When choosing a staffing agency to partner with, there are several factors that prove vital to finding the best fit.  As with most business practices, it is important to review a staffing agency’s own retention rates and quality of staff.  Additionally, insight into their employment practices and business ethics can reveal important details in the decision-making process.  But beyond these obvious queries there are a few factors any employer should take into account prior to choosing a staffing agency.

Questions

Any staffing agency can wow with a sales pitch and dazzle with a portfolio.  But those that spend most of their time pitching that to an employer are probably more interested in evaluating their own mark-up and invoice schedule than the employer’s needs.  A quality staffing partner will spend much of their time asking questions.  Those questions should be pertinent to an employer’s business culture, employment history and staffing needs.  Interest in client needs demonstrates legitimate intent to fill those staffing requirements effectively and establish a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship.

Local Knowledge

Whether a business operates within a specific municipality or throughout the region, their chosen staffing agency must possess knowledge of those markets the employer operates in to best fill their staffing needs.  Local knowledge provides insight into market conditions that affect salary demands, employee quality and availability as well as industry information that may prove valuable to employers’ growing business needs.  A staffing agency that lacks awareness of the local job market may not be able to properly meet employment needs thoroughly and effectively, lacking the knowledge necessary to attract the best prospective employees when needed and provide critical labour market information to employers.

Relevant Industry Experience

Staffing agencies come in all shapes and sizes.  A prospective staffing partner’s experience in industry-specific staffing relevant to an employer’s business is vital to a successful partnership.  By possessing experience in an employer’s specific industry a staffing agency can better anticipate the traits and characteristics they seek in future employees and have the knowledge to screen and assess employment candidates thoroughly.  Additionally, knowing the potential pitfalls to avoid, such as irrelevant resume fillers, inadequate experience traits, and characteristics incompatible with company cultures can prove extremely valuable within the staffing process.

Network

Nothing separates one staffing agency from another more than the quality and depth of their network.  A good network provides staffing agencies with the necessary pool of workers to fill employers’ quantitative needs as well as increasing the quality of available candidates.  Good staffing agency network development can also provide:

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• Enhanced prior knowledge of candidates, providing decision makers with better background to improve the staffing process
• Referrals to candidates with unique traits or experience often required by employers to fill key positions [/listdot]

Higher quantity of qualified candidates to better fill the needs of high volume employers and ensure best fits for small businesses.