There are dozens of reasons why employers turn to professional staffing agencies for help with their sourcing, screening, hiring, and training needs. But two of the most common, especially during a period of slow economic recovery, have to do with “staffing up” and “staffing down”.
Staffing Up
When companies begin to return to established business cycles after a period of uncertainty, mangers often try to hedge their bets and reduce the risk and investment involved in the hiring process as much as possible. Sometimes this recovery and growth take place after an emotionally challenging round of lay-offs, or a frightening drop in sales numbers and financial stability. In either case, the commitment involved in taking on new staff can loom large, and managers have a greater reason than ever to fear making a hiring mistake.
Staffing firms can mitigate this uncertainty by providing employers and employees with temporary, risk-free, commitment-free periods of employment that either party can step away from at any time. This gives managers a chance to work with an employee for an established period and develop a sense of trust on a natural timeline. It also helps the company avoid the hassle of tax and insurance related paperwork. If the arrangement doesn’t succeed, the staffing firm can simply assign the employee to another client. If it works well, the client can hire the employee on a full time basis at a pace that’s pressure-free and low risk.
Staffing Down
If you’re an employer looking for highly qualified staff with the specialized skills required for a short term project, or if you’re interested in seasonal hiring for the busy summer or holiday business cycle, you may consider enlisting a staffing firm to help you keep your workplace lean. Nobody makes money when there are too many unoccupied employees milling around the kitchen, office, or shop floor, and the best way to avoid this excess is to keep your hiring process streamlined from the beginning. The right staffing firm can help an employer navigate this challenge by finding the contractors, consultants, freelancers or outside vendors who possess the highest levels of talent in the required skill areas.
Once these talented contractors are identified, staffing experts can help the employer determine a pay rate that reflects both the value and the rarity of the skill sets in question. For more information about how this process works, schedule an appointment with the Texas staffing pros at Expert.