Quick Opening: Tell Us About Your Program

• To get started, which statement best describes your current contingent labor program? Options: Centralized procurement-led program, Decentralized hiring by business units/HR, Mixed model (some central control), No formal program today
• Roughly how much does your organization spend on contingent labor annually? Options: $50M–$100M, $100M–$250M, $250M–$500M, >$500M, Unsure / need help validating
• Which VMS or ERP platforms do you currently use to manage contingent workforce transactions? Options: Beeline, SAP Fieldglass, Workday, Coupa, Oracle/Taleo, Custom/Proprietary, No VMS/ERP in place
• Who on your team will most likely own day-to-day program decisions if we move forward? Options: Procurement Director/Head, VP HR/HR Ops, Talent Acquisition Lead, Finance/FP&A, Shared ownership, Unsure

Are You Comfortable With How Contingent Spend Really Looks?

• When you look at your current reporting, how confident are you that it reflects total contingent spend (including rogue channels)? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Questionable accuracy, Not confident at all
• Give an example of a time when a surprise contingent spend or supplier issue surfaced—what happened and how did it feel to the team?
• Which channels do you suspect are contributing to untracked or rogue contingent spend? Options: Direct supplier relationships, Hiring manager private agreements, Departmental contractors, SOW/consulting treated separately, Other
• How long has the visibility gap (if any) persisted, and what attempts have you made to close it? Options: Under 6 months, 6–12 months, 1–2 years, Over 2 years, No prior attempts
• Which single data point would give you the most peace of mind if it were accurate tomorrow? Options: Total contingent headcount by site, Real-time spend by supplier, Average bill rates by role, Compliance status across suppliers, Time-to-fill by role

Who Actually Holds the Keys (and Will They Let You Turn Them)?

• If you had to name the smallest coalition required to approve a supplier-management program, who must be at the table? Options: Procurement, HR/Talent Acquisition, Legal, Finance, Business Unit Leads, Security/IT
• Which stakeholder tends to be the toughest to persuade about program changes—and why does that usually happen?
• What does success look like for each of your key stakeholders (Procurement, HR, Finance, Business Units)?
• Who needs to be visibly signed up as an executive sponsor for the program to move forward without political friction? Options: CPO/Head of Procurement, CHRO/VP of HR, CFO, Business Unit CEO/GM, Board-level sponsor, None required
• How quickly could your executive sponsor commit to a pilot once they see concrete benchmarks and references? Options: Immediately, Within 30 days, 30–90 days, Longer than 90 days, Unsure

What's the Hidden Cost You're Paying?

• If you had to point to the single most damaging consequence of the current supplier landscape, what would it be (rate creep, compliance risk, quality, etc.)? Options: Rate creep / inconsistent rates, Co-employment/compliance risk, Poor supplier performance, Rogue spend and lack of control, Excessive process overhead
• Tell us about any compliance or co-employment issues you've encountered—how were they discovered and what was the operational impact?
• How do supplier performance problems (quality, fill rates, time-to-fill) show up in your business outcomes? Options: Missed deadlines/projects, Higher internal hiring burden, Increased rework/low productivity, Customer/employee satisfaction decline, Other
• Which of these hidden costs would you prioritize eliminating in year one? Options: Normalize rates / reduce spend, Close compliance gaps, Improve fill rates/time-to-fill, Consolidate suppliers, Improve reporting to executives
• How does the existence of these costs make you or your team feel when presenting to leaders or the board?

If Savings Were Non-Negotiable, What Would You Change?

