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SERVICES

MSP Service

An MSP solution helps you get more from your contractor workforce — without inflating costs. Read our guide to MSPs to learn more.

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Building a contractor workforce is hard.

Using contingent labour can help your organisation to save money, access high-quality talent and build flexibility into your operations. But building and managing a contingent workforce comes with a whole host of challenges, costs and risks.

An MSP solution can help you overcome these challenges and confidently grow your contractor workforce.

What is a managed service provider?

A managed service provider (MSP) is a specialist organisation that delivers, manages and optimises business-critical services for another organisation. Traditionally, MSPs provided outsourced IT services to companies without the internal infrastructure or resources to manage this themselves.

But an MSP is also an effective way for businesses to manage their contingent workforces, allowing them to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

How does an MSP work?

An MSP handles the sourcing, hiring, onboarding and management of a business’ contingent workforce. At CXC, for example, we begin by assessing your current processes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and cut costs. We’ll then build a custom solution and provide ongoing support to your business.

Depending on your needs, our MSP solutions might include:

Sourcing, vetting and compliantly engaging contractors

Building candidate pools

Reviewing supplier contracts and negotiating better rates

Introducing new vendors

Providing workforce analytics and insights

Managing and paying supplier invoices

Advising on labour market trends

Types of MSP

Vendor-neutral MSP

In a vendor-neutral model, there’s a complete separation between the MSP and the supply chain. The MSP doesn’t prioritise any one particular supplier, but engages workers from whichever one offers the best price or conditions.

A vendor-neutral MSP may work with your existing suppliers or introduce new ones.

Master vendor MSP

A master vendor MSP prioritises a single, primary supplier when sourcing workers. The supplier is almost always the MSP itself or a staffing agency affiliated with it.

Under this model, the MSP will only turn to other suppliers if their primary vendor can’t provide the workers you need.

Hybrid MSP

A hybrid MSP takes elements of both vendor-neutral and master-vendor programs. For example, the MSP might have a primary supplier that they prioritise for technical roles while sourcing workers for other roles from different vendors.

This model also allows for changes to the client’s staffing needs over time.

Is a managed service provider the right solution for your business?

An MSP might be a good solution for your business if:

You need to quickly scale your workforce up and down in line with seasonal or rapidly changing needs

You want better control over your supply chain and your staffing costs

You need to ensure greater compliance and risk management

You want access to detailed reporting, workforce analytics and insights

The benefits of using an MSP

Cost savings

MSPs introduce new vendors and negotiate better deals with the ones you have, which could significantly reduce your staffing spend. Plus, MSPs typically issue you with one global invoice, and handle supplier payments themselves — saving you time and confusion.

Governance and compliance

MSPs understand the legal and compliance issues that apply to non-permanent workers. That means your risk of things like worker misclassification is vastly reduced when using an MSP vs managing your contingent workforce in house.

Access to tech

An MSP will use various tools and technologies to find and engage the best contractors for your organisation. Often, you’ll also be given access to a vendor management system (VMS): a piece of software that lets you keep track of your contractor workforce.

Process efficiency

When you work with an MSP, you can manage your entire contractor supply chain through one point of contact. This simplifies things from an HR and admin perspective, freeing up your time to focus on what’s important.

Access to talent

MSPs are experts in attracting talent, even in competitive markets. Master vendor MSPs typically have large pools of pre-vetted, pre-qualified candidates ready for you to tap into. And vendor-neutral providers can introduce you to new vendors that you may not otherwise have been able to access.

Flexibility and scalability

With an MSP, it’s easy to quickly ramp up your workforce when you need it, and scale it back when you don’t. That means you’re never left short-staffed, and won’t have to waste money paying for workers you don’t need at quieter times.

CXC’s MSP solution

We understand that every organisation is different.

That’s why we’ve created a modular, à la carte MSP solution, which lets you choose the level of support you need in four key areas: sourcing, engagement and payment, supply chain management and compliance.

And if your needs change in the future? No problem.

