Understanding the best approach to managing your contingent workforce

For most care organisations today, temporary workforce management has moved far beyond working with a single agency. Demand shifts unpredictably. Compliance pressures intensify every year. And the operational and financial impact of a rota gap or an unreconciled invoice can be significant, putting your operational delivery and service users at risk.

Many providers now find themselves juggling multiple agencies, inconsistent processes, and fragmented data. The result? Limited visibility, limited control, and escalating spend, all while trying to maintain safe staffing levels and governance.

The good news is that the healthcare staffing solutions market has matured significantly. Organisations in the UK now have access to several well-defined workforce management models, each built with different priorities in mind. Understanding the distinctions between them is the first step in choosing a structure that fits how your organisation operates.

This guide walks you through the four core healthcare staffing models, how each solution works, and the types of environments where they perform best.

Why the model you choose matters

Before diving into the specifics, it’s worth recognising that this decision goes far beyond comparing day rates.

The structure of your workforce model should consider your requirements including short-, medium- and long-term goals whilst providing robust governance and standardisation, minimising your risk and ensuring the highest level of patient care is delivered, putting the right people in the right places at the right time.

A small single-site care home with one long-standing agency relationship will naturally need something very different from a multi-site organisation working with dozens of suppliers. The key is choosing the model that solves the challenges you face today.

The four main healthcare staffing models

1. Master vendor

A master vendor model places one lead supplier at the centre of your workforce solution. That supplier holds full accountability for the majority of daily fulfilment, quality, governance, and performance against KPIs and SLAs; all under a standardised rate card, acting as an extension of your organisation and ensuring your operational risk is dramatically reduced.

If their own pool cannot meet demand, they draw on approved secondary suppliers. For you, this means one point of contact, one process, and one invoice.

Best for organisations that want:

• A single accountable recruitment partner

• High and consistent fill rates

• Strong cost control and rate standardisation

• Reduced admin and simplified operations

While some providers hesitate at concentrating supply with one partner, the right governance structure can offer a high degree of assurance alongside meaningful commercial control.

2. Neutral vendor

A neutral vendor takes a different approach. Instead of routing demand through a preferred supplier, shift requests are distributed simultaneously to your entire supply chain. The first qualified supplier to respond fulfils the booking requirement.

Here, no supplier is prioritised. The neutral vendor operates as an extension of your service, standardising compliance, consolidating invoicing, and providing governance across all suppliers.

Best for organisations that want:

• Equal opportunities for all supply chain partners

• Greater visibility across a multi-supplier environment

• Standardised rate structures

• A single governance layer without losing supplier diversity

The trade-off: although visibility and rate consistency improve, bespoke cost reduction strategies are more limited compared with a master vendor model.

3. Hybrid MSP

A hybrid MSP model blends the strengths of master vendor and neutral vendor structures. Instead of one lead supplier sitting in tier one, multiple suppliers are positioned in the top tier and managed against agreed performance KPIs and SLAs.

Hybrid models have become increasingly common as care organisations grow and require more flexibility across service types, regions, or complexity of care needs.

Best for organisations that:

• Require multiple suppliers in separate tiers

• Have varied staffing needs that one agency cannot cover alone

• Want to maintain certain agency relationships

• Need improved governance and consistency without prioritising a single supplier

This approach supports scalability while preserving choice and competition within the supply chain.

4. Platform-only model

A platform model provides the technology infrastructure for workforce management without the managed service overlay.

You retain full control of supplier relationships and operational decisions. The platform simply replaces manual processes with automated workflows: shift distribution, compliance verification, timesheets, reporting, and analytics.

This is not a light-touch approach; it requires internal capability and ownership.

Best for organisations that:

• Have a strong internal procurement or workforce team

• Want to manage the supply chain themselves

• Need technology to scale operations efficiently

• Prefer workforce management to stay in-house rather than outsourced

It’s also worth noting that platform technology underpins all four models. It’s the operational engine regardless of your chosen solution.

Not sure which model fits your organisation? Our team works with health and care providers every day to help them find the right approach.

What all effective healthcare staffing models have in common

Regardless of the route you choose, the most successful healthcare workforce management solutions share four core foundations:

1. Robust governance

Automated vetting, credential checks, DBS and right-to-work verifications. Audit readiness must be baked into the process, not dependent on manual oversight.

2. Real-time visibility

Fill rates, spend patterns, and compliance status should be available instantly. Monthly reports don’t support proactive decision-making.

3. Cost rationalisation

Cost standardisation and structured cost reduction plans mean that your workforce solution delivers tangible results to your needs, often reinvesting in patient care.

4. Operational excellence

Clear standards, ongoing monitoring, and structured performance management ensure that every supplier consistently meets expectations.

How Newcross approaches workforce management

With 30+ years supporting health and care providers, Newcross has built a workforce management approach designed to flex across all four models. We create bespoke, long-lasting partnerships delivering excellent patient care by bringing the right people, the right skills and the right environment together.

We combine intelligent technology with access to healthcare professionals and your existing trusted suppliers, bridging the gap between platforms and staffing providers. Whether you need a fully managed service or a platform that enhances your internal team, the model adapts to your organisation, not the other way round.

If you’re unsure which structure fits your current operational reality, our team is here to help you explore the options. There's no one-size-fits-all answer and the right choice depends entirely on the challenges you’re solving today.