Upwork’s Strategic Alliance with VMS and MSP Partners

The demand for flexible, high-quality talent has never been greater. According to The Upwork Research Institute, 80% of business leaders who leverage freelance talent say it’s essential to their business, and 38% of leaders who don’t already leverage this talent pool intend to start in the coming year.

As businesses navigate the disruptions of a dynamic and globalized labor market, they require new, innovative resources to seamlessly source talent within their existing systems. At Upwork, one of our founding principles has always been to connect businesses with highly skilled independent professionals around the globe. 

To enhance both hiring efficiency and management of contingent workforces, and to integrate business-critical platforms, we launched a series of strategic partnerships in December 2023 with leading vendor management systems (VMS) and managed service providers (MSP). 

Since then, we’ve rapidly expanded the ways in which businesses can tap into the global talent pool found on Upwork. We’ve partnered with trusted VMS and MSP platforms including SAP Fieldglass, Workday VNDLY, Flextrack, KellyOCG and, announced today, Beeline, one of the largest VMS providers for enterprises. 

Advancing a holistic approach to contingent workforce management

Managing a contingent workforce, inclusive of independent talent, presents complexities and challenges that can strain even the most sophisticated processes. These challenges include navigating compliance with local and international labor laws, ensuring visibility into the entire hiring lifecycle, and maintaining consistent hiring quality and efficiency across various departments. 

Enterprises often struggle with decentralized hiring processes that create inconsistencies, risks, and inefficiencies. They also have to deal with disparate systems for sourcing, onboarding, and payment—creating bottlenecks and hindering operational agility.

Upwork’s partnerships with VMS and MSP platforms create a holistic solution to these challenges. We have integrated the modern, technology-fueled experience of Upwork's platform and the world-class, independent talent on Upwork with the advanced technologies and solutions of VMS and MSP platforms. 

These integrations provide unparalleled access to the global network of expert, independent talent on Upwork, spanning more than 10,000 skills and 125 categories of work. By making the talent pool on Upwork accessible from VMS and MSP platforms, we offer enterprises a comprehensive, end-to-end solution to source, hire, and collaborate with professionals within existing workflows, streamlined into one system. 

Key benefits include:

• Enhanced visibility. Our integrations provide comprehensive visibility within the VMS and across the entire engagement lifecycle—from sourcing to the conclusion of the assignment. This allows businesses to track and manage their contingent workforce with ease, which is crucial for making informed decisions and optimizing workforce strategies.
• Improved compliance. Navigating the complexities of compliance can be daunting, especially when dealing with a global talent pool. Our partnerships help ensure that enterprises adhere to local and international regulations, mitigating risks and ensuring peace of mind.
• Streamlined processes. By combining the strengths of VMS and MSP solutions with Upwork’s technology and the highly skilled independent talent found on our work marketplace, we deliver a streamlined process that enhances overall efficiency. This allows businesses to focus on their core activities while we handle the intricacies of workforce management.

Our continued commitment to a best-in-class enterprise solution

Our mission to create economic opportunities so people have better lives is meaningfully supported by our strategic partnerships with VMS and MSP providers. Together, we are leading the way in helping organizations connect with independent talent, diversify their workforce strategies, and usher in a transformative era of work solutions. At Upwork, we are continuing our commitments to advancing best-in-class enterprise solutions for our customers, building a better way to work.