What is a VMS, and how can it help you hire?

How to reduce costs & increase confidence when hiring contingent workers, engage agencies for permanent hires

What is a VMS, and how can it help you hire?

Contingent workers are becoming a huge part of Australia’s workforce - and with 29% of global workers expected to be contingent by 2030, the trend doesn't look to be slowing down.

For employers, outsourcing part of their work to ‘non-employees’ has helped to weather periods of high demand. For those affected by the tough economic climate, a contingent workforce also helped organisations access the best talent flexibly, and to reduce their costs.

However, hiring contingent workers presents its own challenges. From finding the right agencies and candidates, to dealing with agency costs, compliance, and managing your brand - all of these have the potential to throw up some complex issues. Instead of dealing with these in-house, organisations are increasingly turning towards Vendor Management Systems (VMS) for their contingent workforce hiring.

What is a VMS?

In a nutshell, a VMS is a software system that can be used to find, procure and manage your contingent workforce. It can also be utilised to manage your panel of recruitment agents for permanent hiring, making it a total talent solution.

Where employers might struggle to hire through job boards or their own networks, a VMS offers support in accessing the right recruitment agencies and candidates. It provides comparison tools, as well as data metrics and performance insights - all aimed at providing clarity and confidence when hiring, with complete oversight within a single platform for the HR leader.

One of Australia’s foremost VMS providers, TalentVine says that the key to hiring is to find “the right balance of smart technology and human interaction.” Its digital marketplace has been built to help support HR leaders with key hiring decisions, and its data and metrics allows employers to attract top candidates through the most stable recruiters.

According to TalentVine’s chief revenue officer Chris Whittock, a VMS is a “logical step” for employers looking to hire from the passive candidate market, but who have struggled to make hires independently.

“Outsourced recruitment is a large, stagnant industry where NPS is low and fees are unsustainably high,” Whittock says.

“That’s not the case at TalentVine. We give you the technology and transparency needed to make the right recruitment decisions, backed by data.”

A VMS is also a great support tool for companies looking to hire more ED&I talent. Employers can post their role to a panel of niche specialists, and TalentVine frequently connects employers with recruitment agencies that specialise in refugee talent, women in tech, First Nations people and veterans, among others.

Why use a VMS?

Ultimately, cost saving is on everybody’s mind. A VMS allows you to reduce the amount you spend on agencies, reduce your admin, and minimise the amount of time spent hiring. With data-driven decision making, all of this results in higher-quality hires with a lower price tag.

TalentVine also supports employers with their compliance and risk mitigation, and offers advice on managing your brand alongside your contingent workforce.

On the recruiter side, working with a VMS will provide access to new stakeholders, increase your brand visibility, and ultimately lift your revenue.

“TalentVine has been an essential channel for our agency to access clients that we wouldn't have had the opportunity to work with,” says Scott Horton, co-founder and chief recruiter of Troocoo and a TalentVine client.

“As a new agency, we have been able to generate over $230,000 in recruitment fees. TalentVine is a new-era product that all modern agencies will use as an extension of their business development.”

To find out more about how TalentVine’s VMS can help make your hiring easer, click here.