• What first-year savings target would make a managed supplier program an easy yes for your leadership? Options: Under 5%, 5–8%, 8–12%, 12–20%, Over 20%
• Beyond dollars, what are the three KPIs you would need to show the C-suite to prove program success? Options: Total spend reduction, Fill rate by supplier, Time-to-fill, Supplier compliance score, Cost per hire, Executive-level consolidated reporting
• How often does the C-suite expect to see contingent workforce reporting to feel confident (monthly, quarterly, ad-hoc)? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-annually, Ad-hoc as requested
• If you had to accept one measurable trade-off to reach your savings goal (e.g., slightly longer onboarding to get rate consistency), which trade-off would you tolerate? Options: Slightly longer supplier onboarding, Temporary reduction in supplier count, Short pilot period with intensive governance, Higher upfront effort for long-term automation, None—no trade-offs acceptable
• Describe a scenario where achieving those savings would materially change how your function is perceived internally.

How Would a Managed Supplier Layer Need to Behave to Win Your Trust?

• What would you say are non-negotiable capabilities a managed supplier partner must demonstrate from day one? Options: Rate card enforcement, Supplier tiering & rationalization, VMS/ERP integration, Compliance monitoring & remediation, Quarterly business reviews & executive reporting
• Tell us about any past experiences with MSPs or supplier managers—what felt valuable and what fell short?
• How important is it that the MSP uses your existing VMS/ERP versus bringing a new platform? Options: Critical—must use existing, Prefer use of existing but open, Neutral, Prefer partner platform
• What level of visibility and data access will your team require from a partner (dashboards only, raw feeds, API access, audit rights)? Options: Executive dashboards, Operational dashboards + raw exports, API integrations with our systems, Full audit and supplier records access
• How would you prefer the partner demonstrate credibility—benchmarks, client references, pilot results, or financial guarantees? Options: Benchmarks & market data, Client references of similar scale, Short pilot with measurable outcomes, Commercial guarantees (SLAs/penalties)

What Would Make a Pilot or Launch Impossible to Fail?

• What must be true at the pilot launch for you to call it a success at 90 days? Options: Accurate supplier & spend data, Onboarded priority suppliers, Baseline performance metrics established, Initial savings trajectory visible, Executive sponsor engaged
• Which internal owners will be responsible for clearing data access, supplier introductions, and governance during a pilot? Options: Procurement operations owner, HR/Talent operations owner, IT/data owner, Finance/Accounts Payable, Legal/compliance
• What common launch risks do you worry about most (e.g., data quality, supplier resistance, integration delays)? Options: Poor data quality, Supplier pushback or attrition, VMS/ERP integration delays, Change resistance from hiring managers, Contractual/legal obstacles
• If we could guarantee one element to minimize launch risk, which would you choose? Options: Clean, validated data feed, Sourced, cooperative suppliers, Dedicated program manager on day one, Short-term commercial protection
• How do you prefer the partner handle supplier communications during transition—joint outreach, partner-led, or confidential until switch? Options: Joint outreach with our team, Partner-led communications, Keep confidential until changes are finalized

What Would a Fair Commercial & Governance Setup Look Like?

• What contract length would feel appropriate for you given the scope of change (and why)? Options: 1 year, 2–3 years, 3–5 years, 5+ years, Prefer no fixed term / flexible
• How important is an annual market benchmarking clause to you as part of the agreement? Options: Critical, Important, Nice to have, Not necessary
• Which commercial protections would make you comfortable (SLAs, financial penalties, shared savings, fixed management fee)? Options: SLAs with penalties, Shared savings model, Fixed management fee, Hybrid: fee + incentives
• What governance cadence would you expect post-launch to keep the program on track? Options: Weekly operational check-ins (initial), Monthly program reviews, Quarterly executive business reviews, Ad-hoc / as-needed
• Who on your team needs read-only vs. actionable access to program dashboards? Options: Executives (C-suite) - read-only, Procurement/Program Managers - actionable, HR/Talent Ops - actionable, Finance - read-only/actionable, Hiring managers - role-based

Final Align: How Ready Is Your Organization to Move?

