Is your Contingent Managed Service Provider responding to the changing market landscape? They should be helping you enable direct-to-talent relationships or you may end up falling behind.
Introduction
The Contingent Managed Service Provider (MSP) is changing. Traditional methods of contingent workforce management face growing challenges from new market conditions, changing workforce preferences, and economic uncertainty. As the contingent workforce expands and more organisations seek to build workforce elasticity, competition for talent will intensify. So how are MSPs responding to a changing landscape?
The Opportunity for Direct-to-Talent
Historically, a Contingent Managed Service Provider would manage the supply chain, identify cost reductions within agencies and focus on fulfilment. Exploring direct-to-talent relationships would be seen as an unnecessary distraction, which demands additional media budget and potentially eats into profit.
Times (and attitudes) change. More MSPs are seeing the potential in evolving their client partnerships to provide the support they need. This helps to build their contingent workforce proposition, build awareness of opportunities and open direct-to-talent communications. Why the change in approach?
There are several reasons:
#1 Contingent workers are more visible and easier to reach
The contingent workforce is now more diverse and filling roles at every level of an organisation, from fractional/interim leadership through to specialist technical contract workers. These types of contingent workers add huge value to an organisation yet are far less likely to be searching for their next role through an agency. They will be reaching out to organisations directly on social networks, building their own personal brand and network. As well as looking for opportunities via freelance community sites and expecting employers to do the same.
#2 Contingent Managed Service Providers are building more strategic partnerships
Smarter MSPs partner with clients to enhance recruitment capabilities. This new MSP approach focuses beyond immediate recruitment needs. It anticipates future talent requirements, identifying skills, roles, and resources to ensure your organisation can continue to grow. How do you identify that talent now? How do you engage them, build communities and position your organisation as a future destination?
#3 Technology offers opportunities to engage, talent pool and nurture
The changing recruitment requirements of organisations are often fuelled by changes in the technology available to support them. Organisations embracing and adopting direct-to-talent model are increasingly able to choose from a wide range of technology platforms. These platforms can simplify and improve their recruitment marketing and brand awareness building, community building and candidate nurture.
The Contingent Managed Service Provider and Direct-to-Talent Approach
For organisations (and MSPs) that embrace and enable a direct-to-talent approach, there are significant potential benefits in terms of improvements in the quality and loyalty of talent to cost-savings through the talent supply chain.
Here’s a breakdown of the big wins:
#1 Cost Reduction and Efficiency Gains
By building direct talent relationships, MSPs reduce reliance on costly staffing agencies, lowering hiring expenses. This direct sourcing approach cuts costs while also speeding up the hiring process, enabling organisations quickly adapt to project needs and market changes.
#2 Enhanced Talent Quality and Engagement
Direct engagement with talent allows MSPs to curate a higher quality of workforce. It fosters a deeper understanding of each worker’s skills, aspirations, and potential fit for various roles. This nuanced approach not only improves the match between assignments and contractors but also enhances job satisfaction and engagement, crucial for retaining top talent in a competitive market.
#3 Building a Robust Talent Pipeline
In the face of global talent shortages, having a robust pipeline of readily available contingent workers is a significant advantage. Direct relationships enable MSPs to maintain an active talent pool, ready to mobilise for various client needs. Consequently, this proactive talent management strategy allows organisations to respond to market opportunities, align with evolving business growth goals, and quickly scale teams. Moreover, it enhances their agility in a dynamic environment.
#4 Employer Brand Building
Organisations can build their reputation as a top choice for contract workers on platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork, Fiverr, and social media sites. MSPs should guide clients in building a strong contingent value proposition by improving candidate attraction and communication. Additionally, the brand should enhance every touchpoint in the hiring process. This can be achieved by creating a great onboarding process, engaging contract workers in values, culture, and business goals, and exploring opportunities for future referrals.
#5 Measurability
The measurability of the end-to-end hiring process means that MSPs can build their strategic partnerships based on data and insights. This shows where candidates are sourced from, how they are attracted and engaged, as well as cost-per-hire and time-to-hire. Additionally, it highlights the investment in brand building, campaign media and the quality of the responses. When visibility and transparency are at the heart of every contingent workforce program, clients can, as a result, feel more empowered to build their brand. Furthermore, they can optimise their talent supply chain and, ultimately, make the best hiring decisions for the future of the organisation.
Conclusion
As the workforce landscape continues to evolve, MSPs that build direct relationships with talent are increasingly better positioned to offer strategic value beyond cost savings. Moreover, these relationships enable a more agile, responsive, and strategically aligned contingent workforce management approach, crucial for thriving in a complex and rapidly changing business environment.
Looking ahead, MSPs that embrace this model will likely lead the market, offering clients a more holistic and effective solution for managing their diverse and dynamic workforce needs.
