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Contingent Work Is Thriving — But the Playbook Is Changing
48 Plays6 days ago
Contingent work isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s becoming a more critical part of how organizations operate. But while demand remains strong, the way these programs are designed, managed, and measured is shifting fast. Buyer expectations are evolving, labor models are getting more complex, and the old approaches that once worked are no longer enough to stay competitive. The opportunity is still there, but only for those willing to adjust how they show up and deliver value.
In this episode of Staffing Made Simple, co-hosts Casey Wagonfield and Rob Geist are joined by Meea Evans-Cone from CEVA Logistics to explore how contingent workforce programs are evolving in real time. Drawing from experience on both the staffing and buyer sides, Meea shares what’s changing inside large-scale programs, how organizations are rethinking standardization versus local flexibility, and what it really takes to stand out today — from aligning with buyer expectations to delivering measurable quality and retention in light industrial environments.
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Transcript
Shifting Workforce Programs
00:00:00
Speaker
Have you noticed how contingent workforce programs feel like they're operating in a completely different era right now? The old playbook just doesn't work anymore. In today's episode, we break down how contingent workforce programs are evolving, how agencies can respond and differentiate to meet changing buyer expectations, and what actually makes staffing firms stand out today.
00:00:20
Speaker
You'll hear directly from a buyer running a massive contingent workforce program as we unpack what's shifting in the market, how organizations are rethinking labor models, and what should be standardized across multi-site programs versus what must stay local to succeed.
00:00:34
Speaker
If you want to align better with what buyers want and position your business to win more opportunities, this episode's a must listen. Welcome to Staffing Made Simple, a podcast series powered by Simple VMS.
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome back to Staffing Made Simple, brought to you by Simple VMS, as always, the most vendor-friendly VMS on the market. This is a podcast where we bring real-world insights and actual ideas that you can use right away, whether you're on the buyer side or the supplier side of contingent
Industry Evolution and Excitement
00:01:04
Speaker
workforce.
00:01:04
Speaker
I'm Casey Wagonfield, been in the staffing industry for about 16 years now. And honestly, I love Coast in this podcast because this industry really never sits still and it's always evolving. And we get to bring on really cool guests who get to help us make sense of where things are right now and where it's all heading next.
00:01:21
Speaker
And today we're keeping this one practical for both sides of the table. So buyers running programs and staffing organizations that are supporting them. We're digging into what's changing in contingent workforce programs, how agencies can better align with the evolving buyer needs and what should standardize versus keep local and what good looks like when you're actually measuring quality and retention in light industrial especially.
Rob's Expertise and Enthusiasm
00:01:45
Speaker
And don't worry, your favorite co-host Rob is here too. And if you're new here, Rob is a senior vice president of growth here Simple VMS and always brings his years of experience and insight. What's up, Rob? What's up, Casey? I've been looking forward to this episode. We're going be joined by Mia Evans-Cohn, and you're going hear really quickly why she's such a strong voice in the contingent workforce space.
Mia's Dual Perspective
00:02:08
Speaker
Mia is a buyer side contingent workforce leader at Siva Logistics. She brings a rare perspective because she's also worked on the staffing side as a talent leader earlier in her career.
00:02:20
Speaker
She's also very active in the industry, sharing what she sees in the real world. She's a speaker at ProcureCon 2026. Last year, she spoke at the Woman of Work on redefining contingent workforce success metrics and shifting the focus from cost savings to value creation.
00:02:38
Speaker
I was super impressed when I first met her, and I know our listeners are going to love her insights. Mia, welcome to the show, and thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. All right. And as Rob mentioned, Mia, you've lived in both worlds. You started on the staffing side and now you're running a huge contingent workforce program. Is there anything that you learned in staffing that has directly helped you in the seat you sit in today?
00:03:01
Speaker
Ultimately, I learned the blueprint of the pricing structure, but also the same for service delivery. I understand the financial burdens of staffing better than most and the organization.
00:03:13
Speaker
And I also understand what it takes to recruit and retain a great
Changing Workforce Dynamics
00:03:17
Speaker
candidate. This helps me set realistic KPIs and expectations with our stakeholders and essentially helps the suppliers because they don't have to do that.
