A staffing agency (also known as a search, recruit or employment agency) matches employers and employees. It connects job seekers with employers and employers with candidates. Job seekers receive the benefit of a large pool of possible jobs while the employer is provided with a pool of pre-screened, pre-interviewed job seekers who are ready to start work.
WHAT SERVICES ARE OFFERED BY A STAFFING AGENCY?
Though services differ from agency to agency, the following is a list of common services provided by staffing agencies.
- Contingency search: A company seeking to hire someone for an open position may choose to perform a contingency search with a staffing firm. The agency is paid only for a successful search with payment typically a percentage of the candidate’s starting salary.
- Agreement or contract recruiting: This is when an HR expert is engaged from a staffing firm to join a company’s organization, temporarily, for the purpose of filling a large volume of positions. This arrangement is typically made when a company is short-staffed in the HR department and needs a recruiter quickly.
- Freelance help: Architects, innovation experts, designers, tech specialists and highly experienced/educated individuals often freelance or work on a short-term contract basis. A staffing firm can help a company find and employ freelance help.
- Managed services: This is when a company outsources an entire department or function (call center, mailroom, etc.) on a continuing basis. Such companies find a staffing firm with expertise in the area concerned.
- Offshore Outsourcing occurs when an organization outsources certain jobs or tasks to overseas companies. This type of staffing offers savings of up to 50% as compared with local salaries. Offshore outsourcing also offers employers a greater availability of candidates who have in-demand skills.
- Outplacement: Sometimes a company hires a staffing firm to help manage employment separations and/or to provide assistance to former employees whose employment has been terminated. This service is used because separations impact how the company is viewed by former employees, current employees, and the wider community in which the company operates.
- Payrolling: This occurs when a client company identifies a candidate but asks the staffing firm to put the person on the staffing firm’s payroll. This service is often used for summer or casual labour, for bringing back a retiree or former employee, for hiring a consultant or for situations where budgets or policy do not allow for a full-time permanent hire.
- Professional employer organization (PEO), also referred to as employee leasing, is a service for small and mid-sized companies that don’t wish to manage administrative functions internally or can benefit from pooling insurance and other benefits. The company outsources functions such as payroll, worker’s compensation, HR support and benefit plan administration in order to reduce time-consuming, non-revenue producing activities. This allows a company to focus on their core business, reduce/control costs and free up time for profitable projects.
- Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) occurs when a staffing firm performs a process of selecting for a specific ability level (ie: care staff, janitorial staff) while the company continues to select for other areas (ie: administration). This permits a company’s HR staff to concentrate their efforts on the company’s core business while ensuring high-quality staff for other positions.
- Retained Search is similar to contingency search except that the company retains the staffing firm by paying some of the fees before the agency begins looking for candidates. This practice is common when recruiting for executive positions and ensures the staffing firm is committed to the search.
- Temporary help: This refers to when a staffing firm enrolls, screens, interviews and hires workers to develop a pool of qualified representatives for vacation relief, illness coverage, maternity leave, cyclical overtime situations and project-based work.
- Temporary to hire, also called temp-to-perm, occurs when a company asks a staffing service for a temporary worker with the expectation of assessing the possibility for permanent employment. This allows the company to evaluate the applicant before hiring them as a member of their permanent staff. Temporary-to-permanent placements are ideal for employers and temp workers alike because there’s time for both parties to assess the working relationship.
- Permanent recruitment is a service where staffing agencies manage the recruitment, screening, referencing, interviewing and skills verification of applicants and refer suitable candidates for full-time employment. This is a cost-effective method of hiring.
- Software testing and training are when a staffing agency performs extensive computer software assessments for potential/existing employees of a company. This provides the company with a number of benefits; gaining an understanding of their employee’s skill sets, having an industry professional evaluate and provide recommendations for training, set a standard level of competence for positions and use benchmarking for new hires. One-day courses and micro-courses that target a specific program(s) may be provided (Microsoft Office, Visio, Simply Accounting, QuickBooks, Adobe Acrobat, etc.).
Staffing agencies typically provide a number of services. Some firms specialize in one or more specific services so make sure you shop around to find the staffing firm that suits your needs.
Looking for a full-service staffing agency? Call the Calgary recruiting agency, Equation Staffing Solutions at 1-844-367-9618. We are a reliable, innovative, collaborative agency here to support you in your search for a position and/or personnel. Our experience will assist you! Contact us today.