Join industry experts from AMS and SAP Fieldglass at a roundtable on Tuesday 14th May in our own offices at London Wall as we dive into challenges and opportunities facing the Transport, Engineering and Construction industries in accessing the skills and talent they need for the short and longer term.
Whether you’re just starting out on your journey , or looking to take your established contingent labour program to the next level, we’ll share the latest insights and industry specific innovation designed to help you optimise your supply chain to:
Access critical skills at speed
Diversify talent pipelines
Achieve workforce compliance, visibility and spend control.
Spaces are limited, so register here to secure your seat!
Every business experiences hiring peaks – periods of rapid surge when extra work demands additional talent to deliver results. However, finding this talent quickly is becoming increasingly challenging each day.
Sourcing an additional 200 or 1,000 employees for a specific project or period can be a real challenge and takes up precious internal resources. Moreover, in a constantly evolving market, talent demands can change quickly. The ability to scale up at speed is vital, as success in business hinges on agility.
Organisations in the APAC region are beginning to reassess the traditional ways of talent sourcing and are looking to outsourcing to fill the gaps. However, outsourcing can seem like a big leap, often requiring significant commitment and investment. Many business leaders also express concerns about relinquishing control of their talent function when outsourcing.
Fortunately, that need not be the case. There is a simple, less daunting step businesses can take before committing to outsourcing: Resource Augmentation (RA).
Isn’t RA the same as RPO?
There is a common misconception that RA is the same as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). While both provide outsourcing support from an external partner and involve resources who become fully immersed in your organization’s talent team and culture, they differ in terms of both resource management and scope.
With RPO, you have the flexibility to outsource either specific elements of your TA function that require support or the entire end-to-end recruitment process to an outsourcing partner. The extent of outsourcing depends on your specific business needs. However, regardless of the scope, an RPO partner takes on the management and accountability of the resources they provide.
With RA, you gain the specific resources needed, whether they are sourcers, recruiters, or other roles. The management of these resources remains with your own team, allowing you to retain control of the project and its direction while benefitting from the additional support. RA is typically deployed for short-term projects, focusing on specific skills and roles that are needed promptly.
Fundamentally, RA offers outsourcing with less commitment and reduced costs, while ensuring organizations can retain full control of their recruitment process.
Why should I consider RA?
Opting for a RA solution offers many benefits, which are driving more and more organizations to take their first step into outsourcing:
Expertise – Gain access to a group of talent professionals with deep knowledge of the market.
Scalability – Adapt quickly to fluctuating demands in the ever-changing market conditions while avoiding high talent attrition rates, which can negatively impact employer brand.
Control – Seamlessly integrate external talent with your existing TA function, while retaining control over the whole process.
Convenience – Require less commitment than a more holistic, multi-faceted RPO service, and is ideal for short-term needs.
Gain access to the best recruiting talent
The benefits of RA extend beyond businesses.
In today’s job market, many candidates are not merely looking for roles, they are searching for security. This can pose challenges in attracting top recruiting talent when offering short-term contracts.
That is where RA can make a difference. Most RA partner organizations provide future job opportunities for candidates when their initial contract comes to an end. This added job security enables them to attract the best people for your needs.
Resource Augmentation that goes further
While choosing RA to address your talent needs is a significant step, selecting the right partner to deliver it will truly set you on the right path.
AMS’ unmatched expertise enables us to provide resources that are tailored to your business needs. Partnering with AMS means having access to our deep knowledge bank built on decades of experience in the APAC talent market. We have worked with a wide range of organizations and industries, ensuring that we can meet your unique needs effectively.
Furthermore, our talent pool is constantly evolving.
AMS sets itself apart as a RA service provider by equipping its teams with exclusive access to our proprietary expert learning models. This innovative approach ensures that our teams are continually upskilled, enabling them to stay at the forefront of industry trends and advancements. Unlike traditional staffing organizations, AMS prioritizes ongoing learning and development, empowering our partners with the specialized skills necessary to effectively address and overcome the complex challenges of today’s dynamic business environment.
Our RA solution offers a simple, cost-effective, and convenient way to meet your short-term recruitment needs.
Take your first steps toward outsourcing today. Speak to AMS.
Supplier diversity programmes are proactive procurement strategies that encourage organisations to purchase goods or services from traditionally underrepresented communities and include minority-owned businesses in their supply chain.
Minority-owned (or ‘diverse-owned’) businesses are at least 51% owned and operated by an underrepresented group and can include ethnically diverse, women, disabled, neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ owned suppliers.
In 2023, we launched our own diversity supplier strategy to promote to promote inclusive practices across our supply chain, and creating more opportunity for minority-owned businesses, maximising spend with these where possible.
AMS focuses our efforts on creating diverse and SME supplier eco-systems specific to a client’s needs. Our current supply partners include a range of certified minority or women-owned businesses who deliver certain aspects of a client’s solution such as sourcing or tech enablement. We also have proactive programmes in place to drive DEIB and Social Value through our partners and suppliers, such as our DEI Alliance.
In this article we explore our learnings and some best practices we have learnt along the way to optimise societal, environmental and economic impacts.
The business case
The UK’s Social Value Act encourages public sector bodies to consider Social Value alongside cost and quality in any tender process, one of its five key themes includes Tackling Economic Inequality with increasing supply chain resilience as a policy outcome.
