In Europe RPO and MSP services are relatively new and still maturing. Buying MSP and RPO solutions is not a frequent activity for organisations. These programmes have to be customised to the organisation and its other infrastructures like HR processes and ERP software. Once a programme is bought the duration of the contract is often set between 3 and 5 years. Due to many reasons, in more than 80% of the cases the first contract is extended for another 3 to 5 years. Needless to say that choosing the right partner and programme design is of great importance.
As a buyer of MSP and RPO programmes, how can you ensure you have sufficient knowledge and understanding of these products? And how can they help you in (or distract you from…) achieving the organisation’s targets? Of course you can educate yourself by attending events and talking to suppliers. And you can turn to peers in other organisations who have implemented these type of programmes for their experience.
How can you increase the success rate of your MSP or RPO tender?
- If your information to suppliers is detailed and precise, the offer you’ll get will also be. This is not just a matter of providing a clear view on segments and volumes, but also providing clarity on minimum standards of service to adhere to. Of course you can argue that creating these insights is one of the objectives of buying a solution. A valid thought. But when you prepare your RFP well, you are able to provide far better guidance, resulting in a much more solid proposal as your reward!
- Like in most businesses, the offered solutions are not always backed by proof of concept. Especially in less mature services it is not always clear what elements in the proposal are intentions to be explored by the supplier or solid approaches with a proven track record. Of course you can choose for new and innovative solutions. But make sure this is a conscious choice and know that you can manage the programme at your end.
- Ensure that offers have a minimum level of comparability. The claim of offering a tailor made solution should not be used to create confusion and increase the pricing. A tailored solution can and should also meet your measurable criteria and have a clear cost base for your situation.
- Following the previous point: Determine your prefered pricing model so you create a level playing field for all bidders as well as a starting point to compare the bids based on a pricing structure you understand and can oversee. Sometimes (although rarely) suppliers offer interesting new pricing structures. Of course you can invite them to propose using this pricing structure, as long as it’s an additional option next to your preferred core model.
- Attracting the right talent is becoming more and more challenging. For many organisations this will be a bottleneck to be successful. Most RFPs in the MSP space are still focused on the traditional objectives: transparency, cost savings and compliance, whereas ensuring access to talent should be recognised as an equally important benefit. In most RFPs however, there’s very limited attention to this element.
A well prepared RFP will be beneficial to you and your suppliers: It will provide you with clarity on what to expect, both in terms of service and of service quality. And it will provide suppliers with clarity on your requirements and the scope of the solution you are looking for, enabling them to build better solutions, show their added value and, not in the last place, provide them with confidence they will work on a viable RFP with a reasonable chance of success!
TalentIn can help you develop or update your talent management strategy, but we can also support you in preparing and evaluating your RFP design and evaluation for outsourced HR solutions. We are happy to discuss this topic more in depth with you. Please visit us at www.talentin.eu , mail us at info@talentin.eu or call us on +31 10 307 54 22.
About the author:
Marc Viëtor is Managing Partner at TalentIn. With more than 25 years in the industry and as former senior executive in Randstad and Randstad Sourceright he has a thorough experience in HR solutions. His broad experience covers sales, solution design, concept and process development, finance and HR in markets around the globe. Marc has worked with many companies on a variety of services and solutions.
