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Statement of Work (SOW)

Agile, alternative solutions for project teams and resources

Our Statement of Work service

Our Statement of Work (SOW) solutions provide access to an end-to-end procurement service, managed by a specialised team. SOW is an alternative route to non-permanent talent solutions, allowing clients to hire individuals, suppliers or teams for projects. Whether you need assistance with a one-off project, or comprehensive management of all SOW requirements, we can support you. We take pride in our global reach coupled with local expertise, and deep knowledge of both private and public sector markets.

Our track record

  • 43,000

    Professionals we help start their next chapter

  • 11,000

    Organisations who we help acquire talent

  • 28

    Years of delivering outsourcing solutions to clients worldwide

  • 60

    Countries where we deliver Statement of Work services

How it works

With our extensive expertise and dedicated team, we will act as an extension of your own procurement function, partnering with you to achieve cost savings, improve efficiency, balance your Preferred Supplier List (PSL), mitigate risks, deliver specialist procurement advice, and improve governance. 

We remove the complexities of accessing consultancy and project resources, however you access them, guaranteeing the best access to skilled suppliers and consultants through an expedited process. We make things simple, smart and efficient, creating personalised solutions that fit your requirements. 

Our specialist team are experts in guiding clients through the process of buying-in project resources, professional services, and services procurement. We will support you from inception, triage and concept, all the way through the process, to project go live. 

Our SOW solutions can be delivered in two ways:

  1. We expertly manage your suppliers and consultants for you. This can be for a specific project, or for all of your SOW consultancy spend and can be delivered as a standalone agreement, or via your existing Managed Service Provider (MSP) or Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). 

  2. We create and build project teams and individual resources for you with our Resource Augmentation and Hire Train Deploy solutions. This approach delivers significant cost savings and increases client control over outcomes and scope.  

 

We dedicate time to understand your requirements and deliverables and advise how best to achieve them, via a blend of our own employed consultants and engaging our strategic partners and suppliers. You tell us what you want to achieve, and we will provide the best solution and route to market.  

Key benefits

 
  • Significant cost savings and avoidance
  • Full control and visibility of spend
  • Robust governance, compliance, and risk mitigation strategies
  • Procurement and technical expertise
  • An agile and balanced PSL, aligned to your social values and ESG goals
  • Seamless contract management and project delivery

An award-winning service

What makes our SOW service different?
 

Powered by data

We make data-driven decisions to optimise your hiring processes and deliver the talent you need effectively and efficiently. The key to operational excellence is accurate data, but many businesses struggle to produce consistent metrics and up-to-date market insight. That’s where RWInsights comes in. 

RWInsights is our cloud-based platform powered by 100+ data sources and a global team of data scientists who are experts in talent analytics, and the economic and demographic factors that influence talent. It gives you access to an always-on, personalised talent analytics platform to build a truly data-led approach to managing your non-permanent workforce. 

Enabled by tech

RWLaunch is our Vendor Management System (VMS) technology, underpinning every aspect of MSP delivery. It enables us to manage the full procure-to-pay process and sits as part of our wider RWConnect technology stack with integrations into our sourcing and finance infrastructure. 

You can use our best-in-class tech as a complete CWS platform, or it can seamlessly integrate with your tech stack. We also partner with the leading VMS providers and our tech agonistic approach means we will always work with you to implement the solution that works best for your organisation. We are constantly innovating and improving our tech to meet your future hiring needs. So you can stay ahead of the market without constantly upgrading your own systems.  

Delivered by experts

Our business is built on providing the expertise to solve your toughest resourcing and talent management challenges. We have talent solutions specialists at every stage of the non-permanent management lifecycle - from finding the talent you need to rigorous process compliance and vendor performance management. Our teams will get to know you, champion your organisation’s story, and connect you to professionals who can transform your business.  

We have strong in-built capability for skills-first, diversity and environmental, social & governance (ESG) hiring needs. Our powerful combination of talent marketers and sourcing partners can help you explore and develop more diverse talent pools. Our experts in selection ensure a fair and meritocratic process every time. Whatever your challenges, we provide practical solutions and operational excellence at scale and speed, flexing the size and make-up of our team to match your requirements. 

Meet our Statement of Work experts

Jessica  Holt

Jessica Holt

Managing Director of Consultancy

With over 20 years of experience, Jessica joined us in 2021 to establish our Consultancy function and consolidate our Employed Consultant Model.

Ailsa Hegarty

Ailsa Hegarty

SOW Practice Director

Ailsa has 20+ years' experience across the talent industry, more recently being dedicated to SOW and consultancy solutions, delivering tailored talent solutions, and building strong client partnerships.

Tom Elliott

Tom Elliott

Global Growth Director, Consultancy

With significant experience
in consulting and software services, Tom is responsible for forging global client partnerships to support business transformation.  

John  Fallon

John Fallon

Customer Success Director, EMEA

As Customer Success Director, John specialises in the development and delivery of talent acquisition programmes, helping clients overcome their talent-related challenges.

 

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Contact us to discuss your Statement of Work needs

 

 

FAQ's

  • What does SOW mean?
    SOW stands for ‘Statement of Work’ and is the contract/document that outlines the specific SOW services and delivery information for a particular project. However, it is not uncommon for the term to be used as a ‘capture all’ term around "SOW Services", so the term is used for both the document, and in addition the services to deliver the work. It is not unusual for a client to approach us and ask ‘Do you do SOW?’ With the answer being yes.
  • How does a client know when a requirement is best delivered via an SOW?
    Triaging and carefully considering the best route to market is very important for legislation, costs, value, risk, and sourcing purposes. In theory, when a piece of work or project has certain characteristics that benefit from a specialised provider, or dedicated resources to deliver as a defined project with detailed documentation, clear milestones/payments, and formal agreements, then SOW may be the answer. It is not always a simple decision, however we are here to support and give guidance. Having internal processes, clear governance, and signposting in the business can all help with SOW procurement.
  • What are the organisational benefits from using Robert Walters Consultancy to deliver SOW management services and SOW solutions?
    By working with a partner of choice such as Robert Walters Consultancy to manage your SOW Procurement and SOW services, an organisation can greatly improve efficiency, reduce risks, facilitate alignment with procurement business goals, establish a Consultancy PSL, ensure ESG values & goals are met, increase value, decrease costs, and mitigate risk. Current data would indicate that nearly 70% of global organisations are considering their SOW and Consultancy spend as part of their total talent solutions due to the opportunities and benefits.
  • What areas of business are SOW mainly used and what are the costs?
    A SOW is primarily used in various business areas where specific projects, services, or deliverables need to be clearly defined and managed. This can be via specialised suppliers or by the creating of a project team of experienced consultants. Typically, SOW services spend is often seen within IT, Data, Software, Change & Transformation and Talent Advisory although it is an agile solution that can be deployed effectively in any business area. At Robert Walters Consultancy we have a number of pricing models that ensures a client achieves value, a quality service, and efficiencies.

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