Whether you are a business owner or working in human resources, hiring the right candidate is not the easiest job. Sifting through hundreds of resumes and conducting countless interviews can be time-consuming and takes a lot of energy. Fortunately, a staffing agency can help you with that.
What exactly does a staffing agency do?
In simple terms, staffing agencies specialize in finding qualified candidates for open positions in companies.
Staffing agencies have pre-screened candidates in their pool, thoroughly vetted for their qualifications, skills, and experience. They can save you time and resources by streamlining the hiring process.
A common mistake companies make is to confuse staffing with recruiting. While there are some similarities, staffing goes beyond recruitment, providing additional support, from employee training and development opportunities to employee retention and termination.
Why work with a staffing agency? As mentioned earlier, hiring is a time-consuming process, and it sometimes takes up to 49 days to fill a position, depending on the industry. Unless you have the resources to do it yourself, it is better to hire a staffing agency to do all the heavy lifting for you.
In this article, we will list the benefits and the reasons why hiring a staffing agency can be a game-changer for your company.
1- Expertise and Industry Knowledge:
When you work with a staffing agency, they can assist you with more than just recruitment and placement. You will tap into a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise you can use for your company’s advantage in numerous ways.
Staffing agencies can advise on workforce planning and management while helping businesses find the best candidates for particular positions. Many agencies even provide staffing agency case studies or examples of successful placements they have made previously during the initial consultation. Make sure to review those case studies beforehand to understand the value they can bring to your company.
Moreover, they have access to the latest data and insights on market trends and can offer insightful advice on hiring practices and employee retention. They may have training programs too to make sure applicants have the ability to succeed in your sector.
2- Access to Top Talent:
Perhaps the most significant benefit of working with a staffing agency is having access to top talent.
The importance of the right skilled professional in a company’s success is undeniable. However, it is not an easy task, with many companies stating it as one of the biggest challenges for their company. That’s where staffing agencies can give you a helping hand.
A reputable staffing agency has readily available candidates from a large pool, matched according to their skill set. These candidates go through a rigorous recruitment process, not only limited to experience or education. An assessment of skills, as well as background and reference checks, is part of the process.
Working with them can also give you access to passive job seekers — those currently working but open to better opportunities. Many companies often overlook such individuals when hiring, resulting in missed candidates with the potential to excel in the hiring position. A staffing agency has already established a network of contacts and can reach out to them on your behalf, expanding your pool of potential candidates. It further increases your chances of finding the right person for the job, ultimately driving your company’s success.
3- Cost-Effective:
The success of every company’s growth is defined by one key factor; finding cost-effective solutions. Working with a staffing agency is one of the best solutions to achieve that.
From advertising job openings to training new hires, hiring is an expensive process, putting strain on the budget and resources of the company. And if you make a bad hire, it can cost your company even more in the long run. If you want to avoid this costly mistake, work with a staffing agency.
We have already talked about the time a staffing agency can save you, but there are several other costs associated with administrative tasks when it comes to hiring. These include payroll, taxes, and other benefits, not to mention all the paperwork. But you don’t have to worry about all this as staffing agencies take on these responsibilities too.
Another benefit is access to temporary and contract workers. Suppose you need additional staff during peak seasons but don’t want to commit to hiring a full-time employee. With a staffing agency, you don’t have to worry about scrambling to find employees at the last minute. They usually have go-to labor available on short notice.
4- Offer Flexibility in Hiring:
If you don’t want to face low productivity or slow progress, your company must be adaptable to changes in today’s competitive market. Luckily, a staffing agency can help by preventing this problem.
For instance, if you are working in the retail industry and face unexpected turnover, a staffing agency can provide readily available candidates that can start working right away. Similarly, they can lend extra labor during the holiday seasons to meet the demands of customers. They can also provide companies variety of hiring options that suits their demands and budget.
5- Additional Support Beyond Recruitment:
Most companies primarily focus solely on the recruitment process when hiring new talent. However, the support a staffing agency provides doesn’t stop here.
Staffing agencies understand that investing in your workforce and ensuring they are equipped with the right skills and knowledge is crucial. Therefore, their services include various training programs and workshops to assist their client’s employees grow and develop their skill sets. This leads to higher job satisfaction and increased productivity. On top of that, you’ll save time and resources developing and implementing training programs in-house.
Final Thoughts:
The recruitment process is time-consuming and tedious, and it takes a lot of effort to recruit new employees. Partnering with a staffing agency can save you a lot of hassle of screening stacks of resumes and conducting dozens of interviews.
They will overlook the entire hiring process and will provide additional training and development opportunities for employees. They can also aid your company to achieve its goals and boost productivity by streamlining the hiring process and employee retention. Staffing agencies can also provide job seekers with ample opportunities and resources to stand out in the competitive market.