Demand Innovation From Your Workplace Services Supplier

Forrester interviewed 40 customer references across 14 suppliers as part of the 2013 Forrester Wave™ evaluations of workplace services providers. Customers had nearly uniform praise for the flexibility of workplace services suppliers and for their willingness to accommodate customer needs, while also giving vendors high marks for their transparency in business dealings. However, customers believe that innovation is a relatively weak point in service offerings, a familiar litany across major categories of outsourced services. This weakness is significant given the rapid pace with which social, mobile, and cloud technologies are changing the workplace. Sourcing and vendor management professionals must focus their service governance on the weaknesses of workplace services delivery. For one thing, they must be willing to "pull" innovation from their workplace supplier partners, either contractually or via relationship management. Customers should also take care to validate their suppliers' geographic staffing and language requirements prior to engagement.