Our solution is designed to scale up and down to match our clients’ requirements.

Here’s what we can offer in those four areas:

Sourcing

Redeployment of current contractors
Building candidate pools
Augmented recruitment
Multi-channel sourcing programmes

Supply Chain

Managing supplier payments
Reviewing supplier contracts
Negotiating commercial terms
Introducing new vendors

Engagement and payment

End-date management
Contractor payroll services
Onboarding and offboarding
Performance management

Compliance

Right-to-work checks
Worker classification
Background checks
Client-specific compliance requirements

FAQ’s

What exactly are MSP recruitment solutions, and how do they differ from traditional staffing models?

MSP recruitment solutions (Managed Service Provider recruitment) are designed to give businesses full oversight and management of their contingent workforce. Unlike traditional staffing models where companies work directly with multiple recruitment agencies, the MSP model recruitment approach centralises everything through one strategic partner. This partner oversees all suppliers, processes, and compliance, ensuring consistency and efficiency across the entire hiring ecosystem.

With traditional staffing, businesses often face inconsistent supplier performance, limited visibility into spend, and compliance risks due to fragmented oversight. MSP recruitment solutions eliminate these challenges by standardising supplier management, introducing technology-driven reporting, and aligning workforce strategies with business goals. This not only reduces hiring costs but also speeds up time-to-fill roles, while giving companies access to a wider, pre-vetted talent pool. In short, recruitment MSPs provide a structured, transparent, and scalable model that goes beyond transactional staffing to deliver strategic workforce value.

How does the MSP model recruitment streamline contingent workforce management?

The MSP model recruitment is all about creating order in what is often a complex, fragmented process. When organisations engage multiple staffing agencies independently, it’s easy to lose track of performance, costs, and compliance requirements. An MSP recruitment solution solves this by centralising management under a single framework. That means all recruitment suppliers, contracts, and contingent workers are managed consistently and strategically.

With this model, organisations benefit from streamlined workflows, think one set of processes for onboarding, compliance checks, invoicing, and reporting, instead of a dozen competing ones. Most MSP recruitment solutions also integrate a Vendor Management System (VMS), which acts as a digital hub for real-time visibility into workforce data. This technology makes it simple to track spend, monitor supplier performance, and ensure that every hire aligns with business needs. By replacing complexity with clarity, the MSP model recruitment empowers businesses to reduce risk, improve speed-to-hire, and unlock efficiencies across their contingent workforce.

What are the primary benefits of adopting an MSP recruitment approach?

Adopting an MSP recruitment approach brings a wide range of benefits for organisations managing contingent workers at scale. Firstly, cost savings are a major advantage. By consolidating supplier management and standardising processes, companies reduce rogue spend and gain leverage for better supplier rates.

Another key benefit is compliance. Recruitment MSP solutions ensure every supplier and worker meets legal, regulatory, and company-specific requirements, reducing risk significantly. Visibility is also greatly improved, thanks to robust reporting and analytics, businesses gain a clear understanding of workforce spend, performance, and trends.

The MSP model recruitment also enhances scalability. As workforce demands grow or shift, the model allows companies to flexibly ramp up or down without sacrificing control or quality. And perhaps most importantly, MSP recruitment solutions move hiring from being reactive and fragmented to proactive and strategic. Instead of chasing quick fixes, businesses gain a long-term, sustainable workforce strategy designed to support growth and resilience.

How does an MSP ensure compliance and governance across suppliers and contracts?

Compliance and governance are at the heart of any MSP recruitment solution. One of the biggest risks in managing a contingent workforce is ensuring every supplier and worker meets local labour laws, tax obligations, and company standards. In the MSP model recruitment framework, this risk is significantly reduced because the MSP acts as a centralised authority.

Recruitment MSPs create standardised processes for vetting suppliers, verifying worker documentation, and ensuring adherence to regional and global regulations. For example, they implement strict onboarding checks to confirm right-to-work status, tax classification accuracy, and health and safety compliance. The MSP also manages supplier contracts, ensuring that service-level agreements, diversity goals, and rate cards are consistently applied.

