How to choose the right VMS for your company

Understand your business’ needs

Every organisation has unique requirements, and therefore, the VMS solution you choose should be able to meet those needs. Start by identifying the areas in your contingent workforce management process that need improvement.

You might want to have more process control and visibility in your hiring processes in order to mitigate risks and control your costs better. You may want more visibility of your staffing activities to help you purchase labour more efficiently and to have more alignment between your needs and the quality/quantity of vendors in a certain area. Or, international compliance may be a key concern for you, and therefore, you need more visibility to ensure you and your contingent workforce are compliant.

Evaluate Vendor Management System (VMS) features

Once you have identified your business needs, the next step is to evaluate the features of the VMS and ensure they align with your business requirements. If process control and visibility are some of your main priorities, 3 key features you should consider are:

Reporting and analytics:

What is offered within the VMS space on reporting is quite diverse. From absolutely nothing to a CSV-file; basic integrated reports; separate modules or integrated AI. If you’re looking for more visibility, a VMS offering enhanced reporting and analytics features can help you easily track vendor performance, identify areas for improvement, check employee compliance, and make data-driven decisions. So, make sure to analyse the VMS reporting capabilities.

Contract management:

A VMS offering contract management features can help you keep track of contract expiration dates, renewal dates, and other essential contract details. It’s also important to have exemplary rate management capabilities. For instance, ensuring that the framework agreements with all your vendors are seamlessly incorporated into your day-to-day hiring process through an automated system. If any deviations are permitted, it is important to have an alert system in place, enabling you to promptly address any exceptions as needed. Additionally, integrating your rate management with the overall fulfilment performance is vital.

Integration with other systems:

Consider whether the VMS you choose can integrate with other systems in your organisation. In a modern systems landscape, very few solutions stand alone. Contingent staff will probably have some touch points with other solutions within your organisation, so it’s good to be prepared for integrations with those systems. Consider: How is onboarding organised for contingent staff? How are projects and timesheets managed within the company? How are financial obligations managed? You can probably imagine a handful of potential integration points that a VMS should be ready for.

Lastly, make sure your solution is future-proof. What you need today, will probably change within a year. So can your solution grow with you? If you want to change your setup, how does the provider help you do that?

360 support

Having 360 support ensures that your organisation can access technical assistance and expertise when needed. Consider whether the VMS offers technical support, training, and ongoing maintenance because having a VMS that provides this can help your company resolve issues efficiently while constantly evolving and improving. Having a future-proof solution also means having a VMS partner that is ready to work with you to keep your programme running smoothly. So assess their support model, how will they help you grow and how will their solution evolve with you?

Conclusion

To conclude, when selecting the right VMS for your company, you should consider; your business’ needs, how/ if the VMS features meet those needs, its integration with other systems, and the support they provide.

Having a flexible and future-proof VMS that can grow with you is crucial for your company to stay agile and competitive. It allows you to adapt to changing needs, improve your contingent workforce management process, and have more visibility and cost control.

Nétive VMS helps organisations optimise their contingent workforce programme with our software. Organisations looking for time savings, cost control and streamlined hiring processes. Who want to be confidently aligned with new regulations. Or compliance requirements.

But what most characterises our organisation is our agility. We don’t just offer a platform that seamlessly links contingent workers, freelancers and companies: Our Nétive VMS Suite is a complete workforce management ecosystem that grows with your organisation. Creating a truly unique solution that evolves with your needs.

Contact our team (UK&I), to discuss how Nétive VMS can support your business.