What Should You Look For In Managed Staffing Services?

Managed staffing services is a way to use outside help to manage some or all of your recruitment operations, particularly with temporary staff. It isn’t just about finding staff but the entire logistics from hiring to departure. It’s a field with many potential benefits but can be difficult to navigate thanks to industry jargon. Let’s break it down.

What is managed staffing services?

Fundamentally, managed staffing services is an approach. It involves using outside experts to take care of a wider range of employment-related tasks than simply recruiting. The specific services on offer from a provider will vary but could include:

• Identifying requirements in staff.
• Finding candidates.
• Negotiating terms for job offers.
• Screening potential employees.
• Overseeing the departure process.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant employment and contractor laws.

Do managed staffing services cover all types of employee?

In theory they could, but generally they concentrate on “contingent workers.” This covers most types of worker other than those intended to be permanent employees. This includes temp staff, consultants, contractors, and those on a fixed-term role.

The managed staffing services model is particularly suitable for businesses whose in-house human resources department is designed and configured more for traditional employment models.

What is an MSP?

The term MSP can be used in two ways in the managed staffing services field, which can cause confusion. It can mean a managed services program or a managed services provider.

Fortunately both boil down to the same thing. The managed services program is the operation of overseeing the contingent workers and the managed service provider is the organization that provides this operation.

Is MSP the same as VMS?

VMS means vendor management system. In this specific context, it’s a software system used to track and facilitate the tasks involved in managed staffing services. It’s largely about logistics and tracking data, though can automate some tasks such as invoicing staffing agencies. As well as making day-to-day life easier, it can help gain insight into overall activity, for example the ongoing costs of using contingent staff or how the turnover of contractors compares with forecasts.

There are three main ways to use a VMS:

• You create, buy or lease your own VMS and use it to manage your contingent staffing.
• You create, buy or lease your own VMS and make it available to your managed service provider.
• Your managed service provider uses their own VMS (or one they have bought or leased from a third party.)

Is MSP the same as RPO?

RSO means recruitment process outsourcing. It means having an outside company take care of some or all of your recruitment operations. Taking care of everything is known as an end-to-end solution. You could use an RSO for specific areas of your business, at specific times, or as a permanent solution.

You’ll have noticed this sounds very similar to the MSP approach. That’s because they are effectively the same thing, but with an RSO concentrating on permanent employees and an MSP concentrating on contingent workers.

The two often (but not always) differ on how they recruit workers. An RSO is more likely to directly source candidates themselves, while an MSP is more likely to go through specialist staffing agencies. These aren’t hard and fast rules however, so don’t be afraid to ask how a service provider operates.

Who can benefit from managed staffing services?

Most businesses will get some benefits from managed staffing services, but the model works particularly well if you fall into some or all of the following categories:

• You’re rapidly expanding and using contingent staff for the first time to cope with the change.
• You have an HR department that isn’t experienced in the special requirements for using contingent staffing.
• You aren’t in a position to build or acquire dedicated VMS software.
• You want detailed insights to find how well contingent staffing is working for your setup and whether it’s worth continuing or expanding.

When might managed staffing services not be right?

You may want to use a more traditional recruitment model if you fall into some or all of the following categories:

• Most of your recruitment is for long-term or permanent roles only.
• Your HR department is experienced and comfortable with contingent staff and the associated logistics and regulations.
• You either don’t need software support or already have your own VMS systems in place.

What’s my next step?

Intercast offers services that fit both the RSO and MSP models. Whatever your cybersecurity staffing needs and how you want to manage the recruitment, we can help. Contact us today and we’ll talk you through your options.