Outside this, and current US regulation on minority-owned suppliers, there is little legislation which stipulates that organisations must implement a supplier diversity strategy. So what’s the value in making it a strategic business priority?
Growth and Market Expansion – Improved diversity in the supply chain allows an organisation to easily tap into new markets and customer bases with diverse demographics, driving growth, expanding reach and encouraging new entrepreneurs. It also aligns with the growing consumer and employee demand for ethical business practices, and can enhance brand loyalty.
Economic Contributions and Community Impact – Through diversity supplier programmes, organisations can significantly boost local economies, create jobs, and enhance purchasing power in underrepresented communities. According to the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), certified minority-owned businesses generate more than $400 billion in annual revenue and economic output that leads to the creation and preservation of 2.2 million jobs. In the UK, ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) contribute more than £25 billion annually to the economy, which could rise to £100 billion with the right support according to the Natwest Business Growth Report. This economic empowerment translates into a stronger, more resilient market for everyone.
Innovation and Competitive Advantage – Engaging diverse suppliers fosters innovation and enhances competition, bringing in different perspectives and leading to better products and services. Additionally, a diverse supplier base can reduce dependency on a limited number of suppliers, increasing business resilience and agility, and decreasing supply costs via supplier competition.
Promoting Equity and Fairness of Opportunity – In redirecting supplier spend to minority-owned businesses, supplier diversity programmes are a powerful tool to combat systemic racism and promote social justice. Adopting a fair and inclusive procurement process and including often overlooked suppliers who may have exceptional capability ensures that all businesses – regardless of size, location, background – have the same opportunities to compete for the supply of goods and services.
Suppler diversity isn’t about positive discrimination – but providing greater opportunities through our procurement processes, underpinned by the need to acquire goods and services that meet an organisation’s service, quality, cost, innovation, risk, sustainability and compliance standards.
From a supplier perspective, a report by Aston University found that improving practices in procurement could help tackle the multiple barriers faced by ethnically diverse owned businesses, particularly in accessing finance, markets and quality business support, increasing their Gross Valued Added (GVA) contribution from the current £25 billion a year to an estimated £100 billion. Top barriers for small business growth include access to skilled employees (15%), cash flow challenges (15%) and lack of confidence (14%).
Five steps to creating an impactful strategy
As AMS continue to develop our own strategy in this space, below are some steps we have learnt to create, embed and measure a successful diversity supplier strategy.
1 – Clearly define your objectives
According to Business In The Community (BITC), 52% of employees working in procurement in large businesses have objectives to increase diversity and inclusion in the supply chain, and 32% do not. We firstly established a Supplier Working Group formed with representatives from Supplier Management & Procurement, Compliance and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Centre of Excellence to drive activity, securing senior level buy-in. We established clear objectives and policy statements regarding our supplier diversity approach, agreed a governance framework and roles and responsibilities as a team to embed our strategy and continuously evolve.
2 – Track diverse suppliers and spend
Only 30% of large businesses track spend with diverse suppliers. Another key step early on is getting visibility of current supplier data. Technology makes this easier – Cloud-based spend analysis solutions offer ways to identify and categorise diverse suppliers. AMS tracks Supplier Diversity spend across the UK and the US, leveraging our partnership with Supplier.io. It’s then important to monitor and track spend in each diverse supplier category on an ongoing basis, with a clear reporting mechanism; many of our clients have contractual requirements on diverse supplier spend reporting.
Taking this a step further, our Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) business have invested in Thrive Social Value software, which coverts Social Value activity into indicative financial proxy values. PSR are proud to have built a diverse and resilient supply chain of approximately 350 suppliers, and over FY23-24 generated £57.1 million worth of Social Value through their diversity supplier strategy.
3 – Expand your network
You won’t reach new suppliers by communicating with the same or existing networks. Not only can intermediaries help you tackle the barriers mentioned above, but they can give you access to suppliers who might otherwise not come into contact with your organisation. We keep abreast of diverse suppliers leveraging our internal and external networks – engaging our colleagues, clients and professional contacts to build a comprehensive knowledge of supplier landscapes.
4 – Strategise with diverse suppliers
52% of large business procurement employees don’t actively make diverse suppliers aware of opportunities. It’s important to proactively involve your diverse suppliers in the procurement process, creating collaborative forums to strategise and co-create products and solutions. An innovative example of this is our AMS DEI Alliance (see case study below). Some organisations also offer mentoring programmes to help minority-owned business owners navigate the supplier qualification or procurement process.
This year, PSR launched the Social Value Supplier Connect, designed to maximise social impact by fostering collaboration between PSR and our suppliers. Led by the PSR Social Value and Supplier Management teams, the Connect forum brings together our key suppliers three times a year to discuss best practice, share success stories and identify partnership opportunities. The group comprises a mix of both large and small organisations, ensuring diverse experiences and perspectives that can be shared. Suppliers in the forum also benefit from a ‘resource catalogue’ developed by PSR providing additional materials such as Accessibility Training delivered by the AMS DEIB COE and our Disability Employee Resource Group (ERG).
