In Canada it is safe to assume that more than half of organizations do not carry measures to assess compliance with their Suppliers. Much of the time to manage documents is via filing cabinets; excel spreadsheets, or in-house databases. Lack of confidence in reporting tools is a good sign that their systems, or lack there of is not dependable.

Many reasons for not having sophisticated systems set up are due to them being expensive as well as the nature of the industry and whether it requires one. Although as Independent Contractors are a growing industry as a whole, the matter of holding Suppliers to their MSA Agreements with Clients will also grow. Temp Agencies are a large enough industry where their services include high turnover, Contractors working in and out of different organizations. To hold documentation for each position is cumbersome however if something happens to the Contractor; the client and Supplier become at risk. If a General Labourer does not possess the required documentation or certifications to fulfill a position and gets hurt, the Client and Supplier can be sued. Minor issues are often ignored however it is the minor issue that will eventually contribute to major fallouts.

Vendor Management Systems should be equipped with a documents management tool where Clients and vendors can manage their Contractor documents. A Managed Service Provider is more effective in enforcing these documents to ensure compliance is met.

As big of an issue this is, or has become in our industry, there are still companies that are not aware of compliance issues at large; and consequently can become at risk as they are unable to track.

Your thoughts?

Neha