A staffing agency contributes to the industry by conducting recruitment drives and staffing potential candidates for organizations, which do not have time, money and the related resources for getting the job done.
By stating the aims and needs of the company, through such agencies, staffing agencies will recruit the staff based on that criteria.
Some staffing agencies provide temporary workers and some would provide permanent employees based on the quota and the demand of the organization.
What is a Recruitment Agency or Staffing Agency?
Recruitment agencies are private agencies that provide candidates for many large companies and also provide job offers and chances for potential employees and candidates.
Based on the job description and criteria set by the company, they select various candidates through different media such as advertisements, job sites, through their websites, job fairs and also through social media.
When a recruiter stumbles upon a candidate and finds the candidate profile, the candidate profile is gone through various processes such as screening tests, verifications etc. If he/she is suitable for the job and meets the company requirement and description, the recruiter sets up an interview with the candidate to discuss about his/her skills and career choices. This information is then passed through the final company where they will decide, if the selected candidate has enough skills and ability for the job.
After the interview with the recruiter is successful, the recruiter approves the candidate and the candidate is then set up for an interview with the client.
The client then goes through the information and points which were sent by the recruiter along with the performance comments.
The client conducts the interview with the candidate and if the potential candidate has done the interview very well, he/she would secure the job position, and they might get the job.
Why Recruitment and Staffing Agencies?
We might wonder why they hire such agencies for recruitment. There are many factors that add to this factor.
The main reason of recruitment agencies is to appoint and recruit the employees based on the employment type and since it is their job to do so, they will recruit the employees more efficiently.
Moreover, they know how to recruit the employees based on the economic and the financial market relating to the organization. Furthermore, recruiting agencies are agencies that work parallel to the main organization and try to create workforce for the main company.
This way the company can save a lot of capital on recruitment expenses, transportation and also keeping track of their employees. They also maintain a separate record only for this purpose and hence saving time and money for documentation.
Advantages of Working with a Staffing Firm:
1. Saves time:
Staffing firms have a wide access of jobs for candidates that are not found through a simple job search. Hence, there is a wide variety of choices for the candidate. Also, from the candidate point of view, most of the work is done by recruitment agency and hence not much work is involved for the candidate.
Most of the recruiters are knowledgeable about the different trends and changes present in the industry and they try to recruit people according to the current state of the industry. They take only the required amount of employees for the company.
Especially if the market is not stable and promising for new employees. Instead of the company, spending hours and hours every day recruiting new people, most of the paper work and the hard work is done by the recruitment agency.
2. Expertise:
Staffing agencies always have a level of expertise and that exceeds way more than the human resource department of most of the companies.
Unlike, the human resource department where they are in contact with one type of group of people, the recruiting agency tends to meet with people of various industries and they get a chance to learn about the leading technology, how the technology is shifting and how the trends are in the market.
Also, recruiting agencies are more suitable for working long tedious hours for employing candidates rather than the HR of a company. They also provide expert recruiters and employment specialists at a low cost than most of the third party companies.
3. Cost:
Using staffing agencies can be considered advantageous for most companies, since they do not have to spend extra money on employee recruitment and also for funding various processes like, pre-employment testing, background testing and also drug screening. They also provide extra cost savings through creating payroll databases and also added administration benefits.
Small to medium employers can fully depend on staffing agencies so as to provide them with employees who are very skilled and efficient at a remarkable rate. This is necessary for balancing the cost and also handling the training expenditure of the selected candidates.
Since staffing agencies have workers who are specifically trained for such recruitment, they get the job done faster than the HR, hence saving a lot of time and money.
4. Network:
Staffing agencies have a large network of available workers than the HR department for most companies. Normally, when a company wants workers to work for them, the first thing that they do is advertise, followed by their interview and screening processes and also process the required documentation so as to hire them.
Recruiting agencies on the other hand have a well spread network, where they already are in contact with workers whom they identify as dependent, versatile and fit for the job.
So, when employing a recruitment agency, the required amount of manpower that is required for a company can be easily filled within a matter of hours or days, unlike the direct recruitment process, where the company has to wait for months just to get the required number of employees.
5. Retention:
Temporary staffs hired through recruitment agencies are given the chance to learn the process, the methods and the work of the employees before they are given a permanent position.