• If we agree a scope today, how quickly could your team provide the core data and access we’d need to start a pilot? Options: Immediately (0–2 weeks), 2–4 weeks, 1–2 months, More than 2 months, Unsure / need internal approvals
• What internal approvals or procurement steps typically slow projects like this, and how long do they take?
• On a scale from 1–10, how urgent is solving the contingent supplier problem for your leadership right now? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
• What would make you say 'yes' now rather than later? Options: Clear baseline savings estimate, C-suite sponsor commitment, Pilot with minimal disruption, References from similar clients, Risk-limited commercial terms
• Who should we schedule as the next meeting attendee list to keep momentum (names/titles and their decision role)?

Wrap-Up: Capturing Your Biggest Open Questions

• What unanswered questions do you have right now that would keep you from moving forward?
• If we returned with a one-page plan tailored to your answers here, which three things must it include to earn a meeting with your sponsor?
• Would you like us to prepare a short data-request checklist to accelerate a pilot? If so, who should receive it? Options: Yes—send to me, Yes—send to my data/IT owner, Yes—send to procurement owner, No thanks / not yet
• Best email and preferred time window to follow up with a tailored proposal and pilot approach?

Quick Introductions — Where does this story begin?

• Roughly how many staffing suppliers are currently supplying contingent workers to your organization? Options: 1–5, 6–15, 16–30, 31–60, 61+
• Who owns day-to-day oversight of contingent labor today? Options: Procurement, HR/Talent Acquisition, Business Unit Hiring Managers, Managed internally by a Center of Excellence, Third‑party MSP/Consultant, Shared/Other
• What VMS or ERP platform(s) are you using today (select all that apply)? Options: Beeline, SAP Fieldglass, Workday, Coupa, Oracle / PeopleSoft, Homegrown / Legacy, We don’t use a VMS/ERP
• How would you describe your current monthly average contingent headcount and approximate annual spend?
• Is there a single internal contact or team we should coordinate with for data access and supplier conversations? Options: Yes — single contact/team, Yes — multiple stakeholders across functions, No — it varies by region/business unit, Not sure yet

If Your CFO Called Right Now, What Would You Tell Them?

• When you total up contingent spend across the company today, how confident are you that the number is accurate? Options: Very confident, Reasonably confident, Somewhat uncertain, Not confident at all
• What specific gaps or blindspots make you nervous when presenting contingent spend to executive leadership?
• How often do you provide executive-level reporting on contingent labor (select one)? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Ad hoc / only when asked
• Tell us about a recent control or reporting surprise—what happened, who felt the impact, and what was the fallout?
• If someone asked you whether your current program inspires confidence from the board, what's the first honest sentence you’d say?

Where Money Is Leaking (But Nobody’s Signed the Leak Sheet)

• What portion of contingent spend flows through approved channels versus ad‑hoc or rogue channels? Options: >90% approved, 75–90% approved, 50–74% approved, <50% approved, Unknown
• Estimate your current annual 'rogue' or unmanaged spend—what range feels right? Options: <1%, 1–3%, 4–7%, 8–15%, 16%+
• Where do you see the biggest rate dispersion today—by job family, supplier tier, or geography? Options: Job family / role, Supplier, Geography/region, Contract type (W2/1099/agency), Not sure
• Tell us about a concrete example of rate creep or inconsistent pricing you’ve discovered—what did you learn?
• How emotionally taxing is managing these cost inconsistencies for your team—annoying, stressful, or keeping you up at night? Options: Annoying, Moderately stressful, High stress / priority #1, Not a major emotional burden

What Compliance Really Looks Like Behind Closed Doors

• Have you experienced any worker classification, payroll tax, or co‑employment incidents in the last 24 months? Options: Yes — material incident(s), Yes — minor incident(s), No, Not sure
• Which supplier controls or certifications do you currently require (select all that apply)? Options: Proof of insurance, Background checks, I‑9 / eligibility verification, Indemnification clauses, Subcontracting restrictions, We don’t have consistent requirements
• How do you currently surface and remediate compliance risks from underperforming or non‑compliant suppliers? Options: Formal remediation plan, Informal escalation, Supplier replacement, We don’t have a standard approach, Other
• What compliance issue would keep you awake at night if it were to occur tomorrow?
• Who signs off on compliance exceptions today, and how long does approval typically take?

