Meticulous talent selection, precise assessments, solid client relationships — all attributes of a premier staffing firm, right? Right — unless you participate in a Vendor Management System (VMS). The qualities that make your staffing firm great often conflict with VMS models that are frequently designed to limit your competitive advantages.
According to a study by Staffing Industry Analysts, VMS buyers continue to grow and annual spend is estimated at $180 billion globally, with $116 billion in the Americas alone (SIA VMS Global Landscape 2021). What’s more, these VMS staffing opportunities aren’t solely the large enterprise clients as you may think. The mid-market buyer represents almost half the VMS market. Understanding how to maximize the traits that make your staffing company stand out, while working within the parameters of a VMS model, is key to mastering what is now established as business-as-usual.
Investment in VMS and the growth of vendor management is well documented. And what drives its popularity? On the surface, the reasons seem clear: a VMS allows companies to control vendor lists, lower costs and accelerate candidate submissions. What are not so clear to organizations are the tradeoffs: candidates who are not as well-qualified, lower submission-to-hire ratios, increased turnover of mismatched hires — the list goes on and on.