The past year has seen significant economic volatility, including high-profile layoffs, record inflation, and unpredictable fluctuations in hiring volume and hourly pay. With resources being thinned out even more in the current economic climate and organizations struggling not just to keep headcount, but to deploy what headcount they do have where and when they need them, it may be time to take a closer look at the contingent workforce as a potential solution.
In fact, Brandon Hall Group’s Talent Management Maturity study found that 90% of companies believe a lack of talent mobility is a significant risk to the business, meaning they cannot effectively or efficiently reallocate talent resources to the areas where the business needs them most, creating gaps that must be filled in different ways.
Partnering with an MSP to Increase Flexibility
Brandon Hall Group™ SmartChoice® Silver Preferred Provider Magnit encourages companies to thoughtfully leverage the contingent workforce to close these skills gaps and increase agility in this uncertain economy. “The Managed Service Provider (MSP) model is the go-to solution for organizations seeking to strategically manage, optimize and adapt their extended workforce. Magnit’s unique vendor-neutral model has consistently helped clients realize high adoption, improved visibility into talent, cost savings and program optimization,” shared Sam Smith, President, EMEA and Global Client Delivery, Magnit.
In this era of rapid and unpredictable change, it has become an absolute necessity to build as much organizational resilience as possible. As we discuss in this recent report, an MSP can help with establishing dynamic, curated, and engaged contingent talent communities. This approach offers employers the flexibility to leverage talent when, where, and how they need to without taking on the burden of full-time headcount.
The New Role for the Managed Service Provider (MSP) in Human Capital Management
Tapping Creative Solutions to Optimize Your Workforce
We must begin looking to creative, sustainable solutions in this newest era of workforce reductions. Our most recent research predicts organizations will be laying off as much as 18% of their workforce over the course of the year, according to Matt Pittman, Principal HCM Analyst with Brandon Hall Group™.
For organizations looking to increase worker satisfaction and retention, partnering with an MSP can help them deliver an enhanced worker experience, including benefits (insurance, skill development, etc.) and continuity of employment through redeployment opportunities for other contingent or permanent roles.
If you have a coder or tester, for example, who is particularly effective and does good work for you but the need for their skills only exists in the context of a short-term project, rather than having that person simply walk away at the end, your MSP partner can help surface opportunities to transition that person to another project where those skills are needed. More and more talented individuals are seeking out flexible work opportunities and new challenges. Being part of a contingent workforce that provides upskilling and new project opportunities presents an enticing path forward for them.
Transforming Your Program
The real power may lie in a change in mindset. For example, what if — rather than being constrained by a traditional approach to sourcing — your company had a flexible talent community populated with skilled professionals that you know, because they’ve done work for you in the past, and who are easily deployable against any need where those skills are required? (Learn more about direct sourcing.)
Your MSP partner can assist you in formulating a plan for change aligned with your company’s distinct long-range objectives, fostering involvement of stakeholders from various functions, and then executing the plan. As your organization (and the marketplace) continues evolving, the best MSPs will evolve with you, suggesting opportunities to grow and optimize your contingent workforce program to drive even greater efficiency, access to talent and cost savings.
For more on how partnering with an MSP can help your organization solve the latest talent supply challenges and flourish in today’s uncertain market, download Magnit’s white paper, “The New Role for the MSP in Human Capital Management.”