The Invisible Tech Glue — How Data Really Flows

• If integrations stopped working tomorrow, which business process would break fastest? Options: Timesheet processing, Invoice reconciliation, Requisition routing, Supplier performance reporting, Onboarding/offboarding
• Which systems hold the master data we’ll likely need (select all that apply)? Options: VMS, ERP/Finance, HRIS/Workday, Supplier Portal, BI/Data Warehouse, No central master data
• How do you currently get supplier, timesheet, and invoice data into a consolidated view—automated feeds, manual exports, or a mix? Options: Fully automated feeds, Mostly automated, some manual, Manual exports and spreadsheets, No consolidated view exists
• Which integration obstacles have caused the most friction—security, data quality, vendor responsiveness, or internal approvals? Options: Security / SSO, Data mapping / quality, Supplier readiness, Internal governance/approvals, Other
• What reporting cadence and portal access would make your finance and HR partners restful instead of reactive? Options: Daily dashboards, Weekly summaries, Monthly exec reports, Quarterly deep dives

Supplier Performance — Is the Orchestra in Tune or Just Louder?

• Do you currently measure supplier performance (fill rate, quality, time‑to‑fill) in a way that drives decisions? Options: Yes — consistently and used for decisions, Yes — inconsistently, No — we track but don’t act, No — we don’t measure
• Which KPIs are prioritized today (select top three)? Options: Fill rate, Time‑to‑fill, Quality of hire / retention, Cost per hire / rate adherence, Invoice accuracy, Compliance incidents
• How often do you formally review supplier performance or run supplier scorecards? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Bi‑annually, Annually, Never
• What triggers a supplier escalation or replacement in your program—missed SLAs, quality issues, pricing, or something else?
• Tell us about a supplier success story—what changed and what was the impact?

What Would Real Savings Actually Feel Like?

• What first‑year savings target would make a managed supplier program a clear success for your stakeholders? Options: <5%, 5–8%, 9–12%, 13–18%, 18%+
• Beyond headline savings, what outcomes matter most to your C‑suite (select all that apply)? Options: Predictable spend, Reduced compliance risk, Improved visibility/reporting, Improved quality/time‑to‑fill, Simplified supplier management
• If we delivered the targeted savings but board reporting remained poor, would you consider that a win, a partial win, or a loss? Options: Win, Partial win, Loss, Unsure
• How quickly would you expect to see measurable savings after program launch—months or quarters? Options: Within 3 months, 3–6 months, 6–12 months, Longer than 12 months
• What would immediate credibility look like to your internal sponsors on day one of a new program?

Hidden Channels and Shadow Workers — Who’s Flying Under the Radar?

• Are hiring managers allowed to engage suppliers outside approved channels today? Options: Yes — frequently, Sometimes — dependent on urgency, Rarely — restricted, No — prohibited
• Which groups are most likely to use shadow channels (select all that apply)? Options: Field hiring managers, HR business partners, Contingent worker programs in regions, Mergers & acquisitions teams, Project managers / contractors
• How do you currently detect or audit shadow hires—post‑payroll reviews, supplier reconciliation, or anecdotal discovery? Options: Automated reconciliations, Manual audits, Anecdotal / manager reporting, We don’t actively audit
• Share an example of a shadow channel you uncovered—how long had it been happening and what stopped it?
• On a scale from 1–5, how willing are hiring managers to change where they source contingent talent if an easier, faster approved channel exists? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Path to Agreement — What Would Make Us Partners?

