3 Effective Approaches To Staffing Your Business

For any business, finding the right talent for open positions is key to success. However, not all businesses have the time, ability, or resources to navigate the competitive world of workforce recruitment. That’s why many organizations utilize staffing companies to help fill open positions.

There are many different kinds of staffing companies out there, as well as a variety of staffing types. Here, we’ll discuss the basics of staffing, including what types of staffing are available, the benefits and drawbacks of staffing, challenges that may arise during staffing, and the staffing process.

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What is a Staffing Agency?

Staffing agencies are businesses that specialize in recruiting workers for businesses in need. Whether an organization is looking for a freelance worker, a direct-hire employee, or supplemental staff, recruiters handle all of the human resource management involved in the recruiting and hiring process.

The Most Common Types of Staffing

Staffing firms, also known as employment agencies or recruitment agencies, handle the recruitment process throughout a variety of industries. However, regardless of what industry they may specialize in, they typically operate using the three most common types of staffing.

Temp-to-Hire Staffing

Temp-to-hire staffing, or temporary placement, is a type of recruitment that hires people for temporary positions that have the potential to become permanent. The temporary basis acts as a trial period during which the company and employee alike can decide if the placement is a good fit.

After the interim period, the company can assess the employee’s performance and decide if they’d like to hire the person for full-time, permanent employment. During the probationary period, the staffing agency typically handles payroll and benefits for the employee until the business decides they want to onboard them permanently.

A subset of temp-to-hire staffing includes temporary or contract staffing, both of which are staffing models that include hiring employees strictly on a temporary basis. For example, if your company is busiest during a specific time of year, you might consider using a staffing company to hire seasonal workers.

Direct Hire Staffing

Direct hire staffing is probably the approach you most think of when you consider staffing agencies. With this form of staffing, the firm helps its clients find the right individual for permanent full or part-time positions. During this process, the recruitment agency handles the search and all of the hiring details. This allows internal staff members the opportunity to focus their attention on more pressing business matters.

In addition to giving managers and other staff members more free time, direct hire is also often used because staffing professionals have large databases of job candidates to pull from. As a result, businesses gain access to more experienced and higher-quality individuals.

Payroll Services Staffing

Another common type of staffing method is payroll services staffing. In this type of staffing, the employer handles the selection of candidates, but the staffing firm takes responsibility for handling pay and paperwork related to hiring and human resources. Employers may choose to utilize this staffing model when they don’t have the resources or time to handle payroll.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Staffing

Regardless of which type of staffing method you choose, there are a number of advantages associated with using a recruitment firm. However, like all business considerations, there are also a few drawbacks to be aware of.

Benefits of Staffing

Access to Experienced & Specialized Candidates – Staffing agencies that specialize in placing employees in jobs of specific industries or areas of expertise, such as IT, give businesses access to employees that are highly trained and experienced.
Budget Friendly – Using staffing consultants to help with hiring can ultimately be more cost-effective for businesses than hiring employees in-house, particularly if the company is hiring short-term or contract employees.
Quicker Hiring – The process of finding a new employee or a replacement for an old employee can be lengthy. Using a professional staffing company can help businesses achieve their hiring objectives more quickly, as the staffer’s only focus is on finding the right person for the job.
Flexibility – When a business has a staffing company on-call, they can more quickly and easily fill vacancies, whether those positions are sudden and unforeseen or the result of launching specific projects.

Drawbacks of Staffing

Loss of Control – Some companies don’t like being somewhat removed from the hiring process. However, this can be avoided if employers ask the right questions of their recruitment partner and set up a plan for being as involved as they’d like.
Lack of Business Culture Assessment – Some businesses may worry that using a staffing company will result in the new hire being ill-fit for the business culture. When hiring on their own, hiring managers have a more direct impact on placements, so there may be a better fit culture-wise as a result. This drawback can be mitigated if businesses discuss their company culture and goals to hire an individual who fits in with that culture ahead of time with their staffing company. It is also beneficial if companies form long-term business partnerships with their staffing company, giving the recruiter time to evaluate the characteristics of the business, such as desired personality, culture, and the like.

Generally, using a staffing company is a useful way to find the right kind of employee, specifically for positions that require specialized skill sets or expertise, such as IT. When working with the right staffing company, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

Challenges of Staffing

What are some of the biggest challenges that lead companies to seek out the help of staffing companies? Why is staffing such a difficult task? Below are some of the many staffing issues that businesses face.

Inexperience – Having a team that doesn’t have the necessary experience or knowledge to fulfill the duties of specific job descriptions can have a hugely negative impact on a business’s bottom line. This is particularly true in specialized fields such as IT.
Employee Retention – Finding the right team members is hard, but sometimes keeping them on staff can be harder. High turnover rates occur when businesses hire the wrong people to begin with or lack a proven hiring strategy.
Lack of Resources – Even if a business has the right hiring strategy in place, finding the right workers can be a drain on time and money that impacts business growth.

One way these challenges can be mitigated is by enlisting the help of an experienced staffing agency. The recruiter you choose will work to find the right people, ensure they are qualified, and help save your business valuable time.

Staffing Process

So, what does the staffing process look like when working with a recruiter? Every case is unique, but generally, the process includes the following steps:

Consultation – The process begins with the recruiter and client discussing the job, the responsibilities associated with the position, and the desired qualifications/metrics for the ideal candidate. This is where the company should mention relevant details like timeline, compensation, culture, functions of the position, and more.
Sourcing – From there, the recruiter will use their unique methods to source the right candidates. This can include using job boards and social media or conducting outreach using contacts within their professional business network.
Screening – After potential candidates have been sourced, the recruiter screens them to determine if they have the proper qualifications for the role. This step involves screening resumes, conducting skill assessments, hosting interviews, and more.
Selection – Once they’ve narrowed down the pool of candidates to the best possible ones, the recruiter will then present the options to the company, who will go on to conduct their own interviews or trust the recruiter and choose from there.
Onboarding/Payroll – Once chosen, the candidate will move on through onboarding, which often includes training, paperwork, an overview of benefits, and more. The recruiter can help this process along and even manage ongoing payroll if the company would like.

As you can see, the staffing process with a recruitment agency is created to ensure only the best possible talent is considered. It helps to minimize the time and effort required to hire employees in-house and helps companies reach their staffing goals more easily.

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