One of the biggest challenges for any new staffing agency will be finding out how to stand out from the crowd. These days, the competition between staffing agencies is fierce. It’s no longer enough to simply provide good service, which is the bare minimum for surviving in this business. So, what can you do to get an edge over this crowded playing field and carve out a slice of the market for yourself?
Below, we’ve presented five tips to succeed. As you’ll soon see, they’ve got little to do with trying to be the biggest or the cheapest name in the game. Instead, it’s about leveraging the strengths that you already have at your disposal.
1. Know Your Customer
Getting a clear idea of your customer is critical for beginner staffing agencies. Ask yourself what industries do you know inside and out? Do you understand your client’s needs and objectives? Are they volume purchasers that require heavy staffing or do they have more specialized needs?
Aim for long-term growth rather than just making some quick bucks. By developing long-term relationships with your existing customers, you’ll see more repeat business and referrals that lead to new customers.
By taking a customer-orientated approach to your business, you’ll also be better able to understand the needs of your target audience. This will give you a clearer picture of what motivates them and the type of staff you’ll need when recruiting.
2. Specialize in Searching and Sourcing
When it comes to finding the right people for your staffing agency, many agencies do little more than scroll through LinkedIn profiles in search of people that are tagged as ‘available.’ However, there are far more effective ways to go about this. The most ideal candidates may not even be actively looking for a job, but may consider it if the right offer comes along.
Devise a system for finding active job seekers and those who aren’t actively looking. Many available technologies allow you to do this while also fine-tuning your search to uncover the most ideal candidates.
You can broaden your search beyond social media sites by also looking at niche websites, online forums, and in-person events. Training centers and networking conferences can also be a great source for finding talent.
3. Create a Talent Pool for Your Clients to Draw On
One of the easiest ways to create immense value for your clients is to have talent pools that they can draw on whenever the need arises. In the simplest terms, a talent pool is a database of potential job candidates that are both highly skilled and have expressed interest in a certain line of work. They should contain information about each candidate, listing their skills, potential roles, and the type of work culture they’re looking for. Whenever a client has an open position that needs to be filled immediately, they can search the talent pool for the most appropriate candidates.
Design a framework for creating talent pools for each of your clients. Ask yourself what criteria somebody would have to fill to be included in the talent pool?
It can also be helpful to gather the necessary information from each candidate through surveys and questionnaires.
4. Become a Matching Master
Every business needs the right person for the job, and it’s something staffing agencies should be able to reliably give them. While filling an open position in a timely manner is certainly important, it’s the quality of the candidates that will really impress clients and keep them coming back for more. As more and more businesses implement staff tracking software, businesses will have a more concrete way of knowing which agencies are providing them with the best fits.
Ensure that you have a system for assessing each candidate and finding the perfect match. This should be done via processes that value metrics rather than on a gut feeling. Have an automated system that matches candidates based on hard skills like education and experience as well as soft skills like culture, motivation, and personality. In many cases, it’s the soft skills that will be the deciding factor when finding the perfect match.
5. Invest in Technology
The previous four steps can make a tremendous difference in creating a competitive staffing agency. But how can you get started and what’s the best method for implementing them? Simple: follow this fifth step, and invest in the right staffing recruiting and tracking technology. For instance, a good onboarding system can make sure new candidates are properly integrated.
Efficient recruitment technology can keep all client and candidate data up-to-date and available in real-time. With these numbers, you can easily set up an effective matching system and talent pool.
All of this can be done through Timerack’s dedicated software and tracking system. We also include an automated payroll system to ensure there’s no discrepancy between timesheets and payroll. In addition, our invoicing software allows you to handle bill rates and markups all from a single dashboard.
Want to try it for yourself? Get in touch for a free demo today!
Final Thoughts
For those who are ready to grow their business, building strong relationships with your clients is the best (and most profitable) way to go about it. You may not be the biggest or best name in the industry, but you don’t have to be if you have a strong base of loyal clients. Start out by focusing most of your efforts on understanding your ideal customers and what their needs are. Then, develop your staffing agency to meet those needs.