Building a workforce program for a complex environment
When the University of California (UC) set out to improve visibility, consistency, and oversight of its contingent labor program, it faced challenges common to many large institutions: decentralized processes, siloed data, and varying approaches across departments and campuses to meet specific needs. To address these challenges, UC selected Hays as its Managed Service Provider (MSP) from a complex RFP and launched a multi-phase initiative to bring greater transparency, governance, and operational efficiency to contingent workforce management across the system.
Pilot program takes off at Berkeley
Beginning with UC Berkeley, the first campus in the phased rollout, the initiative was immediately embraced at the highest levels. Reducing administrative overhead, automating compliance, and consolidating vendor management were top priorities for Berkeley’s Vice Chancellors in Administration, Operations, and Finance, who quickly recognized the potential for meaningful savings across the board.
Hays responded by conducting discovery workshops across multiple stakeholder groups including procurement leaders, hiring managers, and department stakeholders. “Since that first day, the discovery sessions, staff interviews, and understanding of our needs have exceeded our expectations,” shared Russell Chung, Chief Procurement Officer, UC Berkeley. This collaborative approach uncovered significant opportunities to reduce complexity and create consistency while preserving the flexibility each department needs.
Proprietary technology + process improvement = transformation
Contingent workforce data is often spread across multiple systems, preventing visibility into active workers, supplier performance, spending trends, and workforce planning needs. Introducing a centralized MSP model with Hays’ proprietary vendor management technology, Three Story Software (3SS), grants UC access to a more structured and transparent framework for managing contingent labor. Hays and Berkeley also designed integrations between 3SS and Jaggaer, the campus procurement platform, for a seamless hiring, approval, purchasing, and workforce management experience while maintaining existing financial controls.
For Berkeley, this represents a fundamental shift: moving from unmanaged contingent labor to fully governed services. The program brings meaningful reductions in administrative work across vendoring, 1099 reporting, invoicing, and payments, all while automating compliance and expanding access to a larger, more competitive pool of candidates. Enhanced supplier management, consolidated invoicing, independent contractor compliance oversight, direct sourcing capabilities, and solutions accommodating unionized labor requirements further reduce administrative burden and strengthen governance. UC Systemwide Procurement Category Manager, Bob Puerzer, has been instrumental in coordinating the effort systemwide, helping lighten Berkeley’s load and ensuring a smooth path forward.
Blueprint for the future
With implementation on track, the Berkeley framework is laying the foundation for a scalable model to extend across the entire UC system. Though meeting Berkeley’s specific needs, the rollout model is transferable so that lessons learned can be transferred seamlessly to other campuses. “We are not only focused on a successful Berkeley launch, but on success at other campuses,” said Russ Chung. The result will be a more connected, efficient, and compliant contingent workforce program, and a potential blueprint for workforce transformation across the higher education sector.