00:03:26
Speaker
When I was in staffing, I wish every person knew the financial burdens. Some of the expectations are unrealistic and I have to educate. It's kind of crazy how it's ever evolving. It's never ending the evolution and the things that the staffing companies have to deal with.
00:03:42
Speaker
But you were all over the country last year, Mia, hitting every conference you could to learn what's changing. If you could summarize it, what trends feel real right now and what feels like it's just fluff?
00:03:55
Speaker
Ultimately, i feel like the world of work has changed significantly. And I say that because of the way I was raised, right? You go to work, you're going to work for X amount of time, save your money, retire, all the good things. And people are doing different things.
00:04:11
Speaker
Gone are the days of everyone seeking a 40-hour work week that leads to full-time employment with a client. People are genuinely wanting to work as a way of financially augmenting their dreams and true career aspirations.
Local Adaptation and Supplier-Friendliness
00:04:24
Speaker
As employers, we should create a space that supports this while also achieving the responsibilities we have to our customers. So it's a true partnership for everybody that's involved.
00:04:35
Speaker
The noise, AI, and the fact that it's going to take our jobs, I wholeheartedly believe that this is a farce. our AI is a resource that will make our daily jobs at work more efficient.
00:04:48
Speaker
It will remove the quote unquote other tasks as assigned in our job descriptions and allow us to focus more on our key priorities. I love that. We've actually talked on another episode about that with some staffing people that they're using it for that reason. Use it to do the busy work, but you're still going to need recruiters in the relationships in that business and talking to people in person, but using the AI to do the busy work so you can focus on the things that matter.
00:05:14
Speaker
Absolutely. And I know you talked about some different things you're seeing in the market when people hear terms like EOR and direct sourcing and outsourcing. And to some people that can be confusing. It's just not familiar.
00:05:27
Speaker
How do you really decide between what's the best for you when you're making your choice? Well, I learned a lot about that last year, and that was one of the reasons why I was going to so many conferences. And at the end of the day, what I've been able to summarize is that all of those acronyms basically are a strategic measure that leads to risk avoidance and increased service delivery.
00:05:48
Speaker
Straight to the point. I love it also. You said other duties as assigned. That's one of our favorite things to use here. is sin full So if a buyer is thinking, hey, we need to modernize our contingent workforce strategy, what are the first three moves you'd make in the first 90 days in a way that both buyers and suppliers would understand?
00:06:09
Speaker
Well, 90 days is a short period, but it should be exploration, right? You need to understand what you have in front of you. Do you have the right data that's needed to make the bold moves?
00:06:19
Speaker
Talk to your stakeholders, understand where their pain points are, understand what the gaps are, because if you try to implement anything without true discovery, it's a risk in itself.
00:06:30
Speaker
So I do want to talk multi-site programs. What's the stuff that you have to standardize no matter what when it comes to multi-sites? And the non-negotiables, if you want the program to actually run efficiently.
00:06:42
Speaker
I sit in procurement today, so commercial terms, KPIs, invoicing, pricing structure. There has to be an even playing field for all partners. That is going to lead to clear and accurate reporting.
00:06:54
Speaker
The concise data then is going to tell you the story needed to evolve and mature in your program. I love that. And it keeps everybody on an even playing field too. Absolutely.
00:07:04
Speaker
And to your point, are you in the position to do that right now? Where are you at? Where do you want to go? And then what do you need to do to get there? And one thing I talk about with my enterprise clients, and it really is a big factor in how they make decisions is where is a local touch matter most?
00:07:21
Speaker
In labor markets, there's just real realities about sites, cultures, onboarding, supplier mix. Where do you have flexibility in that too? At the end of the day, the word culture stands out to me, right? Because every city has its own. And yes, some bigger cities are able to benefit from having those larger suppliers because the individuals are more integrated into the technological advances that are here today. But despite those things, there are communities that operate differently. So local presence in these communities is going to be critical to your talent acquisition. So this is why we're always going to have regional suppliers that have the respect of the smaller communities, because another company that has absolutely no existence in that community, people are going to be skeptical of them. And so we have to be cognizant of the fact that global model and that larger scale model is not going to work in some of the smaller communities.
