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Articles by Elaine Roberts
Leveling up from tools to systems: A holistic approach to third-party management
It feels like an understatement to say that the evolution of technology continues to reshape and revolutionize business, as it continues to transform industries, individual companies within them, workers at all levels and the work they carry out. With the advent of AI, and especially generative AI within that broader term, and the continued globalization of supply chains, the pace of change has sped up, forcing businesses and workers to adjust quickly.
Fresh food supply chain: special procurement challenges require special approach
Pixabay Food is universal commodity, and most people take the fresh food supply chain for granted. Shoppers walk into a favorite grocery store, never thinking about how that produce made the trip from field to grocery cart. In reality, the fresh food supply chain is vastly complex. Anything that's perishable comes with a ticking clock the minute the supply chain starts.
The evolving role of procurement needs the latest technology to meet the demands of today’s working environment
Adobe Stock The concept of procurement – from bid requests to sourcing materials and securing suppliers through purchase and delivery – has been around for centuries. Today, the often-overlooked department responsible for buying most everything companies need is taking on a more vital, strategic business role dictated by the economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Another problem stems from the estimated 7% annual increase in indirect spend over the past decade.
As the non-employee workforce grows, demands for quicker access to pay push companies to find solutions
Pixabay The number of non-employee workers – contingent workers, independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers and day workers – continues to rise, with experts attributing it, in part, to the “Great Resignation” that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic. A recent survey from Edelman Intelligence and Upwork found that 59 million US workers, or 36% of the entire workforce, freelanced in 2021. And hiring managers expect to use even more freelance workers over the next two years.
Q&A on workforce data: ‘Technology allows companies to search wider, deeper talent pools and recalibrate for change’
Adobe Stock The number of contingent workers continues to grow at a rapid pace, and with so many companies now having remote workers and global workforces, managing contingent workforces has become even more complex. Business leaders who don't have the latest insights from a wide range of workforce data sources cannot properly execute their plans.
‘It was a hard lesson to learn’ — How technology can help with blind spots in today’s shifting contingent labor market
Adobe Stock Every day, there seems to be a new challenge for companies that use contingent labor. The Covid pandemic is still with us, but now problems like the Great Resignation, how to balance remote and in-person workers, new laws and vaccination requirements have become part of the conversation. To manage these workers and meet the companies’ business goals, it is no longer an option for companies to have outdated manual processes and put off concerns about changes in the workforce.
With remote work battle-tested, businesses have opportunities to seize — but leaders must know new legislation
Adobe Stock While the Covid pandemic created countless problems for companies and contingent workers, it has also provided an opportunity to reshape the long-held beliefs about engaging, managing and retaining those workers. Work-from-home options have become more flexible, so organizations are thinking differently now about where work is performed and about the composition of their workforces.
Diversity, equity and inclusion: How can companies make DE&I work for traditional and contingent workers?
Adobe Stock While diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs have been a part of the business landscape for many large companies for decades, they are now an essential part of even small organizations. The early emphasis was strictly on the business case for the return on their investment in DE&I, which should no longer be up for debate. The perspective has since expanded from the strict impact on the business to the moral case for change and the need to attract and retain diverse talent.
Workforce Logiq webinar on neurodiversity: Expanding the conversation on hiring and retaining people with autism
Adobe Stock Diversity, equity and inclusion programs commonly focus on people’s gender, race and ethnicity, but there are other necessary considerations to broaden programs to meet the needs of neurodiverse workers, especially as they make up a growing segment of the workforce.
New platform is a ‘hub of innovation’ for contingent workforce management, says PRO Unlimited’s CEO
About a year ago, Kevin Akeroyd became the CEO of PRO Unlimited, a provider of modern workforce solutions. (Company photo) As the world slowly emerges from the Covid pandemic, businesses are taking stock and re-evaluating their workforces. So many companies, large and small, were pushed into new staffing and management scenarios. Even though plenty of negative experiences occurred over the past year, many positives emerged in the contingent workforce arena.
Direct sourcing of talent grows as a business strategy, but requires tech
putilov_denis/Adobe Stock While engaging an extended workforce is nothing new, the ways that companies find those workers is changing. The global pandemic, paired with a fragile business climate and so many people out of work, has amplified the need for contingent workers and the ability of those workers to choose where and when they prefer to work.
