Driving Improvements in Established MSP Programs

Time for the next level red word on concept clock, isolated on white backgroundHow can an organization and a managed service provider (MSP) establish credibility as having established a best-in-class MSP? Put simply, by developing a program in which all stakeholders are active participants on a daily basis. Together, stakeholders can ensure the mission critical tasks of:

  • Program adoption and process definition
  • Compliance
  • Enabling completion of mission critical projects
  • Attraction of top market talent

Let’s take a closer look at the program infrastructure enabling these returns and some recommendations to ensure successful MSP ongoing program evolution.

Stakeholder Participation — Perhaps the most critical factor to establishing and maintaining a best-in-class program with organizational buy-in is active participation and sponsorship of the program by Executive leadership, Procurement, Human Resources, and Finance stakeholders.  Establish a regular communications cadence driven by these internal partners to ensure a clear message of support for the program.  In doing so, contingent workforce strategy is socialized within the organization and recognition of the value and contributions of the contingent workforce is provided.  In turn, this messaging empowers program management teams with the support of business leadership and aligns them to the strategic goals of the stakeholders.

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Proprietary Rights Management — In order to preserve control of the entry/exit of the contingent workforce, Programs must also develop, define, and socialize a strategic plan for management of proprietary rights granted to the consultant population. For example, organizations that absorb a Statement of Work (SOW) population within a centralized program often struggle with identifying which consultants should be granted facilities access if some portion of the project is to be completed off site. Should the policy grant all SOW consultants full IT and facilities access or are there significant risks inherent in that approach? Each organization will have a different answer to this question and definition of policy is essential to ensure that the entire contingent population is enabled with the tools necessary to contribute to successful completion of their responsibilities.

MSP Culture within the Organization —  The establishment of a Mission, Vision, and Value statements for the MSP establish clarity of culture, strategy, and preferred values for stakeholders and vendors.  They will organically drive process and policy into a vendor’s recruitment approach and influence candidate experience.

Attracting and Leveraging Top Talent —  Top talent is increasingly choosing to act as free agents in the form of independent contractors, freelance business owners, and temporary workers.  The labor relationship is also changing with shorter employment relationships and there is a desire for increased autonomy and flexibility in completion of work amongst top talent. It is becoming increasingly important to engage vendor partners that are tied into top talent pools, who are in tune with the ever changing forces shaping the talent market, and who offer creative approaches customizable to the unique needs of their clients.

We are seeing the traditional MSP program evolve into a more flexible, analytics driven solution in its’ approach to contingent workforce management strategy. The sun is setting on the initial definition of the MSP as a rigid, cookie cutter solution for hiring temporary workers. That definition simply does not meet the needs for today’s organizations. This white paper is a follow-up to a roundtable discussion focused on “Driving Improvements in Established Programs” at the recent Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2015 Contingent Workforce Summit. 

MORE: New drivers for global MSP

 

Leslie Marsh
Leslie Marsh is vice president, channel partnerships, for Hire Talent.


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One Response to “Driving Improvements in Established MSP Programs”

  1. Andrew Gauge says:

    I believe that MSPs are essential in health organisations. I’d even say that using MSP’s and VMS systems can yield great results, especially when VMS systems are used for healthcare. In addition, MSP’s also improve the quality of selected candidates by a high margin.

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