Managing workforce administration in higher education is no small feat. Colleges and universities today are under increasing pressure to do more with less—supporting diverse academic programs, research initiatives, and administrative functions while staying compliant and managing tight budgets. The workforce behind it all is equally complex: a mix of faculty, researchers, seasonal staff, and a growing population of contingent workers. Add in decentralized hiring, inconsistent pay structures, and limited visibility across departments, and even the most prestigious institutions can lose control. To overcome these challenges, universities need a partner who understands the nuances of academic environments and can drive change without disrupting daily operations. Here’s how DZConneX (DZX) helped one top-tier university do just that.
With a high volume of contingent workers supporting a wide range of departments and schools, an esteemed university faced growing challenges in managing its workforce effectively. For years, its contingent labor program operated through independently managed processes across various units, which offered limited visibility into thousands of workers and more than $60 million in annual spend. This distributed structure resulted in inconsistent contract terms and markup rates, inefficient administrative processes, and limited control over costs or strategic sourcing. As a result, the university missed opportunities to improve supplier performance, candidate quality, and service levels—while also facing heightened compliance risks.
Faced with these growing challenges, the university identified the need for a trusted partner to bring greater structure, consistency, and visibility to its contingent workforce program. A modernized approach was essential—one that would implement a comprehensive compliance model, streamline invoicing through a consolidated process, and significantly reduce administrative burden. With no prior compliance framework and an outdated billing process in place, the university sought an experienced workforce solutions provider to help mitigate risk and deliver strategic guidance.
Aware that gaining buy-in from all of the university’s schools would be a complex and sensitive process, the client needed a high-touch partner that would prioritize change management and integrate all components seamlessly—and that’s where DZConneX (DZX) came in.
Leveraging deep expertise in compliance-driven MSP programs and people-first implementation strategies, DZX tailored its approach to meet the university’s culture and complexity. We led in-depth discovery sessions to assess existing systems, teams, and workflows. Vendor-agnostic, we worked with the client to identify a VMS partner and then configured the platform to the needs of their program. To ensure a smooth transition, DZX facilitated training for hundreds of end users and hosted ongoing meetings, roadshows, and tutorials to drive engagement.
With the VMS infrastructure in place, the next critical phase focused on optimizing the university’s supplier landscape. DZX conducted a detailed evaluation to identify high-performing, compliant suppliers and address rogue spend that had developed under the previous model. By strategically reducing the supplier base from more than 200 vendors to 50, DZX brought all contingent labor under centralized MSP management. This consolidation enabled consistent contract terms, increased accountability, and real-time visibility through comprehensive reporting on spend, headcount, compliance, and supplier performance. The restructured program streamlined operations and positioned the university for long-term scalability and strategic workforce planning.
From day one, DZX delivered meaningful improvements that transformed the university’s contingent labor program. Within the first year, DZX helped the university save over $800,000 by introducing a more efficient invoicing process, negotiating competitive markups, and launching a structured compliance system. The program’s launch was met with immediate success, achieving 90% adoption across participating schools and delivering a 99% candidate retention rate—demonstrating both rapid uptake and sustained worker satisfaction.
Over the next four years, those early efficiencies scaled into over $11 million in total cost savings. The university also realized a 40% reduction in estimated total contingent labor spend, benefited from a 1% prompt-pay discount, and aligned its rate card to market benchmarks. By consolidating vendor management under an efficient MSP model, the university retained its trusted suppliers while streamlining operations and introducing comprehensive reporting on spend, headcount, compliance, and supplier performance.
With customizations tailored to the unique needs of each school—from law and engineering to liberal arts—the DZX team created an adaptable and scalable program that preserved autonomy while driving consistency. The result is a fully integrated solution that empowers the university with the visibility, control, and agility to support its evolving workforce strategy long into the future.
For this prestigious university, DZX delivered far more than a streamlined workforce program—we became a trusted strategic partner. From day one, we focused on change management to prepare key stakeholders and end users alike. These proactive measures not only eased the transition but also generated early confidence and widespread adoption across participating schools.
As the program matured, measurable improvements followed. Our compliance program helped cut the time between job post distribution and offer acceptance in half, and the university hit its pre-set performance goals from the very first measurement. In the years since launch, we’ve continued to deliver value—optimizing operations, controlling costs, and enabling smarter workforce planning.
Today, with a program that’s been live for over five years, our partnership continues to evolve. The solution was purposefully designed to scale, and we are now supporting the university as it expands into additional schools and enhances program capabilities.
Through a thoughtful, people-centric approach and a commitment to continuous improvement, DZX helped this renowned academic institution transform a complex workforce landscape into a unified, high-performing solution. The result? A program that not only met expectations—but set a new standard for what’s possible.