• What information would you need to share with a partner to evaluate a managed supplier program (select all that apply)? Options: Spend & supplier list, Timesheet / invoice extracts, Role / job family definitions, Existing contracts and SLAs, None until NDA signed
• What are the top three decision criteria for an MSP at your company (pick up to three)? Options: Demonstrated savings, Compliance expertise, Integration capability, References at similar scale, Program governance & reporting, Change management support
• What procurement or legal hurdles typically slow down vendor onboarding here? Options: Standard contract terms, Security vetting, Insurance/indemnity, Data privacy concerns, Internal approval cycles
• Realistically, what is your preferred timeline to evaluate and select an MSP partner? Options: Next 30 days, 30–90 days, 90–180 days, 6+ months, Undecided
• What concerns would make you hesitate to provide a supplier list or spend extracts during discovery? Options: Confidentiality, Competitive exposure, Data cleanliness, Internal politics, No concerns

Ready, Set, Breathe: Where Are We Right Now?

• Overall, how confident are you that your organization is deployment-ready for a managed supplier program? Options: Completely ready, Mostly ready, Partially ready, Not ready, Unsure
• What is your target go‑live date (and how fixed is that timeline)?
• Who are the named executive sponsors and day‑to‑day champions in Procurement and HR? Please include names/titles if available.
• Which recent program launches (last 24 months) does your team view as comparable experience? Options: VMS implementation, Supplier consolidation, Rate card renegotiation, Managed service (MSP) rollout, No comparable launches, Other
• What single concern keeps you up about this launch?

Where the Real Risks Hide

• Which hidden data issues, supplier behaviors, or governance gaps are most likely to derail the project before day one?
• Do you have a fully reconciled supplier master mapped to legal entities and spend? Options: Yes — fully reconciled, Partially reconciled, No — significant gaps, Unsure
• Which channels currently bypass your VMS or procurement controls? Options: Hiring manager direct hires, Supplier invoices outside the VMS, SOW/consulting engagements, Payroll/umbrella vendors, Business unit vendor arrangements, Other
• How many suppliers do you estimate are operating as 'rogue' or unapproved vendors? Options: <5, 5–20, 21–50, 51–100, >100, Unsure
• Describe any open compliance or classification issues flagged by internal or external audits.

If This Fails, What Breaks First?

• What is the single most damaging outcome for the business if the go‑live fails or is significantly delayed?
• Which stakeholder reactions would you interpret as a program failure (select all that apply)? Options: C‑suite concern or escalation, Procurement/HR escalation, Hiring manager backlash, Key suppliers withdraw, Regulatory audit activated, Board questioning
• Estimate the potential first‑year financial exposure from unchecked rate creep, missed consolidation, or invoicing errors. Options: <$250k, $250k–$1M, $1M–$5M, $5M–$20M, >$20M, Unsure
• Which compliance or legal penalties are you most concerned about if controls aren’t in place at launch? Options: Co‑employment risk, Wage & hour violations, Tax classification penalties, Benefits misreporting, Data/privacy breaches, Other
• How would a failed launch change your upcoming board reporting or audit posture?

Assembly: Who Owns Every Moving Part?

• If one person had to be empowered to stop the project when overwhelmed—who would that be and why?
• Who is the named internal owner for Program Management (name, title, and available capacity over next 90 days)?
• Do you have an IT integration owner who can provide API credentials, manage data mapping, and schedule gateway work? Options: Yes — assigned and available, Yes — assigned but limited availability, No — not assigned, Unsure
• Which functions have a clear RACI for supplier onboarding and ongoing governance? Options: Procurement, HR/Talent, IT, Legal, Finance, Business Hiring Managers, No clear RACI
• Are there third‑party integrators or system integrators we must coordinate with (name them if known)? Options: Yes — named partners, Yes — partner TBD, No, Unsure
• How stable are internal resource commitments (program manager, IT time, procurement leads) for the next 90 days? Options: Fully committed, Partially committed, At risk, Not committed, Unsure

The Data: Can We Trust It?

