Why Companies Are Turning to MSPs for Better Contingent Workforce Management
- gabbyllopiz4
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Juggling Flaming Swords? Why More Companies Are Turning to Managed Service Providers
If the past few years have taught us anything, it's this: uncertainty is the new normal. Tariffs, regulations, economic curveballs, and global pandemics have made running a business feel like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. Blindfolded.
So how do smart companies keep their balance? They get flexible. And that starts with how they manage their workforce.
This blog explores why more businesses are relying on contingent staffing and how Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are helping organizations turn chaos into strategy—with better systems for workforce visibility, compliance, and control.
The Value of Contingent Labor
The days when contingent workers were just seasonal help or stopgaps are long gone. Today, they are a critical part of a company’s workforce strategy. Contingent talent allows organizations to stay lean, agile, and ready to pivot as needed.
Whether it’s filling short-term gaps, launching fast-moving projects, or expanding operations without long-term commitments, contingent staffing offers flexibility and speed. And in a volatile economy, flexibility is power.
For hiring managers and operations leaders, that flexibility is key—but only if it’s managed strategically. Without the right contingent workforce management system, it’s easy for processes to become manual, fragmented, and inefficient.
The Challenge: Managing It All Without Losing Control
While contingent labor brings a lot of benefits, managing it without structure can quickly spiral out of control. If your program relies on spreadsheets, emails, and crossed fingers, you are not managing it. You are improvising.
Without structure, even the most talented teams can lose their rhythm. What starts as smooth coordination can quickly turn into a juggling act no one volunteered for.
This is where many companies run into trouble. Without clear oversight, organizations face real risks: compliance violations, misclassified workers, rogue spending, and limited visibility into costs and performance.
For procurement and HR teams, this lack of transparency makes it nearly impossible to optimize supplier relationships or benchmark spend. For hiring managers, it means longer fill times and inconsistent quality.
The Solution: Managed Service Providers
Enter the Managed Service Provider (MSP). Once seen as too rigid or complex, today’s MSPs are flexible, scalable partners that simplify workforce operations.
“The role of the MSP today is less about control and more about partnership,” says Christina McElvaney, Executive VP of managed services provider Synch MSP. “We’re here to help companies simplify complexity, not add to it.”
According to SIA’s Workforce Solutions Buyers Survey, 58 percent of companies with 1,000 or more employees already work with a third-party firm to manage their staffing providers. The reason is simple: unmanaged programs carry too many risks.
An MSP workforce program provides structure, vendor oversight, and process efficiency. It offers visibility into your contingent labor program, streamlines invoicing, reduces costs, and ensures compliance—without requiring you to micromanage every contract.
Think of an MSP as the ringmaster bringing order to the chaos—coordinating every act, keeping the timing tight, and making sure no one drops a torch.
When paired with a vendor management system (VMS), an MSP can centralize your contingent workforce data, automate manual tasks, and give you real-time insights into spend, performance, and supplier quality.
Making It Work: How to Get the Most from an MSP
Thinking about partnering with an MSP? Success starts with the right approach. Here are three ways to set the stage:
Know your goals.
Are you aiming for cost savings, better visibility, risk reduction, or improved time-to-fill? Identify your top priorities and share them with potential partners.
Treat it as a partnership.
An MSP program is not “set it and forget it.” Maintain regular check-ins, align on goals, and keep communication open to get the most value.
Get cross-functional buy-in.
This is not just an HR initiative. Bring in procurement, legal, finance, operations, and IT to build a strong foundation from the start.
What’s in It for Your Team?
A strategic MSP program benefits multiple stakeholders across your organization:
Human Resources
Gain visibility into contingent labor, improve workforce quality, and meet diversity goals with a centralized system of record.
Procurement
Achieve cost savings, streamline vendor management, and standardize rates through a vendor-neutral, consolidated approach.
Legal
Mitigate risk with standardized contracts, compliance checks, and improved classification accuracy.
Finance
Reduce manual processes and gain accurate analytics through a single, consolidated invoicing and reporting system.
Hiring Managers
Improve speed to hire, simplify onboarding, and get access to better talent without added complexity.
Operations
Scale quickly with consistent quality while maintaining visibility into workforce performance and productivity metrics.
IT
Ensure data security and enable seamless integrations with your existing HR and finance systems.
Key Takeaways
Contingent labor has become a strategic workforce solution, not a backup plan.
Unstructured programs create risk and inefficiency.
MSPs help streamline, centralize, and optimize contingent workforce management.
They are fast to implement, cost-neutral, and scalable for companies of all sizes.
Successful partnerships are built on clear goals, collaboration, and ongoing engagement.
Final Thoughts
Business will always have its share of flaming swords and tightropes. But with the right MSP partner, you can keep your balance—and even make the act look effortless. You can respond quickly, stay compliant, and protect your bottom line.
So the next time your business needs to pivot (and it will), keep calm—and contact us to learn how a Managed Service Provider can help you organize and optimize your contingent workforce operations.