00:08:18
Speaker
Some of these communities may not be very small. They just may be very close knit. I see it all the time with clients of ours that have a national footprint and they wish they could use one national supplier and they even try it.
00:08:31
Speaker
And they do great in two markets and then the other six, they don't. And it's because it's hard to manage from
Quality, Culture, and Retention Strategies
00:08:38
Speaker
afar. So you need to engage those local people with those local relationships and people who are in your communities to staff successfully for you.
00:08:46
Speaker
It's so crazy because staffing is so different. It's all part of the relationship piece of the staffing industry too. The relationships aren't just client to supplier, it's relationships between the supplier to their communities.
00:08:58
Speaker
I remember even going to companies, trying to get my foot in the door and like, well, You have to go through this or we have to use this company, but they're not doing anything for us, but we have to. I never understood that and nothing against the major players and staffing, but putting all your eggs in that basket. And to Rob's point, you know, if office in Albuquerque, he can't keep their internal staff and they just keep churning. Well, now that site in Albuquerque, he gets the short end of the straw versus what if there was a local agency there that's been there for 20 years that has a great reputation and that might be a better fit versus all your eggs in one basket.
00:09:32
Speaker
Absolutely. The reality is there are still individuals in the workforce who look at their church program, their local newspaper to find jobs and to engage with the community. So we have to be cognizant of the diverse workforce that's present today. And that's why those regional suppliers are going to be critical for the next at least five to 10 years, I feel. so Yeah, I agree.
00:09:58
Speaker
I want to touch on what does supplier friendly actually mean, right? Because people throw around supplier friendly program, like it's a slogan. In real life, what do you think that actually looks like? What are buyer behaviors that make good suppliers want to lean in? And on the flip side, let's be real. Every supplier has that program that they fill last.
00:10:15
Speaker
What causes a program to get to that last resort too? I look at it as a true partnership, supplier friendly. That's what that means to me. It means understanding what your supplier needs to be successful and vice versa for the client.
00:10:28
Speaker
But it also means sharing a common goal or strategy and making decisions that align with everyone that's involved, right? It truly is a relationship, almost boyfriend, and girlfriend type thing. You have to be able to lean in on one another and really just be together in ways that make each other great. So that's what I hear when I hear that term.
00:10:48
Speaker
Like that. And let's be real. There's also those programs out there that staffing vendors look at as their last resort. They'll send all the quality people to one client and all the scraps get sent to someone who might not have as good of a reputation out there in the market.
00:11:05
Speaker
So what gets clients labeled as that last resort? Well, full transparency, when I was a recruiter, no matter how long ago that was, I was taught to work closer to the money.
00:11:16
Speaker
Staffing is a unique industry where you do a lot of work up front with no reward until you actually make a placement. So when there's a program that has low response rates,
00:11:26
Speaker
They're going to always suffer because of this. No one's going to spend time responding to a requisition that will not lead to a placement or at the very least feedback to help them grow. And that goes back to being supplier friendly, understanding what our supplier needs to be successful.
00:11:44
Speaker
If you think about you got two different programs, you know, the the money's the same, but one of them you submit people it takes two and a half weeks to get a response. Where the other one is they can start fairly fast. Yeah, I'm going probably go what's closest to the money.
00:11:57
Speaker
Absolutely. I think a lot of clients don't realize how they treat the workforce. This is a big part of that, Casey. I love the story you tell about the client you had that made the workers from your agency go to the bathroom at a porta potty. Another agency could go to the regular bathrooms. We pulled all of our people out of that company real quick.
00:12:16
Speaker
I'm a big believer. And if I wouldn't send a family member to a company, I'm certainly not going to send somebody else to it. Yeah. but In light industrial, when we're trying to look at quality indicators, quality mean a lot of different things. What signals do you look at that tell you these suppliers are delivering quality talent?
00:12:33
Speaker
At the end of the day, attrition means most to me, mean that that attrition rate needs to be low. And if it's higher, i need to have clear reasoning why it's not.
