Hiring a staffing agency to fill your open positions and find talented people to round out your team can save you time, save you money, and ultimately help your company perform better. But there are some important considerations you’ll need to bear in mind before you move forward with hiring an agency.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Staffing Agency
Before you decide to hire a staffing agency, you’ll need to consider these important questions:
- What problems are you trying to solve? There are several benefits of using a staffing agency, but not all businesses will want to use the same staffing agencies, or use them in the same way. For example, some staffing agencies are exceptional at filling roles as quickly as possible, while others are designed to save you money and/or make things simpler. If you want to get the best possible results, you should know the main problems you’re trying to solve. What are your biggest obstacles in hiring? How do you anticipate a staffing agency helping you eliminate those obstacles?
- How much are you willing to pay? You’ll also need to think about your budget. In an ideal scenario, a staffing agency should allow you to actively save money; you’ll spend less on your own recruiting efforts and will end up with a higher-quality candidate faster. However, it’s also possible to pay too much for staffing services. Make sure you understand your current recruiting costs, and establish a firm budget to work with—before you start looking for staffing agency options.
- What is included in the proposal? Most staffing agencies will present you with a staffing agency proposal, which will outline how your relationship will play out in the future, the costs associated with these services, and more. This is your chance to fully understand the nature of your relationship, the cost structure you’ll work with, and more.
- What is the agency’s past experience? Take the time to review the work this staffing agency has done in the past. How long have they been in business? What kinds of clients have they worked with in the past? Do they specialize in staffing for a specific industry (yours), or do they provide general staffing needs to a wide range of different businesses? Generally speaking, it’s better to work with a staffing agency that has more experience, and more expertise in fields related to yours. However, more experienced agencies also tend to charge higher prices; it’s up to you to decide whether that’s worth the tradeoff.
- What are the tax and legal implications? You’ll also want to consider the tax and legal implications of working with a staffing agency. In some situations, the staffing agency will help you hire your own part-time or full-time workers. In other situations, new employees will technically be employed by the staffing agency, and you’ll be paying the staffing agency. In some cases, you’ll work with part-time or full-time employees, and in others, you’ll be working with independent contractors. There are pros and cons to all of these variations; the important thing is that you fully understand the nature and implications of your specific arrangement.
- How will you work together? Much of your results will depend on how you’re able to work together with the staffing agency. Is this going to be a collaborative partnership, with both parties making suggestions and building a process together? Or is your staffing agency working almost independently to fulfill your needs? How are you going to communicate? How are you going to resolve issues in the future, should they arise? Spend some time talking to your account representative at the staffing agency, and get a feel for how they communicate with their clients. Are you satisfied with how they work with you?
- What are your options? There are lots of staffing agencies out there, and many of them will offer variations in price, operations, and communication. Make sure you spend time exploring your options and talking to different agencies to ensure you’re getting the best possible partner for your business.
Moving Forward With a Staffing Agency
If you’re satisfied with the answers to these questions and you feel good about your staffing agency partnership moving forward, you’ll be ready to take the next steps in this professional relationship. Spend some time internally analyzing your needs and treat this as a collaborative effo
