Six workforce data points every finance business should be measuring

In the financial sector, more firms are leveraging contingent talent such as third-party service providers, independent contractors, and agency/temp resources. To manage these resources optimally and effectively, you need to be measuring a number of key data points, including:

1. Cost per contingent worker
2. Project talent costs
3. Contingent worker performance
4. Milestones and project completions
5. Re-engagements
6. Contact extensions

Yet, without a centralised resource that compiles these metrics into dashboards and reports, it can be incredibly difficult to ascertain any of the above metrics – yet all are critical. In this article, we’re going to talk you through each of these metrics and why they matter. And we will show you what you can do to start measuring them accurately and effectively.

Billed hours and cost per contingent worker

With contingent workers playing an increasingly important role in financial companies, understanding the details of your external workforce outlay is critical. For some organisations, getting this detailed breakdown can be challenging – especially if your main reports are generated using contract management systems or even spreadsheets.

One of the most important factors to consider in your calculations is the adjustment for productivity. In addition, other costs, such as training and length of time on a job, must also be considered.

A vendor management system (VMS) is designed to automatically calculate all these factors and deliver savings that the business can invest elsewhere, such as sourcing contingent team members at a lower cost.

Project talent cost

With human resources making up the largest single element of most companies’ annual operating expenses, minimising the cost of this talent without detrimentally impacting the quality of work is another key consideration.

Industry experts estimate that 68 percent or more of all contingent labor spend is not actively accounted for in corporate budgeting, planning, and forecasting. Using a VMS, HR can help the business reduce its overall talent cost by focusing on the management of contingent workers and measuring their productivity.

Contingent worker (and hiring manager) performance

With the financial aspects of your contingent workforce considered, you also need to have the metrics and reports in place to ensure they are performing. With sophisticated tools in place, you will also be able to review the performance of hiring managers.

Tools like a VMS will be able to help you understand:

• How well your suppliers are performing
• Whether the quality of candidates they provide reflect your business needs
• Time required to fill specific positions

Reporting on output, achievements, and impact on your business are critical for all stakeholders to the worker relationship. A VMS can set and manage the expectations of the performance KPIs of external talent and measure the broad business benefits.

Milestone and project completion

Project milestones provide multiple benefits for businesses such as helping motivate and aligning teams by giving them goals so they can judge priorities. If tasks were stripped from a project, the milestone would still give an outline of the key steps or phases of the project.

Businesses that invest in systems that organise milestones and projects waste 13 times less money because their strategic initiatives are completed more successfully. A VMS looks at your company's schedule and pinpoints any important moments, marks critical tasks, highlights the end of a phase, and focuses on hitting key goals. A VMS that manages this process in a structured format will deliver complete visibility into your workforces’ projects.

Number of re-engagements

The mark of a good strategy is being able to say that you have a strong, qualified pipeline filled with external talent that you can call up on at any time. However, a talent pipeline must be reinforced. Otherwise, it will expire. Businesses must nurture their contacts as soon as they enter the pipeline and continue until they are hired. Re-engaging with highly regarded candidates who are not hired for one position can be crucial in filling subsequent positions. Unfortunately, recruiters tend to dismiss previous applications once a position is filled.

A VMS can segment people based on education, experience, skills, and industries. External talent can grow frustrated if they keep receiving irrelevant emails, so a VMS can make sure this doesn’t happen. A VMS can send information to the candidate only when they are qualified for an opening and it can engage them with relevant content.

Contract extensions

Beeline’s VMS demonstrates technology’s value in bringing greater capability and visibility to an increasingly vital part of HR’s role – the acquisition and management of external talent. VMS is an intelligent, forward-looking answer to the growing need for workforce agility so that financial companies can respond quickly and effectively to market challenges and opportunities.