What is a Staffing Agency? – These are human resource agencies that help companies to find the right candidates faster. They help in getting candidates for most key positions. Plus, they also take care of many administrative HR work, as well as the screening process of the company. Basically, staffing agencies will help you to streamline the hiring processes of your company. This will make the hiring process more efficient and quicker.
In this article, we will discuss the general details of staffing agencies and the way they work to streamline the hiring processes of businesses. In addition to that, we will also discuss the charges related to staffing agencies. Finally, we will share with you some of the major pros and cons of staffing agencies when it comes to hiring their services. Hence, if you want to consult a staffing agency, read on through to the end of the article.
What Is A Staffing Agency?
A staffing agency is a human resource business service that works with businesses to help fill certain positions in those businesses.
According to Business News Daily,
“They help companies hire for different types of jobs: temporary (an assignment with a set start and end date), temp to hire (an assignment that’s initially temporary but is used to help an employer determine the temp worker’s long-term fit with the company) and direct hire (a permanent position in which the staffing agency acts as a recruiter).”
These agencies help small businesses find the right employees for different job roles. These firms find the right talents for the right roles. Whether the job requires temporary, contract-based, or permanent employment, they can help the employee hire the right roles.
The work that these agencies do involves various steps, including sourcing, screening, and managing job applicants. They also help companies and different organizations with administrative tasks and advise on workforce solutions. They can optimize staff levels, and train their recruitments.
How Does A Staffing Agency Work?
Many businesses prefer staffing agencies, while others prefer to have separate recruitment departments within the company. If you are someone who wants to hire a staffing agency for your business. There are some important things you need to know.
According to UpWork.com,
“Often, people confuse staffing with recruiting, but they’re two different things. Staffing agencies are involved from the time workers are recruited to the time they leave. The recruitment process is a part of staffing, but staffing also includes employee orientation, training, retention, and termination. Recruitment refers only to the initial steps of hiring a candidate.”
Staffing agencies are important since they take the whole responsibility of the hiring process of your company. Depending on the industry you are in, the hiring process for a new position can take from 33 to 49 days. In such cases, allowing a staffing agency to take up the responsibility is a smart move and can help you free up your time.
The process works following the steps below –
Determine the Needs
The human resource managers of the client communicate a specific type of role and the specific time they can often take.
Recruit Candidates
The recruitment agency starts by creating a job post, advertises it, adds relevant job descriptions reviews several candidates for the opportunity. Then, they go on to interview different candidates.
Current Candidates
The final stage of their operationsincludese presenting a handful of candidates to the employers. The employer is now ready to choose from those recommended candidates.
Staffing Agency – What Are The Charges?
Staffing agencies, in general, charge 25% to 100% of the wages of the hired employee. For instance, let’s say the staffing agency you are working with agreed on a 50% markup of the employee’s wages. Hence, if the employee earns an hourly wage of $10, you will need to pay $15 for every hour of work to the staffing agency.
Apart from that markup pay, you will also need to cover additional fees for filling the position of the company. If you want to permanently hire a temporary worker, you will need to pay a contract buyout fee to the staffing agency.
What Are The Benefits Of Staffing Agency For A Company?
One of the biggest benefits of hiring a staffing agency is the decreased cost of the hiring process. The HR manager can save the funds of the organization that are used to spend on paying the contractual employees’ benefits packages and taxes for payrolls. Here are some detailed benefits of hiring a staffing agency –
According to Indeed.com,
“Hiring temporary associates from staffing agencies may cost less than hiring permanent ones in house. […] Staffing agencies find more work for the temporary employees after they finish working with the client, so you can also save the money you would spend paying for unemployment claims as well.”
Experience & Expertise
The staffing agency goes about running a talent hunt every day. They are checking the resumes of different job applicants for diverse roles everyday. They are assessing resumes and juggling the latest employment trends daily. So, it’s safe to assume that they have both the skills and the expertise to find the right employees.
Save Time & Resources
In addition to that, you will also be able to save a lot of time and resources for the company to make the hiring process faster. Instead of looking at the resumes of hundreds of candidates, you can simply hire an employee that the staffing agency experts suggest to you.
Easier for Small Businesses to Hire the Right Talents
This is a really great option if the company is small and has limited training resources. They are readily availing the services of an employee who possesses the skill for the job role concerned.
By availing the services of a temporary worker from the staffing agency, you will be in a better position to evaluate the work of the individual. This will help you decide whether to offer him a job in a permanent position.
You can also expand your search for qualified candidates to meet the unique needs of your company if you take the help of staffing agencies. You will have more access to top talents in the industry.
Cost Effective Hiring
The staffing agencies are equipped with the tools and the skills to find the right talent for your business. if you run the search on your own, it will be both time intensive and cost intensive search. However, an expert staffing agency can reduce the cost you would make through different stages from searching talents, to interviewing them and onboarding.
Easily Scale Your Workforce
Organizations looking for flexible staffing solutions can use a staffing agency for more helpful results. Here are some examples where they can be advantageous –
- Seasonal workloads which demand extra staff swiftly.
- when they need candidates for projects requiring specialized skills.
- Adding extra departments in an organization.
- Requiring staffing for sudden growth.
Staffing Agencies: Major Cons To Watch Out For
The following are some of the major cons of working with staffing agencies:
- There are additional hiring costs, and it depends on the industry you are working in.
- The staffing agency might take time to know your business, leading to a culture gap.
- The new hire that comes to your business will take time to build relationships.
- In some cases, temporary workers are unfairly treated as inferior to permanent ones.
Final Thoughts
What is a staffing agency? – This article was helpful for you in getting a better understanding of what a staffing agency does. Basically, staffing agencies are the middleman entities between companies and the candidates they want to hire. It helps in matching qualified candidates to companies that have job openings.
If your business needs additional labor, you might work with staffing agencies and save your company time. Furthermore, you will also get flexibility and reduced legal risks of hiring. Do you have any more suggestions regarding how to choose a staffing agency for business? Share your ideas with us in the comments section below.
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