The Reality of Your MSP

There are more than six billion people on the planet, each of us with talents and skills. Not one of us could be called a commodity.

So why then, when organizations seek out new talent, would they use a process designed for procurement?

MSPs (Managed Service Providers) aren’t new, and at face value, are well intended. In my more than 30 years recruiting and discovering talent, I have engaged with many of them. The core capability of an MSP; compliance and cost management are significant issues that should be addressed. But most MSPs promise big savings by squeezing cost out of systems and streamline procurement processes.

However, what I’ve invariably found is that whatever short-term success organizations experience, long-term they are almost always a drain on the caliber of talent an organization attracts.

High Performing organizations spend a great deal of time identifying, developing and communicating their brand promise and core values in the marketplace. Candidates who are sourced using internal hiring teams are carefully screened for fit with the culture and values of the organization in mind. They are put through a vigorous interview process and are assessed to ensure they align with the values, as well as the skills, for the position. A successful hire is the result of thorough conversations with the candidate and feedback from the hiring managers.

In contrast, the typical hiring process of MSPs only allows the vendor a limited timeframe (sometimes as little as 48 hours) to provide candidates. Candidates may only have as short as a 30-minute interview with the hiring manager (and believe it or not sometimes no interview) and throughout the process there is little to no feedback provided to either the vendor or the candidate.

Putting a requirement out with a hard limited deadline means that a lot of quality candidates are missed, particularly passive candidates who may truly be the best qualified. Additionally, when recruiters are unable to get feedback and make successful placements, they will turn their focus to clients who are more engaged in the hiring process. Because of this, top talent may be going to your competitors.

The typical MSP scenario can also greatly damage your employee brand. With little or no feedback; and constant submittals to a variety of positions within your organization, talent will eventually feel commoditized. That message and feeling eventually makes it into the market place. Also controlling or managing the message about your organization in the market is very difficult with multiple recruiting and staffing vendors who are usually not incentivized in the process to do so. The reality of the typical MSP managed “staffing” systems is that over time they almost always are a drain on the caliber of talent and, therefore, the future potential of the organization.

Talent drives innovation and success in any top-performing organization. Leading organizations understand that when they are discovering and acquiring talent, it’s an investment in their future and a statement about their potential.

Finding the type of talent that can help propel a company forward requires a people-centric process — one that allows a vendor to use their experience and insight to find the best candidate for the job. I’ve yet to find an MSP that drives a people-centered process.