MBN USA

October 25, 2023

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Pinnacle and Regions find success by being intentional

Contributed Column by Pablo Schneider

For Regions Bank, supplier diversity is a commitment to increase the number of diverse-owned businesses into its supply chain. It means Regions is intentional in its relationships with diverse suppliers, which increases competition, drives value and generates innovation.

Success equates to creating an impact and opening the door for all to thrive. A key element to drive sustainable change is elevating supplier diversity to a business imperative.

Regions’ relationship with Pinnacle Group, a woman and minority-owned/led global work-force solutions provider, shows the benefits of this approach — in better outcomes and benefits for the company. Here is their formula for success:

Step 1: Set the intention

If you visit the Regions Bank’s website, a quick search of its mission and values also contains the following:

“Shared value is at the core of our mission and our business strategy. It’s a simple idea: what we do as a business has to benefit our customers, our company and shareholders, and the communities where we operate. This is the path to a sustainable business.”

When it comes to supplier diversity, the concept of shared value also drives the direction of both how and why the company remains committed to supplier diversity. In the end, it’s smart, sustainable business. It’s also the reason behind finding suppliers that help improve results and bring innovation.

Step 2: Identify opportunities for impact

In business parlance, companies like to refer to “problems” as “opportunities.” At Regions Bank, there was a significant opportunity to improve the efficiency and processes around the company’s contingent workforce.

“We were literally keeping up with our contract worker requisitions, access authorizations, spend and more on spreadsheets. We were also not doing enough to manage and competitively source contract workers,” said Antonio Howard, Regions’ human resources’ technology manager.

Regions looked to a managed services provider (MSP) to help improve processes and reporting around its contingent labor program. The goals were to implement vendor management software, introduce automation, improve visibility and expand and enhance reporting, which were expected to drive more competitive sourcing of requisitions and result in higher quality talent and savings generation. There were additional goals of increasing the use of diverse suppliers and diversifying the contingent workforce.

Step 3: Share information to level the playing field

Clearly defining business needs and goals and casting a wide net in the RFP [request for proposal] process were the first steps. The next and biggest game-changer was to transparently share information about the pain points and nuances of the environment. This allowed bidders to closely tailor the services, solutions and pricing they can offer to the specific needs of the customer.

Often, diverse companies lack large sales teams that traditional and/or public companies can deploy toward new opportunities. This can result in an information imbalance that allows companies with more information to seem more attractive. By sharing information openly with all bidders, companies can get the best value and outcomes by following inclusive procurement practices to ensure they receive competitive and innovative proposals to meet their needs. 

“Regions is, in many ways, an ideal customer for Pinnacle,” said Nina Vaca, chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group. “They are focused on the future and how to make it a reality. Because Pinnacle Group had visibility into their current needs and future goals, our team was able to design a solution tailored to their environment that would not only meet but exceed their expectations. Their willingness to be open with information was a critical factor in our success.”

Step 4: Build a shared strategy

Regions and Pinnacle Group were clear from the outset about what the shared goals were and how they would measure success. And both are driven by the value of inclusive prosperity and providing opportunities for their communities to thrive. Visibility and accountability are at the heart of the continuing relationship.

“We knew that Regions needed more visibility into their contractor workforce and that with visibility would come the strategic impact they were seeking and a more level playing field for diverse suppliers, which we are both deeply committed to,” said Michael Keiper, senior vice president, strategic services at Pinnacle Group.

“I could talk for hours,” said Julie Jarecki, Regions’ procurement manager. “Pinnacle has helped Regions move from an inefficient, spreadsheet-based methodology for managing our contract workforce to one that helps ensure we are getting the best workers at a fair price, while working toward our goals for diversity.”

Step 5: Reap the Rewards

Working with Pinnacle Group, Regions has improved visibility into the contractor workforce while also recognizing more than $1 million — and counting — in expense savings. Competition among the company’s contingent labor suppliers has increased, contract staff are better prepared when they begin, time needed for onboarding has decreased by up to 40%, and the quality of the workers has vastly improved. Add the fact that nearly a quarter of the contingent labor positions filled in 2022 were filled with diverse workers, up more than 75% over the prior year, and this is a true success story.

“Results matter, and we’re seeing the results of bringing in innovative suppliers and providing them with opportunities to make a difference for our business,” said Tiffany Loveless, director of supplier diversity at Regions.

To learn more about The Pinnacle Group, visit pinnacle1.com.

To learn more about Regions Bank, visit regions.com.