• If we sampled 100 supplier and worker records from your systems today, approximately what percent would you trust as accurate and complete? Options: 90–100%, 70–89%, 50–69%, 25–49%, <25%, Unsure
• Which data feeds will we need to onboard (select all that apply)? Options: Supplier master, Worker rosters, Timesheets, Invoices, Rate cards, Requisitions, ERP GL mapping, Payroll feeds, Other
• For each required feed, what is the current frequency and file format (e.g., daily CSV, weekly API, batch SFTP)?
• Can you provide recent sample extracts for reconciliation within 10 business days? Options: Yes — available now, Yes — will provide, No, Unsure
• Who controls data access approvals and who signs off on production credentials?
• Are there PII or security constraints (encryption, VPN, SOC2 requirements) that require special handling? Options: Yes — strict, Yes — standard controls, No special constraints, Unsure

Supplier Side: Are They Ready to Play by the Rules?

• Which suppliers are most likely to resist onboarding to a managed program, and what do you think will be their primary objections?
• Do your suppliers already have signed master service agreements that accept program governance and standard rate cards? Options: Most suppliers do, Some suppliers do, Few suppliers do, None, Unsure
• Approximately what percentage of spend by supplier will require contractual or rate renegotiation to align with program terms? Options: <10%, 10–25%, 26–50%, 51–75%, >75%, Unsure
• Are supplier compliance documents (insurance, W‑9s, background checks, certificates) stored centrally and accessible? Options: Yes — central repository, Partial coverage, No — scattered, Unsure
• Which supplier groups will need onboarding training on processes or the VMS (select all that apply)? Options: Large national agencies, Boutique/local agencies, Statement‑of‑work consultants, Direct contractors, Payroll/umbrella providers, Other
• What level of supplier attrition risk do you expect if stricter SLAs and performance gating are enforced? Options: High risk, Moderate risk, Low risk, Unsure

Simulation & Go‑Live: What's the Soft Spot?

• What single UAT or pilot scenario do you most fear failing in a way that would force a rollback?
• Have acceptance criteria been defined for data reconciliation, supplier activity, and finance integration? Options: Fully defined, Partially defined, Not defined, Unsure
• Will you run a pilot or phased roll‑out and, if so, which approach best describes your plan? Options: Single business unit pilot, Single supplier category pilot, Geography‑specific pilot, Phased enterprise roll‑out, Full cutover, Undecided
• Is there a documented rollback plan and defined cutover hours for go/no‑go decisioning? Options: Yes — documented, Partial plan exists, No plan, Unsure
• Who has the final authority to declare go/no‑go on cutover day (name/title)?
• What will the pre‑ and post‑go‑live communications look like for hiring managers and suppliers?

How We'll Measure Success (and Recover If Necessary)

• If we could not demonstrate first‑year savings within six months, what would that mean for the program’s future in your organization?
• Which three KPIs are non‑negotiable to have live and reporting at go‑live? Options: Data accuracy rate, Supplier compliance rate, Fill rate, Time‑to‑fill, Initial savings vs baseline, SLA adherence, Invoice match rate, Other
• How will baseline savings and supplier performance be validated immediately after launch (method and owner)?
• Who will own remediation plans and supplier performance improvement actions if targets are missed? Options: Procurement, Program Manager (MSP), HR, Legal, Finance, Shared ownership
• What cadence do you want for early governance meetings (first 90 days)? Options: Weekly, Bi‑weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Other
• Are there executive stakeholders who require a formal readiness sign‑off before we cut over? If yes, please list them and their approval criteria.

