Regardless of whether your business is booming or has seen some struggle as of late, there’s always room for improvement. After all, even the most smartly managed venture has its dips and dives, has aspects that are weaker than others, and could use certain processes, departments, or routines revamped. That’s just part of owning a company. Now, the specifics of this are different for each business out there, although there is one thing that can always benefit from some extra assistance: the hiring process.
Sourcing, screening resumes, training, interviewing, and placing new hires – it’s a whole process that tends to be time-consuming, involved, and rather inefficient. That adds up to extra dollar signs, not to mention potential hiring missteps that could lead to even more disastrous and far-reaching consequences for your company. Luckily, there are ways you can streamline this a bit more and relieve some of the stress on your part and share the load.
Outsourcing and partnering up with outside help immediately comes to mind. Trust us. Now’s the time to use a staffing agency. Not quite convinced? Here’s a little insight into what services staffing agencies can offer you and why making use of them is so critical.
A New Type of Try Before You Buy
The services offered by staffing agencies are reasonably varied, potentially helping your business in everything from crafting job descriptions on databases to human resource consultancy, sharing knowledge of staffing/employment laws, and more. Although, probably the most important and sought-after service they provide is the sourcing of short-term workers and temp-to-hire job candidates.
For those unfamiliar with the latter situation, a temp-for-hire is when a worker is taken on a conditional basis. They’ll set up a short-term contract with the business in question, agreeing to guaranteed work for a certain time period with consideration of a full-time, permanent position offered at the end of their temporary employment. This basically functions as a sort of trial period, allowing that company – or any company in a similar scenario – to try out an employee and see if they’re a proper fit for the job and company culture.
It may sound like an unusual position to find oneself in, but it brings benefits to both the business as a whole and the employee on the other side of the table. The first of the two does by not having to waste precious resources and time on wrong hires and as it allows them to build a more intentional, positive working environment. Meanwhile, the second of these get something out of it, too, discovering whether they’ll truly be happy in their position or if they’re better off trying their luck elsewhere. A smart choice all around, it just goes to show why temp-to-hire is one of staffing agencies’ most beloved services.
The Cost of Good Business
Everyone loves a trial period, and it’s no different when it comes to temp-to-hire employees. No matter how cautious you are regarding your hires, though, that alone is admittedly not enough to warrant outsourcing a whole huge chunk of your business’ operations. That’s a big step and one that warrants a good deal of consideration before jumping the gun. But reduced costs and unemployment claims? Well, those certainly help sweeten the deal and make relying on a staffing agency far more attractive.
How does that work? It all starts with the reality that outsourcing is frequently the cheaper option than in-house, regardless of your industry or niche. Because temporary hires and staff are employed through the agency rather than your own business, you do not necessarily have to provide benefits or worry about overtime if you don’t want to. The traditional 40 hour-long work weeks aren’t gospel here, and you can instead call upon employees as needed. The result? Significantly reduced spending from you. It turns out that the cost of good business doesn’t have to be all that high.
Savings on benefits and overtime can add up to big numbers, but there’s also another cost to consider, one that staffing agencies also make a non-issue: unemployment costs. Since temporary hires aren’t actually employed through you, you don’t need to be concerned about now-past employees filing for unemployment. That saves, to be sure. Add that no unemployment claims means no staff is needed to dealing with those claims, and this is only compounded in the best of ways, making for far more agreeable hiring costs across the board.
Poor Hire Choices No More
So, let’s be completely honest. Every business has had a few wobbles in the employment department. There are always people who seem fantastic on paper but end up not putting it all into practice. There are also plenty of folks who don’t end up meshing well with the company’s requirements, working hours, company culture, or mission, even if they seemed like a natural fit at the beginning. A few new hires might have even managed to fly under the radar a bit, underqualified for the position only for it to have consequences later down the line. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up over it too much.
That being said, this is a significant issue, particularly if it has happened more than once or twice. It’s a signal that there might be miscommunication or misunderstanding between hiring parties. Beyond this, however, it also spells disaster for your company bank account. There are some severe costs related to poor hiring choices. In fact, according to the good people at the US Department of Labor, the average cost of one of these bad hires is 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings. That can take weeks to correct. And then you’ve also got lost productivity, damaged reputation, and decreased morale (just to name a few) to contend with on top of it all. That’s rough.
Enter staffing agencies; they’re able to stop this in its tracks. By utilizing their assistance, you can dramatically improve who you recruit to play a part of your team as they have the time, resources, and expertise to pick the very best and – well – leave the rest. It also doesn’t hurt matters that they’ve got far more complete profiles to comb through on top of resumes and recommendation letters, so they can genuinely identify the strengths and weaknesses of all potential hires in a way your business can’t. It pays off in the end; that much is clear. Want to cash in on this? Connecting with the right staffing agency is an absolute must.