6 min read
By Ray Grady, CEO at Worksuite
Executive Summary
For decades, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) played a valuable role in helping enterprises handle contingent labor. They brought order, oversight, and vendor coordination at a time when internal teams lacked the tools to manage contractor chaos on their own.
But we are not in that world anymore.
Today's workforce is global, digital-first, and increasingly freelance. Traditional MSP programs were designed for a different era—built around staffing agencies, temp workers, and full-time recruitment models. They were never intended to support the unique needs of independent freelancers, and often overlook the flexibility, autonomy, and streamlined experience that modern freelance talent expects. As a result, MSPs struggle to keep pace with the agility and scale required by today’s teams.
At Worksuite, we believe there’s a better way.
This article explores what MSPs do well, where they fall short, and how platforms like Worksuite are giving companies more control, more speed, and vital strategic leverage—without sacrificing risk mitigation. The future is not about choosing between structure and flexibility. It’s about building systems that give you levers for both.
Let’s get into it.
What Is an MSP and Why Have Companies Historically Used Them?
In the early 90s, amid growing regulatory scrutiny and the need for spend control, companies realized they needed specialized structure and oversight to manage a growing population of temporary workers and contract labor. Without internal specialization to handle compliance, approvals, and vendor coordination, many organizations leveraged Managed Service Providers (MSPs) as a way to access external expertise, streamline control and outsource the dreaded and nebulous, “co-employment” risk.
A Contingent Workforce MSP acts as an outsourced administrator for your external workforce. Their role is typically to manage staffing vendors, oversee contracts, track contingent labor spend, optimize and enforce hiring policies and often help administrate a Vendor Management System (VMS).
This model helped HR, procurement, and finance teams streamline workflows in an era when most contingent labor came from staffing agencies. It reduced the administrative burden, delivered rate consistency, and offered a clearer line of sight into vendor usage.
But the world has changed.
Today’s external workforce is more global, specialized, and dynamic than ever. Companies increasingly have a need to engage directly with freelancers, scale contractor programs fast, and own the full lifecycle—from classification and onboarding to payments and compliance. That’s where the legacy MSP model starts to feel out of step and cumbersome.
What Is an MSP in the Context of Workforce Management?
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) acts as a third-party administrator for your contingent workforce. Think of them as a general contractor who oversees your subcontractors—often sourced via staffing vendors.
MSPs are typically paired with Vendor Management Systems (VMS) to help track vendors, contracts, and spend. For organizations with massive temp worker programs, MSPs brought efficiency during a time when internal bandwidth or expertise didn’t exist.
But what happens when your workforce shifts from “temporary headcount through an agency” to “global freelancers and consultants you want to work with directly”?
That’s where the cracks begin to show.
The Pros of the Traditional MSP Model
To give MSPs their due, here’s what they’ve historically done well:
- Centralized oversight across staffing vendors
- Cost control through negotiated rates
- Standardized processes for engagement and approval
- Compliance enforcement (particularly in highly regulated industries)
- Market intelligence on supplier performance and pay rates
For companies managing hundreds of agency temps, this model created consistency.
But consistency is not the same as agility. And agility is what today’s enterprise needs most.
Real-World Example: How Procter & Gamble Used an MSP
To understand the legacy appeal of MSPs, consider Procter & Gamble (P&G)—one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies.
In the early 2000s, P&G faced growing complexity across its global contingent workforce. Different business units were sourcing temporary workers independently through dozens of vendors. There was little visibility into total headcount, spend, or compliance exposure.
To solve this, P&G engaged Guidant Global (then Bartech) as their MSP to centralize oversight. The program managed thousands of temporary workers across roles such as:
- Lab technicians in R&D
- IT contractors supporting infrastructure rollouts
- Back-office administrative staff
- Packaging and line workers in manufacturing hubs
The MSP standardized vendor relationships, implemented a Vendor Management System (VMS), enforced compliance protocols, and gave P&G unified dashboards and cost controls. At the time, this model worked—it replaced chaos with order.
But here’s where the opportunity lies today:
With Worksuite, a company like P&G could now achieve similar structure with far more agility, control, and cost-efficiency:
- Build a private network of pre-vetted contractors across business units
- Enable automated classification and onboarding workflows tailored by role or region
- Maintain full compliance coverage across 190+ countries
- Customizable workflows to accommodate nuanced requirement by contract type or department
- Track spend, performance, and contract status in real time
- Avoid stacked markups from both staffing agencies and MSP’s
In short: we offer the same outcomes—plus faster execution, global reach, and internal ownership—at a fraction of the cost.
Where MSPs Fall Short in 2025
MSPs were designed for a different labor era—when most contract work ran through staffing suppliers, contractors came into an office, lived in the country where the company was located and remote work was rare.
Now, we live in a world of:
- Independent freelancers
- Cross-border contractor engagements
- Niche talent communities and direct sourcing strategies
In this new reality, the MSP model begins to feel less like a partner and more like a gatekeeper.
