For years, MSPs have been measured by operational efficiency.

Compliance rates. Time-to-fill. Process adherence. Supplier performance metrics.

Don’t get us wrong. They’re important, but not necessarily strategic.

As contingent labour becomes a larger portion of enterprise capability, the expectation of MSP programs (or, in fact, any model an organisation deploys to manage its contingent workforce) are fundamentally changing.

The procurement instrument era

Traditional MSP models were often introduced to the business, with a clear purpose of:

• Standardising processes
• Reducing risk
• Consolidating suppliers
• Controlling spend

They sat primarily within Procurement, focused heavily on governance, and were seen as necessary control mechanisms.

However, that positioning has its limits.

As Cameron Robinson, Head of Enterprise Solutions at Solve, explains:

“For too long, MSPs have been perceived as administrative overlays. The future model isn’t about controlling the process but about enabling the business to access capability more intelligently.”

From user adoption to user advocacy

Traditional MSP programs focus a lot on user adoption.

Are managers following process? Are requisitions flowing correctly? Are suppliers complying?

But adoption isn’t the same as advocacy, and strategic MSPs aim for something stronger: hiring managers who actively prefer using the program because it delivers on speed, quality and insight.

As Cameron notes:

“An MSP shouldn’t feel like a gatekeeper. It should feel like a capability partner. When hiring managers see it as the easiest path to high-quality talent, compliance becomes natural.”

The risk of your MSP or contingent labour model being perceived as slower or more hassle? Managers go around it, costs skyrocket and visibility is lost.

Individuals who were “contractors” yesterday all of a sudden are engaged as “consultants” tomorrow. Your best laid processes seemingly don’t apply anymore because “service providers”, not “contingent labour suppliers” are where managers now go to access capability instead.

The Talent Acquisition convergence

Another force driving MSP evolution is the growing overlap between contingent workforce and permanent hiring strategy. TA teams are increasingly asking:

• Where does contingent fit into broader workforce planning?
• Are we duplicating sourcing effort?
• Could we share talent communities?
• Should we be designing a unified talent strategy?

And the answers are increasingly ‘yes’.

As Cameron explains:

“Contingent workforce can no longer operate in parallel to talent acquisition. The organisations seeing the strongest outcomes are the ones intentionally aligning the two. At the end of the day, we’re still talking about acquiring talent in some way, shape or form to do brilliant and important work.”

This is the point where MSPs either evolve or become outdated.

Strategic MSPs do more than process

A strategic MSP becomes embedded in capability design and should:

• Provide insight into workforce demand patterns
• Identify redeployment opportunities
• Design multi-channel access pathways
• Support workforce planning conversations
• Enhance contractor experience and retention

A different measure of success

The MSP of the past was measured by cost control, compliance and efficiency.

The MSP of the future will be measured by workforce resilience, capability access, stakeholder advocacy and strategic alignment. Previous measures are table stakes. The bare minimum.

As Cameron puts it:

“The MSP of the future won’t be judged by how smoothly it processes transactions. It will be judged by how effectively it strengthens the organisation’s ability to get work done.”

If your MSP is still positioned primarily as a control mechanism, it may be time to rethink its role.

Instead of “Is our MSP program running efficiently?”

Ask: “Is our MSP helping shape workforce capability?”

Because administrative efficiency is surface level. Strategic workforce enablement is what will differentiate you from your competitors.