Having been successful manpower providers in the Middle East region for some years, we have learned the importance of client relationships. This has helped us provide top staff for our clients, whilst helping them navigate what life has to throw at them.
In this blog post, we wanted to take a look at what’s changing in our industry, what the forecast looks like and how outsourcing manpower providers can improve client relationships.
What’s changing in the outsourcing manpower industry
According to Deloitte, the global outsourcing and shared services market (OSS) is set to reach a value of US$ 971.2 billion by the end of 2023 (including IT outsourcing, ITO and business process outsourcing, BPO). This 7.4% growth rate since 2019 is 1% higher than the previous period and is partly due to the “Covid-rethink”, which saw businesses reassess how they operate.
Key client drivers included a need to; consolidate outsourced services to central providers, reduce costs, increase regional expansion opportunities and improve labour, service offer and skills.
Part of this mindset change is due to client recognition that to do better business, they need to work with the right people and the best option for their business isn’t necessarily to employ in-house.
“Outsourcing manpower used to be about cutting recruitment and training costs for clients. Until they saw the wider benefits of outsourcing. Within our client base alone, organisations have witnessed an increased focus on core functions, expanding their existing capabilities and business scalability, while giving them access to greater intellectual capital.”
- Hal Miran, CEO mselect.
Streamlined tech plays a big role in this growing transition, allowing organisations to make greater efficiencies across the board in smaller timescales. In the manpower market particularly, tech enables clients greater access to staff and performance data, which allows them to make flexible and adaptable choices.
As outsourced manpower providers, we have seen firsthand how the market has changed since 2019 and so we came up with a list of ideas we think are important for client relationship and management.
How top outsourcing manpower providers can improve client relationships in 2023
Maintaining relationships with clients, as outsourcing manpower providers is going to be more important than ever because, simply, clients are expecting more.
Here’s what we think you should be focusing on.
1. Prioritising quality talent and improving your search
Providing staff to clients to cover requirements alone isn’t going to cut it in 2023. Clients demand more than that - and quite rightly. It’s all about prioritising quality staff who can jump in and hit the ground running.
To do this providers must start thinking about the quality of manpower on their books.
Your manpower database is everything and so too is how you search for top talent. Here at mselect we have a very clear process for how we accept and sift applications and we carry this strict protocol through to sifting candidates for clients.
2. Enhancing your tech
At mselect we offer manpower solutions or the entire HR process if our clients need it. To make this work for the global brands we work with we have invested heavily in our tech.
Good tech has to do two things
Improve our efficiency and quality levels
Give our clients the key data they need to make better decisions and forecasting, whilst providing confidence through transparency of service
3. Practising flexibility and adaptability
Over the last few years, one of the biggest things we have all learned is that we need to be flexible and adaptable. The same is true in manpower services and client relationships. We need to stop working as if there is a one-size-fits-all approach.
At mselect we achieve this through the understanding that client account managers are also relationship managers. Their job is to understand individual clients' needs like no one else. This approach allows us to provide the versatility that gives our clients confidence and freedom.
4. Niche your offer
Part of providing great service is knowing what great service is. It’s also about building and maintaining relationships with clients. Part of that has to come from a great understanding of what it is that they do. Not just what industry they serve, but appreciating aspects like production and service offers, and how the manpower you provide fits into that workflow.
This is something we have taken a great time to do, here at mselect, and it has meant that we offer a niche service as a result. We also focus on specific industries too. So if we say we work in oil and gas, our clients can be sure that we understand why they need geologists and how that role fits into and affects the drilling process and product quality.
5. Improving customer outcomes
A Forbes survey indicated that up to 96% of customers are unlikely to return if they receive bad service, so it makes perfect sense that this tip made the list this year.
Don’t think of improving your customer experience as a way to reduce churn alone, really dig into how to build client relationships that serve the clients time and again with great manpower.
And it isn’t just about delivering staff who can do a good job. It’s about providing value that extends beyond the service remit.
At mselect we work with our clients so that we are ready to provide what they need before they know they need it. That’s why we invest time and energy in attracting the best candidates. It’s why we also continue to invest in tech that provides the data our clients can use to make better decisions.
It all leads to one thing, value.
We’ve made it our business to help our clients build better businesses.
The future of outsourcing manpower
We believe the future looks bright for outsourcing manpower providers. The industry is set to boom by 2028, especially in regions such as Saudi Arabia, where more organisations realise the greater potential of outsourcing.
To shine among the competition, we believe the key to success lies in creating true partnerships with clients. This means rethinking strategy. It’s no longer ok to think of ourselves as “providers”, instead to become “enablers” - the service providers who make better business possible.