5 – Share guidance for your colleagues
The next step on our journey is to provide practical and relevant guidance for our business on responsible, fair and inclusive procurement processes. This includes Bias & Conscious Inclusion training for colleagues with a focus on supplier outreach and selection to help maximise opportunities for diverse businesses, as well as an education programme on proactive supplier engagement and collaboration.
Case Study: AMS DEI Alliance
In 2022 AMS formed a Diversity & Inclusion Alliance, a market-leading collaboration hub of DEIB focused partners to improve diverse representation across our clients’ total workforces and bring market leading DEIB expertise and insight to inform talent strategies.
Many of our partners are voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) or minority-owned businesses, and include 55/ Redefined (female founded), Evenbreak (disabled owned and operated) BYP Network (Black owned and operated), Recruit for Spouses (female founded), myGwork (LGBTQ+ owned) and auticon (largest majority autistic company in the world).
We firstly developed a robust strategy for identifying diverse suppliers – continuously engaging our colleagues, clients and external contacts to build a deep knowledge of the DEIB supplier landscape – both suppliers currently partnered with AMS, or who we were not currently signed. The DEIB COE and Procurement teams developed an RFI process to onboard new Alliance partners against consistent criteria.
We’re proud to have developed a collaborative forum to share client opportunities, co-develop inclusive strategies, share learnings and best practices. We advocate for our Alliance partners with our clients; to introduce our partners to our clients across the UK, we held an ‘Alliance roadshow’ in autumn 2024, taking our Alliance on an in-person tour across the UK holding networking events across key locations of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh with a total of nearly 150 attendees.
As a result, we have generated significant interest from public and private sector clients, facilitating introductions to customers such as the HM Land Registry who are working with myGwork to access LGBTQ+ talent.
Conclusion
Incorporating a diversity supplier programme into your business strategy is a win-win. It’s a meaningful strategy for sustainable procurement, driving innovation, enhancing competitiveness, and creating significant Social Value, while also increasing business resilience and agility.
By actively engaging with diverse suppliers, your organisation can build a resilient and agile supply chain, demonstrate commitment to Social Value to your stakeholders, and unlock new market opportunities.
If you’d like to learn more about maximising your work with diverse and minority-owned suppliers, do reach out.
According to the UK Government’s 2023 State of the Nation report, adults with lower working-class parents are about 3 times as likely – 30% against 11% – to be in a working-class occupation compared to adults with higher professional parents. In education, people whose parents had degrees are far more likely – 64% against 18% – to get a degree than those whose parents had no qualifications.
Social mobility, officially recognized as an area of diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) thanks to the UK Government’s Social Mobility Commission, is linked to equality of opportunity: the extent to which people have the same chances to do well in life regardless of the socio-economic background of their parents, their gender, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, birthplace, or other circumstances beyond their control.
According to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK social mobility is at its worst in over 50 years. Now is the time for businesses to fulfill their social and ethical obligations by promoting social mobility in the workplace.
According to the Sutton Trust, enhancing social mobility within UK businesses to align with the average level seen in Western Europe could potentially lead to a 9% boost in GDP. This increase is equivalent to £2,620 per person, or a total of £170 billion added to the UK economy annually.
What is Social Mobility?
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, or other social units between positions of varying advantage in the system of social stratification of a society. (International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001).
Many sociologists have traditionally concentrated on examining mobility between occupational classes, specifically the types of jobs individuals hold. In contrast, economists have more recently shifted their focus toward analysing income mobility.
Social mobility and equality of opportunity can be measured in terms of occupation, income, or ‘social class’, but can also encompass other measurements of social well-being such as health and education.
When an individual experiences a shift in their position, particularly in their occupation, without a change in social class, it is referred to as “horizontal mobility.” On the other hand, if the transition results in a change in social class, it is known as “vertical mobility,” which can manifest as either “upward mobility” or “downward mobility.”
The key markers of social mobility are health, education, housing, income, race, and gender.
In the workplace, social mobility pertains to an individual’s capacity to ascend or descend within the hierarchy or structure of a company or organization. It encompasses the progression a person’s career and enhancement of their job role, salary, and overall professional standing within their current workplace.
“This class pay gap is not just an indictment of professional employers. It is morally unjust and economically illiterate.” Alan Milburn, Social Mobility Foundation chair
Why is social mobility important?
People from disadvantaged backgrounds have fewer opportunities to climb the socio-economic ladder. The current economic situation in the UK is likely to exacerbate the UK’s social divides, limiting the career prospects of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Social mobility plays a crucial role in the health of the economy.
In 2021, services industries in the UK contributed £1.7bn in gross value to the economy, 80% of the total figure. A recent report by the Law Society highlighted the importance of social mobility in the professional services sector, stating that a lack of it poses a significant threat to Britain’s competitiveness and productivity.
According to the World Economic Forum, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterized by rapid globalization and technological advancements, has resulted in a rise in inequality. For instance, the Forum highlights that the top 1% of earners in the United States saw their income increase by 158% between 1979 and 2018, while the bottom 90% experienced only a 24% increase. This disparity underscores the widening gap between the wealthiest individuals and the majority of the population, highlighting the urgent need for policies that address income inequality and promote economic inclusivity.
