redefining what an MSP program is.

An evolved MSP program provides holistic visibility across the full external workforce, including freelancers, gig workers, contractors and services partners. This allows for better forecasting, reduced misclassification risk and greater alignment with internal workforce strategies. Integration with technologies such as VMS, direct sourcing platforms and talent intelligence tools turns passive data into active, forward-looking insights.

A modern MSP also provides a foundation for innovation. By connecting data across channels, organizations can explore new workforce models — such as fractional or project-based enagements— and optimize spend by matching the right type of work to the right type of worker. This ensures both business and workforce goals are achieved.

Moreover, the modern MSP becomes a catalyst for change, enabling organizations to adapt quickly during periods of disruption — such as mergers, expansions or economic shifts. It supports strategic workforce planning, delivers scalable infrastructure and ensures that external talent strategy evolves in lockstep with enterprise objectives.

A strong business case for today’s MSP includes:

• Unified talent acquisition across worker types
• Visibility and control of total external labor spend
• Enhanced workforce agility and scalability
• Improved compliance with reduced business risk
• Strategic insights that support competitive advantage

In this new era, the MSP is not an outsourced staffing admin layer. It is a modular, insights-led platform for business growth. It also includes the potential for better stakeholder experiences, faster speed to value, and more competitive employer branding — even among contingent workers.  The organizations that embrace this shift position themselves to outpace competitors in an increasingly complex and competitive talent landscape.

One of the most persistent obstacles to a successful MSP implementation is an outdated question: “Who owns it?” Procurement? HR? Finance? This ownership debate can stall progress and prevent organizations from solving the real problem: What kind of external workforce solution will best drive outcomes?

This question of ownership often stems from the way organizations are structured — silos that define roles and responsibilities in a rigid manner. But in today’s business environment, where speed, agility and collaboration are essential, such silos can inhibit progress. It’s not about which department gets to control the MSP. It’s about aligning the solution to business needs, regardless of functional boundaries.

This redefinition also benefits procurement and HR alike. No longer simply managing supplier contracts, procurement teams become coarchitects of a value-focused solution. Their influence extends to vendor performance, services procurement optimization and total workforce spend visibility.

Equally, HR leaders are reframing the value of MSPs not as outsourced vendors but as strategic partners in delivering workforce agility. This is especially relevant in the context of talent shortages, changing work models and increased pressure to deliver measurable business impact from talent acquisition and management.

Rather than starting with territory lines, leading organizations start with the business problem. Whether the goal is to reduce risk, gain visibility, access niche talent or build agility into services procurement, cocreation is key. In this approach, HR, procurement and business leaders work together from the outset to define the desired outcomes.

Ownership without clarity is just politics. But clarity about goals and success metrics unlocks meaningful collaboration. Once outcomes are defined, functional ownership often becomes self-evident or even shared. A cross-functional governance model can be instrumental in ensuring all parties remain aligned and committed to long-term success.

A case in point: a multinational pharmaceutical company launched an exploratory initiative led by HR to improve contingent labor management. Procurement was skeptical, worried about exposing inefficiencies. But the combined discovery effort revealed significant opportunities in services procurement and total talent integration. Although HR initially drove the vision, the program’s success hinged on the clarity of outcomes, not who held the reins. When ownership shifted to procurement post-launch, momentum faltered — a reminder that the right mindset matters more than the org chart.

It’s also important to recognize that the right “owner” might not even sit within HR or procurement. Sometimes, the best sponsor is a transformation leader or a shared services executive — someone who can bridge functions and focus on enterprise value. These mobilizers aren’t just process enforcers; they are strategic champions who anticipate obstacles and rally internal support.

Mobilizers know how to navigate complexity. They understand the need for an MSP to flex with business conditions, to adapt to the language of multiple functions and to deliver results that matter to diverse stakeholders. Their success isn’t measured by departmental wins — it’s measured by enterprise impact.

This cocreation approach also improves the discovery and design phase. When voices from throughout the business are included early — HR for talent strategy, procurement for cost and compliance, finance for risk management and business units for functional needs — the resulting solution is more holistic and better aligned.

Importantly, redefining the frame also reshapes how success is measured. Instead of focusing solely on SLAs or cost savings, organizations begin asking more strategic questions:

• Are we accessing the right skills at the right time?
• Are we improving workforce productivity?
• Are we positioned to scale our external workforce as business needs evolve?
• Are we enabling hiring managers to make better decisions?

These are the questions that matter in an agile talent landscape — and they rarely have one owner.

Ultimately, the best MSP programs are built by mobilizers: leaders who anticipate obstacles, see opportunities and think strategically. Start with “what are we solving for?” instead of “who owns this?” to shift the entire conversation from conflict to collaboration.

1. Don’t start with ownership — start by defining the problem your MSP needs to solve.
2. Cocreation between HR, procurement, finance and business units leads to more strategic and sustainable solutions.
3. The best program leaders are mobilizers who prioritize enterprise outcomes over functional control.

• what is an MSP in external workforce management?
• activate the right talent channels with MSP.
• streamline MSP delivery without sacrificing compliance.
• use insights to fuel MSP and workforce agility.