover, and safer care environments.
Digital workers automating timecard analysis address another chronic pain point in healthcare. Because many health systems still rely on paper timecards or fragmented systems, managers spend hours verifying accuracy and reconciling discrepancies. AI can instantly scan, validate, and flag anomalies, dramatically reducing workload and improving billing accuracy.
Contract analysis. Contract analysis is the third frontier. Physician locum contracts, in particular, are often complex documents with multiple billing rules, travel policies, and compliance clauses. AI can extract, interpret, and operationalize contract language, ensuring accurate billing and preventing costly errors, which are capabilities that were previously impossible at scale.
Despite the growing power of AI, Trio emphasizes a balanced approach: AI is an enabler, not a replacement. Healthcare staffing relies heavily on trust, relationships, and human judgment. Cultural fit, team compatibility, bedside demeanor, and patient-centered communication cannot be evaluated solely by algorithms. AI handles high-volume, repetitive tasks while humans focus on connection, nuance, and clinical alignment.
Looking ahead, the combination of VMS technology and AI will redefine how healthcare organizations build workforce strategies. We will see advances in predictive analytics that forecast staffing shortages months in advance, AI-enabled clinical skill mapping, demand-driven float pool deployment, and fully integrated visibility across permanent and contingent clinicians. For a sector facing nationwide shortages of nurses and physicians, these innovations are not optional — they are essential.
The healthcare workforce ecosystem is becoming more complex, more flexible, and more data-driven. VMS technology, once seen as a transactional tool, is now the strategic backbone of workforce transformation. As organizations navigate rising shortages, cost pressures, and evolving care models, platforms like Trio are shaping a future where AI, data, and human expertise work together to ensure care delivery remains safe, sustainable, and resilient.
Did you miss Ardent Partners’ recent FOWX podcast featuring a discussion with Kelly Rakowski, CEO of Trio Workforce Solutions? The conversation tackled the impact of the extended workforce in healthcare, the pathways ahead for AI in workforce management, and how VMS platforms are serving as “strategic hubs” for contingent workforce management.
In Part Two of this three-part article series, we highlight the major discussion points and a link to the full event.
The healthcare labor market is undergoing significant change, and organizations are increasingly seeking innovative partners to navigate the pressures of workforce shortages, rising patient demand, and the need for more strategic labor models. Trio Workforce Solutions represents a reinvention of how healthcare organizations can blend technology, workforce intelligence, and vendor ecosystem management into a unified platform. The story of Trio — its origins, evolution, and rebrand — illustrates how the healthcare staffing industry is modernizing to meet today’s complexity with smarter, more integrated solutions.
Trio’s roots date back over 20 years to the formation of American Health Staffing Association (AHSA), a managed services provider (MSP) that initially served healthcare organizations in Michigan before expanding into a national provider. AHSA was distinctive from the start: it specialized exclusively in healthcare and operated a vendor-neutral MSP model, ensuring that clients had access to the broadest, highest-quality supplier network. Its mission centered on standardizing credentialing, elevating candidate quality, improving compliance, and serving as a trusted workforce partner for hospitals and health systems.
As AHSA scaled, the complexity of healthcare workforce needs surged. The organization sought a vendor management system (VMS) that could meet the precision required for clinical staffing — licensure validation, credentialing workflows, skills documentation, and nuanced role requirements. Yet the market lacked a VMS designed specifically for healthcare’s operational and regulatory realities. Instead of adapting generic tools, AHSA made a bold decision: it built its own.
That platform became Trio. Launched in 2018, Trio was intentionally designed around the “three” essential constituencies in the staffing ecosystem: the client, the staffing supplier, and the MSP. The goal was to create an intuitive, healthcare-specific platform that offered a seamless experience for all parties, including clinicians navigating submittals, credentials, and assignments. The company later expanded Trio with specialized locum tenens capabilities, noting that locums staffing lagged behind nursing in digital transformation and required purpose-built functionality.
However, rapid growth created an internal divide. Trio had evolved into a SaaS platform with its own customer base — in some cases independent of the MSP business. Each arm of the company had its own priorities, sometimes competing with one another. Meanwhile, clients were demanding more innovation, more integration, and more ability to manage their entire workforce (not just contingent labor) through a single strategic platform.
Recognizing the shift in market needs, Rakowski and her leadership team united AHSA and Trio under one brand: Trio Workforce Solutions. The rebrand, officially launched in October, reflects a modern, platform-driven organization that integrates technology, data, and services to create a seamless workforce management ecosystem. The goal is not simply to manage contingent staffing, but to power the entire workforce lifecycle — from demand forecasting to talent acquisition, from compliance to analytics, and from labor optimization to supplier performance.