“As the hiring demands for tech skills in the UK continues to rise, organisations are finding it challenging to access the talent they need to innovate and progress. The UK government recognises the importance of the tech sector and tech skills for improving the UK economy, but also acknowledges there is a significant shortage of available candidates in the market.” Mel Barnett, managing director, Public Sector Resourcing
PwC’s Future of Government research asked 4,000 people across the UK about their concerns around social mobility and the actions that they think government and businesses should take in response. The polling revealed that business has a vital role to play in improving the social mobility of younger generations, with calls from the public for better access to opportunities, work experience, and career pathways, and greater investment in apprenticeships and skills.
Implementing a social mobility strategy is not only an ethical decision, but it also plays a crucial role in shaping a more skilled and prepared workforce for the future. It not only expands the talent pool for an organization, but also enhances its appeal to potential recruits, especially the influential Generation Z, who will soon comprise the majority of the workforce. It not only fosters growth and improves local economies where an organisation operates, but it also contributes to the development of more equitable and cohesive communities.
Promoting socio-economic inclusivity is also a strategic business decision. Diverse workforces have been proven to be more innovative, productive, and better equipped to navigate the challenges of the future. By embracing inclusivity, organizations can unlock new perspectives, ideas, and talents that drive success and growth.
PwC’s global 2022 Hopes and Fears survey revealed that employees expect their employer to have strong ESG credentials; three-quarters say that they want to work for an organisation that makes a positive contribution to society, and 54% say that transparency around diversity in their employer is extremely or very important to them.
Prospective employees and clients are increasingly seeking out companies that prioritize purpose, not just profit. By championing the social mobility agenda, businesses can effectively balance their commercial interests with making a positive impact and preparing their workforce for the future.
Where compares with the UK?
The social mobility geographical patterns in the UK are striking. People of a working-class background who grew up in Outer London (West and North) had a 46% chance of becoming professionals, while those growing up in Northern Ireland had only a 28% chance.
The first round of the government’s Levelling Up funding saw £1.7bn distributed among 105 UK towns and cities, with further plans to invest in skills training, in some of the UK’s most deprived areas.
Research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggested that on a wide variety of measures, regional disparities in the UK are greater than in most comparable countries.
In a study conducted by Wilkinson and Pickett, the results of which were initially published in 2009, an in-depth analysis of social mobility in developed countries was carried out. Among the eight countries examined – Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, the UK, and the US – it was found that the US exhibited the highest level of economic inequality and the lowest level of economic mobility. Further research has consistently shown that the US has notably low mobility for individuals at the bottom of the socioeconomic hierarchy, with mobility gradually improving as one ascends the ladder.
Research comparing social mobility across developed nations has shown that Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Canada have the lowest intergenerational income elasticity, indicating higher levels of social mobility. In these countries, less than 20% of the advantages of having a high-income parent are passed on to their children.
In countries like India, it is common for educated women not to use their education to move up the social ladder due to cultural and traditional customs.
Chile and Brazil, two countries characterized by high levels of inequality, also exhibit some of the lowest levels of social mobility.
Who are the key players?
The Social Mobility Commission (SMC)exists to create a United Kingdom where the circumstances of birth do not determine outcomes in life. The SMC’s State of the Nationreport, is an annual report on social mobility in the UK, which sets out their views on the progress made towards improving social mobility in United Kingdom.
The Social Mobility Index is a framework for measuring social mobility in the UK. It enables a systematic look at social mobility outcomes, as well as the drivers behind social mobility. It sets out a long-term vision for measuring and monitoring social mobility outcomes over the next 30 years across the UK.
The Social Mobility Foundation is a UK-based non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the social mobility agenda, by directly supporting young people through their Aspiring Professionals Programme and influencing employers to support people with potential in their professional progression. The foundation’s Employer Indexis the leading national study analysing the efforts of employers to improve social mobility within the workplace.
The Sutton Trustchampions social mobility through programmes, research, and policy influence through key priority areas; early years, schools, higher education, access to the workplace, and apprenticeships. According to the Sutton Trust, enhancing social mobility within UK businesses to align with the average level seen in Western Europe could potentially lead to a 9% boost in GDP. This increase is equivalent to £2,620 per person, or a total of £170 billion added to the UK economy on an annual basis.
The Global Social Mobility Index was created by the World Economic Forum in 2020 in response to the impact of globalization and technological advancements on social mobility worldwide. 82 countries were measured on five key metrics: education, access to technology, healthcare, social protection, and employment opportunities. The top 10 countries with the highest social mobility index scores are located in Europe, with the majority of those being Nordic Countries. Nordic countries lead the index for several reasons, including excellent job opportunities, social safety nets and high-quality education programmes.
The highest possible score a country could receive was 100.
(Source: World Population Review)
“When it comes to social mobility and sustainability, if we can support our customers’ goals in these areas, it’s a win/win. In the public sector, social value is a crucial factor, so being able to demonstrate our work in this area is incredibly important and we have a real responsibility to do the right thing.” Anna Crowe, client operations director, AMS
How can we promote social mobility?
How businesses address social mobility will play a pivotal role in fostering a thriving and prosperous UK. Developing an effective social mobility strategy is not a straightforward task. It necessitates a shift in mindset, wherein the entire organization re-evaluates its approach to talent acquisition and recruitment. Both public and private sector organisations have a role to play in advancing the social mobility agenda.
