CASE STUDY / KELLY
CASE STUDY
with this inclusive and diverse slate of suppliers who are trailblazers in delivering workforce solutions that allow us to fulfil our purpose. Today more than ever, our global supplier community is vital to the work of the future. They help connect our customers to the top talent they need to fuel and grow their business in leading industries.” Sands also used the occasion of the ninth annual KellyOCG Supplier Excellence Awards to launch a thought- provoking conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion. She says the theme ‘Elevate – Breaking Through Barriers and Growing Opportunities’ resonated across every region. The agenda for this year’s Supplier Forums for AMER/EMEA and APAC were designed to be engaging and relevant, highlighting how suppliers continue to partner with Kelly both today and in the work of the future. Kelly executives then participated in a ‘Breaking Through Barriers’ panel conversation. During this they discussed the position they are taking on these issues around the globe; the valuable role of Kelly’s supply chain partners on the journey; and steps they can take together. These steps include both internal and external approaches to talent management, reaching untapped talent pools and removing barriers to work for neurodiverse individuals who are on the autism spectrum, individuals without a four-year degree, and second chance workers, which includes job seekers who have non-violent, non-relevant criminal offences on their record. Each forum concluded with discussion on 'Believing What’s Possible' with a curated panel of KellyOCG leaders and key supplier partners. “These suppliers are incredible multipliers of our efforts and some of our best brand ambassadors,” Sands says. “Providing provocative content like global inclusion and diversity, standing together for under-represented talent, and aligning on good environmental and social governance with our supplier partners all continue to be important factors in the evolution of our supplier management practice.” →
We need to look at the conversations we’re having with clients both individually and collectively and consider what is outdated and how we can work together to make a difference.” Established 75 years ago Kelly describes itself as a global leader in providing workforce solutions. It connects talented people with companies in need of their skills. It directly employs nearly 370,000 people around the world and connects thousands more with work through its global network of talent suppliers and partners in its outsourcing and consulting practice, KellyOCG. Particular areas of focus include science, engineering, education, office personnel, contact centre staff and light industrial. The company says it is always thinking about what’s next in the evolving world of work and helps people 'ditch the script on old ways of thinking and embrace the value of all workstyles in the workplace'. It revamped its supplier strategy in 2008 when it launched KellyOCG with three pillars: servicing and taking care of clients, taking care of talent, and growing supplier partnerships. Since then Kelly has proven the value of this insightful strategy by providing access to the best talent around the globe with an expansive supplier network. This means KellyOCG not only provides talent directly to customers but also acts as a managed service provider, using its expertise to oversee relationships with other staffing and workforce solution partners on behalf of customers. Sands is passionate about Kelly’s work, having herself begun as an in-house temporary worker there 20+ years ago. She is particularly proud of the business’s overarching 'Noble Purpose’, to ‘Connect People to Work in Ways That Enrich Their Lives’. She says her team adds value by staying focused on that goal and ensuring the supplier network is a multiplier of those efforts. Eleven years ago, Sands first became interested in supply chain development, and five years ago she moved into the Supplier Strategy and Engagement team. Based in Fort Lauderdale, in the US, she now leads a global team of professionals responsible for defining,
EVOLVE YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN BY ELEVATING SUPPLIERS
IMAGE CREDITS: KELLY
implementing, and managing the strategy and development of suppliers and strategic partners across AMER, EMEA and APAC. “Our team continues to build deep, trusted relationships with our supplier partners, and in doing so started to define our strategy as an organisation,” she says. “We now have a currency of trust with these supplier partners. We really get to know them, we care about their businesses, not just their business with us, and create win-win relationships together.”
The staffing business aims to shape the way suppliers are seen to the benefit of both parties.
WE NOW HAVE A CURRENCY OF TRUST WITH OUR SUPPLIER PARTNERS. WE REALLY GET TO KNOW THEM, WE CARE ABOUT THEIR BUSINESSES, NOT JUST THEIR BUSINESS WITH US, AND CREATE WIN- WIN RELATIONSHIPS TOGETHER.
P AM SANDS DOESN'T JUST want to manage her supply chain, she wants to lead it. She aims to influence the way suppliers are viewed by asking: “what value are we creating together?” Just one way her team does that is by heading up provocative conversations with the supply base around diversity, inclusion and removing barriers to employment. The Vice President and Global Lead for Supplier Strategy and Engagement at Kelly, says: “The old ways of attracting talent are not the ways we operate now.
Collaborating to boost workforce diversity
In May KellyOCG honoured its 23 top- performing suppliers across North America, EMEA and APAC via two virtual events. These companies, who represent less than 1% of its supply base, were celebrated for providing superior talent solutions that solve customers’ most challenging workforce needs. Seven are diverse-owned suppliers. Speaking after the events, Sands said: “We’re proud to recognise and partner
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STATE OF FLUX
2021 GLOBAL SRM RESEARCH REPORT
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