Contingent workforce compliance and visibility

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Fragmented workforce management across industrial sites

Our new customer faced ongoing challenges managing its temporary workforce across over 20 industrial sites in France with €84M of spend. This prompted the need for improved compliance, visibility, and strategic workforce planning.

Temporary labour management was fragmented: most hiring managers engaged staffing partners informally, without central oversight. This lead to limited governance of worker tenure, uncontrolled contracts, inconsistent invoicing, and limited process efficiency.

The majority of the temporary workforce consisted of blue-collar roles, with an average of more than 1,200 temporary workers active per day. The reporting across the sites was minimal, and although two VMS systems were in place, they were underutilised and failed to provide reliable data or visibility.

HR challenges included high turnover rates and lack of worker retention. In addition, the client struggled to meet social responsibility objectives, specifically gender diversity, disability inclusion, and reintegration of individuals outside of employment. These targets are tied to legal and CSR obligations in France, with non-compliance resulting in potential financial penalties.

Phased transformation to restore compliance and workforce clarity

The customer agreed to a structured, staged transformation. The aim was not only legal alignment, but a centralised, data-led MSP programme able to scale across all French industrial operations. Pontoon began with a Purchasing and HR diagnostic to map gaps and restore visibility.

Step 1: Strategic alignment and scope definition

Pontoon secured approval to pilot the MSP across four high spend sites, responsible for €20M annually. These locations highlighted broader challenges:

  • Fragmented processes and limited governance
  • Minimal control of worker tenure
  • Supplier choice driven by informal relationships rather than policy

Step 2: On-Site diagnostic and market benchmarking

Cross functional Pontoon teams conducted site audits, reviewed contracts, assessed supplier distribution, and analysed tenure and turnover. Interviews with hiring managers and HR confirmed widespread gaps. Diagnostics revealed:

  • Legal exposure from workers exceeding the 18-months statutory seniority threshold
  • Contract and invoicing inconsistencies across sites
  • Limited use of existing VMS capabilities
  • Absence of structured reporting throughout the worker lifecycle

Step 3: Target operating model and VMS strategy

Pontoon defined the future state MSP model, centred on:

  • VMS centralisation through a fit-for-purpose platform
  • Automated legal compliance for tenure and contract cycles
  • Supplier panel rationalisation and standardised onboarding
  • Controlled entry and exit validation for every temporary worker
  • KPIs aligned with HR, Operations, and Procurement
  • Clear contribution to CSR commitments, including equitable hiring

Pontoon led the VMS RFP, recommending a platform that improved reporting, restored compliance, and unlocked real time workforce visibility.

Gains through compliance, automation, and workforce strategy

Following pilot launch and phased deployment, the programme delivered tangible year-long impacts:

  • Significant legal risk reduction, driven by systematic detection of contract anomalies and compliance gaps
  • More than 39,000 temporary worker contracts reviewed, materially reducing exposure to requalification and litigation
  • Over 90% order fulfilment with a 2.85‑day average time‑to‑fill, sustaining supply in high‑volume blue‑collar environments
  • Nearly 3,500 temporary workers onboarded through standardised, compliance‑validated workflow
  • Better contract and supplier oversight resulted in a 10% drop in unauthorised suppliers and a 60% improvement in contract control
  • Centralised governance across 20+ manufacturing sites - improved adherence to purchasing policy, aligned with local site needs
  • Streamlined temporary workforce management, reducing administrative effort and delivering €1.2M in direct cost savings
  • More accurate data through VMS optimisation and consistent reporting

From a people and inclusion perspective:

  • Advances in workforce diversity, including a 17% increase in female representation and stronger inclusion of disabled workers
  • Clear foundations were established for sustained improvement against diversity and inclusion objectives

The programme’s future goals include:

  • Achieve 50% gender diversity across relevant roles (currently at 33%) 
  • Maintain zero litigation incidents tied to temporary workforce compliance
  • Eliminate the use of unauthorised suppliers

Pontoon aligned compliance strategy, operational redesign, and people-centred workforce planning. This approach moved the customer from risk and fragmentation to clarity, governance, and workforce stability. A co-created rollout and deep expertise in French labour regulation elevated workforce decision-making and restored control across a complex industrial environment.