Our recommendations for organisations looking to advance social mobility:
Start with the data. Historically, organizations have neglected to collect socio-economic data on their workforce, resulting in significant gaps in knowledge regarding key challenges, effective solution targeting, and potential areas of impact. This oversight has also contributed to a lack of insight into the extent of socio-economic diversity within the workforce and the identification of potential barriers. For instance, it remains unclear whether these barriers manifest at various stages of the employee lifecycle (from recruitment to advancement), within specific business locations or functions, or in conjunction with other demographic factors like ethnicity and gender. Addressing these gaps in data collection and analysis is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and equitable workplace environment.
Increase upskilling and reskilling. Access to upskilling and reskilling opportunities is not evenly distributed. Leaders must establish inclusive opportunities by providing training and work experience to their employees as well as the broader community. This can be achieved through partnerships with educational institutions and charitable organizations.
Broaden your talent pool. Many businesses continue to view universities as their main source of talent, whether consciously or unconsciously, limiting their talent pool. PwC’s research indicates that 83% of the general public views access to local employment opportunities as a significant obstacle to achieving social mobility. Businesses have the opportunity to leverage virtual work arrangements to offer valuable work experience opportunities and expand their talent pool through targeted recruitment campaigns.
Review end-to-end recruitment process. Organizations should thoroughly review and analyze each step in the hiring process. This includes assessing job posting language to ensure it is inclusive and free from biases, expanding outreach efforts to reach a more diverse pool of candidates, implementing blind resume screening practices to remove any unconscious biases, providing equal opportunities for all applicants regardless of their background or education level, and setting clear diversity goals for hiring managers to follow. By taking a comprehensive approach to enhancing social mobility in recruitment, organizations can create a more equitable and diverse workforce that reflects the values of inclusivity and equal opportunity.
Reassess procurement. This entails considering how vendor selection criteria can be adjusted to provide opportunities for historically marginalized groups, such as minority-owned businesses or those led by women or individuals with disabilities. By deliberately seeking out suppliers who prioritize social responsibility and promote workforce diversity, companies can not only make a positive impact on society but also benefit from a wider range of perspectives and expertise. Additionally, implementing measures such as supplier diversity programs or mentorship initiatives can help level the playing field and create pathways for underrepresented businesses to thrive in the marketplace. Through conscious efforts to reevaluate procurement practices, organizations can contribute to creating a more equitable and inclusive business environment while driving innovation and success.
Develop a strategy in line with your business and ESG objectives. Integrating social mobility efforts into ESG objectives demonstrates a commitment to addressing systemic inequalities and promoting sustainable practices. As businesses continue to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in their operations, developing a tailored social mobility strategy is crucial in driving positive social impact while also achieving long-term business success. This may involve implementing initiatives such as mentorship programs, skills training opportunities, or flexible work arrangements to support employees from all backgrounds in advancing within the company.
“Social mobility is a key strategic enabler for AMS. Our business is all about talent and having a fair and level playing field which is open to all, including those of us who may be from lower socio-economic backgrounds.” Matthew Rodger, Chief Growth & Commercial Officer and ExCo sponsor for Social Mobility, AMS
Top tips to enhance social mobility through recruitment:
Collaborate with schools and community organizations to provide internship opportunities and develop talent pipelines that can help bridge the gap for underprivileged individuals seeking employment opportunities.
When evaluating entry-level candidates, contextualise their academic achievements to create a more level playing field for all applicants.
Eliminate bias in the hiring process by implementing blind recruitment practices and ensuring that all candidates are evaluated solely based on their qualifications and merit.
Offer mentorship programs and professional development opportunities to help individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds navigate the corporate world more successfully and advance in their careers.
Transition away from competency-based models that solely focus on candidates demonstrating specific skills, which can be influenced by their access to extracurricular activities or job opportunities. Instead, consider adopting strength-based models that incorporate interviews and scenario testing to assess an individual’s abilities and potential more effectively. This shift will allow for a more comprehensive evaluation of candidates, leading to better hiring decisions and improved organizational outcomes.
Provide additional job opportunities in areas outside of major cities to reduce the burden on candidates who may be reluctant to relocate. Leveraging remote or hybrid working is key.
Creating employee resource groups around social mobility. Establishing employee resource groups focused on social mobility is essential for promoting socioeconomic inclusion and ensuring a diverse representation of the communities we serve. These groups aim to support the professional advancement of employees from various socioeconomic backgrounds.
Relax the requirements for bachelor’s degrees where possible. This could potentially open up more opportunities for individuals seeking to advance their education and career prospects. By re-evaluating the criteria for earning a bachelor’s degree, we can create a more inclusive and accessible educational system that benefits a wider range of individuals.
The Social Mobility agenda at AMS
We are honoured to be recognised as a top 75 employer in the Social Mobility Foundation’s Employer Index.
In September 2023, we officially launched its partnership with Movement to Work(MtW), a not-for-profit coalition of UK employers, youth-outreach organisations, training providers, and government – all aiming to level the playing field for young people, aged 16-30, who are not in employment, education, or training.
