The Temp Management Toolbox

Computerworld - Many vendors have introduced comprehensive contingent-workforce management systems for procuring, managing, analyzing and paying temporary workers.
Prominent vendors include the Chimes subsidiary of Computer Horizons Corp., White Amber Inc., CascadeWorks, Peopleclick, Elance Inc., IQNavigator Inc., Volt Information Sciences Inc., Evolve Software Inc., WorkforceLogic Inc. and The WorkCard Co.
But the features and capabilities differ greatly. Some include HR functions that go beyond those needed for temporary workers, and some support procurement of services besides contract staffing. Products also differ in the kinds of contract arrangements supported. The simplest are geared to time-based charges, but some also support fee- or deliverable-based billings.
Among mainstream enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors, PeopleSoft Inc. and Oracle Corp. offer software designed for contingent workers, but the tools lack many features of the specialized packages.
Ariba Inc., Commerce One Inc. and a few other ERP vendors have products for purchasing, but they're geared more to the procurement of physical goods and are less suitable for managing contracts and workers over time. Ariba, however, has a reseller agreement with CascadeWorks for its Clarity software for services procurement.
According to Andrew Bartels, an analyst at Giga Information Group Inc., the vendors with the most comprehensive offerings generally are the smaller, newer and potentially less stable ones. "At present, companies that want the most comprehensive solutions may have to accept some risk around vendor viability," he says.

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