Hiring can be complicated. In fact, the average time to fill an IT role is 41 days. Locating the right talent, especially for niche roles, can be time-consuming. Plus, it can be tough to know which staffing firms will bring in the most qualified candidates. Once you start working with staffing firms, managing various contracts can be a headache.  

Luckily, the right VMS can make things easier. A VMS offers a centralized platform for how to streamline the recruitment process. From vendor management to candidate selection, the right VMS staffing solution can help companies navigate the search firm marketplace and smooth the bumpy recruitment road. Specifically, companies can rest easy knowing their contracts are shipshape and job candidates are vetted. 

Are you ready to simplify your staffing needs using a pre-contracted network? Partnering with the right VMS can help.

Challenges of traditional staffing 

Traditional staffing often involves posting your own job ads or independently contracting with search firms. This method can involve some challenges that create pain points for companies, such as:

• Long procurement processes: Lengthy procurement processes that impact the ability to work with firms of choice.
• Contract management confusion: Managing multiple contracts with different vendors can create compliance risks and administrative overhead in addition to being complex and confusing.
• Limited access to qualified candidates: Hiring managers can have difficulty finding specialized talent for niche roles.
• Lack of visibility and control: Without a centralized system, hiring teams can struggle to accurately track vendor performance and manage staffing spend.

The power of pre-contracted vendors

A VMS staffing platform provides access to a network of pre-contracted recruiters, offering on-demand talent acquisition support. It's a centralized platform for onboarding, managing, and evaluating staffing agencies. 

One of the biggest benefits of a VMS is how it can eliminate contractual bottlenecks. By handling the contracting process up front, a VMS can eliminate delays and administrative burdens. Adding a preferred staffing vendor to the VMS happens within one to two days, significantly speeding up the staffing process. This way, a VMS can offer talent acquisition teams the ability to work with their preferred firms and a network of pre-contracted firms. The curated group of vendors can help hiring teams sift through a greater network of talent to find the most qualified candidates. 

A VMS outsources the procurement process for client companies, using a single contract for all search firms. This eliminates the headache of managing multiple contracts for multiple vendors and helps companies cut to the chase when bringing on new talent.

Fast recruitment with the right VMS

Working with the right VMS is a game-changer for hiring managers looking to find just the right talent in the shortest amount of time. Here are some ways working within a pre-contracted network of staffing vendors can accelerate the hiring process:

• Access to a diverse talent pool: A VMS offers access to a wide range of staffing vendors. When companies post their job openings through a VMS, they have access to hundreds of pre-vetted firms, which means the pool of qualified job candidates is deeper, too. This can expedite the process of finding specialized talent.
• Faster onboarding: Pre-contracted vendors are ready to engage quickly, reducing time-to-fill and revving up the hiring process since there's less overhead with contract management. 
• Quality assurance: When companies use a VMS, they can depend on a vendor qualification process. This guarantees that only reputable and compliant agencies are included in the network.
• Reduced administrative burden: A VMS can free up hiring managers to focus on strategic initiatives. This way, they aren't spending hours seeking out the right talent on job sites or sorting through contract terms for multiple staffing firms. 

A curated marketplace of preferred vendors 

Another benefit of pre-contracted networks is the chance to curate vendor groups. Aquent Scout goes even further to create personalized vendors based on job type/segment for the best talent selection. 

For example, let's say a company needs to source several new IT professionals in the upcoming quarter. Rather than putting the job description out to the entire network of staffing vendors, the company asks the VMS to pick the top 10 firms for sourcing IT candidates. The new Scout Select feature can provide mini marketplaces of vendors curated by industry, skill set, and job location, plus offer the advantage of Scout's competitive pricing. Naturally, all the vendors are prequalified and contracted within Scout's VMS. It's all the benefits of the pre-contracted network but curated into a more focused group.

Find the right talent faster

A VMS smooths out the process of creating and distributing job requisitions to multiple vendors simultaneously. Better yet, it has tools for tracking candidate progress, scheduling interviews, and managing feedback.

Aquent Scout is a smart VMS that offers a pre-contracted network of qualified vendors. Scout offers the benefits of high-tech software but with a human touch, with plenty of support along the way to source qualified roles. With on-demand access to specialty search firms, companies can fill positions quickly based on desired skill set, industry, location, and more. Explore Scout here.