Quick Snapshot — Help Us Get Oriented

• Tell us the single most important fact to know about your contingent workforce right now (e.g., spend, headcount, or biggest headache).
• How much does your organization spend on contingent labor annually? Options: < $50M, $50M–$100M, $100M–$250M, $250M–$1B, > $1B, Undisclosed / prefer not to say
• Which VMS or ERP system is the primary source of record for contingent workforce transactions? Options: Beeline, SAP Fieldglass, Workday VMS, Coupa, Oracle, In-house/custom, Other / multiple
• Roughly how many active staffing suppliers currently deliver contingent workers to your enterprise? Options: 1–10, 11–25, 26–50, 51–100, 100+
• Who currently owns day-to-day supplier relationships for contingent labor? Options: Procurement (central), HR/Talent, Business unit hiring managers, Shared model (Procurement + HR), Other
• How confident are you in the accuracy of your current contingent spend reporting? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Low confidence, No confidence / we don’t have reliable reporting
• If you could attach one document that best represents your current state (org chart, supplier master, sample spend extract), which would you choose and why?

If This Keeps Going, What Will Break?

• At the current rate of fragmentation and unchecked exceptions, which outcome feels most likely—budget overrun, compliance incident, board visibility failure, or degraded delivery? Options: Budget overrun / rate creep, Compliance incident / co-employment risk, Failure to report to board accurately, Supplier performance / fill rate degradation, All of the above
• How often do you see rate increases or one-off exceptions outside agreed rate cards? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Biannually, Annually, Rarely / never
• Have you experienced any compliance incidents (misclassification, payroll tax exposure, or audit findings) in the last 24 months? Options: Yes—material impact, Yes—minor impact, No documented incidents, Unsure / under investigation
• When compliance gaps are identified, how long does remediation usually take and who drives it? Options: <1 month, 1–3 months, 3–6 months, >6 months, No formal remediation process
• How does rogue or off-book spend typically get approved or paid today (e.g., P-card, manual PO, direct hire-through-agency)?
• Estimate the annual financial leakage you suspect today (percent of contingent spend or absolute $) or write 'unknown' if not measured.

Where Dollars and Risk Hide

• Which category or process do you believe currently hides the most unmanaged spend or risk—SOW, high-volume admin roles, niche contractors, or off-book placements? Options: Statement-of-Work / project labor, High-volume hourly roles (e.g., contact center), Niche / specialized contractors, Off-book placements or direct engagements, Multiple areas equally
• Do you have a single source of truth for contingent headcount and worker status (vendor vs payroll)? Options: Yes—single source of truth, Partially—some reconciled sources, No—many disconnected sources, Not sure
• How are supplier tiers, allocation, or performance bands tracked today? Options: Formal scorecards with cadence, Ad-hoc / informal notes, Spreadsheets only, Not tracked
• Which billing or spend categories lack consistent coding or mapping across systems (cost center, job code, supplier ID)?
• Are there supplier types or worker segments you suspect are chronically underperforming? Name the segments and describe the main issue.
• On average, how many open contingent requisitions rely on suppliers each month? Options: <50, 50–150, 150–500, 500–1,000, >1,000, Unknown

Who's Actually Calling the Shots?

• If the person who controls supplier selection had to justify this program to the CEO tomorrow, could they do it with data and authority? Options: Yes—confidently, Yes—with preparation, No—lack the data, No—lack the authority
• List the roles that must sign off on scope, budget, and executive sponsorship for a managed supplier program.
• Which executive is most likely to be the program sponsor—Chief Procurement Officer, VP HR, CFO, CLO, or someone else? Options: Chief Procurement Officer, VP HR / Head of Talent, CFO / Finance, Chief Legal Officer, Other / shared sponsorship
• What is your current internal governance cadence for supplier and contingent workforce decisions? Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Ad-hoc
• How aligned are Procurement and HR on objectives for contingent workforce management today? Options: Fully aligned, Mostly aligned, Partially aligned, Not aligned at all
• Who in your organization would be the day-to-day program manager once the managed supplier program is live?

