As senior director of sourcing and procurement for external workforce and services, Adam Barnes knows a thing or two about independent contractors and staffing companies.

Beginning his career designing staffing solutions for large corporations, Barnes wondered what it would be like to sit on the other side of the table. He decided to jump from solutions selling to buying. This leap of faith has led to a fruitful career at Northwestern Mutual, where he focuses on nonemployee consulting, contracting and third-party compliance.

Barnes is presently working with the company’s direct sourcing program provider, MBO Partners. The program is a talent portal that creates exclusive consulting and project opportunities with Northwestern Mutual. The program was designed in partnership with suppliers and the human resources team to curate private talent pools.

Additionally, Barnes is making collaborative efforts with his team of eight in the vendor management systems marketplace. “We are taking a concerted effort to evaluate what is best for our business based on user experience,” he says. “VMS tools from a high level can all do the same thing, and it’s about the experience that the user goes through versus the functionality.” Flexibility in understanding user experience and making changes based on those preferences has led to better client engagement.

Moving forward, Barnes is thrilled to see an increase in momentum for the direct sourcing program this year.