In the context of healthcare staffing, vendor neutrality is a way of doing business that provides healthcare organizations with access to multiple staffing agencies and allows them to manage their contingent labor needs through a single platform. The platform, known as a Vendor Management System or “VMS,” provides a central location for the recruiting of temporary staff and enables users to monitor and manage vendor performance and compliance. In the context of healthcare staffing, a VMS is usually offered and operated by a Manager Service Provider.

The key benefit of vendor neutrality is that it provides healthcare organizations with access to a large pool of competing staffing agencies, which should result in increased competition and a lower contract labor spend. Additionally, the standardized process for selecting and managing vendors and the out-sourced administrative and compliance responsibilities should help reduce the administrative burden on healthcare organizations, lowering overall costs and freeing up valuable resources. Unfortunately, and as many healthcare organizations have discovered, it doesn’t always work out that way.

The Problem:

Despite what Managed Service Providers (MSPs) may promise, not all “vendor neutral” platforms are truly vendor neutral. If, for example, the MSP owns a staffing agency, or is owned by one, it may be giving preferential placement to candidates or holding orders for the favored agency. You may be getting the most qualified healthcare staff – or you may be getting the healthcare staff that is the most profitable for the MSP. Even an “independent” MSP can game the system by cherry-picking higher-rate vendors. And any MSP, independent or staffing agency-affiliated, can simply pad the rates.

The Adaptive Workforce Solution:

Adaptive Workforce Solutions is an MSP that operates a truly neutral platform that provides real transparency to rates and vendor margins. Like the healthcare organizations we serve and advocate for, we’re looking for sustainable and fair-to-everyone solutions to combat the contract labor inflation that’s currently destabilizing our industry.

If your organization would like to hear more about our strategic solutions, please contact: