In the dynamic landscape of healthcare, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Vendor Management Systems (VMS) emerge as powerful allies. These strategic resources empower healthcare organizations to navigate the intricate dance of contingent workforce management. Yet, there are common misconceptions of cost overruns and complexities that give decision-makers pause. In this exploration, we’ll unveil the hidden gems within MSPs and VMS, shedding light on their transformative potential.
What Is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
A Managed Service Provider (MSP) is an outsourced company that specializes in managing a business’s contingent workforce program, including both traditional workforce and staffing agencies. MSPs play a crucial role in handling all aspects of contingent workforce management, such as sourcing suppliers, shortlisting resumes, onboarding/offboarding contingent workers, and conducting rate card market analysis. MSP’s essentially oversee the entire requisition-to-checkout lifecycle for a company’s contingent labor workforce program.
While MSPs can sometimes be an internal, self-managed team within a business, they are more often an independent third-party organization that carries out the tasks outlined above on behalf of the business. This allows the company’s internal team to focus on core business operations and strategic initiatives.
An MSP offers numerous benefits to healthcare organizations, including reduced costs, increased compliance, and improved efficiency. Rather than attempting to handle all aspects of workforce management internally, hiring an MSP allows you to leverage the expertise and specialized skills of true leaders in the field.
MSPs help streamline processes by managing the onboarding and offboarding of contingent workers, conducting regular audits to ensure compliance, and offering strategic insights to enhance program maturity models. They can also assist with consolidating invoicing processes, improving the visibility of contingent workforce metrics, and facilitating adherence to relevant policies and regulations.
By utilizing an MSP, healthcare organizations can focus on their core mission while benefiting from the MSP’s ability to manage various facets of the contingent workforce program efficiently and cost-effectively. Ultimately, MSP performance is assessed based on the quality of work, the time taken to achieve desired outcomes, and the cost-effectiveness of the services provided in relation to the savings realized.
What Is a Vendor Management System (VMS)?
A Vendor Management System (VMS) is a cloud based software that optimizes your contingent workforce process. The right platform doesn’t just provide visibility into your temp workforce, it automates rote tasks and often leads to increased speed to hire. The right VMS can expedite sourcing, onboarding, and paying vendors, which reduces the manual time you are spending on these tasks.
In healthcare, where traveling staff is often the norm rather than the exception, VMS can increase transparency between the worker and the larger organization. If you are constantly hiring temporary nurses, specialists, or orderlies to fill the gaps, you can expect to fill those roles faster and with less friction.
With a VMS, there are fewer questions about how resources are being allocated. Workers can trust the onboarding process, and vendors can trust they’re going to get paid in full and on-time. This helps you attract more qualified talent, and even save you money over time. It’s a win-win for everyone, especially if you’ve been having trouble meeting your staffing goals.
How Do MSP and VMS Work Together in Healthcare?
In the healthcare industry, an MSP and VMS can work in tandem to provide a comprehensive ecosystem for a healthcare organization’s contingent workforce program. The MSP helps healthcare companies by managing costs, speeding up the process of filling openings and enhancing the quality of the contingent workforce.
On the other hand, the VMS serves as a tool that brings all these efforts together by offering enhanced program reporting, which drives visibility and insight into the entire program. This collaboration allows for seamless scaling of support, ensuring that whether you are a small clinic or a large hospital, you can adjust the level of support according to your specific needs. The combined efforts of MSP and VMS lead to more efficient and effective workforce management.
Some MSPs, like Monument, will help a healthcare organization choose a VMS as a part of their services. Much like a kitchen designer might recommend a cabinet brand based on the style of the house and the homeowner’s expectations, the goal of the MSP is to find a VMS that can integrate with the current systems.
In this case, an MSP team would configure the VMS and integrate it as a part of your larger systems. Regardless of your current workflow, the right MSP will be able to streamline the process with minimal disruption to the staff.
Choosing the Right MSP and VMS Solutions
While working with an MSP and VMS can greatly benefit healthcare organizations, it’s important to find the right partners to ensure a smooth transition and successful integration. Adapting to system-wide changes and new external teams may present challenges, but the right expertise can make the process seamless.
At Monument, we take a tailored approach, starting with the basics and gradually diving deeper. This allows us to explain how these systems can enhance your healthcare organization and provide insights into the future potential of your network. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your healthcare organization and help you achieve your goals.