00:12:44
Speaker
Speed, of course, most stakeholders will tell you that's important, but I'm from the school of thought that I'd rather you take more time to find the right candidate that sticks than just throw a candidate at me and hope it sticks.
00:12:58
Speaker
So at the end of the day, quality equals success. A long-lasting relationship where that candidate is able to go in there, be trained, and last as long as that assignment lasts.
00:13:09
Speaker
That's music to staffing over these years. I'd rather you take the time to find the right person than just throw something at the wall and see what sticks, right? And I have never understood that. You're only making yourself look bad by doing that. Absolutely, and I do not favor it. I don't mind the slow speed if that candidate sticks. Now, if it doesn't stick and you're too slow,
00:13:29
Speaker
No, there is. And I know, especially in light industrial staffing, retention is always a hot button. Blaming suppliers always seems to be the answer a lot of times, but what are the smartest ways you've seen retention or tenure improve without just pointing fingers?
00:13:43
Speaker
You have to look at the marketplace, understand the drivers and the light industrial space. The reality is individuals will move for a quarter more an hour. And you have to understand that. But additionally, in today's marketplace, people actually care about their work environment and how they're treated as well.
00:14:04
Speaker
They're not just staying because they pay people well. They stay because this is a cool place to work or I like my environment. And so for us, one of the things that is very important is understanding the drivers when individuals are cycling out of our program and understand, is there a trend? Is the trend income-based? Is the trend environment-based?
00:14:29
Speaker
Yes, the supplier holds some role in that. Did you tell them the environment? Did you let them know exactly what to expect when they were there? But at the end of the day, humans want more out of a workplace and we should be able to provide that. And we need to be able to glean that information from the suppliers and understand how we're going to make this place the best place to work.
00:14:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's funny you say, I had a client, you know, hundreds of people work there daily and they were not the best paying job, right? People would jump. But as an agency, we had to figure out, well, what can we do differently to keep these people staying here? But the company did a great job of bringing them in. When COVID hit, they catered in lunch every day for five months for the entire plant. They'd always have performance bonuses. So trying to think of ways to combat, right? Maybe they can't pay better than everybody else around there, but what other things are you doing to get people to stick around?
00:15:22
Speaker
Absolutely. It matters so much in today's environment. Culture is important. Well, there is so much to retention, right? It's setting the expectation properly for the worker from the staffing agency.
00:15:34
Speaker
It's how they're treated at the end client that they work at. But it always seems to get blamed on the staffing agencies. So what's the smartest way you've seen retention or tenure improve without just pointing fingers?
00:15:49
Speaker
Ultimately, because I sit in a world where it's heavy on the light industrial and industrial space, we have to make sure that we have true market differentiators that are separating ourselves from our competitors or the other competitors in the marketplace that are offering similar work.
00:16:07
Speaker
So that means doing research on things like pay rates, culture, all those types of things, because we have to set expectations. a foundation that leads to retention and long tenure.
00:16:19
Speaker
And that's ultimately important first. And from there, the rest is up to the suppliers, making sure that they actually set the proper expectations of what the environment is, what the expectations are, of the program i love that and it's your point too i mean you got to be different right because i look at some of these cities you go to columbus and groveport or plainfield indiana and it's just massive third-party logistic company or distribution upon another right and there's 90 of them so they're all fighting for the same talent or similar talent like what are we doing different so we can get the best from our company
00:16:57
Speaker
Absolutely. And where are more buyers say that they're going more internal or maybe hybrid? Why do you think that shift is happening and what's the right way to do it?
00:17:08
Speaker
What I'm seeing, and that's only based on last year and being able to network with my industry peers, is more people from the staffing world are becoming buyers.
00:17:19
Speaker
We've been MSPs. We've been recruiters. And we understand and know the inner workings of running a program. And as a result of that, we don't need outside help.
00:17:32
Speaker
That's what I see most. Outside of that, I think that it's important that when you have an external partner, that they're truly an external partner that is really a part of your organization or integrating themselves into your organization and truly being strategic with you.
00:17:49
Speaker
So that full value at the end of the day is also important. And what's important to realize before you do any of this is do you have the capabilities? Do you have the resources, both human and technological?