The most common pain points we hear:
- Lack of visibility and control: You cannot see who is being hired or why
- Lack of Enterprise-wide Adoption often within IT and Marketing due to departmental nuance and inability to accommodate specialized needs
- Slow approval cycles: Lead times stretch into weeks for basic changes
- Limited innovation: Most MSPs still struggle to support modern workflows like direct sourcing, global onboarding, or freelance classification
- Vendor lock-in: You are locked into one supplier ecosystem, limiting access to the best talent
- High overhead: Between staffing markups and MSP fees, the model gets expensive fast—especially for mid-sized or agile teams
To be clear: this is not about replacing every MSP relationship. It is about rethinking where and when you need one—and what your internal teams can now manage more effectively with the right platform. Fear of risk has held many companies back– but with a strategic and nuanced approach, it doesn’t need to.
How Worksuite Creates a Better Path Forward
At Worksuite, we are not just reacting to the shortcomings of legacy models. We are building a future where you gain more control, more efficiency, and more trust in the systems you run.
You Own Your Talent Cloud
Worksuite enables companies to build their own private talent networks—fully searchable, branded, and organized by skill, location, and past performance. No intermediaries. No opaque vendor layers.
This gives you direct access to pre-vetted freelancers, allowing faster project starts, better quality, and tighter alignment.
Think of it as moving from renting talent to owning your network.
Risk Offloading Without the Red Tape
Our Classify and AOR (Agent of Record) products automate global compliance, making it easy to engage contractors safely—whether in Indiana or Indonesia.
The result is automation in validation, fast turnaround and global legal coverage. The best part: if a contractor needs to shift from freelance to employment status? EOR partners can receive the requestr seamlessly.
You stay protected, without slowing down.
Automated Workflows Replace Manual Churn
MSP programs are often bogged down by repetitive emails, fragmented communication between managers and vendors, redundant oversight, and clunky manual reporting in Excel. With Worksuite, onboarding is streamlined through self-service, contracts are auto-generated, and approvals flow seamlessly based on your custom rules.
You reduce administrative burden, eliminate unnecessary delays and human errors, and remove the operational friction that slows teams down.
Real-Time Visibility and Spend Control
Worksuite centralizes all activity—from project assignments to payments—into a single dashboard. Finance can track accruals. Legal sees contracts. HR gets classification data.
You gain transparency, not another black box.
Coexistence, Not Cannibalization
We are not saying “fire your MSP.” Many large enterprises still use them for specific categories. But more and more are using Worksuite alongside their MSPs to manage:
- Direct-sourced talent
- FFreelancer Contract Lifecycle Management
- Worker Classification Compliance programs
We play well with others,and we fill the gaps MSPs cannot serve
The Bright Future of Contractor Management
The MSP model was a valuable step forward in its time—bringing order to a fragmented labor landscape. But it was never designed for the complexity and speed of today’s workforce. Applying a one-size-fits-all model to every type of talent—especially independent contractors—no longer works.
The world has changed—and your systems should change with it.
At Worksuite, we believe:
- Flexibility and compliance can coexist
- You should own your contractor relationships—not rent them
- Agility should not mean sacrificing control
The MSP model served its purpose. But it is no longer the ceiling. It is the floor.
The future is direct, digital, and dynamic. And with the right platform, you can meet it head-on—with confidence.
Worksuite vs. MSP Comparison Table
| Category | Traditional MSP | Worksuite |
| Model | Outsourced vendor coordination | In-house contractor cloud + automation |
| Talent Access | Agency-owned, limited vendor pool | Direct-sourced, easily parsed, curated private network |
| Compliance | Manual, delayed resolution | Automated, global, classification-ready |
| Speed | Weeks to onboard | Hours with self-service workflows |
| Visibility | Limited insights, black-box billing | Real-time dashboards and audit trails |
| Cost Structure | Staffing markups + MSP fees | SaaS pricing with no talent markups |
| Flexibility | Vendor-locked, rigid change cycles | Modular, customizable, agile infrastructure |
| Coexistence | Standalone service | Can replace or complement MSP coverage |
Ready to Move Beyond the Limits of MSPs?
Worksuite gives you the control, speed, and visibility MSPs can’t—without losing the structure you still need.
Build your own contractor cloud. Automate compliance. Scale globally.
Book a demo today and see how top teams are managing freelancers better—without the MSP baggage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need to replace my MSP to use Worksuite?
A: Not necessarily. Many customers use Worksuite alongside their MSP to manage freelancers or compliance use cases MSPs do not cover well.
Q: Can Worksuite handle global contractor payments and compliance?
A: Yes. Worksuite supports contractor classification and payments in over 190 countries, with AOR and EOR options built in for additional coverage.
Q: What makes Worksuite different from a VMS?
A: A Vendor Management System manages agencies. Worksuite manages individual freelancers and contractors—giving you a direct sourcing advantage.
Q: Who typically uses Worksuite?
A: HR, procurement, finance, and operations teams managing external talent at scale. Our customers range from creative agencies to global SaaS firms.
Q: What if I already use other HR tools?
A: Worksuite integrates with major HRIS, accounting, and project management tools to slot into your existing tech stack seamlessly.
|
|
Ray Grady is CEO of Worksuite and a veteran technology executive with a track record of scaling high-growth SaaS companies. A former COO and CRO turned CEO, Ray writes about AI transformation, enterprise resilience, and the future of global work. He believes that AI is not just a tool—but a CEO-level imperative. "You don’t use a CD player anymore, so why are you still dependent on staffing firms to solve your talent problems?" |
