Manya Zaharko

The State of the Industry – March 13, 2026 ​The "Staffing Surge" is here. Are you riding the wave or watching from the shore? ​The data for the week ending March 13, 2026, is officially in, and it tells a story of Staffing Resilience. While the headlines focus on a "cooling" labor market, the reality for those of us in the trenches is different: Staffing hours have just hit a 2026 high. ​The Weekly Breakdown: 🔹​Momentum: The ASA Staffing Index is up 3.38% over last year. We aren't just recovering; we are accelerating. 🔹​The "Wait-and-See" Dividend: With 6.9M job openings but a cautious C-Suite, companies are turning to The Standard of contingent labor to bridge the gap. 🔹​The AI Pivot: Skills in "AI Orchestration" are now more in demand than traditional software development. The talent gap isn't closing; it's changing shape. ​The "Standard" Take: If you are still waiting for a "perfectly stable" economy to start your expansion, you’re missing the Q2 window. The most successful partners I’m seeing right now aren't hiring for headcount, they are hiring for targeted expertise to drive specific initiatives. ​The "Staffing Surge" isn't an accident. It’s the result of an industry that has architected a way to provide Certainty in an uncertain world. ​Is your Q2 strategy built on current data, or last year's assumptions? ​#StaffingIndustry #RecruitingTrends #WorkforceSolutions #TheStandard #EconomicOutlook2026 #LaborMarket #SIA #ASA

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📊 Breaking Down MSP/VMS Program Structures: A Suppliers Perspective on What We Really See and Feel About Common Program Structures Currently, we’ve partnered across multiple enterprise contingent workforce programs and have seen five common program structures shape how suppliers perform. Each brings clear benefits—but also challenges that directly impact speed-to-fill, candidate quality, and overall partnership. Here’s some pros and cons I’ve seen first hand from each: 🔹 1. Vendor-Neutral • Pro: Creates a level playing field where all suppliers compete on speed, compliance, and quality. Provides a competitive environment to provide quality talent. • Con: Can become very transactional—51% of suppliers in SIA’s survey cited “lack of feedback/context” as the biggest pain point in vendor-neutral setups. Without feedback it can be hard to make improvements to talent quality. 🔹 2. No Hiring Manager Contact • Pro: Protects hiring manager bandwidth and enforces consistent processes; ensures suppliers funnel everything through the MSP or Internally Managed Team. • Con: Cuts off valuable feedback loops. In fact, LinkedIn data shows candidates are 38% more likely to drop out when communication lacks context about the company or leadership they’re being hired by. 🔹 3. Master Vendor / Vendor-Exclusive • Pro: Centralized communication, faster decisions, and deep program knowledge. Less mess when it comes to contacting and working with supplier base. • Con: Over-reliance on one partner can limit competition, and create unhealthy reliance on a partner that may not be meeting all your labor needs. SIA notes 71% of enterprises worry about cost inflation in exclusive setups. 🔹 4. Hybrid / Tiered Supplier Model • Pro: Balances competition—core tier suppliers drive consistency, compliance, and proven results, while Tier 2 and beyond provide flexibility and niche skill coverage when Tier 1 suppliers aren’t as effective. • Con: Tier 2+ suppliers often feel disadvantaged; without proper calibration and consistent requisition flow, the majority of reqs can skew heavily toward Tier 1. This can create disengagement, where lower-tier suppliers stop investing resources because they see limited to zero ROI in program participation. 🔹 5. Direct Sourcing / Talent Pools • Pro: 74% of enterprises now view direct sourcing as a key strategy to cut cost-per-hire and reduce time-to-fill. Alumni and silver-medalist talent pools are game changers. • Con: Requires significant investment in employer brand + tech, and traditional suppliers are still critical for niche roles or functioning as an EOR/Payrolling partner in the backend. ✨ From the supplier side, not one of these models is “perfect.” The strongest programs are those that balance compliance, speed, and quality, while treating suppliers as partners with a win-win relationship—not just vendors that eat what they can catch. #ContingentWorkforce #MSP #VMS #StaffingSupplierPerspective #WorkforceSolutions

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🚨 Workforce Reality: Not All Contingent Labor Suppliers Are Built to Scale. Here’s How to Recognize It. 🚨 Most staffing suppliers today can perform when volume is low and timelines are forgiving. The difference shows up when a programs requisitions surge, and expectations tighten. Especially in high volume and high compliance risk MSP and Internally Managed CW Programs. Suppliers built to scale within those programs rely on proven systems, not heroics or “testing” the waters. They have repeatable and easy onboarding, consistent compliance processes, documented safety and training workflows. They plan for retention and redeployment rather than constant replacement. Performance improves as volume increases instead of resetting every quarter. Suppliers that struggle at scale often look strong early. Speed masks fragility. A small group of recruiters carries most of the workload. Documentation lags behind activity. Quality dips as urgency rises. Compliance measures are missed and risk accumulates quietly between handoffs. The gap becomes visible during program compliance audits, safety reviews, site expansions, or sudden demand spikes. One group absorbs pressure and stabilizes the program. The other introduces friction that shows up as delays, rework, or compliance failure exposure. Scale is not proven during pilot phases. It is revealed when growth tests the structure behind the service. #ContingentWorkforce #WorkforceStrategy #SupplierManagement #ProgramGovernance #OperationalExcellence #RiskManagement #FutureOfWork

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When hospitals face rising vacancies and an overreliance on contingent labor, the impact is felt on both patient care and budgets. That’s why I’m excited to share this case study: a North Carolina health system partnered with eHospitalHire and saw measurable change. 60 RN hires in 10 months, a 10% reduction in vacancies, and $4.3M in savings. What stands out most is the efficiency of the model, a lean team of three nurse sourcers delivering outsized results. It’s proof that smarter recruitment strategies can truly reshape how hospitals think about workforce planning. If something like this would benefit your facility please reach out and we can discuss how eHH can help build out a perm solution strategy for your hospital. #ehh #hospitalrecruiting #perm #FTE #healthcare

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Staffing leaders are moving fast on AI and automation. But here’s the question I’m asking in boardrooms: Is your tech stack compliant or just convenient? Every new integration moves data. Every AI tool makes decisions. Every workflow shift changes accountability. Speed is exciting, but governance is essential. The firms that get this right will not only scale faster, they will protect the trust that built their business. I am sharing some practical thoughts on staffing tech compliance in the comments It is a conversation more CEOs and staffing leaders need to be having! #StaffingLeadership #AIInStaffing #Compliance #OperationalExcellence #NewburyPartners

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Sharing on behalf of Chesapeake HR Solutions™: As small businesses grow, informal people practices often become harder to sustain. This article highlights when HR consulting can make a meaningful impact, especially for organizations navigating increased complexity, compliance needs, and leadership growth. A helpful read for any team thinking about how to scale their people strategy effectively... Julie East | Samantha Bayliss, SHRM-SCP | Jason Nemoy

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