What is a Managed Services Provider (MSP)?

In modern business, agility is everything. Organisations need to access and deploy the talent they need when they need it.

However, many in-house HR and talent acquisition functions struggle to manage large contingent workforces of freelancers, contract workers, seasonal staff, and other temporary talent.

A Managed Services Programme, or MSP solution, is a service offered by a recruitment outsourcing provider to address this need. In a typical MSP, the service provider takes charge of the client’s contingent workforce, from recruitment to management. 

MSP Solve Key Recruitment Challenges, such as: 

• Compliance risks and regulatory gaps
• Uncontrolled spending with poor visibility
• Inconsistent processes across suppliers and contracts
• Scaling challenges in response to business needs
• Lack of strategic hiring for diversity, skills, and projects
• Co-employment risks and legal exposure
• Fragmented communication with too many stakeholders
• Limited market insight into supply, demand, and rates 

What services do MSPs Provide?  

Managed Services Provider staffing goes beyond talent acquisition and recruitment. Typically, an MSP is an all-encompassing solution for recruiting and managing all contingent workers.

Functions like onboarding, payroll, and offboarding are all within the scope of an MSP program. While with an organisation, a Managed Service Provider will also advise on compliance with local regulations in areas such as tax and worker safety.

MSP solutions leverage cloud-based Vendor Management Systems (VMS) to execute transactions and exchange analytics seamlessly. These systems allow the client and Managed Services Provider to execute all transactions and exchange data and analytics quickly and frictionlessly. A VMS gives the client complete visibility over their contingent workforce functions and current spending levels.

Other advantages of this enhanced visibility and control include capturing and managing statement of work management (SoW) spending, centralised payrolling of contingent workers, and consolidated vendor invoicing.

Additionally, Page Outsourcing provides access to a contractor benefits platform for contingent workers designed to address well-being challenges. This unique benefit helps attract and retain top talent for your contingent workforce. 

What are the benefits of an MSP? 

These days, many organisations significantly invest in contingent workers, often hiring across multiple locations and jurisdictions. This creates a complex landscape for hiring managers and recruiters, who often lack full oversight of their contingent workforce. Without clear data on the speed or quality of temporary hires, organisations struggle to manage recruitment costs, ensure compliance, and create a seamless hiring experience.

MSP solutions are ideal for organisations that rely heavily on a contingent workforce and need greater control over hiring processes, compliance, and cost management. Businesses experiencing frequent staffing fluctuations, such as seasonal peaks or project-based work, benefit from the flexibility and efficiency that an MSP provides.

Beyond streamlining contingent workforce management, the true value of an MSP lies in its ability to deliver measurable impact—from cost savings and reduced time-to-hire to improved access to top talent, risk control, and enhanced compliance. With data-driven insights and process efficiencies, an MSP enables more informed workforce decisions, ensuring businesses can scale effectively while maintaining control over spend and regulatory requirements.

Key Benefits of an MSP Recruitment Solution:

• Consistent hiring experience for managers and candidates
• Reduced compliance risk, with regulatory oversight across jurisdictions
• Standardised processes for better control over contingent hiring
• Optimised SoW management to maximise value and results
• Full visibility into headcount and contingent labour spend
• Faster onboarding and improved speed to market
• Access to diverse talent pools for better hiring outcomes
• Centrally managed employer brand messaging
• Expert legal guidance on evolving employment laws
• Ongoing process improvements for efficiency and cost savings 

Moreover, Page Outsourcing’s MSP ensures complete adherence to referencing policies, helping to protect your business from compliance risks. 

Ready to Transform Your Contingent Workforce? 

Typically, the client or the company outsources its recruitment activities to an external provider that funds the MSP. However, a provider, like Page Outsourcing,  can offer an MSP on a no-fee or discounted value-added basis as part of a broader business relationship with the client. For example, a supplier may offer an MSP as a value-added service to a client who is already purchasing a significant volume of services from the supplier. 

Take the Next Step Toward Smarter Workforce Management 

Is it time to rethink how your business manages contingent talent? Let’s talk about how our MSP solutions can help you gain more control, reduce risks, and enhance your hiring outcomes.    

Interested in knowing more about MSP? Reach out to our experts.