Trio’s platform-centric model allows it to bring innovation to market more quickly while addressing the nuanced needs of healthcare’s workforce environment. The company envisions VMS not as an administrative tool but as a strategic workforce hub. With hospitals increasingly building internal float pools, launching internal travel programs, and assembling their own flexible resource pools, Trio’s platform enables clients to manage these emerging models alongside external contingent labor — within one integrated system. This shift also supports healthcare organizations exploring more self-managed models, giving them control, visibility, and seamless access to their workforce data, even if their partnership model evolves over time.
Another key differentiator is Trio’s commitment to the human side of healthcare staffing. Rakowski explained that while technology is essential, healthcare is ultimately a people business. Clinical cultural fit, care team cohesion, patient interaction, and trust remain core criteria for successful placements. To strengthen alignment, Trio has expanded its clinical management team, adding experienced clinicians who help screen candidates, assess fit, and ensure readiness. This enhances matching precision and reduces burden on hiring managers, who historically bore much of the clinical screening responsibility.
As workforce shortages deepen — with expected deficits of up to 15% for registered nurses and more than 100,000 physicians — Trio is positioning itself as an innovation partner prepared for the complexity of modern healthcare. Internal innovation programs, a strong data and AI team, and an integrated services-and-technology model ensure that Trio continues advancing how healthcare systems manage their labor needs at scale.
Trio’s evolution reflects a larger trend in healthcare: the need to bring together multiple workforce solutions into a unified, intelligent platform. The company’s rebrand is more than cosmetic — it symbolizes the future of healthcare workforce management, where technology, human expertise, and trusted partnership converge. As healthcare leaders look ahead, Trio Workforce Solutions stands as an example of how to blend operational precision with modern innovation to support clinical excellence and organizational resilience.
Did you miss Ardent Partners’ recent FOWX podcast featuring a discussion with Kelly Rakowski, CEO of Trio Workforce Solutions? The conversation tackled the impact of the extended workforce in healthcare, the pathways ahead for AI in workforce management, and how VMS platforms are serving as “strategic hubs” for contingent workforce management.
In Part One of this three-part article series, we highlight the major discussion points and a link to the full event.
The healthcare workforce has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade, shaped by shifting patient demands, structural workforce shortages, new care delivery models, and the seismic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Few industries were as deeply affected as healthcare, where contingent labor (particularly travel nurses and locum tenens physicians) became an essential strategic lever for maintaining operations and protecting patient care. As Kelly Rakowski, CEO of Trio Workforce Solutions, explains, the story of healthcare staffing today cannot be told without understanding the forces that converged before, during, and after the pandemic.
Even before COVID-19, the use of contingent staffing had been steadily increasing. Healthcare has always faced unpredictable demand, shaped by seasonality, regional demographics, and emergent public health needs. Volume spikes in respiratory illnesses during winter months, fluctuating elective procedure schedules, and migration patterns in states like Florida or Arizona create inherent variability in staffing needs. Rather than staff for the highest-demand peaks (an approach that would be financially unsustainable), health systems historically staffed to the median and relied on contingent clinicians to smooth the variability. Travel nursing emerged as the dominant mechanism for filling these short-term shortages, structured around the familiar 13-week assignment model that historically aligned to maternity leaves and later became the staffing industry standard.
However, a more complex challenge was simultaneously brewing: a widening gap between the supply and demand for clinical talent. Retirements among physicians and nurses were increasing, and post-graduate medical education slots (controlled by federal regulation) limited the influx of new physicians. Nursing schools faced their own bottlenecks, primarily a shortage of qualified faculty. This created structural workforce fragility well before COVID-19 accelerated the crisis.
When the pandemic hit, contingent staffing became a national lifeline. Historic surges in patient acuity required tens of thousands of travel nurses and locum clinicians to rapidly shift to hotspots across the country. At the same time, clinicians were contracting COVID-19 themselves or quarantining, further widening staffing gaps. Utilization skyrocketed, and so did compensation rates, reflecting the risk environment and dire need. Health systems confronted unprecedented expenses while also suspending elective procedures, which is their primary revenue engine.
