Managed service providers are prevalent in all major staffing markets across the globe; however, penetration varies markedly by market, with the greatest growth outside the US, which is the most established market. The contractual model can also vary based on local legislation, according to SIA’s new “MSP Model Overview” report.

But while there are legal considerations to take into account, these concerns should not prevent contingent workforce program managers from expanding into any desired country.

“The complex global legal landscape inevitably makes buyers of contingent labor cautious about rolling out an MSP internationally,” said Matt Norton, senior research analyst at SIA and author of the report. “Despite prohibitions on MSPs acting as intermediaries in some countries, it is possible to overcome these by structuring agreements whereby the MSP sits beside the relationship between the buyer and supplier of contingent labor rather than between them. This report outlines MSP models that can be used successfully in some of the main staffing markets across the globe.”

This report examines MSP models in 22 major staffing markets worldwide. It is available online to SIA members.

SIA’s online lexicon of workforce solutions ecosystem terms defines an MSP as a company that takes on primary responsibility for managing an organization’s contingent workforce program. Typical responsibilities of an MSP include overall program management, reporting and tracking, supplier selection and management, order distribution and often consolidated billing. The vast majority of MSPs also provide their clients with a vendor management system and may have a physical presence on the client’s site. An MSP may or may not be independent of a staffing supplier.