How do staffing agencies work?

Have you ever wondered, “how do staffing agencies work?” or “what is a staffing agency?” We answer those questions (and a few others) below. 

What is a staffing agency?

A staffing agency can help you find employees for short- or long-term assignments. For more common roles, these candidates are usually already in the agency’s database and prescreened to ensure they have the skills and qualifications to fill specific roles. For more hard-to-find skillsets, staffing agencies leverage recruiting through job boards, social media, grassroots methods, and other campaigns to find those unique hires.

When it comes to temporary workers, staffing agencies are the “employer of record,” which means they’re responsible for payroll, taxes, worker’s compensation, and benefits. Typically, your organization will negotiate and establish a pay rate with the staffing agency and decide on the right strategies to implement.

While a more traditional “temp agency” focuses on finding personnel for temporary assignments, today’s staffing agencies – like Adecco – do much more. While many staffing agencies specialize in a single industry, Adecco fills roles across industries and across the country.

In addition to filling temporary roles, you can work with staffing agencies to find permanent workers, staff up for specific projects, hire and onboard hundreds of seasonal employees, and get consulting and expert insights on a variety of other workforce solutions.

How do staffing agencies work?

Working with a staffing agency, like Adecco, usually begins with a meeting to understand your hiring needs and business goals.

Together, we’ll develop a solution to meet your workforce requirements, including the types and amount of people you need, length of the assignment, pay rate, and more.

The hiring process usually moves a lot faster with a staffing agency. They often already have an extensive candidate pipeline to identify top candidates, or a staffing agency has the experience to know how to recruit candidates with the right unique skillsets.

While no staffing request or need is exactly like another, there are some standard steps in the process, including:

• The staffing agency will match your hiring requirements to talent that possesses the skills and qualifications in their candidate database
• If it hasn’t already happened, the staffing agency will conduct in-person evaluations and background checks, if needed
• The staffing agency will present you with the top candidates
• The staffing agency will present your job offer to the candidate(s) and, if necessary, facilitate the onboarding process

With many agencies, if you are engaged on a long-term or contingency basis, you should expect to meet at least quarterly KPIs and results. The goal is to identify what is and isn’t working and make any necessary adjustments to your plan.

What are the different kinds of staffing solutions?

There are a lot of different ways you can work with a staffing agency. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common:

If you need to hire between 1-50 employees

Temporary staffing: Temporary staffing is an efficient and flexible way to maintain or increase productivity during busy times or for particular projects. Typically, a staffing agency can tap into their candidate database find you temporary employees quickly. The agency will also handle things like payroll, workers’ compensation, and benefits.

Permanent recruitment: Working with a staffing agency to find a permanent employee helps you eliminate time spent on writing and promoting your job description, screening resumes, and interviewing. Staffing agencies often already have connections with top candidates (even those who aren’t actively looking) and can help you make the most enticing offer.

If you need to hire 50+ employees

Master vendor program:A Master Vendor Program (MVP) is a vendor management approach that helps you get more control and visibility over your contingent staffing plan. A program like this helps you boost efficiencies, increase compliance, reduce risk, and, of course, save money.

Onsite management: Onsite programs are usually an extension of your talent acquisition and management team. They’re designed to completely manage the recruiting, hiring, and onboarding of your contingent workforce, while increasing your workforce flexibility, efficiency, and productivity. They can range from full-time, multi-shift programs to part-time and seasonal programs.

Outsourcing: An outsourcing program allows you to focus on your core business activities, while the staffing agency handles your secondary ones. By utilizing external people, technologies, and processes, you can see improved productivity, speed and scale, cost savings, and compliance. There are different types of Outsourcing programs, including RPO, BPO, and CPU.

If you need to hire 50+ employees and require a VMS technology

Managed Service Provider: A Managed Service Provider (MSP) provides comprehensive program governance and ensures the delivery of high-quality talent across your business. This type of solution can be tailored to meet your specific needs and create a fair, transparent, and competitive environment for all suppliers.

What are staffing agency fees for employers?

Again, no two staffing agencies are alike, but here are the factors that typically go into establishing a fee structure:

• How many people you are hiring
• Type of hires needed
• Talent, experience, and skill level
• Technology requirements
• Your short- and long-term workforce goals

What are staffing agency fees for job candidates and workers?

Job candidates and workers do not have to pay a single fee. In fact, no staffing agency or recruiter should ever ask a candidate to pay a fee, but unfortunately, scams targeting job seekers is becoming more frequent around the globe.

See how a staffing agency like Adecco works

Hopefully that introduction helps, but if you still have specific questions about how a staffing agency can work for you, contact us today! We walk through your current staffing needs and challenges and then develop a strategy that works.

Contact us today to get started.