What are the different staffing models, and why do they matter?
Working models and consumer expectations are constantly evolving, and organizations of all sizes must keep pace while remaining fiscally responsible and aligned with their goals. As a result, many are turning to staffing solutions to augment their existing workforce. While staffing services provide considerable benefits, it can be difficult to understand which solution makes the most sense for your organization. This can depend on several factors, such as organizational size, short- and long-term goals, and project needs. Here, we’ll break down some of the most common staffing models and their affiliated terminology, explore what they are, and how they benefit an organization.
Glossary of staffing models:
Contingent Workforce
A contingent workforce is a group of workers not permanently employed by a company, but instead hired on an as-needed basis. Contingent workers are freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, or temporary employees brought into the organization on a project or hourly basis. These workers are usually brought on board for a specifically designed purpose, or for the duration of a given project. As opposed to traditional, full-time employees, the contingent workforce offers the flexibility of short-term, temporary staffing and semi-permanent solutions for managing labor needs without a long-term commitment or costly recruitment.
Cooperative Purchasing
A cooperative contract is a purchasing agreement between a public sector organization and a supplier. Other public sector organizations can take advantage of these already approved and verified contracts to procure goods or services for themselves, streamlining what can otherwise be a lengthy and tedious process.
Direct Sourcing
Direct sourcing involves a curated, ready-to-deploy talent pool. With direct sourcing, providers leverage the client’s brand and build their own private community of talent. This can include talent marketing, curation, recruiting, and payroll technology. Direct sourcing can be great for companies that make a commitment to sourcing a certain volume and type of role, as well as those leveraging repeat hires.
Employer of Record (EOR)
EOR solutions allow a third-party company to employ workers on behalf of another business, taking full responsibility for managing payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance with local labor laws. This alleviates the need for companies to spend time and resources on traditional recruitment and hiring. Working in conjunction with services procurement, an EOR engages contingent workers who do not qualify as independent contractors or do not have an existing supplier affiliation. For example, EOR solutions may work well for an intern or someone coming out of retirement to make sure their employment is tracked.
Independent Contractor
Independent contractors provide services to other businesses as a non-employee. They are typically hired on a contractual, as-needed basis, and are retained throughout the duration of a defined project.
Managed Service Provider
MSPs are third-party organizations that handle every aspect of a contingent workforce—from sourcing and recruiting to onboarding, invoicing, compliance, performance management, and offboarding. MSP programs are highly configurable and can be tailored to meet unique organizational hiring processes, specific data requirements, and compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.
Managed Service Provider - Hybrid Model
The MSP hybrid model facilitates an organization’s temporary or non-permanent workforce's day-to-day management from acquisition to payment. The MSP can facilitate tasks such as requisition processing, contractor on/off-boarding, compliance, timesheet submissions and approvals, contractor performance management, supplier enrollment and performance oversight, supply chain management, invoicing, and payments. A hybrid model leverages some of the elements of a master service provider but doesn’t outsource the whole program beyond a few elements.
Master Vendor Program
A master vendor program is a type of MSP program where a single vendor acts as the primary supplier for all client temporary staffing needs. The master vendor (or primary vendor) is responsible for coordinating and managing the supply of contingent workers—from sourcing and recruiting to onboarding, invoicing, compliance, performance management, and offboarding. The master vendor takes complete ownership of sourcing and filling requisitions and will only bring in other suppliers when needed or requested.
National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO)
NASPO is the contracting arm for state procurement officials, and it promotes the use of cooperative contracting for all levels of public sector organizations.
Sourcewell
Sourcewell helps government buyers save time and money by combining the buying power of 50,000 government, education, and nonprofit organizations. Sourcewell holds hundreds of competitively solicited cooperative contracts, ready for use by any public sector agency, across 14 contract categories. These range from office and technology, administrative services, roads and airports to public works. Their rigorous process is continually refined to best meet the needs of participating agencies and allows them to offer exceptional products from nationally acclaimed suppliers.
Statement of Work (SOW)
SOW engagements allow you to accomplish project initiatives on either a time and materials (T&M) or fixed-price basis, with clearly defined milestones that ensure providers are paid upon successful completion. Project-based SOW engagements can be flexibly structured to account for all aspects of each project.
Vendor Management System (VMS)
A VMS streamlines the procurement and management of temporary and contract staff by centralizing all workforce data into a single, easy-to-use extended workforce platform. This enables organizations to efficiently track and manage all aspects of contingent labor, from sourcing and onboarding to performance monitoring and offboarding.
Why choose CAI for temporary labor management
Whether you're looking for top-tier talent to fill long-term positions or need flexible, temporary staffing to address immediate demands, CAI has experience providing permanent and provisional managed staffing solutions within both technical and non-technical industries for commercial and public sector clients. CAI's comprehensive recruiting model handles every aspect of the hiring process, from identifying and screening to placing top talent.
To learn more about how we help organizations find staffing solutions, fill out the form.