00:18:03
Speaker
to be able to go internally because there are some internal programs that aren't efficient. Mia, in past conversations we've had, you mentioned moving into a second generation program.
00:18:16
Speaker
For people listening, what usually changes when a program matures from Gen 1 to Gen 2?
Data-Driven Decisions and Niche Specialization
00:18:22
Speaker
Well, in generation one, you're gathering information, right? You're moving from spreadsheets and manual billing and all the things to, okay, we have a system now.
00:18:32
Speaker
And that system and tool generates data that tells a story. And you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't look at that data, tell that story and understand how to use that story to change. So when I speak about first gen, the second gen, that's what I mean.
00:18:50
Speaker
where we've moved from manual operation to now having full visibility. And now we have to do something with that information. We talked a little bit about niche agencies and maybe that even goes into finding local or niche agencies that are local, but a lot of agencies say they're niche. Buyers hear that all day. This is what we did. We specialize in this. What's the best way for a niche supplier to prove their expertise in a way you actually trust?
00:19:16
Speaker
Well, ultimately for me, because I'm so familiar with the staffing industry, you have to have a differentiator. And i'm coming from a space where I know too much, but I also look at, again, strategy. What are the company's objectives that I'm working for and how does this company... or this supplier align with those objectives. And so if you have a niche, that niche needs to align with the objectives at the end of the day. But the best way to prove it is one, aligning with what we are looking for from our strategic expectations.
00:19:51
Speaker
But then at the end of the day, once we also engage with them, you have to prove yourself by scorecards, all the things, and be able to report out on that niche.
00:20:02
Speaker
There's a lot of things like, for instance, sustainability, all those types of things. Show me what that looks like. Show me what you've done in that area of being a niche supplier. So proof is always in the pudding. So I love numbers. I like to see the story that it tells. And you've probably experienced this where a salesperson comes into you and says, we can do this, we can do that, we can do this. And then they go back to their office and that's just not the case.
00:20:26
Speaker
They offer you all the things of the world, but then they fall flat on their face when it comes down to it. Totally agree. So I wanted just quickly jump into this topic, Mia, because I know there's a lot of people that wonder about it.
00:20:38
Speaker
When we talk about outreach, it actually works because I'm sure you get hit 20 million different ways every day by phone calls and emails and people just dropping in, trying to get in front of you or sending whatever. Is there any type of outreach that actually catches your attention in a good way?
00:20:52
Speaker
and Anything that maybe that just gets ignored instantly? I like the personal touch, I'll be honest, because it's not about the words you say. It's about your delivery, your spirit, the human effect, because you can say all the things, but I need to understand if you're genuine about it. And that's just the reality. Emails don't do much for me at all. I need to just understand if you're really knowledgeable, if you're really just putting words on a piece of paper or in an email, or if you really know what you're doing. yeah and I think that just comes down to how does that agency differentiate? Are they niche? And how do they make that quantifiable to you when they're talking to you?
00:21:31
Speaker
Prove that because at the end of the day, you don't know anything until you give them a job order and see if they can actually fill it. So it's hard to judge that, I guess, up front. It is. Did you back it off to that? What is a way that they can prove they're actually knowledgeable?
00:21:44
Speaker
Casey just said it, right? Proving that you're actually knowledgeable is by delivering. And that's just the reality of it. Once you get that in and you're able to prove yourself from a sales standpoint, the fastest way to have your credibility is to actually be able to deliver and show me what you can do.
00:22:03
Speaker
somebody's coming up to you, they're seeing you at a conference or something, they've got 30 seconds in front of you. What should they lead with that would earn them 10 more minutes? I don't know that that matters.
00:22:13
Speaker
To be honest with you, they should leave with kindness. And curiosity. Exactly. And that's what's important. Most of my conversations start with the human effect, not the sales effect.
Genuine Connections and Innovative Practices
00:22:25
Speaker
Don't come to me as a salesperson. Be a human first.
00:22:29
Speaker
And then we'll start to talk. And naturally, we'll learn more about what each other does for a living and how we can help one another. I believe in genuine connections. I do.
