Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have risen to prominence in recent years as a cost-effective and efficient way for businesses to run some of their crucial but time-intensive functions.
Why are MSPs popular?
- Recruitment MSPs have proven valuable additions to many businesses’ operations due to their combination of expertise and cost-effectiveness.
- A recruitment MSP specialises in managing the contingent labour needs of their client’s businesses. With a deep understanding and experience of temporary staff attraction, recruitment, and retention, they offer efficiency in filling a wide range of part-time, temporary and freelance roles.
- They are responsible for every aspect of your contingent workforce management, from hiring and retaining the right people for your business to onboarding, payroll and managing worker performance.
- MSPs offer significant cost savings from economies of scale across advertising, compliance, and vetting to negotiating preferred suppliers’ rates.
- MSPs offer predictability through bulk pricing and operational efficiency, making them a valuable option for many organisations.
- An MSP that offers a direct supply of contingent staff is uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional levels of visibility and control over demand for temporary staff, cost of supply and fulfilment rates.
Why partner with an MSP?
While functions like recruitment are critical for business success, dedicating sufficient time and effort to managing complex recruitment supply chains can be a challenge. Sometimes, it can even use up essential resources that could be used more effectively elsewhere. By partnering with a recruitment Managed Service Provider, businesses can save time and money by leaving their contingent workforce hiring and management to experts. They will also benefit from MSPs' leading industry expertise and technology.
How do I choose the right MSP?
While there are a range of different recruitment MSPs, how can your business find the right one? When considering your options, keep in mind the following guidance:
1. Knowledge and expertise
Pay close attention to the knowledge and expertise of each potential service provider. They need to have experience hiring the type of candidates you’re looking for and potentially even have previously worked with similar businesses.
2. Range of services
If you’re an agile or lean business, looking at how holistic an MSP’s services are is also a good idea. Do they cover the types of services you are looking for? Can they implement employee retention programmes, help you develop your employer value proposition and help you stay compliant with auditing standards?
3. Direct fill
Some MSPs are dependent on a complex supply chain of labour to fill roles within businesses, meaning they may need more time to fill vacancies. This can be more common for providers who assume a neutral vendor position. On the other hand, some will instead directly fill vacancies, giving you better visibility and control over cost and quality.
4. Scalability
Whether your business is growing quickly or is responsive to seasonal hiring cycles, you need an MSP that can adapt to your changing needs.
5. Technology
An MSP that adopts new and emerging technologies to stay at the forefront of the hiring process will recruit faster and more accurately. Be sure to ask about the MSP’s solutions and how they help to recruit the right candidates.
6. Customer service
Open and constructive communication will help you and your MSP work effectively, so make sure to choose an MSP that offers good customer service processes and a communication framework that gives you the responsive service your business requires.
7. Cost-effectiveness
While cost shouldn’t be the only factor, evaluating whether a potential service provider will offer the right value for money for your business is a good idea.
8. Compliance
Your business can’t afford any accidental compliance breaches. So, your MSP needs to have a deep understanding of compliance regulations, know how to protect your business, and have a solid history of meeting compliance standards.
9. Reviews
Look at the experiences other clients have had with each prospective MSP. Reviews can be a good indicator of how an MSP works with clients on a day-to-day basis and can help you ensure you’re getting value for your money.
10. Cultural fit
Finally, an MSP will be working closely with your HR and procurement teams, operational leaders, and department managers. So, it’s a good idea to make sure your partner of choice shares the same goals, values, and ways of working as your teams do.
