ASA Issues VMS and MSP Best Practices

The growing number of vendor management systems (VMSs) and managed service providers (MSPs) means that staffing companies and clients often must work through multiple software tools and processes. To protect staffing firms from financial risk and help them better serve their clients, ASA has published best practices covering such arrangements.

VMS and MSP arrangements require staffing firms to follow procedures determined by the VMS technology platform and by clients' practices and preferences. The profusion of providers, and the multiplicity of software tools and client practices, has created significant operational problems for staffing firms.

The best practices are the result of a six-month effort by an e-tools working group operating under the auspices of the ASA industry practices committee. The group is made up of ASA member staffing firms and leading VMS providers and MSPs.

The best practices for VMSs and MSPs address implementation, order and requisition management, candidate submittal, financial management, and staffing firm engagement. For each topic, the best practices identify key problem areas and offer suggestions for improvement.

Separate best practices were developed for financial management in VMS and MSP arrangements to address the issues stemming from the collapse of Ensemble Chimes Global, reportedly the nation's largest vendor management system firm.

A major goal of the ASA best practices initiative is to promote the idea that quality must not be sacrificed to achieve efficiency and cost control. Staffing firm clients should consider whether a VMS provider or MSP can ensure quality and the best match of candidate to job opening. The best practices also encourage all stakeholders in the process to collaborate during the design and implementation of a VMS or MPS arrangement, as well as throughout the relationship. The best practices for financial management suggest that client payments should, when possible, be made directly to staffing firms or be placed in escrow or trust accounts.

The best practices are available on the ASA Web site, americanstaffing.net. ASA welcomes comments on how the best practices can be improved and suggestions of other topics that should be addressed.

Temporary Employee's ADA Claim Fails

A New York federal court recently dismissed a temporary employee's discrimination claim against his staffing firm, ruling that he failed to show that he was disabled or that he had been unlawfully terminated.

The employee claimed that the staffing firm unlawfully terminated him, based on his learning disability, after informing him he could no longer work on assignment for a client to which he had previously been assigned. He claimed that both the client and staffing firm were aware of his condition when his assignment was ended, and he sued under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.

The court dismissed his case, ruling that the employee failed to allege that he was substantially limited in a major life activity—a prerequisite for an ADA claim. The court also found that, rather than terminating the employee, the staffing firm offered him two assignments after learning of his alleged condition, one of which he declined.

As this case shows, it is not enough for workers to merely claim they are disabled. To be protected by the ADA, they must show that their condition substantially interferes with a major life activity such as walking, seeing, hearing, sitting, or lifting.

You can learn more about employee and employer obligations under the ADA in the ASA book Employment Law for Staffing Professionals. To order your copy, visit americanstaffing.net. To read the case, see Falso v. Ablest Staffing Services, 2008 WL 353111 (W.D.N.Y. Feb. 11, 2008).

ASA Needs Your Feedback

How can 15 minutes potentially win you $250?

Complete the 2008 ASA membership survey and share your perspective on how the association can ensure that ASA programs and services exceed your expectations. When you do, you'll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of two $250 gift certificates to a business of your choice.

This annual membership survey is designed to obtain your open and honest assessment of ASA. To ensure participants' confidentiality, the survey results will be analyzed by market research firm iLoyalty, an ASA corporate partner.

ASA will see only a summary of the results, and your response will remain anonymous unless you consent to share your contact information. Response data collected are for ASA use only and will not be sold to a third party.

Many of your peers have already responded. Please add your voice to theirs before the survey closes March 7.

If you have any questions or did not receive an e-mail providing a link to the online survey, contact Erin Harm at 703-253-2049 or eharm@americanstaffing.net.

Office Politicos

Although political discussion in the workplace has long been considered taboo, many employees are talking about the 2008 presidential candidates and campaigns in the office, according to a recent Workplace Insights survey by ASA member Adecco USA.

Feelings about the appropriateness of political talk are almost evenly split: 50% of the more than 1,800 American workers polled reported that they do discuss politics in the office, 47% listen and keep their views to themselves, and 3% said they don't know.

Most polled workers (62%) said they don't know which candidates their co-workers support.

Adecco's Bernadette Kenny suggests that employees involved in political discussions remember to keep the conversations professional and not personal, respect all viewpoints, and excuse themselves if the exchange becomes uncomfortable.

"Being politically correct at the office means communicating carefully and inclusively when politics is on the agenda," says Kenny. "It's important to leave the more heated debates outside of the office to keep things professional."

That is especially important during a particularly absorbing political season—such as the 2008 presidential primaries. "We need to be aware that our opinions on key political issues and the candidates can affect how we're viewed at the office by our managers and peers," says Kenny. Adecco reports that 39% of polled employees said knowing the boss's candidate of choice affected their perception of their manager. Kenny adds, "That can last long after the last votes have been tallied."

IT Employees Soften Up

What makes for a great IT hire? Employers want employees with more than just technical know-how. As Computerworld reports, "Information technology executives say they're increasingly looking for staffers who have so-called soft skills, like strong communication and listening abilities."

J.J. Hurley of member company GDH Consulting says, "IT professionals are being asked to have stronger soft skills. Those who have developed these skills are also the same individuals who have been advancing in their careers."

Hurley, a member of the policy council for the ASA technical, IT, and scientific section, adds, "To differentiate themselves from other candidates in today's market, quality candidates need to be able to express the soft skills." Using behavioral questions in interviews is one way you can identify the candidates who have the nontechnical skills your clients seek.

Attorney Investigating Chimes Payments

Kathleen P. March, Esq., of Bankruptcy Law Firm PC, is considering whether staffing firms can recoup payments made by clients to Ensemble Chimes Global—the vendor management system firm that declared bankruptcy Jan. 9—that were subsequently seized by Golden Tree Asset Management. March represented staffing firms' interests in the Chimes bankruptcy case. Interested staffing firms may contact March at 310-559-9224 or kmarch@bkylawfirm.com.

Benefits Central

"Candidates make very quick decisions," explains Fran Goldstein, CPC, CSP, of Gold Staff Consultants Inc. To help make these snap decisions favorable toward your staffing firm, Goldstein, a featured speaker at the ASA recruiting symposium, explains that your company should review its image. "The type of image your firm puts out in the media, on the street, and on your own Web site is the first introduction a candidate has to you."

To learn more about making that crucial first impression and how to cultivate quality candidates, be sure to attend one of the three recruiting symposia taking place in 2008. This event, co-hosted by the ASA placement and recruiting; professional; and technical, IT, and scientific sections, provides an occasion for recruiters, managers, and owners to network and gain a competitive advantage.

All recruiting professionals will benefit from this two-day seminar, which takes place in New Orleans, March 13–14; Las Vegas, April 24–25; and Chicago, May 1–2. For more information and to register, visit americanstaffing.net.