00:22:39
Speaker
I love that. Our last episode was with a consultant within the staffing industry named Mark Winter, and he talked about just being a consultant. Don't be salespeople. People smell your commission breath a mile away. Figure out what their pains are and how do you fix those pains. but Don't go in just checking boxes to ask these questions. Be that thought leader and that consultant for your clients. I can relate to that. I go to my fair share of conferences and I'll tell you, 90% of the relationships I build at those conferences are at the dinners, the happy hours, talking about real life things instead of me standing at a booth and trying to hard pitch someone. It honestly took me a long time as a sales professional to realize that I've matured into that as opposed to just it being something that was natural to me for sure.
00:23:26
Speaker
It's important. And I agree with you though, about those relationships. You learn more just being genuine and honest with one another. So. And Mia, when we talk about like true staffing partners that go out of their way, bringing different things to you, is there anything that stands out to you that they bring to the table different than all the others?
00:23:46
Speaker
Sure. So recently I met with a supplier that offered profit sharing to their contractors. And that to me was important because of the fact that it leads to a sense of ownership, but also better contractor retention as well.
00:24:02
Speaker
And then we had another supplier that we met that ultimately was working with their contractors to help upskill them in different ways that would help them actually grow in their careers after being away from work for longer periods of time, namely single moms that may have been away from work to raise their children. Those are the types of differentiators that really make a difference in our marketplace in general, but also society.
00:24:32
Speaker
And it leads to better contractor and worker retention. And those are the types of things that clients and customers need. I've never heard of actual contingent workforce earning a profit share. I've heard like internal offices or staffing companies, if they do well, they get a profit share, but I think it's such a cool incentive and a carrot to dangle for your contingent workforce that are working on site for that profit share, because it probably gets them to see farther ahead in the future. I need to stick around.
00:24:58
Speaker
And then at the end of the day, does it really cost you that much more than if you had to turn that person and interview another one and recycle? Absolutely. And it was powerful because you could tell they were really empowered and they were passionate about the work that they're providing into the community. So those are the types of things that we as buyers are looking for.
00:25:17
Speaker
How are you supporting your community and how does that align with our strategy? who Love that. On that same note, do you look at how staffing agencies engage with talent? Do you think that if they've got a good talent engagement process that they provide more loyal people to come out and work for you?
00:25:36
Speaker
Absolutely. I am a big proponent for the employee. Always have been, always will be. And I feel like even in my days as a recruiter, I made sure to treat those that I was recruiting and that I could call and count on to go to assignments. well.
00:25:54
Speaker
The reason why i had these individuals that I could call and say, hey, can you go do this for me? It's in two hours. It's because I treated them well. And so, yes, absolutely. I'd love to hear what a supplier does to retain and recruit their employees. And I love to hear how that impacts not only the worker, but the business, because that's critical. You have no business without that employee.
00:26:21
Speaker
And that goes back to everything we've been talking about, about retention and all the things, right? You have to treat people well. And when you talked about just being nice to the employees, that says a lot.
00:26:31
Speaker
On our second episode, we had a guest, Eduardo, who's one of our clients. He runs about six different locations, a little over a thousand people. But he had actually went in. was like, when I'm evaluating my suppliers, he's like, I went in as a blind customer to see how they treated them and see if they had somebody that was bilingual that could talk, see how they treated them when they walked in the door during the interview, after the interview. I thought that was interesting because you don't hear that a lot anymore, but that was so important to him that he's like, I'm just going to go see firsthand how they treat their employees.
00:26:59
Speaker
And I always used to when I was in staffing, tell people, even those micro personalization things that get people loyal to you. When a somebody walks in your staffing office and just hand them a bottle of water, right? What does it cost you? 10 cents? Maybe having something above you on the TV that says, welcome.
00:27:14
Speaker
So doing those little things I always thought had always stood out. That's what makes people loyal because at the end of the day, especially in staffing, if they're coming to your office, they're probably going to three of your competitors too. So absolutely how are you treating them different than everybody else?
00:27:27
Speaker
Absolutely. And that matters, especially in today's workforce. People really care about how they're being treated. They care about the pay, yes. But at the end of the day, how they're being treated is paramount. It's all over social media.
