3 Steps To Make the VMS Process More Efficient and Profitable
In a recent survey of more than 600 staffing leaders on their experience using Vendor Management Systems (VMS), the results were clear: staffing firms are largely dissatisfied with VMS. Many of the biggest factors in the dissatisfaction are related to time. Respondents to the survey, created by Bullhorn in collaboration with Inavero, noted that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all essential tasks and that VMS processes are inefficient and frustrating. Here are three findings from the report to help you get the most out of your time using a VMS.
Automate, automate, automate
There’s no better way to improve your efficiency and profitability than automation. Yet close to 60 percent of firms operate completely manually when it comes to screening, formatting, and submitting candidates, which dramatically slows down response times.
From top to bottom, staffing firms with automated VMS workflows reported greater efficiency, faster speed, and higher numbers of candidate submissions and fill rates. Highlights include up to 55 percent more interviews in a month and 33 percent higher fill rates.
It’s not all about speed, either. Firm satisfaction with VMS directly correlated to the level of steps that were automated. Respondents who automated 5 to 6 steps had nearly double the satisfaction rate as respondents who automated 1 to 2 steps.
Analyze your time management
Many of the issues related to VMS satisfaction were directly correlated with time management. Twenty-one percent of respondents reported a mismanagement of internal resources as one of the biggest barriers to VMS profitability and 46 percent of respondents reported dissatisfaction with the time spent submitting candidates through the VMS.
Most firms aren’t operating as efficiently as they’d like to be, and reconfiguring the way your recruiters use their time can go a long way in improving your efficiency. In our survey, we asked firms to estimate how their recruiters spend time on various VMS-related tasks.
As you can see, recruiters spend less than half their day actively sourcing and screening candidates. Much of the day is spent on non-value add tasks that could be automated.
Do you monitor how your recruiters are spending time? By tracking the time spent on VMS, you can cut out unnecessary tasks and create a more efficient system.
Accurately report on your metrics, NOW
Are you tracking your VMS metrics, like time-to-submit, time-to-fill, and fill-rate? If you’re not, how can you ensure that the data in your ATS is accurate and up-to-date? The sooner you start reporting on your metrics, the sooner you start testing process improvements that will give you the greatest gains.
Having metrics at your fingertips also allows you to proactively take your results to clients to foster collaborative strategies for mutual improvement. Real-time tactical feedback can allow your firm to make improvements to efficiency as you detect them— a must in an increasingly competitive and time-sensitive landscape.
Want to learn more about VMS automation? Check out this infographic on why automating your VMS process is one of the best investments you can make.
