An MSP built for today's external workforce.

An external workforce program (EWP) is a structured, organization-wide approach to engaging and managing workers who are not directly employed by the business — including contractors, temporary employees, casual staff, independent consultants, and workers sourced through staffing agencies or statement of work (SOW) vendors. Rather than managing these engagements in an ad-hoc or decentralized way, a formal program brings together the governance, technology, processes, and supplier relationships needed to source, onboard, manage, and offboard external talent consistently and compliantly. This typically involves a vendor management system (VMS) to track engagements and spend, defined approval workflows, rate and tenure controls, and oversight of compliance obligations such as worker classification. The goal is to give organizations visibility and control over a workforce segment that, while often significant in size and cost, has historically sat outside the structures applied to permanent headcount.

Managed service providers (MSPs) manage a process. An external workforce program (EWP) builds the infrastructure that connects a client's workforce strategy to what actually happens when a manager makes a hiring decision. Traditional MSPs administer transactions after they're initiated (e.g., approving requisitions, tracking supplier compliance, and processing invoices). An EWP operates upstream, guiding managers to the right talent channel at the point of purchase, orchestrating every channel through one governance framework, and turning program data into decisions that improve outcomes over time. Every KellyOCG MSP is delivered through our EWP approach — the methodology that makes the difference.

Yes, KellyOCG is still an MSP provider and has been for 30 years. We invented the model. What's evolved is how we deliver it. Today, every KellyOCG MSP is built and scaled on our external workforce program approach — a proven, structured methodology that goes beyond transaction management to connect your workforce strategy to how work actually gets done. The KellyOCG difference isn't that we abandoned MSP. It's that we made it work for today's external workforce.

No, external workforce programs are not only for large organizations. KellyOCG delivers programs configured for any organization size and complexity — from foundational programs for smaller contingent workforces to enterprise programs orchestrating complex, multi-channel workforces at a global scale. The methodology stays consistent; what varies is which capabilities are activated based on your program's needs today. Start with the channels and features you need and expand as your program matures.

A staffing agency fills the positions you request. A KellyOCG external workforce program goes further — managing how the work is run: who your suppliers are, what you pay, how workers are engaged, and what the total spend is. Your agencies remain partners; what changes is that KellyOCG manages the overall process and provides the visibility and insights you need to improve performance and cost-effectiveness across every talent channel.

Absolutely. Each capability within an external workforce program — staff augmentation, services procurement, direct sourcing, independent contractor compliance, human cloud, worker tracking, and more — can be activated individually or combined based on your needs. Many clients start with one or two channels and expand over time as their program matures. Sevayo, our integrated workforce technology platform, unifies everything into a single connected experience regardless of which channels you activate.

Services procurement is the talent channel for managing SOW-based work — consulting engagements, systems integration projects, IT work, and other project-based spend. Within an external workforce program, services procurement extends the same rigor and governance that MSPs apply to staffing into the services category. It's one of the highest-value channels in terms of spend potential and cost savings opportunity — and also one of the more complex to implement. Learn more about our services procurement offerings.

Compliance is embedded across every talent channel in an external workforce program. Independent contractor (IC) evaluations, SOW governance, worker classification reviews, tenure controls, and regulatory oversight are all built into the program's operating model. For clients who need Kelly to serve as employer of record or manage payroll operations, our professional payroll outsourcing (PPO) service can be integrated within your EWP for a fully unified compliance approach.