Workspend—A Powerhouse in Retail Flexible Workforce

The MSP industry has experienced a dramatic shift of demand beyond IT and professional skills to a broader portfolio of Light Industrial flexible roles, mostly in manufacturing and distribution. Find out what to look for in a Retail Grocery staffing supplier.

Change Drivers in the Retail Grocery Industry

In the US market, 2018 saw a drive to bring manufacturing back to the US – a shift that was greatly accelerated by the pandemic.  In Europe, retail brands further extended their own brand ranges and have extended their business models further into logistics and manufacturing.

Covid has further driven e-commerce.  The transition to online shopping is responsible for ever increasing rates of hiring in distribution and logistics.  In particular, the Retail Grocery Industry has been required to re-think its resourcing approach.  To support its objectives, players in the industry strongly benefit from services partnerships able to supplement talent industry know-how, extend talent reach, and provide a recruitment solution for all skill sets.

A Flexible Workforce Program Curated for the Wholesale Grocery Retail

Workspend is a leading international provider of flexible workforce Managed Service Provisioning (MSP).  Regularly featuring in the MSP Bakers’ Dozen of leading service providers, Workspend originally grew in stature and prominence in the US market by offering tailored-to-fit flexible workforce programs, underpinned by a more cost competitive onshore/offshore delivery model and leading edge tech. Unlike larger rivals, Workspend focuses on providing service excellence to specific industries, including Retail, Technology, Hi-Tech Manufacture, Financial Services and, more recently, Education.

Workspend has worked in consort with its growing user community of leading international grocery suppliers to formulate a model for light-industrial workforce supply and management that supports the changing needs of the industry.  The company’s success in retail is based on four primary pillars of value differentiation:

1. Solution Modeling

Sourcing and serving clients with high-end IT or professional needs compares differently to serving warehouse, production, and in-store needs.  In recognition of these differences, Workspend provides a distinctly differentiated service model to source and manage talent.  Professional and IT labor is typically sourced through a competitive bid process under a master or preferred supplier approach, leveraging a coordinated pipeline process to ensure planned and immediate talent availability.

2. Client Service and User Experience

Regardless of the user or skill type requested, Workspend offers high touch customer service through dedicated program teams led by experienced grocery industry program directors with experience of operating in our retail industry vertical. One advantage of having a sizeable user community means that young program managers can understudy experienced team members to become familiar with the unique demands of this fast-paced environment.

Often overlooked as a factor for success, Workspend has established an enviable reputation for above and beyond client service experience. It’s brand commitment to service quality is underpinned by its Workspend Way principles, regularly reinforced by client service training, including its highly regarded Respect Agenda.

For customers, it means users and managers always have access to a live, experienced program team member via email, chat or phone.

3. Workforce Planning

Workspend closely engages with its clients in strategic workforce planning to include coordination with full-time hiring and other client sourcing channels. This includes rate/compensation guidance, supplier segmentation, pipeline strategy, Just In Time (JIT) staffing, seasonal, and special projects.  Underpinning strategic advice is a data-driven approach that’s formed around advanced market intelligence and data analysis tools that present clients with visibility over the key datapoints to optimize their hiring and sourcing decisions.

4. Strategic Supplier Management/Engagement

Regardless of industry, all successful contingent workforce programs must have the right suppliers in the right places.  Major grocery retailers have large footprints with hundreds of locations that require services at varying levels of volume.  Workspend works with retail clients to establish a supplier support strategy to accommodate a wide range of geographic needs and skill sets.  This process is continually evaluated and managed to ensure on-going staffing supply.

A key construct of our differentiated approach is a commitment to respect diversity and inclusion.  As a woman-led, minority-owned and managed business, Workspend pioneers diversity-led workforce provisioning and prides itself on being one of a handful of minority-owned MSPs on the market today.