Why Programs Like This Succeed or Fail

• When similar programs fail, is it more often because of poor data, supplier resistance, weak sponsorship, or change management breakdown? Options: Poor data / integration, Supplier resistance or complexity, Weak executive sponsorship, Change management / adoption issues, Contract/commercial model problems
• Describe any previous supplier consolidation or managed supplier initiatives you’ve run and the outcome (successes and where it fell short).
• Which vendor metrics have you tried to enforce before and which were hardest to sustain? Options: Rate compliance, Fill rate, Time-to-fill, Quality-of-hire, SLAs for onboarding, Invoice accuracy
• How do you currently benchmark supplier rates against market data? Options: Internal historical rates, Third-party benchmark service, Annual market reset with suppliers, No formal benchmarking
• How comfortable are you with multiyear (3–5 year) engagements that include annual benchmarking and supplier re-evaluation? Options: Very comfortable, Somewhat comfortable, Unsure, Not comfortable
• What stakeholder objections do you anticipate from hiring managers, finance, or legal if we move to rate normalization and supplier consolidation?

If Success Looked Real, What Would It Feel Like?

• If a managed supplier program delivered 8–15% first-year savings while maintaining fill rates and quality, what tangible changes would you expect across your organization?
• What is your target first-year savings percentage (or range) that would make this program ‘worth it’? Options: <5%, 5–8%, 8–12%, 12–15%, >15%, Undetermined
• Which KPIs would convince your C-suite the program is a success? Options: Total cost savings, Cost per hire, Fill rate, Time-to-fill, Compliance incidents, Supplier performance score, Consolidated contingent spend visibility
• How often would the C-suite expect consolidated contingent workforce reporting to be delivered? Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Biannually, Annually, On demand
• What level of transparency into supplier contracts, fees, and margins is required for internal sign-off? Options: Full contract-level visibility, Redacted commercial summary, Benchmark comparatives only, Depends by supplier
• Would you prefer early wins shown via a focused pilot by category, by region, or by supplier tier? Explain your choice. Options: By category (top spend areas), By region / geography, By supplier tier, Hybrid approach, Prefer full rollout
• Describe a C-suite success narrative we could use to help secure ongoing sponsorship.

Integration & Data Reality Check

• How confident are you that integration complexity will be the least risky part of implementation? Options: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Skeptical, Not confident
• Which systems must we integrate with on Day 1 (select all that apply)? Options: VMS (Beeline, Fieldglass, etc.), ERP / Finance system, Payroll provider, HRIS (Workday, SuccessFactors, etc.), BI / Reporting tools, Third-party payroll / MSP systems, Other
• Do you have sample data extracts available for validation (supplier master, PO history, invoice history, worker roster)? Options: Yes—ready to share, Yes—will require preparation, Partially available, No
• What data quality issues are most common (duplicate suppliers, missing cost codes, inconsistent job titles, mismatched POs)?
• Who owns integrations and data feeds internally and what is their available bandwidth for a multi-month project? Options: Procurement IT, HRIS team, Shared integration team, External integrator, Not yet assigned
• What is your desired timeline from contract signature to first live cutover? Options: <2 months, 2–4 months, 4–6 months, >6 months, TBD based on pilot

What Would It Take to Move Forward?

• What is the single non-negotiable condition you would require before greenlighting a managed supplier program?
• Which commercial model would you prefer as a starting point? Options: Fixed fee, Savings share (%), Hybrid (base + savings share), Transaction / per-PO fee, Other
• Are you open to an initial proof-of-value pilot and what would success look like for that pilot? Options: Yes—small, focused pilot, Yes—broader pilot, No—prefer immediate rollout, Undecided
• If running a pilot, which scope would you choose? Options: Top spend category, High-volume roles, Single geography, Supplier tier cleanup, Hybrid scope
• What are the top three contractual, legal, or procurement issues that must be resolved before signing (list them)?
• Who from your side should attend a proof-of-value workshop (select all needed participants)? Options: Procurement director, HR leader / talent, Finance / budget owner, Legal / compliance, IT / integration lead, Hiring manager representative, Supplier representative
• What supplier transition concerns or blockers should we anticipate (e.g., resistance to new rate cards, onboarding documentation, legacy commitments)?