A company is only as good as its employees. If you own a company, this applies to everyone, from the top executives to those who are working in the mailroom. Given that your employees are essential to your business and company, you need the best staffing services to ensure that you have the ideal employees on-board. Whatever position you may need to fill, a staffing agency is able to help you. Temporary staffing agencies can offer flexible staffing that will and can work for as long you need them.

A few staffing services offer high-level executives, while others may specialize in a particular set of skills such as, computer programming or graphic design, and then, there are those who concentrate on specific industries, like manufacturing and logistics, transportation and warehousing. You will also find staffing services that are available for HR staffing, medical and healthcare staffing, accounting, scientific staffing, IT staffing, and more. Whatever your company may need in terms of staffing, there are several things you need to consider in order to hire the best staffing services:

Is the staffing agency able to fill the position that your company is looking for?

Since there are numerous staffing agencies that specialize in certain skills, it is imperative that you find out if the agency is able to fill the position that you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking to hire someone with technical skills or graphic design skills, it is advisable that you hire an agency that specializes in that particular industry. Specialized staffing agencies tend to attract more highly skilled employees in comparison to general staffing agencies.

How are the agency’s fees structured?

Too low a billing mark-up on the pay-rate could indicate the agency is cutting corners on health and safety, employment standards, or government burden payment compliance. It could also indicate they are using workers not legally permitted to work in the country. A low pay-rate may save you money now, but could end up costing you significantly more in fines if there is a workplace accident or Ministry of labour (MOL) or Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audit.

Has the agency worked in your industry?

It is important that you choose a staffing agency with similar experience to your company. This means the agency will have a better understanding of what you need in terms of the employees. In addition, it will also save you and the staffing agency a lot of time.

Are the agencies more focused on quantity or quality?

A large number of staffing agencies will spend time and effort confining their applicants to find the best fit, whereas others will put forward any qualified resume in the hope that one or two will stick. Most companies favour quality over quantity although it all depends on the position that is being filled. Speak to the person in charge of the staffing agency and ensure that the agency’s selection process is suited for your business.

Are they able to provide referrals?

You should ask for referrals and it is advisable that the referrals are in the same industry as yours. Before you decide to hire the staffing agency, you need to call the referrals. It is important to have opinions from those who have worked with the staffing agency before.

How do they choose their applicants?

Most staffing agencies will test the candidates to determine the types of skills they have. You should ensure that the tests they carry out do a methodical job to attract potential employees for the exact skills that you are looking for.

Choosing the right temp staffing agency will enable you to experience all of the benefits temp staffing offers, while eliminating any down-side risk exposure.