Posted on Fri, Sep 30, 2011 @ 11:30 AM
By Edward Jackson, President
With October right around the corner, the Provade team is looking forward to attending SIA’s Contingent Workforce Strategies Summit in Las Vegas, NV. This year’s Summit focuses on the next generation of contingent work and will provide key performance indicators guaranteed to make a positive impact on contingent workforce management. We will be presenting our recommendations on getting the most out of your VMS during a roundtable discussion being held on Tuesday, October 4.
If you’re headed to the Summit, be sure to stop by our booth, #203. The Provade team – James “Jamie” Parker, Peter Parks, Kate Dyer and myself are all looking forward to meeting with you and discussing your VMS needs.
Did we mention the chance to win $1,000 in casino chips just by visiting our booth and providing us with your business card?
If you can’t join us in person, follow @Provade on Twitter for live posts during the conference.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Posted on Fri, Oct 15, 2010 @ 04:40 PM
By Kate Dyer, Strategic Accounts
It will be my first time attending the summit and I’m looking forward to putting faces with voices and names, meeting many in person for the first time since I joined Provade six months ago. It’s an event sure to be packed with networking and education opportunities with contingent workforce experts – and some fun too!
As the head of Marketing, I’ve been working hard to find ways to make the most of our sponsorship and stand apart. Our approach is more about substance than sizzle, so we’re sharing news and sharing knowledge:
- We have a great product and amazing people, and we’re adding to our talent roster. James “Jamie” Parker just joined as our Senior Vice President of Sales and will be part of the Provade leadership team at CWS Summit in Denver.
- We’re helping buyers evaluate VMS options and create (or validate) their contingent workforce program direction. A Provade team of industry experts – with deep ERP, MSP, staffing and VMS backgrounds worked to package a mini-version of the consulting we often provide to new prospects. The result is Provade’s interactive VMS Evaluation Checklist. Check it out at www.provade.com/checklist.
- Let’s connect. The Provade team - Edward “EJ” Jackson, James “Jamie” Parker, Bob Lucas and I will be in Booth #16. Stop by for some conversation, treats, and chance to win an iPad. If you can’t join us in person, follow @Provade on Twitter for live posts during the conference.
Hope to see you at the Summit!
Posted on Mon, Sep 27, 2010 @ 03:16 PM
VMS is here to stay, what do we do about it?
By Edward Jackson, President
I was flattered to be a guest panelist speaking with Dana Shaw from Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) about VMS at the recent SIA Healthcare Summit in Chicago. Since Provade doesn’t have a wide presence in the Healthcare industry, my comments applied to the market in general.
The Summit attendees were mostly staffing companies that provide talent to the healthcare industry. They had questions on VMS that were wide-ranging. On the whole, though, it was clear that the audience was not familiar with the differences between MSP and VMS.
It brought back memories from the SIA Summit in 2003 when almost everyone thought that VMS and MSP were one in the same. The questions ranged from “why don’t you allow us to talk directly to our end users?” to “how do you determine the mark-ups/bill rates?” We had a good dialog about the role and responsibilities of VMS and MSP providers. I hope that the discussion helped the participants think about how best to engage and succeed in staffing for managed programs.
It was a good reminder that while VMS tools have been around for over 10 years, we still have a long way to go in defining not only our marketplace but our value proposition to our partners, customers, and suppliers. We owe it to ourselves to be better at educating those stakeholders so that they can get more value out of both the program and the software.
P.S. Staffing Industry Analysts has published a great lexicon on all contingent workforce management terms – including VMS and MSP. You can check it out here.