Transformation Starts From Within

There’s something satisfying about checking things off a list. Whether it’s the pride of having accomplished something, or the comfort of knowing that there’s one less obstacle standing in our way, the simple act of completing a task can be one of the most rewarding moments in a day’s work.

But box checkers, beware: there’s a fatal flaw in living—and dying—by your task list. While it’s important to grasp the mechanics of a project, it can’t come at the risk of losing sight of its larger purpose. Or else, as the saying goes, you’ll miss the forest for the trees.

Earlier this spring, AgileOne hosted our 2022 Customer Forum in Austin, Texas. As we convened for the first in-person event of its kind since before the pandemic, it didn’t take long for me to recognize what makes the workforce solutions industry special. In a world full of box checkers, it takes more than a taskmaster to deliver true innovation. And every day, our team of doers—together with our outstanding customers and suppliers—chooses the path of innovation.

Over the past few weeks on LinkedIn, I’ve been teasing some of the ways we’re doubling down on our innovative approach by expanding and aligning our Enterprise Transformation Team (ETT) to better meet the needs of our customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders at AgileOne. Today, I’m excited to share some of the big improvements we’re making:

1. We’re focused on becoming the greatest aggregator. Instead of trying to do it all, my team is working harder than ever to forge strategic relationships with leading technology and industry partners who can help us deliver the best solutions to our customers. As our fearless leader, Brian Clark, has written before, our goal is to become the greatest aggregator, leveraging the close relationships we’ve forged with our diverse network of more than 3,500 suppliers from around the globe in addition our service and software partners, to examine opportunities for innovation. In this spirit, we’re just as interested in how our suppliers approach innovation as we are innovating from within AgileOne.
2. We’re speeding up implementation. In today’s economy, time is of the essence. We know our customers can’t afford to lose time implementing complex workforce solutions. That’s why AgileOne develops custom implementation plans that are structured uniquely based on the size and profile of each company we serve. Understanding that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for managing our customers’ needs is what sets AgileOne’s customer service apart. Not only does it help us reduce implementation cycle timelines—it also leads to greater customer satisfaction.
3. We’re deploying an internal training strategy. Building a tailored vendor management system (VMS) requires an innovative mindset. AgileOne has developed a formal training strategy spearheaded by a full-time employee devoted solely to creating the curriculum. Unlike with larger tech companies’ off-the-shelf solutions, our customers enjoy immediate access to AgileOne’s in-house VMS team with speed, flexibility, and agility as we adapt our proprietary AccelerationVMS technology to their MSP. Whether it’s training our client services team to better support our customers or supporting our implementation team in envisioning cutting-edge systems configurations, we’re making sure our frontline employees are equipped with the technical know-how—in addition to the creative energy—to help our customers succeed.
4. We’re doubling down on people, process, and technology. AgileOne is home to some of the brightest minds in workforce solutions. Recognizing the strengths our people bring to the job every day, we’ve realigned our internal teams to better support the ever-evolving needs of our customers and promoted leaders with impressive backgrounds in strategic supplier engagement, data analysis, and engineering. We’ve also formed two new divisions—business systems consulting and data analytics—creating centralized space within AgileOne where our customers and team members can quickly access consultants who can help build state-of-the-art procurement tools and provide data to unpack the effectiveness of the solutions we’re delivering.
5. We’re focused on a true partnership with our customers. Time after time, our customers have told us that they don’t view AgileOne as a vendor but instead as a partner—someone who is in their corner every step of the way. As the heart of our organization, ETT has a unique responsibility to define what true partnership looks like. That means ensuring that we’re doing everything we can to understand each customer’s objectives from the outset of an engagement so we can provide next level coaching and consultation, in addition to our total talent management solutions.

It’s never enough to simply get something done—it must be done well. That’s why I’m so proud of the open-minded approach we’re taking within ETT to transform how we approach innovation at AgileOne.

This kind of shift isn’t always easy. In fact, when you’re in the middle of a transformation cycle, it can be difficult to keep focused on the bigger picture of what you hope to accomplish. It takes a genuine dedication to innovation—and supporting the unique contributions and diverse skills of your team—to make transformation more than just a buzzword. To make it real.

As I’ve shared before, one of my favorite traditions I’ve cultivated within my team is to begin every meeting with a simple affirmation: “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” It’s an important reminder—especially when the stakes are high—that we are all working toward the same objectives. We’re not going it alone.

To that end, true transformation can’t begin to take shape without a commitment from everyone—from your ideators to your end-user—to making things better.

At AgileOne, it starts from within.