As the pandemic receded, several powerful dynamics persisted. First, burnout skyrocketed. Many clinicians retired early or left the profession entirely, cementing long-term shortages. Second, permanent staff began demanding flexibility similar to the rest of the labor market, catalyzing internal travel programs, float pools, and hybrid workforce models. Third, the visibility of contingent labor costs dramatically increased. Boards of directors and senior executives, many of whom were never historically involved in staffing decisions, now saw workforce resilience as a top organizational priority. Industry surveys of healthcare CEOs repeatedly place workforce challenges at the very top of strategic concerns.
Today, while bill rates have normalized to pre-pandemic levels (adjusted for inflation and new compensation baselines), utilization remains elevated, registering roughly 50% higher than before COVID-19. Health systems are incorporating contingent labor into long-term workforce strategies rather than treating it as a temporary emergency tool. Innovation has accelerated: internal staffing agencies are emerging within large systems, local gig-based marketplaces are gaining traction, and multi-skilled float pools are helping improve flexibility without over-extending permanent staff.
Yet complexity remains exceptionally high. Credentialing, licensure, compliance standards, and cultural fit are all vital, especially because clinical roles involve life-or-death responsibility. Technology is increasingly relied upon to support precision matching, skills verification, experience alignment, and predictive staffing needs. The rise of AI-enhanced tools is helping heal long-standing inefficiencies that were once managed manually across spreadsheets, fragmented systems, and siloed operational teams.
Healthcare’s contingent workforce is no longer a secondary staffing strategy; it is a cornerstone of workforce resilience. As Rakowski emphasizes, the industry must now focus on optimizing the entire workforce, including permanent, local flexible, and contingent, through smarter models, stronger technology, and a more human-centered approach. The pandemic accelerated what was already inevitable: healthcare staffing has entered a new era defined by adaptability, strategic workforce planning, and a commitment to ensuring safe, high-quality care despite ongoing shortages.
The future will belong to organizations that understand how to integrate flexibility with operational excellence — and how to support clinicians with the tools, data, and environments they need to thrive.
Few “new” hiring strategies have made as much noise over the past few years as direct sourcing. The ability to leverage the company brand, optimize talent communities, and create a wealth of “talent sustainability” has propelled direct sourcing into a top-three hiring strategy, according to Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research.
Nearly 70% of businesses today have some elements of direct sourcing in place, meaning that one or several attributes of direct sourcing programs are actively supporting recruitment and hiring efforts (such as talent community development, talent pool optimization, talent curation, etc.). Furthermore, only 11% of enterprises have full-tilt, end-to-end programs in place today…translating into a major opportunity for organizations across the globe to reinvigorate their hiring efforts through dedicated direct sourcing capabilities and tools.
Well over five years removed from direct sourcing’s “Big Bang” moment during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses needed to scale, re-scale, keep candidates engaged through layoffs and rollercoaster-esque demand for products and services, the strategic program has become a beacon of both cost and quality benefits from those that have successfully implemented such an initiative.
Ardent Partners and FOWX research point to some powerful advantages, such as:
The value of direct sourcing is clear. What isn’t so clear is how HR, talent acquisition, and procurement leaders manage the next era of this strategy given the evolving state of talent and work.
Layers, Complexity, Innovation, Tech…and More Complexity?
Baseline hiring and recruitment initiatives don’t necessarily require a confounding array of products and tools to draw, engage, and source talent. Before the advent of many of today’s workforce solutions, businesses were left to their devices to appropriately balance the needs of the greater organization with available candidates.
“We often hear that direct sourcing is complex, but complexity isn’t the enemy. It’s a signal that the workforce is evolving,” says Janette Marx, CEO of Airswift. “The key is to design systems that simplify the experience for candidates and hiring teams alike, without losing sight of what makes the strategy powerful: brand, speed, and connection.”
However, in 2025, the realm of talent acquisition necessitates multiple layers of outsourcing, automation, and innovation to effectively: 1) engage talent by leveraging the company brand and other marketing measures, 2) optimize the curation, collection, and segmentation of candidates into dynamic talent communities, 3) drive strategic cost savings through the “recruitment focus” of direct sourcing, 4) support skills-first hiring strategies and approaches, and, 5) ensure that the totality of the workforce is future-proofed as competition increases.
This presents several facets of complexity, including:
Uncomplicating Direct Sourcing: The Path Ahead
Ardent Partners and FOWX research has discovered that only 11% of businesses today have a true, end-to-end program in place; this is a transformative data point, as another 68% have elements of direct sourcing in place but not a true, optimized, and end-to-end program.
