Research by Forbes magazine reveals that the financial consequence of each bad hire is around 30 percent of their annual wages. Staffing agencies mitigate these risks by sourcing, screening and offering only the best candidates to their clients. Staffing agencies are knowledgeable of the industries they serve and maintain a keen understanding of the current job markets. Keep reading to learn why employing a staffing agency may be the best hiring decision you ever make.
The costs of poor hiring choices
Many small to midsized business owners must wear many hats, so they usually adopt a reactive approach to talent acquisition. That is, they respond to job vacancies by quickly searching and choosing the best candidate available at the time. This approach will work most of the time, but it creates a window of risk for unqualified poor performers who exhibit negative influences on workplace morale and productivity. Unplanned turnover directly impacts profit margins, employee engagement and customer service quality. The remaining employees must often pick up the slack, so they will experience more pressure. The associated costs of poor hiring choices include screening expenses, such as reference and background checks, as well as training expenses, such as helping them reach a high level of technical proficiency.
Expanded market reach
Many candidates, especially those in technical and professional fields, are hard to find and attract. They may be passive because they know job headhunters will continually contact them, or they may be selective because of personal reasons. Either way, many of the best job applications have limited time and interest in searching hundreds of job openings every week. From their perspective, it’s more efficient to maintain a good relationship with a trusted recruiter who understands their skills and sector. Job recruitment agencies maintain many networks with colleges, trade schools, non-profits, government agencies and community organizations. They will have access to vast networks that will help clients connect to candidates with the right skills and experiences.
Candidates vs. applicants
HR generalists view those who seeks jobs as applicants, but recruiters focus on grooming final candidates. Attracting applicants is a basic activity that involves placing ads on websites, responding to resumes and interviewing hopefuls through brief telephone conversations. Most of these random people will not be appropriate matches for specific needs, positions and industries. Staffing agency reps know how to filter, assess, match and communicating with the most qualified candidates. These finalists will be pre-selected to match all the clients’ criteria before they are recommended for further consideration. One of the reasons why Staffing agencies excel at staffing is that they have intimate insights into current hiring complexities and hidden applicant pools.
HR brand development
Many business experts now promote the new concept of an HR brand or image. Similar to a product brand or corporate image, HR brand is about establishing a public persona that attracts the right people and engagement. Many innovative companies now incorporate marketing techniques into job ads because they want to present a specific trend and lifestyle. For example, many tech companies advertise their jobs through highlighting the casual work environments that encourage individuality, internal entrepreneurship and online community participation. Staffing companies will have experience with previous clients in diverse sectors, so they will be able to help new businesses quickly and effectively establish their own unique HR image and career message with potential hires.
Every hiring decision comes with significant legal, financial, production and team morale impacts. It’s best to contact an experienced staffing agency that will save you time, money and energy. Follow us on LinkedIn to get more great tips on staffing, hiring and talent development.
Read more about the benefits of utilizing a staffing agency here.
