The Contingent Workforce Program Journey – Part 7: Partner Selection

Part 1: The First Step

Part 2: Neutral Discovery

Part 3: Current State Analysis

Part 4: Foundations of a Solution

Part 5: The Roadmap

Part 6: Selling Your Program Internally

Welcome back to the journey! If you’ve read the previous 6 parts of this series, we’ve finally reached the point where you’ve received approval and hopefully funding (or at least budgeted) to build the program of your dreams.?To make those dreams come true you will continue to use your neutral consultant, but you’ll also need other partners. Whether you're seeking a Vendor Management System (VMS), Managed Service Provider (MSP), Direct Sourcing (DS) partner(s), or Freelancer Management System (FMS), the process of selecting the right partner(s) requires careful consideration, strategic planning, and collaboration. This article will guide you through the essential factors to consider and the steps to take in the partner selection process.

Be Clear of Your Intentions

When going into any search for a partner, and before you begin a Request for Proposal/Request for Information (RFP/RFI), it’s important to be able to answer the questions below.

• What are you trying to accomplish? – By this point, you should have this answer. It should be an anchor that you go back to anytime you are stuck or need to refocus.
• Why do you need a partner? – This is something you need to answer before even reaching out to a partner. Is this a service, technology, or skillset your organization cannot do itself? Is something you don’t have time to build or develop yourself? If you have the skills, capability, and capacity to do work, then go for it! But if it is something better served by outsourcing, then go that route.?Just have an honest conversation internally before beginning a search.
• What do you need from a partner? – If you know you need help from someone else, then you need to know what you need from them.?Help them help you. Don’t just say, “we need X.” Be clear on what “X” is and what you envision it looking like. Leverage all the requirements and details you’ve gathered during your journey to create a very specific vision around what you need and what success looks like to you.

Defining your objectives and requirements upfront will provide a solid foundation for evaluating potential partners and aligning their capabilities with your goals. Plus, it will save you from wasting your time and your potential vendor’s time.

The RFI / RFP

Having established this foundation, it’s time to move forward with collecting the details you want from potential partners. It’s important to thoroughly evaluate each potential partner's capabilities, experience, and track record and there are many things to consider at thing point in the process.

• Leverage an outside neutral consultant – Of course I push this, but honestly having someone in this role will make your life way easier to support some of the work and think through all angles to ensure you’re doing what is best for your organization.
• Who are you sending RFI/RFP to? – You’ll need to establish a list of who will receive the request. If you don’t have a list your neutral consultant can help you. You’ll want to target reputable partners that provide the service/technology you need in the market you’re targeting. Seems like common sense, but I’ve seen clients send RFIs to companies that don’t even provide what they need.
• Limit your questions – Be succinct and precise about what you need and what you want to know. If you’re asking more than 35-40 questions, you’re asking the wrong questions.?Keep in mind, it takes partners time to complete this info, so don’t waste your time or theirs.

• Have your governance team involved – When generating questions and reviewing responses, get your governance team involved and allow them to weigh in on what matters to them.?If you’ve been following the path I’ve set out in this series so far, you should have a great consensus of what they need, but their continued involvement will always be important.
• Timeline and expectations – Be clear on when you want the response by and give a respectable amount of time to for partners to complete the task.?If you want answers in a specific format, state that, if you want crayon drawings on system architecture, well don’t do that. But for certain, don’t send out a request on Thursday night and expect answers by Monday. At a minimum give at least 1 full week for responses.
• Validating answers / scoring mechanism – Once you get responses, determine your methodology for how you will evaluate.?If possible, develop a quantifiable scoring mechanism to help you make decisions based on large sets of text-based answers. Leverage your governance team for them to evaluate and score as well.?Each person may have their own key information they are looking for.
• Narrowing finalists – Narrow down your finalists and give feedback to those that you didn’t select.?It’s nice for them to know where they fell short and how they can improve next time they have an opportunity. Then set the stage for those that made the cut of what comes next. Give them insights of what they need to do, what you are looking to understand, and when/where you begin doing live (in-person or remote) pitch meetings.

Through all of this, continue leaning on your neutral consultant to help you evaluate and help you drive next steps.?It’s easy for RFI/RFP exercises to lose momentum and they can help make sure that doesn’t happen.

The Pitch

Inviting the finalists for an in-person (or remote) pitch is an important step to gain deeper insights into your potential partner’s offerings. During the pitch, bring in your key stakeholders from your governance team. It’s a good idea to get a diverse perspective as each team member will view the presentation and the character of the participants differently. Pay attention to the demonstration of their solution (technology or service), and how it aligns with your program's unique needs. Keep in mind what it is you are really looking for in a partner and what it is you need them to do – are they answering the call for that? Be sure to use a scoring mechanism again – similar to how you scored the initial RFI/RFP responses so you have a quantifiable way of measuring how you feel would be as a partner.

Be sure to come prepared with questions.?Likely they will address some of these through their presentation. But you should take the time to think of and ask hard-hitting questions.?Challenge your potential partner. What are your fears and worries and how can they alleviate those for you? One topic that is always great to discuss is the team that will be handling your program, as the individuals actually doing the work play a vital role in its success. But why ask this question?

Because you can’t rely on salespeople: Selecting the right partner is crucial because they will become an extension of your team, impacting the success of your contingent workforce program. While salespeople may paint an appealing picture, it's essential to look beyond their promises and assess the expertise and capabilities of the actual team who will be delivering the services. The knowledge and experience of the experts behind the scenes will determine the effectiveness of your program. Once the sales cycle is done, implementation is completed, and your program is live, you’re going to want it to live up to what was promised.

Selection and Next Steps

Shortly after all partner presentations have concluded, come together with your governance team. Take time to review your evaluations, discuss and debate, and weigh all relevant factors. Choose a partner that demonstrates a deep understanding of your program, aligns with your goals, and has the expertise in a team to deliver results. You can conduct reference checks if you like, but likely they’ll be feeding you with clients that are going to give a favorable perspective. Though some that are more candid may let you know of things to watch out for. Consider not only the partner’s capabilities but also their cultural fit, responsiveness, and ability to build a strong working relationship.

Keep in mind, some of this is a gamble.?You don’t know what is going to happen.?Starting any new relationship, personal or professional, can be exciting but also scary.?Eventually the honeymoon is over and true colors start to come out as cracks in the foundation are discovered – what was sold may not be the same as what you are getting.?In Part 8 of this journey, we’ll begin prepping for implementation. We’ll dive into setting your contract right to ensure that you get what you paid for while also getting your internal team ready to go so you can hit the ground running.

Finding the right partner and conducting an RFI/RFP is a lot of work, and it can’t be taken lightly.?Make sure you are doing the right things and thinking it all through in a holistic manner.?Leverage CWM Strategies as your neutral consultant to guide you through this process so you can get the right partner to meet your needs.