“Direct sourcing has become one of the most powerful ways for enterprises to build resilient, brand-led talent strategies,” says Craig Coe, SVP of Global Customer Success at Beeline. “The key is connection, linking talent communities, AI-powered curation, and supplier ecosystems directly into the flow of work. A modern VMS, like Beeline, acts as the enabler, unifying these elements into one experience that drives speed, quality, and visibility across the extended workforce.”
The commonality within that end-to-end chunk of real programs? Automation, service layers, and innovation:
“The most successful direct sourcing programs blend automation and human insight,” says Marx. “Technology can streamline processes, accelerate time-to-fill, and provide real-time visibility, but it’s the human expertise – understanding client needs, curating talent, and building relationships – that brings it all to life. When MSPs and technology work in harmony, the result isn’t just efficiency; it’s a more personalized experience for everyone involved.”
The Future of Direct Sourcing?
Direct sourcing will continue to be one of the most-talked-about hiring strategies in the staffing arena. As businesses continue to face global challenges due to tariffs, supply chain disruptions, economic highs-and-lows, and other major obstacles, the ability to flex and scale as-needed means that direct sourcing becomes more than a new hiring approach, but more of a lifeline and foundational talent acquisition strategy that drives incredible, multi-faceted benefits.
“The fact that only 11% of enterprises have a true end-to-end direct sourcing program is both surprising and energizing,” says Lori Hock, CEO of Opptly. “It means the majority are still leaving value on the table. AI is the unlock—it enables smarter curation, faster engagement, and deeper personalization at scale. But it’s not just about technology; it’s about commitment. The future belongs to those who treat direct sourcing as a core talent strategy, not a side initiative.”
Given the impact of AI and technological innovation, as well as the many shifts within extended workforce management and traditional hiring and recruitment, the path ahead for direct sourcing may seem complicated on the surface, but it doesn’t have to be; enterprises that have successfully designed, implemented, and deployed direct sourcing programs have done so because they have balanced their reliance on external solutions through a careful convergence of services, automation, and long-term commitments to making direct sourcing a key part of the future.
We live in a digital world. Consumer, business, personal…digitization has changed the ways we buy, live, and work. The amplification of technology has become an omni-present source of data-driven, intelligence-fueled decision-making that permeates the fabric of nearly evert facet of, well, life.
If we can step back for a moment and look up at the logo in the left-hand corner of this website, you’ll quickly realize that we’re driving towards the concept of digitization within the confines of “work,” and, of course, talent. (Yes, I agree that “the digital world” is all-encompassing and, in some weird, sci-fi visionary way, technology in business and technology in our personal lives are interconnected in some profound way…but for the sake of the direction of this website and Ardent Partners research, today we’ll stick to the enterprise arena.)
Of course, work and talent are symbiotically linked in a reflective way; one doesn’t exist without the other. And, when we talk about work and talent, there is a clear and definitive pathway to extended labor (aka “the contingent workforce”) as a critical cog.
Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research point to nearly half of all enterprise talent today as comprised of non-employee/external/extended/contingent labor. And, with nearly 80% of organizations prioritizing the strategic value of the contingent workforce, the very concept of “digital” takes on new meaning.
For years, I’ve described Vendor Management System (VMS) technology as a journey: originally considered as “eProcurement for staffing,” VMS platforms traversed beyond its 1990s design and evolved in lock-step with the very type of talent it was conceived to optimize. As the contingent workforce grew in both size and impact, so did the technological influence of VMS solutions.
Over a decade ago, I wrote that VMS platforms served as the veritable “nexus” of the talent technology ecosystem, owing its role in the center to the fact that, as the contingent workforce became more impactful, so did the value of VMS-led automation. Today, VMS is still the nexus…albeit in a much different way.
The nexus doesn’t work as well without its peripheral support system. The modern-day Managed Service Provide (MSP) model is the service mirror to VMS’s technological foundation. Direct sourcing automation is the viable lever to expanded talent pools and talent communities. Freelancer engagement systems shoulder the independent contractor compliance load. AI-led skills intelligence platforms amplify, well, skills-based hiring (and, of course, data-driven decision-making). Learning and development platforms envelop a deeper connection with training and L&D strategies. Shift management technology boosts the power of VMS within light industrial CW programs. Skills assessment solutions ensure that any skills-based hiring strategy actually, you know, works, and also addresses the rising problem of candidate fraud. And so on.
So, with all of that said…where are we today? What is the actual state of VMS technology?
We’re not finished discussing the state of the VMS arena. Stay tuned for Part II.