Snelling Staffing Services Franchise

Snelling Staffing Services

Help Wanted: What Companies Should Expect from a Staffing Firm Partner

Snelling Staffing Experts Offer Tips for Ways to Find the Perfect Firm for Your Company

August 7, 2007

By partnering with a reputable staffing services provider, companies can significantly reduce the time and expense of finding the best employment candidates.

The job market is becoming increasingly tight, which makes finding qualified candidates to fill open jobs a Herculean effort. Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the job openings rate at the end of 2006 rose to its highest point since February 2001. December saw an increase by 3.2 percent in job openings, narrowing the pool of qualified candidates even further.

To compound this difficulty, many employers feel overwhelmed when faced with the prospect of having to wade through Internet résumés and online applications, or field phone calls from potential candidates who read an ad in the newspaper.

Enter the staffing firm. When employers want to turn over their staffing needs to an expert, they start by locating a qualified and dependable firm to handle their human resources needs—but, finding a good firm is harder than just picking up the phone.

Snelling Staffing Services office has compiled the following tips specifically to help employers find a good staffing partner:
1. Ask how long the firm has been in business.
Longevity lends credibility to most businesses, but a staffing firm that has been around for a while definitely has an edge. Longstanding firms have the advantage of having been through both peaks and valleys of the economy; they know the job market in their particular region and are able to hone their business to focus on the industries that are popular in their areas.

2. Review the hiring process. You hear the horror stories—an employee is sent over from a firm and is completely unqualified, wasting time that could have been productive. Many times this can be prevented if the firm employs a thorough interview process. Ask the staffing agency if they use aptitude testing; ask to see the application candidates fill out; ask them to review how candidates are paired with employers; and ask if the candidates references are checked. The answers to these questions should let you know if you’ll be receiving pre-qualified candidates from the agency or not.

3. Ask about the tenure and experience of the agency’s staff. How long have the staffing managers and recruiters been with the agency? Businesses should seek agencies that have employee longevity so that you don’t run into the frustration that can manifest if you have to constantly work with a new recruiter. Staffing managers and recruiters that stay in one place can get to know the needs of your business and become an incredible asset. Not to mention the ease that can come with having one point of contact.

4. Make sure that the firm is familiar with all employment laws. When a business is ready to turn over the responsibility of hiring qualified people to a third party, they need to make sure that the firm they go with knows the ins-and-outs of human resource laws. Don’t be afraid to ask the agency how they comply with employment laws—if you’re not comfortable with their answers, then you should walk away.

5. Check customer references and the Better Business Bureau. Contact the Better Business Bureau and ask if any complaints have been filed about the agency you are considering. Remember, sometimes how the agency resolved a complaint is more important than if a complaint was filed in the first place. But, no matter if the report is good or bad, you should still ask the agency for customer references. Nothing is more valuable than first hand information.

6. Don’t base your decision on price alone.
When shopping around for a staffing firm, it’s important to weigh more than just the hard costs. What businesses should really seek out is value. If Firm A charges more than Firm B, but they offer pre-qualified candidates, get to know your company well, are experts in finding people for your particular industry and they have glowing reviews from their clients, then it may be worth it to spend a bit more. If you’re making an investment to find quality employees, you should be sure that the process won’t be a source of frustration for your business and that, instead, it will be a quality relationship with a team of experts.

7. Seek a firm that specializes in finding candidates for your industry. If you need a qualified customer care representative, and a firm typically supplies candidates for light industrial work, then it would behoove your business to seek out a firm that is more suited to your industry. Find someone with a good track record of finding candidates for your particular industry—they’ll catch on to your particular business needs quicker, and they’ll probably be able to snag qualified candidates more easily.

8. Interview several firms. It seems basic, but in order to find the right agency, you should talk to more than just one or two. Be sure that you know what each firm in your area has to offer, what their specialties are, how they qualify their candidates and how they would handle your business. By being able to compare all of your options, you are more likely to find the agency that is right for you.

9. Ask how many candidates walk in the door each month. You’ll want to be sure that the agency you do business with maintains and attracts a number of qualified candidates. If they’re not bringing in new candidates and/or retaining qualified individuals, it will be difficult for them to meet your hiring needs.

10. Ask the firm to come to your job site and communicate openly and specifically about your needs. The most important thing that you can do when seeking the right staffing partner is to ensure that you will be working with someone who listens to your needs, generates ideas about how to meet those needs and is open with you about what successes and challenges you should expect when trying to fill particular positions. Asking your point of contact to visit your employment site will give him or her a good idea of how your business works, and the questions he or she asks will indicate how attentive their agency will be to your needs in the future.

Finding a good staffing firm doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and once you’ve formed a relationship with one that knows your business and is interested in being a true partner, you’ll be able to find the perfect employees, too.