Reaping The Benefits Of SOW: Statement Of Work Services For An IT Leader 

Strategic Achievements

  • 25+ SOW projects managed for IT clients 
  • Successfully transitioned talent on project to prevent shutdown 
  • Comprehensive reporting included for all SOW projects 
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What DZX Brought To The Table

  • Statement Of Work Management Services

Degree of Difficulty

  • 8/10
  • Strict compliance regulations
  • Need for team consistency
  • Challenging project environment 

The Dilemma

An international IT and engineering leader was working on a project of high importance when a potential disaster suddenly struck their organization. Their Statement of Work (SOW) vendor went under in the middle of the project and could no longer manage the project on a full-time basis. In order to keep this project moving forward while keeping the existing talent on board, this company turned to a trusted talent expert for help. As the company's current Managed Services Provider (MSP), DZConneX (DZX) stepped in to help, as they already know this client's business better than most.  

 

The Strategy

Our goal was to keep all existing talent on board to maintain the momentum and consistency that the software engineering project already had. DZX's dedicated teams  partnered seamlessly with the company’s HR department to negotiate with the project's workers, including reassuring them that they would not lose their job and offering them completion bonuses. After extensive negotiations, DZX was able to ensure all talent remained on the project to complete it on time and within scope. DZX took over the entirety of our client's SOW program and efficiently transitioned the workforce from a previous SOW leader over to DZX management. 

 

The Impact

With DZX's help, our client experienced no project delays, had no disappointed workers, and achieved total project satisfaction. Now the go-to vendor for nearly all of the company’s SOW projects, DZX manages these detail-oriented projects with the best talent and provides insightful reporting into project progress and status. Each project receives customized and flexible SOW management, and tenure issues are handled by DZX's experts, allowing our client to focus more on their core business. 

 

 

DZX 3 Keys Nonemployee Workforce Planning

 

When it comes to contingent labor versus Statement of Work (SOW) services, the differences between the two can sometimes be difficult to recognize at first. Neither of them are considered full-time employees of an organization; rather, they are working for a period of time with no guarantee of future employment once a project or timeframe has reached its conclusion. But therein lies the difference.

Due to tenure constraints and compliance guidelines set forth by the IRS and Department of Labor, contingent talent is limited in the amount of time and work they can do for an employer before requiring benefits befitting of a full-time employee. For SOW engagements, on the other hand, these individuals will work on a project until its completion, usually directing only the result of the work and not what will be done or how it will be done.

So when a project or piece of work requires SOW services, it’s critical that the management of these individuals is done by experts who understand compliance rules, can provide proper project reporting, and have experience onboarding and offboarding this classification of workers. An expert like DZX, for example is the best organization to manage SOW engagements.

In this particular case, DZX’s client, an international IT and engineering company, needed talent experts to handle one project whose previous SOW leader went belly up and could no longer manage the project on a full-time basis. In came DZX's experts, saving the project at hand and taking over the management of dozens of other SOW projects as a result of our initial successful project.

 

DZX Saves The Day

As the company’s Managed Services Provider (MSP) partner for some time, DZX already knew our client's business better than most (and sometimes better than all). So when disaster struck one of the client’s software engineering SOW projects, where the SOW vendor went under and put the entire project and its talent to a sudden halt, DZX was called upon to help save this SOW engagement.

Our client required that all of the existing talent be kept on board to maintain the momentum and consistency the project already had. If new talent had been needed, the entire project may have required a restart, but that was not an option that our client was willing to accept.

After exceptional negotiating, including reassurances for a team that had been on the verge of losing jobs as well as a number of completion bonuses, DZX's experts persuaded the current talent to remain on site and ensured the project was completed successfully and on time. Partnering seamlessly with the company’s HR department and project managers to negotiate with the ten workers, DZX not only took over the entirety of the client’s SOW program, but they also quickly and efficiently trained and transitioned an entire workforce from a previous vendor over to DZX management for this multi-year project. Our experts ensured there would be no project delays, no angry workers, and total project satisfaction. 

 

Ensuring Efficiency  

Following the successful transition of a project teetering on the edge of failure, DZX quickly became this client’s go-to vendor for all types of SOW projects. From software testing and IT engineering, to enterprise software migrations and Alaskan satellite construction, DZX develops and manages project-customized SOW processes to ensure that SOW engagements are efficiently and cost-effectively flowing through the organization.

With any SOW engagement or contingent labor project, there will always be some amount of risk involved, and it’s DZX’s job to take that risk out of the client’s hands and into the waiting arms of talent experts well-versed in all compliance regulations associated with this type of labor. At each step of the way, DZX connects with the client’s project managers and consultants through in-person meetings and weekly update calls to assure them that all deadlines are being met, costs are being managed, and all talent needs are being fulfilled. DZX also provides full visibility to quickly and efficiently show where all SOW spend is being utilized in terms of time, money, and number of hours used at any given point.

By using its uniquely designed SOW process, DZX can offer subsidized benefits to keep workers engaged and committed to the project, without having to worry about tenure requirements impeding upon productivity. Additionally, DZX’s strong pipeline of vetted candidates makes it easy to identify qualified talent to almost immediately work on a project, augment a skill, or fill a gap. For both HR managers and procurement professionals, SOW engagements can sometimes be difficult and confusing to handle. But with our expertise and experience managing these unique services, DZX is here to help companies in any industry through any project need.

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