Staffing Services

Buyers Guide

If you are a business owner or recruiter, you know that finding the right applicant for an opening is no easy task. Not only do you need to create a pool of applicants but you also need to match the qualifications, experience, and skill set of each applicant to the job opening.

There are interviews to be conducted, compensation negotiations to be done, follow-ups to be made, etc. Even after all these, sometimes no applicant could be finalized and the whole process might need to start all over again.

Staffing services such as headhunters, recruiting firms, and staffing agencies can help cut short this complicated process. To give a better understanding of how these services can help, we have prepared this guide.

What are staffing services?

Staffing services are providers such as headhunters, recruiting firms, and staffing agencies that take on the responsibility (in varying degrees) of finding appropriate employees for other businesses. These providers build applicant pools and match applicants to the requirements of available job openings.

Some providers also conduct preliminary interviews to filter non-suitable applicants.

Common offering of staffing services

Typically, staffing services offer the following core offerings:

What type of client are you?

Picking the right staffing services provider can be challenging. Hence, it is important to understand what type of client you are and what type of provider is appropriate for you.

Businesses looking to fill executive-level openings or white-collar jobs with niche skill requirements: Explore independent headhunters who identify and approach suitable candidates for such job openings that require high-level skills or offer high remuneration. These consultants work on a commission basis—they only get paid after an applicant is placed on the job.

Businesses looking to fill positions temporarily: If your business is looking to fill blue-collar openings or positions that are shift-based and don’t require highly specialized skills, temporary staffing services could be appropriate for you. These providers have a ready pool of applicants that they align to temporary job openings.

Typically, the applicants are on the provider’s payroll and the client pays the provider. Some temporary staffing services also offer temp-to-hire services that allow employers to absorb the temporary staff into a permanent position if the person fits the role satisfactorily.

Businesses looking to fill entry to mid-management level white-collar job openings: Recruiting agencies are suitable for such requirements. They help employers source applicants from multiple sources and filter out the best ones for interviews.

Such providers typically serve businesses of all sizes. They serve as external consultants, working on a commission basis.

Businesses looking for industry-specific staffing: Whether it is blue- or white-collar, if the job opening requires industry-specific know-how, industry-specific staffing providers are appropriate for you.

Typically, these providers cater to a particular industry, such as healthcare or hospitality, and only enlist applicants and employers within that industry. They can provide permanent as well as temporary staffing and have a business model similar to recruiting agencies.

Benefit of staffing services

Staffing services providers help businesses streamline the hiring process and save time on sourcing applicants for job openings.

Save time on resume screening: Staffing services usually have a central repository of applicants that can be quickly matched with enlisted jobs. This helps organizations save time and effort required for sourcing and screening resumes and instead look at select candidates pre-screened (and occasionally, pre-interviewed) by the staffing provider. The client organization can expend the saved time and resources on core business operations.

Key considerations when choosing staffing services

With multiple staffing services on the market, it can become difficult to select one. To help you, we have listed a couple of considerations to keep in mind when choosing a staffing services provider:

Compliance and equal employment opportunity (EEO) handling: It is important for all businesses to comply with the labor and job laws applicable to their area of operations. Additionally, they must ensure EEO to ensure all applicants are judged fairly, irrespective of gender, race, or any other bias. So, make sure that the services provider you choose complies with the requisite laws and policies as well as facilitates EEO hiring.

Security of applicant and employer data: Most information on applicants and employers that staffing services obtain is confidential. When shortlisting providers, check on the data security measures they have in place.