Talent trends: Incorporating talent diversity into your contingent workforce management program improves business performance
Adobe Stock As the global economy continues to react to recent economic- and pandemic-related shocks, organizations must shift how they define, find and retain talent. In many cases, this means incorporating more remote work and using more contingent labor, like temporary workers, contractors, gig workers and freelancers. Talent management technology also has evolved to meet market demands, offering solutions around talent diversity.
Amid the coronavirus disruption, workforce technology gets AI help with finding, managing and diversifying talent
everythingpossible/Adobe Stock In what seemed like an instant, the COVID-19 pandemic sent the U.S. job market crashing, and with that, record-low unemployment numbers shot to unbelievable highs. It has become an employers’ market. Even so, the forces weighing on companies have multiplied, making hiring and maintaining appropriate workforces more of a challenge.
Freelance management technology can be the key to meeting current workforce changes and planning for the future
paprikaworks/Adobe Stock Even as the nature of work changes with an expanding global economy and increasing impacts from technology, the past six months have presented unexpected and dramatic challenges. Because of COVID-19, companies find themselves at various stages of ramping up or down — so they need an agile, scalable talent strategy to meet these demands.
What should employers do to gain the full value of their independent workers?
It’s becoming a mantra in the contingent labor world — in less than a decade, half of the U.S. workforce will be independent workers. A study said more than 30% of the global workforce works in a non-employee capacity and almost 40% of workers under 35 have some sort of “side hustle” in addition to a full-time gig. But what should employers do to ensure these workers are being appropriately hired and utilized while companies gain the full value of their independent workforce?
Modern Chief Procurement Officers need technology, flexible staffing
Gone are the days of a procurement department leader who sits behind a desk, filing out requisitions and meeting a company’s day-to-day supply, cost and quality needs. Today’s procurement leaders, moving to the C-suite as Chief Procurement Officers (CPO), are taking on more complex roles with greater responsibility and importance because they have an impact on broader business decisions.
AI-Powered solutions turn procurement into a catalyst for company value
In today’s fast-paced global economy, there is little doubt about the necessity for procurement’s digital transformation. However, many multinational companies are just starting their implementation journey, and they are realizing the benefits of having a digital business beyond just digitizing their processes.
As use of the extended workforce grows, procurement has a key role in adding value
The globalization of business continues to challenge companies as they search to find and secure goods, services and workers. For companies to be successful in this new reality, they must do a better job of procuring those resources. While most have identified improvements in the acquisition of direct and indirect goods, the acquisition of talent, namely contingent workers, continues to be a manual process that’s handled differently, often operating in isolated departments across the same company.
Procurement Checklist: How to Boost Employee Adoption of Technology and Maximize Value
everythingpossible/Adobe Stock Employee adoption of tools for spend and cutting costs is a critical and often overlooked key performance indicator for procurement. When employee adoption is low, procurement value is limited.
Why mid-market organizations need spend-management tools to remain competitive: A Q&A with Vroozi CEO Joe Fox
The procurement technology market continues to grow increasingly complex, with providers offering everything from specialty platforms to complete solutions. For mid-market companies, choosing a technology provider can be daunting, but it is essential to maximize spend under management, streamline purchasing and accounts payable processes, and stay competitive with peers who are investing heavily in technologies typically used by large enterprises.
Efficio: If procurement ignores digital literacy and soft skills, it faces ‘being wiped from the corporate map’
Technology is becoming ubiquitous across all facets of the contingent labor industry, and procurement departments are feeling the evolutionary pull. Procurement operating models are changing, incorporating technology to enable better decision making. Without a greater focus on the people who will implement new strategies and solutions, however, that technology will not bring value.
VectorVMS says its revamp gave the veteran provider ‘freedom to work in startup mode’
kentoh/Adobe Stock “We’re an established company with the mentality and freedom to work in a startup mode, which is uncommon in our industry,” said Marc Husain, Managing Director of VectorVMS, which has 20 years of experience but recently refocused on one core mission. After only a year of being fully focused on the VMS marketplace, VectorVMS has made a name for itself.
