Say you’ve evaluated a variety of staffing firms to handle your facility’s labor needs. You now have a short-list of agencies that you believe can recruit quality candidates, reduce turnover, promote a safe working environment, be responsive and provide reporting and metrics. Most of these agencies have a branch office within 20 miles of your facility; however there can be advantages to choosing a provider who does not necessarily have a local presence.
At Staff Management | SMX, we do not rely on a traditional branch-based staffing model – implementing operations in new labor markets is one of our core competencies. That experience provides us with insights on the complexities of staffing in a wide variety of labor markets across the country.
While all labor markets are unique, every labor market commonly shares these four components:
- Employers: Employers desire the best available job candidates to work in their facilities. Their ideal scenario involves employing those candidates whose skill sets match the job requirements perfectly.
- Job Candidates: Each job candidate has varying degrees of skills, aptitude, education, licenses, certifications and career goals. Candidates are typically seeking the best positions their unique skill sets allow them to obtain.
- Staffing Agencies: Essentially, staffing agencies act as the liaison between employers and job candidates. The assumed goal of a staffing agency is to match the best job candidates to the positions they are best qualified to work. It is how well they are able to do this that separates them from one another. Not all staffing agencies are equally positioned to perform this task for any given client.
- Recruitment Tactics: This is usually the most inconsistent variable across labor markets. The true responsibility of a staffing agency is to determine the best ways to find candidates for each type of positions for each unique client. These means can vary widely when the type of employer, job candidate, demographics, and other factors are taken into consideration.
A staffing agency’s ability to determine the best means for reaching job candidates given the labor market is paramount to the level of service that employers will receive. A staffing agency that works to satisfy dozens of clients within a given geographic area is challenged to a larger degree with providing each client’s its best available job candidates.
In labor segments such as light industrial, manufacturing and distribution, which are increasingly being viewed by employers as commoditized, staffing agencies can often be overlooked under the assumption that all will provide similar or equal service. However, staffing agencies with a narrow scope and fewer clients in a given area provide a basic but distinct advantage – by specializing, rather than broadening, their reach, these agencies are equipped to quickly and effectively determine the best means for reaching job candidates given the labor market.
As you continue your staffing provider evaluation process, be sure to shortlist vendors who offer fact-based recruitment programs and are uniquely positioned to provide the best-fit job candidates to you the employer, keeping in mind that geographical presence is not as telling as you may think.
