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Staffing agencies have been a staple for both small business brands and large corporations for quite a long time now. They’re far from a recent discovery, which makes it more ironic that they tend to be so misunderstood. Somehow, misconceptions and myths abound whenever anyone even vaguely considers the firms, and it can be highly damaging, holding you back from a smart business move that could net impressive benefits to your beloved brand.
It’s time we changed this, so we’re here to break down five of the most common staffing myths still present today. Keep reading to learn the fact from fiction, and you’ll already be one step ahead of the competition.
Myth 1 – Staffing Agencies are Only Temporary
In the world of employee hiring options, things can get a little confusing. There’s a considerable amount of overlap between various types of agencies, but that doesn’t mean they’re the same thing. For example, staffing agencies and temp agencies? Those are two totally different creatures. While the latter offers up candidates and potential employees that only work on a temporary basis – whether that happens to be a particular event, a week, or several months – the former runs the gamut.
Some candidates are temp workers, to be sure, but there are also plenty of permanent position hopefuls in agency databases. There are even many temp-to-hire options available, allowing you to effectively “try before you buy” and evaluate talent over time. So, if you’ve steered clear from staffing agencies because you thought the available talent wasn’t the type to stick around, you might want to give it a second look.
Myth 2 – A Good Agency is All You Need for Success
Another major misconception and staffing myth is that partnering up with a good agency is all you need. Now, don’t get mixed up here. We love staffing agencies (obviously) and wholly believe that working with one can play a vital role in improving not just the quality and speed of your hires but also your business overall.
But this is by no means a one-and-done action that’ll guarantee you everlasting success. Instead, it should be viewed as the first step in a long journey, one of many actions that can help build your businesses into something greater. Making use of job boards, fairs, and other things of that nature are just as important. Implement everything together, and you’ll see incredible changes.
Myth 3 – Staffing Agencies Don’t Care About the Candidates
It’s true that staffing agencies (and really any other outsourcing option you go with) are intently focused on you and your needs. That’s their entire job – to make sure that you’re always getting what you’re after and are seeing the results you want from your partnership. Agencies like us here at SITE are supposed to always have your back, sourcing amazing talent, hiring those who meet all of your criteria, training folks, so you don’t have to, etc.
That doesn’t mean the candidates aren’t also a priority, though. Clients and candidates are integral to the whole process, and agencies recognize that doing everything they can to make life and employment easier on workers like providing good job benefits, bonuses, health insurance, and plenty of training. And this pays off! Nine out of ten staffing employees are happy within their company, something good for them both professionally and personally, and we love to see it.
Myth 4 – Agencies are Only For Entry Level and Manual Labor Positions
Probably right up there with the misconception that staffing agencies always equal temporary employment, tons of people have gotten the idea through their heads that these agencies are only meant to fill entry-level or manual labor positions and only in certain sectors. This certainly makes sense to a point, originating in a time where staffing firms were primarily used within the retail and administrative sphere. But It’s frankly time to move past that because that’s no longer the case anymore.
Nowadays, nearly all industries can benefit from leaning on staffing agencies for their hiring needs – yes, the aforementioned ones included but also those in the IT sector, engineering, health care, education, and in the upper corporate world. Agencies can place nearly every type of candidate under the sun, from professional to technical and everything in between, displaying the flexibility that should be expected of all outsourcing solutions.
Myth 5 – Solid Income’s Impossible Through a Staffing Agency
Deciding to outsource rather than take care of your hiring process in-house can be stressful and intimidating. There are a lot of (understandable!) uncertainties there. Is the company you’ve chosen going to understand your particular needs? Will your business’ culture and employee interactions be taken into account properly? Is the job training offered enough to set up new employees for success? All are reasonable questions and concerns to have.
However, one concern – and a massive staffing myth – you don’t need to entertain is the thought that solid income will be impossible. Contrary to popular belief, cash is more likely to increase than anything when you turn to a staffing agency because it has negotiating power you likely do not. The team you’re working with is comprised of professionals and experts who’ve been doing this for a long time. They know the industry and how to market someone’s skills in the best way possible. Pay rate is beginner stuff to them, and they’ll be sure to secure the pay rate you want and deserve.