Integrated Resource Fulfillment

Welcome to the Integrated Resource Fulfillment blog. In this spot, we'll talk about the total workforce acquisition, strategic workforce management, integration of salaried, hourly and contingent workers, the strategies and applications including recruiting and contingent workforce procurement applications. We will talk about human capital as an asset, recognizing the merit and worth of employees & contingent workers, and the link between human capital and the organization's bottom line.

In these trying economic times, more and more organizations are focusing on employee performance. Many are boosting individual and team performance by taking a holistic view of their workforce - by better defining their talent requirements, linking their workforce needs to their business strategy, and building and deploying their talent to gain a competitive advantage. By making every person count, organizations are treating human capital as an asset and recognizing the merit and worth of employees and contingent workers, and the link between human capital and the organization's bottom line. We call this process "Integrated Resource Fulfillment", where the entire workforce - regular full-time, part-time and contract - are leveraged fully and are integrated with the organization's overall business strategy. Almost 70% of organizations in one of our surveys have emphasized the link between strategic and holistic view of the workforce and the business strategy.

IBM’s Global Human Capital Study 2008 demonstrates the importance of managing employees for enterprises of all sizes and across industries. From this study, four themes emerged:

• Creating an adaptable workforce
• Identifying and growing future leaders
• Cracking the code for new talent
• Driving growth through workforce analytics

With the transition in the human capital marketplace and the change in the worker composition, it has been a challenge to anticipate the trends and acquire labor effectively. The line between the direct hires and contingent workers has blurred. Organizations face the challenge of maintaining the right workforce balance between direct and contingent labor, recruiting top company talent, juggling multiple vendors, and standardizing disparate processes across the enterprise. For companies to be successful it is essential for them to take a closer look at their workforce composition and also determine the right mix of the types of workers - contingent, full-time, hourly - that is best suited to their organizations. One key to success in today's business environment is finding and managing the right human capital to support company objectives.

The comprehensive approach to strategic workforce management, more appropriately called the workforce acquisition is gaining momentum in today’s dynamic economy as it helps in creating sustainable change through alignment of strategic workforce planning with organizational objectives and strategy among those organizations that consider human capital as an asset and view workforce holistically.

In this blog, and in our Integrated Resource Fulfillment Practice Area, we will explore these issues in depth. We hope that you will participate as well with your comments, including your challenges and success stories.