This is necessary so that the company turnover can be reduced up to a large extent and also, it gives time for the employees to get used to the company culture and the environment.
Staffing agencies working for large companies can have a large amount of savings in the area of company turnover, the training costs and also mandatory costs like transportation and also miscellaneous costs. This is a great advantage that the hiring agency provides to its customers i.e., the employer company.
6. Providing the required skills and guidance:
Recruitment agencies have well-seasoned and also experienced recruiters. They know the recent trends and changes of the market and they also know how to select the required employee from a whole group of different people, based on the criteria set by the company.
Recruitment provides guidelines and tips on how to prepare the CV and also, how to do well in the interview and also, they give training in how to attend the interview with confidence and related training and guidance.
7. No need for advertisement from the company:
The main purpose of the staffing agency is to take over the processes that the company would normally do in hiring a workforce. There are certain procedures that cannot be skipped while hiring a new employee, these include verifying the educational achievements, verifying the background, and also making sure that the employee has criminal clearance.
It takes a large amount of time and money to verify and make the necessary reports for these processes. If you are recruiting a staffing agency they would do this work for the company and hence saving a lot of time and capital.
Some agencies may also provide a money back guarantee, if the information they had verified came out untrue.
8. Less footwork:
Another reason why candidates prefer to seek help from recruiting agencies is the less footwork that they can apply for various organizations with the help of a single application form. So, there are a large number of job offers that re accessible to the candidate and hence he/she can get a wide range of options to explore.
The main reason for this is because many staffing agencies have a large client list. So it is easy to choose from a variety of companies.
Additional Benefits of Using a Staffing Agency:
1. Giving the recruitment agency the task of shortlisting the candidates is a clever way to save time and money. The recruitment agency is advantageous to the company, since it saves them time while going through the various documents and also through the various CVs and application forms. Giving a recruitment agency for shortlisting candidates is a good example of business sense.
2. Some companies may use staffing agencies to get the best candidates for the job and may not use other advertising methods. Hence, failing to use a staffing agency means that a job seeker is missing out lots of job offers and also various employment prospective. Try to seek out the help of a staffing agency if you fail to apply for any jobs on your own.
3. Recruitment agencies not only have a wide option of excellent jobs but they also have a database of excellent candidates perfect for the job. Hence, companies do not have to spend much time for searching such candidates.
4. The interview processes usually have many prior checks that needs to be passed before attending the interview. The HR department alone cannot do all the processes which includes checking the credential, doing the screening tests and also passing the reference checks.
By passing all these tasks to the recruitment agencies, the main company does not have to check for these candidates. Hence, when conducting the interview the company officials can be relieved that the candidate has passed the initial screening and verification processes.
5. Recruitment agency should always be obligated to produce the best candidates suitable for the job. So the recruiters are very meticulous in doing their job. They will only choose candidates that they feel he /she is fit for the job. They should feel that the candidate is suitable for the job and he/she can do well in the field. Hence, such recruiters gives a sense of security to the company in terms of the quality of the candidate.
6. A good recruitment company will always keep in touch with the main company for a long tenure. They will be called once again, if the company is satisfied with the performance of the recruitment company. The company will also feel that the recruitment company can have the best choice in providing the required candidate for the job.
Whenever new positions are available within the company, the company notifies the recruitment agency and hence, the recruitment agency will provide the company with list of candidates that they feel are suitable for the job. Once, shortlisted from the list these candidates are gone through the multiple job processes and is awarded the position in the company.
7. A good recruitment company will work with both the candidates and the employer hand in hand and will provide tips and guidelines on how to impress the potential employer. This way the candidates will be less nervous when attending such interviews, especially if it is their first time.
8. There are various temp agencies that will provide temporary employees for a company, so as to control the employee turnover and hence prevents loss for the company. Also, staffing agencies provide the candidates direct access to the client company and hence no middle men are involved. So, less scamming.
To Wrap Up:
A recruitment agency will provide you feedback if the candidate has not succeeded an interview, they would point out what was right and what was wrong during the interview and will also train the candidate to perform better for future interviews.
This way it helps to boost the morale of the job seeker and would encourage them to be even more prepared for the next interview. They provide you with the required constructive criticism and also will help you improve yourself better and upgrade yourself.
