Future Proof
Developing a
VIRTUAL SERVICE
centre in the US
Virtual contingent workers provide scalability and efficiency, explains
Alexander Mann Solutions’ Senior Vice President Kristin Thomas.
W
hen I joined Alexander
Mann Solutions in the
US in 2014, I noticed we
didn’t have a ‘bench of
people’ for scale. If we won a client, we
would ensure the start date gave us time
to hire. The Americas was set to grow very
quickly and we needed the ability to scale
our workforce up and down at pace.
Kristin Thomas
Senior Vice President,
Alexander Mann
Solutions
Kristin is responsible
for managing relationships
with Alexander Mann
Solutions’ Americas clients.
alexandermannsolutions.com
16
I was a big part of the Virtual Service
Centre (VSC) in my former company
and that’s where I started back into the
workforce, after having my first child.
I joined Alexander Mann Solutions
because of the values, culture and work-
life balance and was surprised there
wasn’t something similar. So we began
developing a VSC in the US, focusing on
those at recruiter/sourcer level.
Most VSC staff work from home. We
hire recruiters with the same skill sets,
qualifications and networks as permanent
staff. Some competitors view virtual staff
as less driven, less skilled, less talented,
less productive, whereas we see this as an
opportunity to tap into an outstanding
skill-set level and also achieve scale.
These roles attract those wanting
flexibility, though fewer millennials, who
are keen to be in an office to network
and socialise. Benefits for VSC members
include work-life balance; workers are
full-time, with an eight-hour day, but have
flexible hours agreed with their manager.
Other pros include not having to
commute and you don’t have the
expense of working in an office, from your
wardrobe to eating out. Many of our tech
recruiters, in particular, prefer the variety
of being on different assignments.
For our business, the key advantage
is scalability: we’re not paying resources
unless they’re working for us. The pool
is US-wide, rather than in one location,
opening the door to multiple candidates
and lower-cost markets. We pass on cost
savings to clients and have talent available
‘on demand’. If they have a new project we
can ramp up quickly; conversely, if clients
freeze their hiring, we can scale back.
If you’re a member of our VSC, you’ll
want to be the first person thought of for
the next assignment, which means that
we, and our clients, are getting highly
competitive, driven resources.
People can also move between
temporary and on-site, permanent roles.
Some may decide they like variety, then
fall in love with a particular client.
We invest in the VSC to ensure we’re
all Alexander Mann Solutions: the ‘one
team, one dream’ concept. We’re used to
virtual working, having so many people in
centres globally and I believe the concept
is becoming more acceptable, generally.