How to successfully adopt and evolve an MSP

In the face of a rapidly changing workforce landscape, a fit-for-purpose Managed Service Provider (MSP) can ensure resilience. But realising an MSP’s full potential isn’t straightforward, especially across large enterprises with multiple stakeholders and priorities.

Evidence shows that:

1. Only 12% of business transformation projects meet their original ambitions. (Bain & Company Change Management Specialists (2024) Press release)

2. While MSP adoption has grown from 40% in 2009 to 58% in 2024, business leaders only report a +3 NPS, highlighting general ambivalence towards MSP performance. (SIA (2025) Workforce Solutions Buyer Survey)

To reap the rewards of an effective MSP, it is essential for businesses not only to align with their providers and internal stakeholders during the initial implementation, but also to ensure their provider drives continuous service evolution through innovation and technology – with a measurable return on investment (ROI).

Our three-step guide can help – ensuring your MSP integrates effectively with your organisation, and what your provider needs to do to maintain future momentum and secure long-term value.

Step one: establish a strong foundation

41% of organisations acknowledge their recruitment models can’t meet current market needs.

Today’s workforce challenges – rising costs, rapid change, and increased compliance risks – have fundamentally reshaped talent acquisition.

Faced with challenges and uncertainty, businesses need an MSP that delivers, and making sure it works from the outset is crucial.

Build your foundation with:

Leadership Buy-In and Clear Objectives

PMI research confirms that actively engaged executive sponsors are the top driver of project success.

The implementation of an MSP should be seen as a strategic business project to complete before looking at wider, long-term evolution.

Before engaging with an MSP provider, ensure you:

• Secure commitment from leadership to champion the MSP initiative, remove roadblocks, and drive accountability.
• Define clear internal goals to ensure alignment and drive success.

Transparent Communication and Onboarding Support

McKinsey Global Institute research demonstrates that improved collaboration and communication through social technologies can raise interaction worker productivity by 20–25%.

Once your MSP provider is in place, ensure that they:

• Foster open communication by arranging regular touchpoints and reviews with your teams, such as hiring updates and forecasting.
• Provide comprehensive onboarding to integrate the MSP smoothly, including shared technology use, on-site visits, and employer branding workshops.

Ensure that you:

• Commit the necessary financial and business resources to support and drive the MSP’s implementation.

Early Timelines and Measuring ROI

Establishing a foundational MSP typically requires 90–120 days, but you can expect to see results in less time.

• Expect to see visible early wins within the first quarter.
• Our clients average 15% efficiency gains during this phase.
• Ensure you measure each success and use them to demonstrate value to stakeholders.

Step two: strategic transformation

An MSP shouldn’t just be a quick hiring solution – it should be an essential strategic advantage for businesses.

Once your MSP is established, look to elevate it from transactional to transformational:

Co-Create Innovation Plans with Your MSP Partner

In the long term, an effective MSP can achieve up to 30% better operational efficiency, 25% improvement in hiring outcomes, and 15% less hiring costs – but to reach this point, an MSP first needs to evolve.

To move forward, start by collaborating with your MSP partner to:

• Develop innovative strategies that drive continuous improvement, such as process improvement workshops or piloting new talent-pooling strategies.
• Align these to your corporate goals to show you are contributing to wider organisational success.

As an organisation, ensure you are open to innovations. Each suggestion to drive strategic innovation should be assessed on its own merit for both impact and benefits in the short and long term.

Nevertheless, not everything your MSP provider suggests will be right for your business or unique challenges.

Use Data Insights to Guide Strategic Talent Decisions

An Everest Group report shows 71% of organisations using MSPs are now incorporating predictive analytics and real-time data to power better decision-making across workforce, spend, and performance.

By leveraging data-driven insights, you can:

• Make informed decisions about talent management in the short and near-term.
• Ensure decisions remain strategic and focused on future potential.

Embed Workforce Planning and DEI Into the Programme

Our clients consistently report that diverse workforces introduce unique skills and perspectives to their organisations, enhancing long-term business performance.

Work with your MSP provider to integrate:

• Strategic workforce planning that aligns with future workforce needs.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to create a holistic approach.

Transformation Timelines and Metrics

Strategic transformation typically occurs between months 6–18 – but in some cases, this can start immediately after go-live.

