Frequently Asked Questions
Distinctive is writing the book on temporary labor management for small and medium sized business of all types. The questions below can help point you to the right answers and more importantly, solutionsFAQ
What’s the best way to select a partner? Should we do an RFP?
Your company may be governed by a procurement approach that requires a formal request and selection process. In some cases, and for very complex organizations, this might be beneficial.
However, an RFP can often fail to relay the people behind the product. There are very few companies (or people, in fact!) that have a deep knowledge of how these programs can deliver on enterprise goals, and create a winning environment for vendor partners.
Where do I start? What’s the roadmap from exploration to destination?
You’ve already started down the right road by asking the question and seeing the value in managing this part of your business.
With the right tools and partners, you can gain clarity about the data coming in and about your mission. See below for a list of the questions we would ask you to get started.
We already have a VMS or MSP. What questions should we be asking our current partner?
We like metrics, and success that can be defined, reported, and with measurable outcomes.
Has your current partner asked what targets they should be hitting in your program? Better staffing outcomes? Improved turnover? Lower cost? What is THEIR strategy and vision for ensuring that your organization can have a stable, compliant, and cost-effective contingent labor network?
Is my company large enough to use an MSP?
Traditionally, companies spending north of 100 million dollars annually on temp labor were the only ones using MSP. However, today, companies spending as little as a million dollars annually on temp labor are leveraging MSP services to build efficiencies, reduce cost, and mitigate risk. DWS has built an MSP offering that supports smaller spend clients by providing solutions to the common objectives most companies are seeking!
Distinctive is writing the playbook on temporary labor management for small and medium sized business of all types.
What is Distinctive Workforce Solutions (DWS)? What is ManageRight?
Distinctive Workforce Solutions (DWS) is a global Vendor Management, Managed Services company that uses over 680 staffing suppliers worldwide, supporting 5 continents and over 150 client brands: DWSWorldwide.com
Your company’s temporary staffing agencies and workers are managed through an MSP (Managed Service Provider). The temporary labor MSP is Distinctive Workforce Solutions.
The MSP uses a VMS (Vendor Management System) to manage all aspects of the temporary worker process from request (order) to onboarding, including payroll and invoicing, and off-boarding of temporary workers. Your company’s VMS is ManageRight.
DWS is the management and service company (MSP). ManageRight is the software (VMS).
ManageRight gives companies a uniform process for requesting new temp workers, approving temporary worker time, and paying staffing vendors, along with better visibility to temporary worker activity and spend across the company. VMS systems also provide reporting and business intelligence about a company’s temporary workers.
Through a “vendor neutral model”, Distinctive Workforce Solutions generally does not compete with staffing agencies to fill orders. Rather, DWS works to pair companies with the right staffing partners who can provide the highest quality and lowest risk temporary workforce, at the best possible price. All suppliers participating in DWS vendor management programs are considered to be customers as well.
DWS will provide your company a unique support email address, or you can reach DWS at dwssupport@dwsworldwide.com or support@manage-right.com.
We need to get a handle on the contract labor in our business. Where do I start? What questions should I be asking?
You’ve already started down the right road by asking the question and seeing the value in managing this part of your business. Many companies find that getting accurate information about temporary usage in their company is an impossible task, as they often have to rely on the outside agencies to provide the data!
Real data, in real time feels elusive. It doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and partners, you can have as much clarity about this aspect of your business, as you do about your mission.
These are the questions we would ask:
→ Where and why types of contract workers do you typically use?
→ What is your estimated spend on outside or contract labor?
→ Is there any formal process for requesting or approving the purchase of this labor?
→ How are you tracking time?
→ How does contingent labor fit into your company’s overall talent or labor strategy?
→ What are your objectives for improving management of this category? Savings? Compliance? Improved staffing stability or outcomes? All of the above?
The partner you select should be able to give you real examples of how to overcome specific staffing and category challenges. In order to build that strategy, they likely need to do a lot more listening than selling.
I’m ready to fire my current VMS/MSP partner. How should I go about this?
Your company has an advantage already having some institutional experience with an MSP partner, but possibly disadvantaged if that partner did a poor job.
Contact us and if we are a good fit for your company, we will walk you through the next steps. See the question below for more information on this process
What happens to my current staffing agencies if I introduce an MSP?
How much will this cost?
Through a vendor funded model, and years of experience, DWS is able to create an environment where cost goes down, and performance improves. When we say vendor funded, we don’t mean that we let your vendors slowly inflate cost and send that back to you, just in a different form. Our clients leverage us to negotiate rates, secure better and lower cost vendors, and create an environment where the best vendors win.
We already have so many different software programs to run our company. Can we manage temporary labor without software?
Your staffing agency partners are focused on how they can win in the equation with your business. Many do a fantastic job, but the incentive and opportunity to cut corners (or cheat!) is huge in any environment with little oversight, and where an agency can obscure cost, and is in control of their own timekeeping and invoicing.
An experienced and objective partner, and a neutral software will give the control and confidence back to you!
You won’t wonder (or hope) that you aren’t being cheated, or that you are compliant. You’ll know and be able to SHOW that you are getting the service and outcomes you expect, at the rates that you have defined.
I don’t want to go through this change in my business every couple of years. How can I future-proof the management of this category so I don’t have to ‘fix’ this again in three years? Won’t your software be obsolete in a few years? Won’t automation do away with temporary workers anyway?
Your partner, and the software itself should be flexible (and forward looking) enough to see that there is nothing but change coming in the years ahead in this category. Contingent labor will increase in significance and impact – and companies who can harness this labor population will be at an advantage!
You need a tool that can be deployed and accessed anywhere, that is robust enough to be an enterprise powerhouse, but to the casual user feels like clicking through a phone app. It should be able to accommodate all types of workflows and process, terminology, worker categories, and working arrangements of all types (including some that haven’t even been formalized yet!).
Do I need to buy new hardware to use VMS or MSP services?
Contact Us Directly
info@dwsworldwide.com
(800) 504-1148
301 Yamato Rd. Suite #3101, Boca Raton, FL 33431
Corporate office hours: M-F 8am-5pm EST
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