When you oversee contingent labor contracts, every vendor decision comes with pressure. Your CFO expects measurable cost savings. Your internal stakeholders expect stability. Competitors will tell you, sometimes in not-so-subtle ways, that switching MSPs is too risky, that your program will be destabilized, and that it is safer to stay put.
The reality is that the risk does not come from the decision to switch. It comes from how that switch is managed. With the right partner, you can move to a more competitive, compliant, and scalable program without disruption and without taking the blame if something goes wrong.
Why competitors push the “too risky” narrative
If you are with a large MSP provider, you have probably heard it before:
- “Changing MSPs will cause coverage gaps.”
- “Your vendors will leave.”
- “It will take months before you see the same performance you have today.”
Here is what is behind those claims:
- They are protecting their MSP fees, which often exceed competitive market rates.
- They know an open RFP or competitive bid could expose pricing and performance gaps.
- They are betting that fear of disruption will outweigh your ability to deliver savings and stability.
Avoiding change is not a savings strategy. If you need quick wins on cost reduction and long-term scalability, you must evaluate your options and insist on a transition plan that proves disruption is not inevitable.
Prolink’s low-risk implementation model for healthcare leaders
Our process was built for leaders like you who have to balance cost savings, vendor compliance, and operational stability under tight deadlines and with limited bandwidth.
We focus on three phases that deliver both short-term wins and long-term scalability.
1. Pre-transition discovery
Before a single contract is signed, we conduct a full operational and financial audit of your MSP program. This includes:
- Fill Rate Analysis broken down by department, specialty, and location, compared against industry benchmarks.
- Vendor Engagement Mapping to identify which subcontractors are delivering, which are disengaged due to high MSP fees, and where re-engagement opportunities exist.
- MSP Fee Structure Review to expose where fees exceed competitive market norms.
- Rate Benchmarking by specialty and shift type, using current market intelligence so you can see exactly where you are overpaying.
- Compliance Requirements Audit covering credentialing, onboarding timelines, and reporting standards to ensure every vendor meets your contractual and regulatory obligations.
Why this matters for leaders: This gives you the hard data to take control of the narrative internally. You will know where money is being lost, where compliance is at risk, and where performance lags—and you can bring those numbers to your CFO and leadership team with confidence.
Your benefits:
- Immediate visibility into where MSP fees are inflating costs beyond market rates.
- Clear, measurable savings opportunities you can present as ROI in dollars and percentages.
- Compliance status documented upfront so there are no delays or liabilities in a bid or RFP process.
2. Parallel operations
We never recommend a “rip and replace” approach. Instead, for a set transition period, we operate in parallel with your existing MSP. Our team shadows your current workflows to ensure we fully understand your program before taking full ownership.
What this looks like in practice:
- Shadowing Requisition Flow from intake to placement so no operational nuance is missed.
- Stakeholder Introductions with hiring managers, department heads, and key vendors so relationships remain intact.
- Vendor Engagement Sessions to communicate Prolink’s competitive fee structure and partnership philosophy early, ensuring subcontractors remain engaged.
- Live Reporting Snapshots showing fill rates, time-to-fill, and vendor responsiveness under our management compared to your incumbent MSP.
Why this matters for leaders: This approach eliminates “day one” chaos. You will have proof of performance before you commit to a full cutover, which protects you from internal pushback and lets you show leadership early wins.
Your benefits:
- Predictable, easy-to-manage transition that keeps all stakeholders aligned.
- Documented performance improvements to use as leverage with leadership.
- Early vendor buy-in that safeguards coverage levels during the switch.
3. Phased handover and continuous oversight
We transition in structured stages to avoid disruption. The process starts with non-critical requisitions, then gradually expands to high-volume and specialty roles. Throughout the process, we monitor all critical metrics in real time.
Key elements of this phase:
- Segmented Transition Plan that prioritizes roles with minimal patient care impact first.
- KPI Tracking including fill rates, time-to-fill, vendor response times, and rate compliance.
- Continuous Vendor Communication to keep engagement high and prevent turnover of top-performing subcontractors.
- Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) from the start, so you have consistent documentation of cost savings, vendor compliance, and service-level adherence.
Why this matters for leaders: This stage ensures the program not only maintains stability during the transition but also scales efficiently afterward. You avoid the reputational risk of a failed cutover while meeting, and often exceeding, your savings and compliance targets.
Your benefits:
- Built-in redundancies so no single point of failure can destabilize the program.
- Real-time reporting you can use to demonstrate tangible cost savings and service improvements.
- Stronger vendor relationships and improved coverage rates without inflated MSP fees.
What this means for you
If your goal is to reduce costs without creating risk, our model delivers:
Hard cost savings you can see and prove
● Competitive, transparent pricing with no inflated MSP fees.
● Quick wins on rate reductions without sacrificing fulfillment.
Clear ROI and compliance integrity
● Data-driven rate benchmarking against market standards.
● Vendor contracts managed with compliance at the forefront.
Predictable, low-risk vendor relationships
● Structured onboarding so stakeholders see improvement, not instability.
● Vendors engaged early and retained through competitive, fair fees.
Switching vs. staying put
If you stay with a large MSP provider under your current structure:
- You will keep paying inflated MSP fees—above 7 percent—that erode your ability to hit savings targets.
- Vendor engagement will remain challenged, risking fulfillment rates and coverage.
- Opportunities for quick, visible wins in your first quarter will be lost.
If you move to Prolink now:
- We’ll achieve short-term savings in the first 90 days that you can present to leadership as proof of ROI.
- You’ll get long-term scalability with a pricing and vendor model designed to adapt.
- We’ll provide RFP-ready compliance and performance data to protect you in future bid cycles.
Here's your bottom line
You have measurable savings targets. You must maintain compliance and stability. You cannot afford a transition that causes program disruption.
Prolink’s model gives you what other providers can’t: a predictable, low-risk path to competitive pricing, higher performance, and stronger vendor relationships without inflated MSP fees.
If you are ready to explore what your first 90 days could look like, click below to connect with our sales team.
