Comparing School Staffing Solutions for Sustainability

Schools often face unique staffing challenges that require strategic solutions. Whether you’re in a rural or urban district managing a school struggling in need of qualified educators, your approach to staffing can significantly impact your success.

There are two commonly used approaches in the staffing industry: working directly with vendor panels and partnering with workforce solutions specialists, like Managed Service Providers (MSP). Let’s explore how these methods differ, and which might better serve your school or district’s needs.

Understanding the Traditional Transactional Approach

Traditionally, educational institutions have relied on their districts’ policies to secure labor, often taking a reactionary approach to staffing needs. This typically involves establishing direct relationships with staffing agencies – essentially creating vendor panels to fill gaps in their workforce. This approach typically locks districts into one-year contracts, leaving them stuck with their solution for the entire year regardless of changing needs.

Characteristics of the traditional approach include:

• Direct relationships with vendors and recruiters who understand your specific needs
• Non-standardized and centralized processes resulting from difficulties schools face in recruiting candidates on their own
• Lacks long-term strategy planning
• Varied processes for onboarding and compliance across vendors
• Rigid annual contracts through bureaucratic purchasing policies
• Limited flexibility to adapt to changing workforce demands

Schools may appreciate the personal touch and relationships developed through this approach. Vendor panels also offer better value for school districts that don’t have large staffing demands. However, they may need to create a strong plan for streamlining their workforce management to allow this to work.

Managed Service Providers (MSP): A Comprehensive Approach

Workforce solutions, like Managed Service Providers (MSP), represent an evolution in education staffing approaches. A workforce solutions provider or MSP creates a structured environment where multiple staffing agencies can be utilized under a single management framework. This offers a streamlined approach to tackling new workforce challenges.

Characteristics of an MSP in education staffing include:

• Centralized & standardized processes of multiple staffing vendors
• Unified technology platform for managing contingent workforce, time tracking, and billing
• Consolidated reporting to help identify opportunities to strengthen workforce
• Increased access to talent
• Flexibility to adapt quickly to changing workforce demands
• Strategic planning for long-term sustainability

This model fundamentally changes how staffing agencies interact with your school or district because the MSP can take over the entire staffing process, allowing more time to focus for schools to focus on their core duties.

Comparing Benefits

Cost Management

Vendor Panel:

• Schools or districts may negotiate rates individually with each agency
• Potential for rate variations across similar positions
• Limited leverage for volume discounts
• Multiple invoicing systems to manage

MSPs:

• Standardized rate cards across vendors
• Enhanced volume-based negotiating power
• Consolidated billing and invoicing
• Potential for reduced administrative costs through centralized management

Quality of Candidates

Vendor Panel:

• Direct relationships may lead to better understanding of a school or district’s staffing demands
• Prioritization of placements based on the agency’s relationships
• Varying quality standards between agencies
• Limited data for cross-agency performance comparison

MSPs:

• Dedicated program manager support can create a better understanding of a school or district’s culture and staffing desires.
• Standardized quality metrics across all vendors
• Performance-based tiering to encourage submittal of higher-quality candidates
• Competitive staffing where agencies must differentiate their candidate quality
• Comprehensive analytics to track quality metrics across all placements
• Broader talent pools through combined agency networks

Process Efficiency

Vendor Panel:

• Multiple systems and processes to manage
• Inconsistent compliance standards
• Variable onboarding procedures
• Time-intensive vendor management

MSPs:

• Single point of contact for all staffing needs
• Unified technology platform
• Standardized compliance and credentialing
• Automated reporting and performance tracking
• Streamlined onboarding and offboarding processes

Industry Considerations

Vendor Panel:

• Local agencies may have better connections to community educators
• Direct relationships can ensure culture fit in specialized environments
• Flexible arrangements for specialized subjects or short-term needs
• Limited to annual RFP cycles, creating inflexibility
• Difficulty adapting to mid-year changes in staffing needs

MSPs:

• District-wide standardization of substitute and full-time placement processes
• Consolidated certification tracking and compliance management
• Data-driven performance metrics to enhance staffing decisions
• Agility to respond to changing workforce demands throughout the year
• Strategic planning capabilities for evolving educational needs
• Sustainability-focused approach to long-term workforce management

Finding Your School Staffing Path

The reality is that the types of demand schools face are changing rapidly. Traditional vendor panel relationships, while familiar, are proving unsustainable in today’s dynamic educational environment. School districts now need to be nimble in how they manage their demand for labor – workforce solutions, like MSPs, can help you do that.

Keep in mind that finding a successful staffing strategy may require learning about both approaches and choosing the option that best meets your school or district’s demand for quality labor. The key is identifying how you can find the qualified talent you need to maintain educational success, while optimizing processes and controlling costs.

By carefully weighing the benefits and considerations of both staffing approaches, you can develop a workforce strategy that provides a sustainable staffing foundation for your district’s future.

Want to learn how an MSP partnership with Sunburst can help your school or district? Connect with us today.