Technology plays a huge role here too. A Vendor Management System (VMS) integrated into the MSP model provides real-time oversight and reporting, so businesses can track compliance metrics across every hire and supplier. This approach delivers peace of mind and reduces the costly risks of misclassification, non-compliance fines, or reputational damage.

What types of organisations or industries benefit most from MSP recruitment solutions?

MSP recruitment solutions are particularly valuable for organisations that rely heavily on contingent, temporary, or project-based workers. Industries such as technology, finance, healthcare, renewables, entertainment, and professional services often benefit most from recruitment MSP models, because they typically operate across multiple regions with complex compliance requirements.

For example, a global tech company scaling up quickly may need hundreds of contractors in different countries. Managing this internally or through fragmented suppliers can lead to high costs, inconsistent compliance, and poor visibility. An MSP recruitment solution centralises everything, ensuring speed, cost-efficiency, and regulatory control.

Healthcare organisations also gain value, as MSPs help manage fluctuating staffing needs while ensuring every worker meets strict licensing and compliance standards. Similarly, finance and renewables sectors benefit from the MSP model recruitment’s ability to handle specialised skill sets and regulatory oversight. In short, any organisation with a diverse, international, or fast-scaling contingent workforce stands to gain significant value from adopting an MSP recruitment solution.

How do MSP recruitment models integrate technology like VMS to enhance recruitment efficiency?

One of the biggest strengths of MSP recruitment solutions is the integration of technology—especially Vendor Management Systems (VMS). A VMS acts as the central hub for all contingent workforce activity, giving businesses real-time visibility into every aspect of recruitment. Through the MSP model recruitment approach, this technology is embedded into daily operations, simplifying processes such as job requisitions, supplier selection, compliance checks, time tracking, and invoicing.

The real value lies in transparency and efficiency. Instead of manually coordinating across multiple agencies, businesses gain a single, digital platform where data is standardised and accessible. This improves reporting accuracy, ensures compliance documentation is complete, and highlights opportunities for cost savings. Additionally, supplier performance can be benchmarked objectively, helping companies partner with the best providers. By pairing recruitment MSP expertise with VMS technology, organisations achieve faster hiring cycles, better quality hires, and a more agile workforce management strategy fit for global operations.

What is the difference between MSP recruitment and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)?

MSP recruitment and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) are often mentioned together, but they serve distinct purposes. The MSP model recruitment focuses on managing an organisation’s contingent or temporary workforce, contractors, freelancers, and project-based talent—through centralised supplier and compliance oversight. Recruitment MSPs ensure that businesses can efficiently manage multiple staffing suppliers while maintaining control, visibility, and compliance.

RPO, on the other hand, is about outsourcing the permanent recruitment process. In an RPO model, the provider acts as an extension of a company’s HR team, sourcing, screening, and hiring permanent employees. It’s best suited for businesses that want to improve the quality and consistency of full-time hires.

The key distinction lies in workforce type. MSP recruitment solutions streamline contingent workforce management, while RPO enhances permanent hiring. Many global companies use both models together to achieve an integrated talent strategy that balances flexibility with stability, giving them the best of both worlds in talent acquisition.

Can smaller or mid-sized businesses effectively leverage MSP recruitment solutions?

Yes, while MSP recruitment solutions have traditionally been associated with large enterprises, today they’re increasingly accessible and valuable to mid-sized businesses. The MSP model recruitment approach is designed to bring order and efficiency to contingent workforce management, regardless of scale. For smaller businesses expanding internationally or running large projects, recruitment MSPs can remove the burden of managing multiple suppliers, contracts, and compliance requirements.

In fact, mid-sized organisations often see some of the fastest ROI from adopting MSP recruitment. That’s because they typically face the same challenges as larger enterprises, lack of visibility, high costs, and compliance risk but without the internal infrastructure to manage it effectively. An MSP provides the structure, technology, and expertise needed to handle workforce complexity, while freeing HR teams to focus on strategy and growth. For growing companies, partnering with a recruitment MSP can act as a springboard, helping them scale sustainably while avoiding costly compliance mistakes.

How does MSP model recruitment improve visibility and control over hiring budgets?

One of the biggest frustrations for organisations managing contingent workers is the lack of visibility into costs. Different suppliers often charge different rates, invoices arrive inconsistently, and rogue spend can creep in unnoticed. The MSP model recruitment addresses this by consolidating all supplier relationships under one structured framework.

Through recruitment MSP solutions, companies gain standardised rate cards, consistent invoicing, and centralised reporting. This eliminates hidden costs and provides leadership with real-time insight into where budgets are being spent. A Vendor Management System (VMS) integrated into the MSP solution takes this further by offering analytics dashboards that highlight spend by department, supplier, or region.

With this level of visibility, businesses can identify inefficiencies, negotiate better rates, and forecast future hiring needs more accurately. Ultimately, MSP recruitment solutions transform budget management from reactive guesswork into proactive strategy, helping organisations balance cost control with access to the talent they need.

What should businesses evaluate when selecting an MSP recruitment partner?

Choosing the right MSP recruitment partner is a critical decision that can shape an organisation’s workforce strategy for years. The first factor to evaluate is expertise, does the provider have proven experience in managing contingent workforces across multiple regions and industries? This is particularly important for global organisations navigating diverse compliance landscapes.

Technology capability is another key consideration. The best MSP recruitment solutions are powered by robust Vendor Management Systems (VMS) that provide transparency, reporting, and efficiency. Businesses should also assess the provider’s ability to integrate with existing HR and payroll systems.

Scalability and flexibility matter too. A strong recruitment MSP partner should be able to grow with the business, supporting everything from small regional expansions to large-scale global rollouts. Finally, cultural alignment is often overlooked but essential, companies should choose an MSP whose values, communication style, and service approach fit naturally with their organisation.

How does CXC support organisations with recruitment MSP solutions tailored to regional and global operations?

CXC specialises in helping organisations navigate the complexity of workforce management across multiple regions. Our recruitment MSP solutions are built with adaptability at their core, ensuring they can be tailored to meet both global standards and local market needs. Whether it’s navigating strict compliance requirements in ANZ, scaling cost-efficiently in Asia, or ensuring technology integration across EMEA and North America, we design MSP recruitment models that flex with each region’s unique dynamics.

What sets CXC apart is our ability to combine global expertise with local presence. We understand that workforce regulations, cultural expectations, and hiring practices differ widely between regions. That’s why our recruitment MSP solutions are structured to deliver consistency at a global level, while ensuring compliance, risk management, and scalability at a local one. For organisations expanding internationally, this balance ensures peace of mind, cost savings, and sustainable growth without the usual headaches of managing a contingent workforce across borders.

In what ways does CXC leverage the MSP model recruitment to deliver scalable, cost-effective talent acquisition strategies?

CXC leverages the MSP model recruitment by aligning it directly with each organisation’s growth strategy. We focus on removing inefficiencies, reducing costs, and improving scalability, three of the most pressing challenges for businesses managing contingent workers today. By centralising supplier management, standardising processes, and embedding technology, our recruitment MSP solutions make it easier to control costs while still accessing high-quality talent.

We also put a strong emphasis on compliance and risk mitigation, ensuring organisations can scale confidently in regions with complex labour laws. For growing companies, this means they can focus on expansion without worrying about fines, penalties, or reputational risk.

Most importantly, CXC takes a partnership approach. We don’t just manage suppliers, we collaborate closely with HR, procurement, and leadership teams to design an MSP model recruitment framework that fits their long-term vision. This ensures that every hiring decision supports sustainable, cost-effective growth on both a regional and global scale.

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If you’re interested in seeing what CXC can do for you, or if you have any questions about how to improve your contingent workforce program, please contact us today.