• Operational efficiency improvements of 30–45% should become achievable during this timeframe.
• This phase converts the MSP from cost centre to profit driver.

Step three: accelerate adoption

A well-executed MSP should unlock value in every part of the contingent workforce lifecycle and quickly adapt to broader initiatives across your entire organisation.

After elevating your MSP to transformational, take adoption to the next level by:

Regularly Reviewing Feedback and Adjusting Processes

Hidden costs of slow hiring, recruitment inefficiencies, and a poor candidate experience can all harm an MSP’s effectiveness.

Work with your MSP partner to:

• Continually gather feedback from candidates, internal teams, and suppliers.
• Refine processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ensure your MSP provider is aligned with your EVP, so this is represented and relayed to candidates effectively.

Expanding MSP Scope By Category or Geography

A Deloitte survey found 94% of executives view agility and collaboration as critical to their organisation’s success, while only 6% say their businesses are highly agile today.

To increase agility across your organisation, broaden your MSP’s reach and use it as a strategic enabler to:

• Include more categories and roles across wider business functions, including contractors, temps, and those under service agreements and a statement of work (SOW).
• Extend services to new regions to support growth and expansion.

Empowering Champions Across Business Functions

Sociable research shows 83% of employees feel more engaged when their company encourages internal advocacy, while businesses with these initiatives in place see 20% higher revenue growth.

Ensure you identify and support key advocates within various business functions to help drive adoption and engagement.

Quantifying the Benefits

MSP scope expansion typically:

• Delivers efficiency gains averaging an additional 10–20%.
• Reduces per-hire costs through economies of scale.

Why most MSP implementations face challenges

McKinsey research indicates that 70% of change programs fail to achieve their goals, largely due to employee resistance and lack of management support.

Common MSP implementation challenges include:

• Insufficient executive sponsorship and change management
• Poor communication between stakeholders
• Lack of clear success metrics and governance
• Technology integration challenges
• Resistance to process changes

McKinsey’s research shows that when people are truly invested in business change, it is 30% percent more likely to succeed. PMI research also confirms that actively engaged executive sponsors are the top driver of projects meeting their original goals and business intent.

At Pontoon powered by Adecco, we ensure executive sponsors are actively engaged at all levels of MSP implementation. Our 98% client retention rate demonstrates our expertise in the adoption process that others find challenging – by successfully aligning HR, procurement and business leaders around a unified strategy, our MSP becomes more than an operational fix – it’s a force multiplier, ensuring continuous evolution that can adapt to any challenge.

From financial services to manufacturing, healthcare to technology – we’ve successfully implemented MSP solutions across every major UK industry sector, understanding the unique compliance, cultural, and operational requirements each demands.

What you can expect to see when you partner with us

While the journey to MSP success involves multiple disciplines – from stakeholder alignment to continuous service evolution – you don’t have to master them all. A strategic MSP provider will guide and manage this process with you. Pontoon Powered by Adecco has helped organisations navigate this complexity with confidence, ensuring that transformation efforts are not only strategic but also sustainable.

We will establish strong foundations by:

• Providing leadership support and clear objectives to ensure your MSP adoption starts strong.
• Ensuring transparent communication and onboarding processes help integrate the MSP seamlessly.
• Focus on early wins to demonstrate immediate value.

We will drive strategic transformation by:

• Conducting regular feedback reviews and process adjustments to keep your operations efficient.
• Helping to expand your MSP scope by category or geography.
• Empowering champions across your business functions to drive engagement.

We will elevate your MSP programme by:

• Embedding workforce planning and DEI initiatives.
• Co-creating innovation plans with you, leveraging our expertise to drive continuous improvement.
• Using data insights to guide strategic talent decisions, ensuring you stay ahead in the competitive market.

Take your next step

Book a no-obligation consultation with one of our MSP specialists today:

Book Your Consultation

Looking for more insights?

As the recognised industry leader in MSP solutions, we’ve created a comprehensive MSP playbook to share:

• Our proven 10-component framework for MSP excellence
• Implementation strategies based on successful global deployments
• Industry-leading technology partnerships that enhance our AI and innovation capabilities
• ROI measurement methodologies validated across industries
• Next-generation workforce innovations already delivering results

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