“If this is something that you want to tackle, it is not a lone wolf-type project. You’re going to need the support of the business. Having the right partner or the right shepherd in the organization can make a really meaningful difference.”  --Brian Salkowski, Chief Operating Officer at Guidant Global Decisions about how a company manages their external talent management program should not be taken lightly. There are many factors contributing to complexity, including varied expectations, a high bar for efficiency and effectiveness requirements, and the fact that no two people on the planet offer quite the same combination of capabilities. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner interview Brian Salkowski, Chief Operating Officer at Guidant Global, and Marie France, Contingent Workforce Management and Procurement Operations Expert at Guidant Global. They discuss opportunities to elevate services procurement without disrupting the internal team or the stakeholders that rely upon that source of talent: The impact this category of spend has on a company’s ability to operate, and the contributions it can make to procurement’s value proposition How to optimize spending decisions at the intersection of multiple options and talent fulfillment models The importance of gathering market intelligence and benchmarking data, making the most of quantitative and qualitative supporting facts to bolster the business case Links: Brian Salkowski on LinkedIn Marie France on LinkedIn Watch Again: A Deliberate Path to Success through Comprehensive Talent Procurement