How To Choose a Staffing Service
1) Start by accurately assessing your staffing needs. The staffing service should be equipped to assist in this discovery process.
2) Ask questions to establish credibility. Keep in mind that you’re not just hiring employees, but contracting with a management team as well. Are they a member of their state and national association? Have they ever lost a large contract and why? Ask to speak with those clients.
3) Ask for references and a brief company history. How long have they been in business? How do they recruit, train, and screen their employees? How do they ensure quality? What are their guarantees?
4) Ensure the service has the ability to meet your needs. Does the firm specialize in placing the kinds of workers you need? What customer service and satisfaction features do the firm have?
5) Conduct references. Speak with someone in HR to get an overall perspective on the service. Speak with Department Heads to find out how well the service did with specific placements.
6) Be aware of the legal responsibilities of the service. Do they have the proper insurance coverage? Are benefits offered? Will they conduct the necessary background checks? Do they understand employment laws and regulations? Are they equipped to train your managers on how to work with a contingent workforce?
7) If a happy employee is a productive employee, it helps to ask about a firm’s recruiting practices, benefits package, and compensation package. Staffing services that invest the most in their employees are likely to provide you with the best quality employees.
8) Gage responsiveness and professionalism. How many times did the phone ring before it was answered? Was the person courteous and helpful? Did the person ask meaningful questions, give you clear answers to your questions, and make sure you were fully informed?
9) Remember price is not the only consideration in selecting the right staffing service. If you choose solely on price, it will come back to haunt you. Find out the value-adds. Quality workers should be practically a given. What value-adds exist? Value -added services can include on-site servicing, developing safety programs, customizing management reports, providing employee handbooks and orientations, offering software and soft skills training, delivering customized testing programs, and so on.
10) If you want to permanently hire the temp worker, how much you will have to pay the temporary agency?
11) Understand the rates. Demand value from your supplier’s services. A rule of thumb is that services commonly charge between 150 percent and 170 percent of what they are paying the temporary if the need is for a one-time temporary placement. The larger the needs, the more competitive the rates usually. If you go with a sole vendor, your rates even become more competitive because the service knows you are going to them for all of your staffing needs.
12) Review the terms and conditions of the contract before the employee begins. It is common practice to incorporate the terms and conditions of the contract into the weekly time sheet.
13) Meet the recruiters who will be filling your orders. Do the recruiters work in a team environment, providing you guaranteed coverage, or do they operate individually? Is the person meeting with you also meeting the candidates? How do they recruit for the candidates? Do they wait for the candidates to come to them or are they proactive, recruiting out in the field? Does the team visit you onsite getting to the working environment of the candidates they are placing?
14) When choosing a primary staffing supplier, are they open to utilizing staffing partners to ensure ALL of your orders are filled in a timely manner? When utilizing staffing partners, do they have a system in place to guarantee quality even from the secondary suppliers? Keep in mind it is not necessary for the service you choose to fill all of your staffing needs themselves, as long as they have the resources to get your needs filled.
15) Make sure to ask yourself, does the service have the experience and capability of creating and providing solutions to my problems?
Content provided by Greene Resources www.greeneresources.com
About Greene Resources, Inc.
Greene Resources is an employment solutions company, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. We are dedicated to helping companies locate, land and develop the talent critical to the success of their organizations while also locating career-of-choice opportunities for candidates. Our services deliver results that reflect a deep understanding of our customers’ goals, requirements and culture. For more information, visit www.greeneresources.com or call 919-862-8602.