This year alone (2023) the global contingent workforce is expected to grow 53 percent, with the average organization reporting that contingent labor makes up 28 percent of their entire workforce.
As businesses increasingly rely on contingent workers to meet their staffing needs, the importance of implementing a highly-strategic contingent workforce management program becomes increasingly important.
Yet most organizations simply have neither the resources or contingent category expertise to do so efficiently and effectively.
That’s why, as contingent workforce use grows, many businesses are turning to managed service providers (MSPs)\ to help manage their contingent workforce programs.
If this is something your organization is planning on, then, in this blog, you’ll find some handy best practices to help ensure that you can implement a successful MSP contingent workforce program.
Before we get into that, however, let’s first take a look at what a contingent workforce MSP actually is and the benefits such a partnership can bring to your business.
What is a Contingent Workforce MSP?
A Contingent Workforce MSP is a service provider that manages an organization's contingent workforce program. This includes managing all aspects of the hiring process for non-permanent workers, such as sourcing, screening, interviewing, and onboarding.
The MSP typically acts as a centralized hub for managing the program, coordinating with multiple staffing vendors to ensure that the organization has access to the best possible contingent talent. The MSP may also provide support services such as payroll management, benefits administration, and compliance management.
One of the main benefits of using a Contingent Workforce MSP is the ability to reduce administrative burden and streamline the hiring process. By consolidating staffing vendors and centralizing management, the MSP can help organizations save time and resources, while also improving compliance and ensuring access to top talent.
Benefits of an MSP Contingent Workforce Program
✔️ Cost Savings: By using an MSP, organizations can reduce their administrative costs by consolidating staffing vendors, simplifying billing and invoicing, and reducing the need for in-house staff. They can also improve visibility and control over their contingent workforce program, reducing rogue spend and other management issues across the program.
✔️ Streamlined Hiring Process: MSPs can provide a centralized system and repeatable processes for managing all aspects of the hiring process, including sourcing, screening, interviewing, and onboarding. This can help organizations save time and reduce the administrative burden associated with managing multiple staffing vendors.
✔️ Improved Compliance: By partnering with an MSP, organizations can benefit from the MSP's expertise in managing the contingent category of workers, labor law and compliance, as well as their technology and processes for ensuring compliance with various regulations.
✔️ Access to Top Talent: With expertise and experience in managing contingent workers and staffing agencies, MSPs can ensure that your contingent workforce program is helping your organization find the required talent to achieve its overarching business goals.
5 Best Practices for MSP Contingent Workforce Implementation
1 - Understand Your Contingent Workforce Needs
Before implementing an MSP contingent workforce program, it's important to develop a clear strategy that aligns with your organization's goals and objectives. This should include an analysis of your current workforce, as well as an understanding of your future staffing needs.
2 - Identify Key Stakeholders
Identifying key stakeholders is critical to the success of your MSP contingent workforce program. This includes obvious internal stakeholders, such as HR and procurement, but also operations, finance and legal, as well as external stakeholders, such as the MSP and your contingent workforce. Get buy-in from your entire team before you move on to finding an MSP partner.
3 - Select the Right MSP Partner
Choosing the right MSP partner is essential to the success of your MSP contingent workforce Program. When evaluating potential MSPs, consider factors such as experience, reputation, technology, customer service, right size fit for your business, geographies they have expertise in, as well as job categories and industry.
4 - Set Performance Metrics
To ensure that your MSP contingent workforce program is meeting your organization's needs, it's important to set performance metrics and regularly monitor and evaluate them. These metrics should align with your organization's goals and objectives. To learn more, check out our blog - Contingent workforce Management Success Factors: 4 KPIs to Measure.
5 - Continuously Evaluate and Improve
Finally, it's important to continuously evaluate and improve your MSP contingent workforce Program. This includes regularly monitoring performance metrics, gathering feedback from stakeholders, and making necessary adjustments to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your program. Your MSP partner should work closely with your team to make sure this happens, so establishing clear communication and feedback channels is critical to the success of your program.
A contingent workforce MSP can be a valuable partner for organizations looking to optimize their staffing strategies and take advantage of the benefits of a flexible, agile workforce - but only when the right partner is chosen and the program is implemented correctly.
At Contrax we offer a flexible MSP program, as well as other contingent workforce management solutions, that take tactical work off our client’s plates and improve their access to top talent.
Interested in learning more? Book a meeting with our team today.