AI can drive better supplier negotiations with faster outcomes
Today, most sourcing teams ask for quotes by emailing one spreadsheet to many suppliers and re-assembling the resulting chaos in a pivot table. Some technologies have helped digitize the process, but the basic information included remains the same. Companies ask for quotes, and suppliers send what they believe to be their best initial offer. Many CPOs understand the benefits of adding technology to their procurement process.
Deloitte webinar: How CPOs can tackle an increasingly complex world of procurement
Today’s procurement organizations are facing increased complexity from an array of sources — economic downturns, working with mega-suppliers, global trade issues and digital transformation, said Ryan Flynn, Principal Deloitte Consulting, in a webinar that explored the findings of Deloitte’s 2019 Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey. While these complexities present challenges for procurement leaders, they can also be a means to increase procurement’s influence across entire organizations.
Classification Complications: How Companies Can Use Technology to Navigate Stricter California Freelancer Law
D.R./Adobe Stock There were already abundant federal and state laws surrounding freelance worker classification before California approved the adoption of the country’s most stringent test. In the recently passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5 or the “Uber bill,” as it’s commonly called), the state tightened the rules to close what they saw as loopholes hurting workers and the state. Growing from the 2018 California Supreme Court decision Dynamex Operations West v.
Procurement’s technology revolution needs digitally literate workers with highly refined soft skills to succeed, Efficio report finds
Procurement is facing a turning point, one that gives it the opportunity to become more integral to the success of businesses than ever before, according to a survey by Efficio, a consulting firm that works with procurement professionals around the world.
Beyond savings: How procurement departments can digitally transform and elevate to world-class status
Business competition across industries is intense, so companies are looking to their procurement departments to increase capabilities, become even more efficient and save money. To meet those demands, many are turning to technology, seeking ways to implement digital transformation. While few organizations have fully made the shift to digital, many are taking steps to move their departments forward.
How risks and technology are reshaping the CFO role
Traditionally, chief financial officers have spent their time poring over budgets, auditing seemingly everything and ensuring compliance. In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, their role is shifting, incorporating strategic planning, risk management and predictive analytics. To find out what CFOs are facing and how they’re making changes, the survey “The Strategic CFO: Thriving with Risk” compiles the answers from 500 CFOs and global financial executives about their evolving experiences.
How to hire contingent workers around the globe - and stay in compliance
The world is getting smaller every day, helped along by technologies that allow us to connect to people, activities and companies around the globe. Businesses are able to incorporate workers from anywhere, sometimes as seamlessly as if they were next door. While communicating with workers may be simpler, engaging them for work and staying in compliance can be a complicated matter.
Struggling to find the right workers? Create an alumni network from your retirees and former employees
Companies need skilled employees, but with unemployment numbers at the lowest levels in decades, available candidates are in short supply. And people with the skill sets needed for certain jobs and industry sectors are just not there. The hiring professionals are feeling the stress. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 68% of HR professionals are having a hard time recruiting adequately skilled people for the full-time jobs at their companies.
Despite power of data, many organizations lag in making it key to their decision-making culture, a Deloitte survey finds
In today’s hyper-connected, data-driven business world, the amount of available data is overwhelming. And while the concept of “big data” has been around for more than a decade, many companies are still lagging when it comes to using that data to make decisions. Insight-driven organizations (IDO), according to a recent Deloitte survey, are those that have made a transition to relying on data and analytics, instead of intuition, to make many of their business decisions.
‘There is so much opportunity to leverage high-skill, high-value talent,’ MBO’s Bryan Peña says of independent workforce
A Gallup poll estimates that in a few years, about 57 million people, or almost 36% of workers, will be part of the independent workforce. And as companies find that traditional approaches to engaging independent workers are no longer effective in all cases, they must seek out new ways to engage top talent to meet their needs, both now and in the future.
Freelancer Management Systems: How Companies Can Find and Retain Independent Contractors via Direct Sourcing
As technology changes the work landscape, as companies seek more specifically skilled workers and as those workers push for non-traditional work arrangements, companies need to find effective ways to meet those changes. Direct sourcing is emerging as a viable, practical option to fill on-demand and other staffing needs. When used alongside traditional hiring methods, including third-party staffing firms, direct sourcing allows companies to find and hire previously untapped independent contractors.