00:27:44
Speaker
They care about those things.
Integrity and Communication
00:27:46
Speaker
I mean, 10 years ago, it was just all the pay, right? like I think over time, it's just like, all right, they want meaning in their job. That's right. Just the pay. Yeah, pay is important. you still got to pay bills. But, you know want some meaning behind what I do.
00:27:58
Speaker
Absolutely. Because a job is a job, but the differentiator is the environment. 100%. That leads me to my next question. What's the fastest way staffing agency can lose credibility with you?
00:28:12
Speaker
For me, it's about our business rules or doing things that aren't above board. I have a huge amount of integrity in everything that I do, whether it's in my life or in my business. And anything that someone says or does that loses credibility with me in the things that I know are right or wrong, I can't do business with them. That's not okay.
00:28:34
Speaker
You know, a lot of agencies say they've got all this technology and they got this data and some of them really do. But when they show up and say they've got data and tools, is there any proof points that actually make you sit up and say, all right, well, these guys are different. I like that.
00:28:46
Speaker
At the end of the day, I think one of the greatest things I've found with some of the true partners that I have dealt with over the past, and that's in any walk of my life throughout my 14 or 15 years in this industry is suppliers that give us resources.
00:29:02
Speaker
I have suppliers that often reach out to us and say, hey, heads up, this is happening in California. This is happening in New Jersey, right? And they give us the power and the resources that we need to go to our legal and say, look into this, figure this out. What is our strategy? What do we need to do as a result?
00:29:20
Speaker
Same thing with the different things that are happening, whether it's the direct sourcing or the EOR. When suppliers are able to truly just come to you and prove that they do have the resources that are needed and that the resources they said they had and that they said they would provide, they actually get them to us. That's monumental for us, right? It's critical and that's what creates that true partnership.
00:29:44
Speaker
That's a good point because, you know, I've heard that too in some of the legal episodes we've had. It's just having that partner that says, hey, well, in California, this law goes into effect next week and this is how you're doing business. You should probably change that.
00:29:55
Speaker
Absolutely. And it's important because, yes, we have our legal teams, but they're doing all sorts of things. So being able to give them that heads up and get in front of it, it's critical for us. And I appreciate our partners that provide that type of information to us.
00:30:09
Speaker
So once a staffing agency gets past the salesperson and you actually engage with them and you're working with them, what do the best ones do in the first 30, 60, 90 days that'll make you say, yep, we're going to give them more orders and we're going to continue working with them?
00:30:25
Speaker
30 to 60 days is a little short because we grade on 90, but at the end of the day, the first 30 to 60 days, you have to fill orders. You have to have people show up and you have to communicate. Communication is key.
00:30:39
Speaker
So the best ones are communicating any challenges they might have and working with us to understand how to do better if they need it or really just showing up with the numbers, to be honest. But if they aren't able to,
00:30:54
Speaker
at least communicate why and let us strategize in how they can be successful. I'm not successful if my supplier isn't. Well, that's a wrap for
Conclusion and Practical Insights
00:31:04
Speaker
today. Huge thank you to our guest, Mia Evans-Cohn, for bringing real practical insights that both buyers and suppliers can use. We certainly got a lot from this conversation. For the buyers, you've got a clear view of what's changing in contingent workforce programs.
00:31:21
Speaker
and what's worth standardizing versus keeping decentralized and quality and retention what they really look like in light industrial. For staffing teams, understanding how buyers are rethinking their strategies with using tips is crucial considering how to expand your model, specialize and leverage different tools and analytics to stand out could really make a big difference for future success.
00:31:45
Speaker
If you got value from this episode, do us a favor, subscribe, leave a quick review, share it with somebody on your team who needs to hear it. And if you want to keep the conversation going, connect with Rob and I on LinkedIn, whether you're managing a contingent workforce program or supplying one. We also encourage you to check out SimpleVMS at SimpleVMS.com to see how we help teams streamline processes and drive better results.
00:32:07
Speaker
Thank you again for listening this episode of Staffing Made Simple. Until next time. This has been an episode of Staffing Made Simple powered by Simple VMS, the vendor friendly VMS.