MtW works with employers, free of charge, to design and create vocational workplace opportunities and work experience placements either in-house or through its recommended training providers. MtW counts some of the biggest UK employers among its members including Accenture, BAE Systems, Tesco, BT, Barclays, M&S, Marriott, The Department of Work and Pensions and the British Army.
Measures taken by AMS in recent years include increasing partnerships and collaboration with key social enterprises, charities, and small businesses as well as a renewed focus on data collection allowing AMS to understand the socio-economic makeup of their colleagues based in the UK&I region.
AMSTalent Lab, provides expert training to help organisations turn people with the right potential and aptitude into people with the right skills. Whether it is upskilling or reskilling existing tech talent or developing a recruiter team from scratch. Every element of Talent Lab is designed to enhance social mobility, tapping into the potential that exists in all corners of our society, from attraction to assessment, training, and ongoing support. AMS Talent Lab enables organisations to gain a competitive edge and benefit from a diverse viewpoint.
AMS’s Public Sector Resourcing (PSR) service provides more than 19,000 skilled workers across the UK government at any one time, meeting contingent resourcing demands on large projects including Brexit and the pandemic. PSR formed its Social Value Model and strategy to align with the challenges facing the public sector and works collaboratively with clients.
The Social Value Model was built to address five key themes that include Equal Opportunity, Tackling Economic Inequality and Fighting Climate Change each with subsequent policy outcomes. On the PSR framework we have projects and programmes aligned to each of these areas to drive positive change, as well as repurposing initiatives already in place at AMS to make them applicable to our public sector customers.
We introduced a new service line in PSR, called ‘Recruit, Train, Deploy’, to bring in trainees from under-represented or those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, upskill them and then place them in a client organisation, providing both commercial and social value. Our partnerships with inclusive recruiters likeRecruit for Spouses, Auticon, and Bridge of Hope help to provide opportunities to individuals who might not think public sector roles are for them.
“Since its inception in 1996, social mobility has been part of AMS’s DNA. We believe that we can further help ourselves and our clients who wish to diversify their talent pipeline by creating opportunities for candidates from underrepresented talent groups and if needed training them with in-demand skills.” Matthew Rodger, Chief Growth & Commercial Officer and ExCo sponsor for Social Mobility , AMS
AMS is committed to driving the dial forward on social mobility and championing change to level the playing field for the world of work.
Interested in learning more about how your organisation can advance social mobility?
Contact Fionuala Goritsas, Head of Analyst Relations & Global Co-Chair for Social Mobility, or Marisa Baker, Client Services Manager and Social Mobility ERG Co-Lead.
It is generally acknowledged amongst contingent workforce professionals, that Time and Materials (T&M), resources procured under a Statement of Work, is considered sub optimum buying. Perhaps even worse, “rogue” buying. But few organisations have the appetite, knowledge, or experience to understand how to address and change buying behaviour within their business operations. The consequence of this is that organisations with a critical mass of “non-permanent workers”, are overspending to the tune of millions, for what are essentially commodity-based skills.
It’s not only T&M SoWs where costs can be highly inflated. Having many multiple T&M resources on one SoW means there are no defined outcomes or deliverables or consequences of non-delivery which should be a key feature of any Statement of Work service. Moving these multiple T&M arrangements to fixed price should be a key consideration.
On 16th November, AMS hosted a roundtable session bringing together procurement leaders who are on the journey to change the dial on their organisation’s improper usage of T&M resource under Statement of Work. The discussion and insights provided enabled them to work through several challenges and the options available to enable them to drive the change through their business. Amongst other things we discussed how to:
simplify contingent worker classifications
identify optimum fulfilment channels
utilise fixed price SoWs
put in place processes to support the change including decision trees, resource desks, process automation as well as, comms and education programs within their business.
In our support of these clients, here at AMS, we have a tried and tested methodology that can be applied across any organisation. With our extensive contingent workforce experience, we can confidently support any organisation with a business case to change and incorporate services procurement into their overall non-employee talent strategy.
With the global economy experiencing massive changes, more and more businesses are looking at new ways of working. One of the key things is in the way they recruit. Instead of the traditional job title approach, organisations are now adopting a skill-based approach.
The way we work is changing
According to a Deloitte survey, 83% of CEOs believe that the current way of work is defined outside of traditional team structures. While prior attempts to define job description may have centered around identifying the skills of a particular individual and fitting them in a box, there is increasing ambiguity as it becomes more challenging to identify the exact skills required for a certain job role.
This is increasing the importance of a skills-based approach, as the half-life of skills continues to shrink. In 2017, before COVID, the half-life of skills used to be 10 years. From a digital skills perspective, this is now much lower, especially with the emergence of more specialised skills. The longevity of technical digital skills now is as low as 2.5 years, which means there is a constant evolution of skills.
What is a skill-based business?
In simple terms, instead of work being organised by jobs with clearly defined accountabilities, skill-based businesses deliver work by portfolio, enabling greater agility. But it is a massive step, and no business is truly delivering skill-based across all its business. Some of the practices businesses are experimenting with are creating an internal skill-based marketplace, doing skills-based hiring and talent pooling, and producing skills-based workforce planning.
Some businesses are even looking at applying a skill-based approach to the way they pay their employees. Here, pay is assessed by a combination of the work performed, how well it was delivered, the outcomes achieved, and skills needed.