Direct Sourcing of Labor, Total Talent Management Strategy Help Companies Improve Independent Contractor Success
While companies may seek out different types of non-employee labor for a variety of reasons, firms face similar sourcing and management issues when bringing in freelancers, contractors or other contingent workers. Businesses will need to have a talent management strategy because the number of non-employee workers is on the rise, equaling about 57 million people (some 36% of workers), according to Gallup.
Will an Internally Managed Contingent Worker Program Work for Your Company?
It’s becoming an everyday occurrence: Businesses are hiring more and more freelancers, contractors and temporary staff — but they’re struggling to manage the process. Contingent labor experts talk about how in today’s workforce there are companies that have as many as 50% of their workers from non-employee sources.
GDPR compliance can be complicated, but VMS technology can ease process of protecting personal data
As more businesses collect personal data, the concerns over privacy and protection continue to deepen. Social media outlets are failing to protect sensitive personal information, and hackers seem to easily find their way into retail and financial databases. In 2018, Marriott announced a data breach from its Starwood hotels affecting more than 500 million customer records. Personal information — including names, phone numbers, email addresses and passport numbers — was stolen.
Globality Uses AI to Transform Complex Services Sourcing
The sprawling, and often poorly managed, domain of services spend in procurement has not been fully solved by the digital transformation, but as companies adopt technologies to support their efforts, they are discovering the great potential that technology can unlock.
Using AI to Extend Digital Transformation to Services Procurement
Every time you shop at a favorite retailer’s online store or use an app to bank, you’re benefitting from the digital transformation of B2C services. In the B2B environment, digital transformation of services is also taking place but at a slower pace. And in B2B for procurement, the shift is even slower, most often being used to automate processes and uncover potential cost-savings.
Big Costs in Small Parcels: A Webinar on Navigating Shipping Spend, Improving Contracts and Saving Money
For many companies, shipping small parcels to customers is a hefty, unavoidable cost. And those costs — many of which are never shared with buyers until an invoice is sent — keep rising, sometimes multiple times a year. So what are buyers to do? Imagine the difference if you could uncover the specifics of your small parcel freight needs, then negotiate with small parcel freight suppliers to ensure better, more consistent pricing.
The Foyles Bookshop Girls at War
Member Review Review by Kelly M, Reviewer Last updated on 03 Nov 2018 I Recommend This Book Strongly I Recommend This Book Strongly I absolutely loved the first book in this series and did a happy dance when I saw there were going to be further books. This story gives us the chance to get to know Molly the headstrong member of the trio of girls and her family.
The Foyles Bookshop Girls at War
'A delightful story of friendship, love and hope during the dark days of WW1. Elaine Roberts is a bright new star in the world of sagas' Elaine Everest. Swapping books for the bomb factory takes courage – and could be dangerous. Working at the Foyles bookshop was Molly Cooper's dream job. But with the country at war she's determined to do her bit. So Molly gathers her courage, and sets off for the East End and her first day working at Silvertown munitions factory...
The Foyles Bookshop Girls by Elaine Roberts
Elaine Roberts comes to the blog today with the first in a series focusing on the ladies that work in a London Bookshop, all taking place just before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. An interesting title focusing on several young women and their families, all connected by friendship and social status, as the girls work in a popular and very busy bookshop in London. Alice, Molly and Victoria have been friends for years, all living solidly upper middle-class lives.
Publisher Details | NetGalley
Prepare to become an #AriaAddict... Aria is a digital first, full length commercial fiction imprint targeting fiction addicts and readers keen to discover new and exciting authors. Our ambition is to find and publish tomorrow's stars to an audience of Aria Addicts. We are dedicated to building a meaningful community of #AriaAddicts to bring together our wonderful authors, readers and bloggers. 524 Members Aria +462 More Approval Preferences View No description available
Contingent Workforce & Services
This is your access point to our coverage of contingent workforce and services procurement. Here we provide practitioners with a unique analytic perspective on this evolving landscape, as well as the technology and innovation accelerating its adoption.
Censured director’s wife bids to open funeral home
SPRINGFIELD — While Porter-Qualls Funeral Home and its former director are facing license suspensions, competition from a former employee is preparing to open just down the street. The funeral home at 823 S. Yellow Springs St., which was opened in 1958 by Dennis L. Porter, was recently informed by the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors that its license would be suspended for 30 days for what the board has deemed “immoral or unprofessional conduct ...
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