Staffing issues are a common challenge. Running a staffing agency is no easy feat. If you’re finding yourself feeling discouraged by the challenges you face in your day-to-day efforts, never fear—we’ve put together a list of ways you can defeat your discouragement and take the next step to get ahead in your business efforts. Try implementing one of these ideas to revolutionize your process and see changes in your staffing agency.

Staffing Issues #1: Stay ahead of the competition

If you’re seeing a decline in applications or clientele to work with, it may be time to check in on your competitors. Doing competitor research is a great way to develop ideas on how you can improve your value as a company and reinforce what you stand for. If other staffing agencies have websites that are clearer to understand and work directly with clients to create and reinforce relationships, you can make a plan to improve your own business in the same way. 

Improve your job descriptions

It’s possible that if you’re seeing a decline in applicants, your job descriptions need a rework. Make sure that in the job descriptions you write, you’re clearly detailing the duties of the job and the employer’s expectations. And it may be worth double checking the benefits section as well to see if there are any you can reinforce with your writing. 

Check the technology curve for staffing issues

Perhaps you’re struggling to adapt to changing technology in the industry. While it may be difficult to change the way you’ve always done things, consider whether the technology improvements you may be avoiding could help you increase your impact. Oftentimes, technology jumps in an industry allow you to decrease the amount of labor you need or even take on more clients without needing to hire more people. If you’re resistant to new technology, you may be holding yourself back from success.

For some examples of how technology is making it easier to find the right talent, read our article about How to Hire Medical Staff.

Even if you’re not in the medical industry, you’ll learn about how people that didn’t go to medical school can leverage technology and new services to ensure they’re interviewing the correct people.

Navigate skill gaps

Struggling to find truly qualified candidates for the jobs you post? It might be time to invest in training for the candidates you do find. Whether you decide to purchase a training program that allows anyone you hire to become an expert in the field of hire you’re looking for or test candidates for their abilities based on written assessments, navigating skill gaps can help you strengthen your relationships with the clients you work for. When you send a business the best candidate possible for their posting, then they’ll trust you to continue providing amazing candidates for their business. Additionally, looking in new places for qualified candidates may help if you’re experiencing a frequent skills gap in applicants. Targeted ads and posting on better job boards can assist you in this regard.

Improve employee retention

When you hire staff for your clientele, do you find that these employees are long-term investments? Or are you hiring for the same position over and over again in the course of a single year? If the latter is true, you might need to consider how you can improve employee retention. This is a project you’ll need to work closely with your clients in order to accomplish—after all, you can’t change the salary or hourly pay for the positions you hire for. Consider conferring with them to see how you can retain more employees long-term. This won’t just help you, but your clients over the long run.

Doing these things can help you stay ahead of the competition and reduce the issues you face while running a staffing agency. These are common problems, and ensuring you overcome them will allow your business to run smoothly. Ask yourself—how can you improve in each of these areas?