What is a staffing agency?

A staffing agency is an organization designed to help match a business’s workforce needs with qualified candidates who are the right for the job. Staffing agencies help ensure that a business continues to perform at an optimal level despite an employee vacancy by finding candidates with the skills and interest to make the most of a job opportunity.

Staffing Agencies

Staffing agencies provide qualified workers and work with business leaders to understand their employment needs. They address immediate needs that are results of a vacancy or retirement and they plan for future needs that will arise from special projects and planned growth.

Most staffing agencies have a bank of resumes from job seekers with a broad range of experience. Good agencies often meet and interview potential job candidates to understand their temperament and eligibility for certain positions.

The Recruiting Process

Agency recruiters sort through a pool of applicants to find the candidate who is best equipped with the skills and experience for the open position. Recruiters also assist with job placement by determining the rank and responsibility that best suits a candidate and his or her experience. Staffing agencies work to ensure the satisfaction of both the employer and employee.

Staffing agencies also provide recruits with the information needed for functioning and succeeding in a new organization. They also recommend training for specific skills and development which helps a new employees understand the potential for advancement in the business.

Agencies also develop a performance evaluation based on clear and reasonable benchmarks and a compensation plan that reflects a candidate’s contribution to the business.

Agency recruiters will also work with candidates to develop a career management plan which entails helping them understand which types of new skills will be of greatest value to themselves and their new employer.

Staffing Agency Success

The success of staffing agencies depends on the success of their recruits. Agencies typically devote the time and attention needed to find the right person for the job. Recruiters also understand how to find the potential of candidates. They understand how to work with a candidate who has additional and transferable skills that may not exactly match a job description. This is often the case with veterans who have military experience that is labeled by a military definition but not the description used by a private business.

Agencies also work according to national labor laws which outline the types of benefits such as sick leave and paid family leave that employers are required to provide.

Benefits of Hiring A Staffing Agency

Staffing agencies can fill a position much faster than the usual process of than posting an opening on a job board, waiting for the slow wave of resumes to arrive, and setting up interviews with applicants who may not have the qualifications or a genuine interest in the job. Agencies already have a pool of candidates to search. Agencies can also be more efficient when it comes to finding candidates with specialized knowledge or skills. They often have relationships with colleges and industry groups that can lead to great job candidates.

Agencies also work with employers in a wide range of sectors. They know what salaries and benefit are being offered to job candidates, and they can help businesses stay current and competitive.

There are some disadvantages to hiring through an agency. Recruiters work at matching job candidates with a position’s required knowledge and skills. They may not, however, be as fully informed about a company’s culture and whether a candidate will be a comfortable fit for a workplace.

Outsourcing recruitment can mean a lost branding opportunity. A fair and attentive hiring process will help build a company’s reputation as a good employer which may help naturally attract top talent. That branding opportunity is lost when a company hires a staffing agency.

Also, agencies tend to cater to the employers who hire them and pay them. Candidates can feel they have been ignored or overlooked by recruiters who they feel initially made false promises about job opportunities. Because many candidates will see the staffing agency as an extension of a business, this can lead to negative impressions and feelings about a company.