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Since joining the HTD Talent team in May, I’ve had the opportunity to re-connect with several MSPs. If you know me, you know I love a good MSP; working for one of them has been a highlight of my career journey! I was fortunate to have a customer who was forward-thinking and loved when we brought them new ideas. We played with the concepts of talent pools and direct sourcing before they even became hot topics. It was our job as the MSP to bring them innovation and to prepare them for the future of work, and we did!
I’ve been excited by some of my conversations with MSPs and how they’re looking at "Hire-Train-Deploy (HTD)" as an alternative talent acquisition approach. They’re eager to present their customers with a proactive contract-to-hire solution that is likely to evolve into their customers' FTE hiring strategy! Quite frankly, I’ve also been disappointed by how many Program Managers have quickly placed HTD suppliers alongside the traditional reactive staffing suppliers. They immediately say they “have too many IT suppliers”, before they even have the opportunity to hear how HTD can help them bring innovation to their programs! In this blog, we'll explore the differences between the two models, and shed light on why MSPs should embrace Hire-Train-Deploy.
Traditional Reactive Staffing
Traditional reactive staffing has been the basic staffing model for organizations to meet their short-term hiring needs. It’s generally a responsive model where companies leverage contingent workers on an as-needed basis, typically filling employee leaves or sudden project demands. The traditional reactive approach has its merits, although it still comes with certain limitations:
Competition: When the job is released, everyone is going to the open market, competing for the same talent to fill the same job.
Time-Consuming: Reactive staffing can be time-consuming, often requiring a quick turnaround when identifying candidates, scheduling several interviews per position, and onboarding selected workers. This leaves little room for thorough vetting and training.
Limited Skill Sets: Since the focus is on filling immediate gaps, workers brought in through a reactive staffing model may lack the specific skills required for the job, resulting in a suboptimal workforce.
High Turnover: High turnover can be common in reactive staffing, since contingent workers may feel disconnected from the organization and lack a sense of job security, leading to attrition.
Inconsistent Quality: The inconsistency in the skilled quality of workers can affect project outcomes and create challenges in maintaining a cohesive team.
Hire-Train-Deploy: The Future of Workforce Management
Hire-Train-Deploy, or HTD, is a more proactive and strategic approach to contingent workforce management and often turns into part of the organization's FTE hiring strategy. Instead of merely filling individual staffing gaps as they appear, HTD is about anticipating future needs, selecting the right talent for the organization, providing them with customized training on the organization's technology environment, and integrating them seamlessly into the organization. Are you ready to see how it stands out?
Proactive Planning: HTD starts with strategic planning and relationships with the hiring team. HTD suppliers meet alongside organizations as they identify their long-term IT workforce requirements, skill gaps, and project pipelines, allowing for a more proactive approach to talent acquisition.
Customized Training: Unlike traditional reactive staffing, where contingent workers are expected to hit the ground running, HTD involves training programs customized to the organization's specific skills needs and technology environments. This ensures that workers are adequately upskilled and ready to make an impact on the team they’re joining.
Cohesive Workforce: HTD workers are integrated into the organization's culture and teams early in the training process, reducing the disconnect often seen in traditional reactive staffing. This excites the workers to join the customer organization, fosters quicker collaboration, loyalty, and a shared sense of purpose.
Cost Efficiency: You may be thinking HTD sounds like it could cost more than traditional reactive staffing, but it often results in cost savings over time. The reduced turnover and improved productivity of a well-trained workforce can lead to significant long-term benefits. If you partner with the right HTD supplier, there’s no upfront cost or risk to your organization; the HTD supplier invests in the workers' training, so there’s never a cost to the worker.
Enhanced Quality: By providing workers with customized training specific to the organization’s needs, technology environment, and goals, then ongoing support, HTD helps ensure that the quality of work delivered by HTD workers meets or exceeds expectations.
Why MSPs Should Embrace HTD
Competitive Advantage: MSPs that adopt the HTD approach gain a competitive edge by offering a more strategic and cost-effective solution to their customers. Many MSPs are only focused on growing SOW, Direct Sourcing, and RPO businesses. You can stand out to your customers and potential customers by bringing an innovative solution to the table.
Customer Satisfaction: HTD can lead to improved customer satisfaction by providing a more reliable and skilled contingent workforce.
Increased Efficiency: MSPs can optimize their operations by reducing the time and resources spent on reactive staffing processes.
Long-Term Partnerships: HTD fosters stronger, long-term relationships with customers as MSPs play a more integral role in their customers' workforce planning.
In a world where the landscape of work continues to evolve rapidly, it's crucial for organizations and MSPs to adapt to the changing dynamics. Embracing innovative approaches like Hire-Train-Deploy (HTD) positions you to not just keep up with these shifts, but to lead the way in shaping the future of workforce management.