Adjusting to evolving skills taxonomy requires mindset change
As organisations continue to bridge the gap between the skills required to do a job and the skills employees have, talent acquisition teams have an important role to play in attracting and retaining the best talent.
A good example would be relationship managers in retail banking, whose traditional work remit was to attend to and convert walk-in customers. With prevalence of Internet Banking today, these relationship managers now need to be able to work with data and analytics, as well as be digitally savvy and customer focused.
Unilever is a case in point. They have started to work with a collection of skills, as opposed to simply focusing on job titles. In certain businesses at Unilever, employees spends half of their time in their work department and the other half working in cross-cultural teams, or tribes. This kind of approach is heralding the trend of organisational cross-skilling.
Organisations need to look at how work is being done and they need to think about how the work is being delivered. Is it in a siloed way, in a department-by-department way, or in a task versus project way? Businesses also need to understand how decisions are made. Organisations that are moving towards more agile functioning are giving more and more empowerment to project teams.
Delivering a skill-based approach successfully
So how is this done? How do talent acquisition leaders adopt a skill-based hiring approach that will work for their business? Here are some ways this can be done:
Reconstruct job descriptions – Change job descriptions and jobs adverts to highlight skills and capabilities over experience and education
Maximise technology – Use AI-driven technologies for skills-matching, candidate identification and shortlisting
Adjust assessments – Amplify skills in assessments and interviewing methods
Rethink talent pools – Create skills-based talent pools instead of job based
Look for adjacent skills – Source and screen based on skills, and train talent acquisition teams to look for adjacent skills.
Choose a partner that can deliver
Embarking on a skills-based hiring journey can be a considerable step change for any business. So, choosing the right partner, one that can design a skill-based hiring roadmap, understanding what is already in place, and how skills-based approaches are already embedded in other HR practices – is key.
At AMS we are continuing to empower organisations to look at talent holistically. We help them think through their TA operating model and how they can partner with the business and across HR to implement a skills-based approach. Or we can manage the entire talent acquisition process, providing overarching visibility across departments.
We also build specialist teams that take on workplace planning and help businesses fill skill gaps by either redesigning jobs or reskilling.
While technology is a big enabler, no technology is going to work well in the absence of human touch. To ensure talent acquisition teams can successfully transition towards a skills-based approach, we have experts who can support their journey by helping them choose the right technology and implementing it effectively.
This article first appeared on the website of HRM Asia.
2023 promises to be an unprecedented year driven by the progression of the global economic downturn, rising inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and continuing talent scarcity amplified by far reaching demographic shifts driven by “The Great Resignation” and the new norm of “remote working”
Driven by such unparalleled economic and socioeconomic factors procurement functions must ensure they have not only visibility of the commercial drivers, but the ability to impact and manage.
Less than half of research participants (48%) say they are highly informed about the basics of services providers such as contract terms.
25% of respondents are confident they have visibility of the quality of the work delivered by the supplier.
Only one-fourth (27%) are highly informed about progress against milestones or deliverables.
SAP Fieldglass and Oxford Economics research survey
Procurement’s ability/appetite to capture the greatest possible value depends on several elements including the size and complexity of the market, their relative influence, existence of appropriate in-house expertise and capacity, and internal category prioritisation.
Often, we see these challenges more pronounced in Services Procurement due to their complexity to manage compared to Goods Procurement. Unsurprisingly, this is a significant area of concern to leaders given Services Procurement represents 58% of an organisation’s aggregated procurement spend (sectors such as Financial Services will experience an even higher weighting).
With an increasing reliance on Service Procurement engagements, fragmented management processes can be a stumbling block for organisations to reach their true potential. Research shows that companies with a highly aligned Services Procurement strategy grow revenue 58% faster and are 72% more profitable than those with a fragmented approach.
A recent Deloitte Global CPO Survey highlights that leveraging a partner maybe a prudent step to address challenges procurement functions are experiencing.
“High performing procurement functions avoid body shopping or wholesale BPO outsourcing and focus on MSP hybrid models for select activities to augment internal capability e.g., category management, execution support, tail supply management.”
Deloitte Global CPO Survey
One option often explored (and increasing in adoption) is the incorporation of Services Procurement into Contingent Labour programmes to develop a complete Extended Workforce view. However, what is not as well-developed is the depth of management applied across constituent elements of the Services Procurement process. Investment in these elements contributes significantly to the ability to achieve an effective procurement strategy and to aid boarder organisational objectives alongside maximising procurement’s value.
Historically the case for inclusion in a contingent workforce solution is commonly focused on gaining a level of governance (driven by understandable risk mitigation concerns) and realising a level of process efficiency, often at the expense of fully exploring the underlying drivers of value. However, given the environment organisations are now facing there is an unsurprising growing desire to drive further value.
Our experience at AMS provides insight that far greater value commercially, and operationally is achieved via:
Controlling demand management and adopting the right route to market
Gaining access to category expertise and real-time market insights
Investing in expertise and technology to define the supporting SoW
Defining the appropriate commercial construct
Devoting energy to an expansive and competitive sourcing activity that includes but not limited to market analysis, sourcing process and contract and negotiation
Enabling processes to drive efficiencies with focus on time-consuming and administrative activities
Managing supplier performance and investing time in strategic relationships to develop deeper collaboration and innovation.
