In today’s hiring market, it’s a fierce race to land top talent. Companies looking for highly qualified job candidates quickly realize finding a person to fill a position isn’t as easy as throwing out an ad.
More employers are looking to staffing companies to help fill their open roles. And there are good reasons. Here are the five most common reasons we hear that make employers choose to work with a recruiting firm.
Stay Ahead of the Competition
The news is full of stories about the talent shortage. Companies eager to fill open positions are vying for candidates that multiple other companies are trying to hire. On its own, a company may drown in the competition and miss out on key new hires that could be instrumental in the organization’s success. By partnering with an experienced staffing firm, a company gains the advantage of being connected to numerous quality, active and passive candidates.
Benefit: Since even a small edge is beneficial to finding great employees, companies are increasingly turning to staffing companies to make sure they end up with the best new hires and not lose out to their competitors.
Access a Larger Candidate Database
It’s frustrating for employers to advertise an open position and get half a dozen resumes, with none of them being even remotely qualified. Experienced recruiters work with a full database of vetted job applicants. Instead of scraping to find a viable candidate to interview, employers who work with staffing agencies typically have multiple great candidates vying for the role.
Benefit: This gives employers a better selection of candidates to choose from and increases the chance of hiring the “right” candidate who will make a positive impact on the company.
Leave It to the Pros
An accounting firm wouldn’t try to manufacture furniture, because that’s not their area of expertise. So, why would they try to be a staffing firm? Even a seasoned HR professional may not have the experience that a strong recruiter can offer.
Recruiters have the inside scoop on these candidates since they have the relationships with them. They know what the candidates are looking for, their motivations, salary expectations and much more! And if you're working with a really good recruiting firm, they will know details about the candidate's job activity in the market. Such as where they are interviewing, how far along the interview process they are with other companies, the salaries for each position and how it compares to the opportunity with your company! Recruiters can help guide the hiring managers through the interview process to ensure they have the best chance to hire their top candidate. They've done it thousands of times and can leverage this expertise.
Benefit: Employers who use recruiting firms are able to use their expertise to their advantage.
Save Time
Weeding through resumes, scheduling interviews, negotiating salary, and planning onboarding is stressful and time consuming. Plus, sometimes you need to fill a role….like YESTERDAY. Open positions and lack of talent to fill them can clog up a company’s progress, decrease its productivity, and stunt its growth. Hiring a staffing firm puts them miles ahead of starting at the beginning. Reputable staffing companies already have connections with qualified candidates ready to be hired.
Benefit: Tapping into a staffing firm’s resources can cut literally weeks off the time-to-hire.
Reduce Costs
Yes, staffing companies charge money to find candidates and place them. However, these costs pale in comparison to the direct and indirect costs of handling staffing in-house.
First, a long hiring process can force companies to pay overtime to employees who are covering the open role.
Second, it can also prevent the hiring managers from doing their job or completing their work when they have to take time out of their busy day to interview candidates, especially non-qualified candidates. It's a time consuming process.
Finally, there are turnover costs to consider. According to a survey by Jobvite, 30% of new employees leave within their first 90 days! If companies rush to hire, there’s a good chance the new person won’t be a culture fit, won’t be qualified, or won’t like the job. In this case, the company is back to square one and is forced to start their search all over. In the end, the unsuccessful hire costs the company time and money.
Benefit: Companies that use staffing agencies recoup the initial costs through savings in overtime, time and labor spent hiring, and potential turnover due to hiring the wrong person.
Talent acquisition is a crucial step toward a company’s growth and success, which is why it pays to work with professionals. Partnering with a staffing firm for your hiring needs helps decrease your time-to-hire, provides you with a deeper pool of candidates, and saves your company time and money. Maybe even more importantly, it gives you the competitive hiring advantage over your competition.
Want to know more about how a recruiting firm can energize your talent acquisition efforts and decrease your time to fill positions? Let’s talk!
Kendra Krieg
Managing Partner
Phone: (858) 603-9003
Email: kendra@talentexpertsllc.com
Talent Experts Information Center
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