Beyond the scale of these savings, they also tend to be the most sustainable over the long term and recognised long after any initial process efficiencies are realised.
Services Procurement as a talent opportunity?
Facing these wider business challenges equally requires a clear understanding of the availability of talent across the entire workforce, an effective model to deploy all available skills and the ability to adopt the optimum engagement model.
Insight suggests nearly 62% of businesses expect to implement an “integrated talent strategy” in more simplistic terms combining the strongest components of both the procurement and TA/HR functions into a coherent and single talent initiative.
Recognising the Extended Workforce has been the major talent innovation of this millennium and only continues to increase as a strategic component of the global economy. Therefore, the incorporation of Services Procurement into an integrated talent strategy arguably is no longer a nice to have, but an essential component. (Especially when considering Services Procurement accounts for 88-93% of all Extended Workforce spend)
However, our experience suggests a view of talent across the Extended Workforce and in particular Services Procurement remains largely out of reach for most leaders.
“Many C-level executives don’t have the external workforce on their radar because they are not aware of the extent to which it comprises their total workforce mix and fuels growth and innovation of their business.”
Lisa Zak, Director of Strategic Sourcing, MedtronicSAP Fieldglass and Oxford Economics research survey
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For support on how to incorporate Services Procurement into your contingent programme, please reach out to me for a discussion.
As organisations increasingly begin to recognise the strategic advantage delivered by an ever-expanding workforce, incorporating contractors, consultancies, professional services etc rather than simply viewing them as a cost. Encapsulating this broader workforce under the term “Extended Workforce” feels more representative and a natural evolution of the contingent workforce reference.
The pandemic demonstrated an Extended Workforce is critical to an organisation’s ability to scale and flex in a rapidly changing environment. Industry research suggests that 58% of total workforce spend is on employees with 42% spent on the Extended Workforce, however by 2028 it is expected to reach 50%.
Leveraging the Extended Workforce to deliver agility and manage everchanging demands is only part of the story, it provides a route to engage highly skilled talent, address DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) objectives and drive greater innovation – all of which add to an organisation’s competitive advantage.
“Sometimes work is best done by Google employees. Other times, the work is best done by specialised companies that have particular expertise.”
“In an era of specialisation, flexible working hours, global supply chains, and remote or project-based work, the extended workforce approach is becoming more widespread.”
Time for a more holistic and collaborative approach
As organisation’s embrace this new workforce mix it requires a more holistic approach to talent acquisition and workforce planning strategies which necessitates far greater collaboration across teams particularly talent attraction and procurement.
“The right talent, in the right place, at the right time, is the equation for success in today’s world. In an era of technological change, demographic shifts and economic uncertainty, companies can enhance their ability to compete by building a flexible work model.”
BCG & Harvard Business School (2020)
Over the next 10 years most leaders expect a growth in the worker engagement models utilised as part of an Extended Workforce. Unsurprisingly technology providers are creating and developing their product suite to support. It is no coincidence that Beeline and Fieldglass now go to market as Extended Workforce platforms, dropping the well-established, but perhaps now outdated, VMS reference.
Despite the recognition that change is happening many business leaders feel unsure how best to navigate their organisation and are left in a period of inertia. The answer may lie in leveraging the Talent Acquisition expertise and technology insight of an experienced partner to compliment internal teams and technology platforms.
“High performing procurement functions avoid body shopping or wholesale BPO outsourcing and focus on MSP hybrid models for select actives to augment internal capability”
Deloitte 2021 Global CPO Survey
Leading organisations are not simply merging previously siloed approaches to internal and external talent but creating a dexterous workforce approach built around the new norm.
The journey to realise the full value of Extended Workforce requires an investment of time to fully explore the underlying drivers of value, develop a clear roadmap and a well-articulated business case for change.
AMS is sponsoring this year’s SIA CWS Summit Europe and hosting an interactive panel discussion on ‘Extended Workforce as a Strategic Skills Enabler?’ at 4:15-5:00pm GMT on 9 May. If you’re attending the Summit, please come and join us.
We are proud to be working with Delta Airlines, and this is a great example of how creative thinking led to turning on a contingent direct sourcing solution with great results – it was just the right thing to do!
I have been completely inspired by my time spent with some of our AMS Spain Recruiters and Academy trainees in our Barcelona office this week. The energy, passion and delight they have for their new careers, training, client and AMS team partnerships has been one of my highlights of 2022. We have team members from Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Mexico slipping fluently between 2,3 and 4 languages each. I am completely convinced we have secured incredible talent whose curiosity, confidence and enormous appetite for learning will bring us new AMS leaders of the future. Gracias to Tiago Chapelas and the whole Spanish team for making me so welcome….until next time!
In response to increasing demand across EMEA, global provider of talent outsourcing and advisory services, AMS (formerly Alexander Mann Solutions), has expanded its footprint across the region, opening two new AMS offices in Barcelona and Budapest, while also increasing its office space in Berlin.
In 2022 AMS formed a Diversity & Inclusion Alliance, a market-leading collaboration hub of DEIB focused partners to improve diverse representation across our clients’ total workforces and bring market leading DEIB expertise and insight to inform talent strategies. 
