Did you know that nearly 17 million workers in the United States are employed through staffing and recruiting agencies? How about the fact that there are approximately 20,000 different agencies that hired these employees? It’s true!

It’s no secret: people need help finding jobs and employers need help finding candidates. Enter staffing agencies. But what’s in it for employers? Let’s find out!

The Basics

Staffing agencies essentially serve as an extension of an HR department. They offer services that advertise jobs and interview and evaluate potential employees and, in a sense, they are a company’s outsourced recruitment division. Many agencies also handle the benefits associated with the candidates they hire including payroll, taxes, health insurance, workers’ compensation and more, ultimately reducing overhead costs for employers.

By working closely with a staffing agency, a hiring manager can ensure that temporary workers possess the skills, education, and experience required to meet a company’s needs.

Saving Money

For starters, staffing agencies relieve some of the costs associated with hiring staff. Along with payroll, taxes, workers’ comp and other benefits, they also eliminate the time spent listing jobs as well as the cost associated with the time it would take an internal hiring manager to recruit, interview, and evaluate new staff members. These expenses add up quickly and can have a negative effect on a company’s budget.

Because temporary employees are employed by the staffing agency and not the business that is using their services, other overhead costs are reduced, such as overtime for regular, full-time employees. While the per-hour cost may sometimes be more than the per-hour cost of a full-time employee, temporary staff can be used on an as-needed basis without the commitment of a 40-hour workweek.

Reclaiming Time

Bringing aboard new employees requires a lot of time that hiring managers may not have. By working with a staffing and recruiting firm, an HR department can focus on its current needs and won’t have to worry about sifting through piles of resumes and cover letters, updating job listings, and scheduling interviews.

Furthermore, if a company is in need of an extra set of experienced hands on short notice, staffing agencies most likely have available workers. Having a qualified group of temporary employees can quickly help ease the workload of full-time employees.

It’s also important to note that “passive” job seekers sometimes need a little time and coaxing to leave their current positions, be they temporary or permanent. HR teams often don’t have the time to recruit workers who aren’t anxious and ready to find their next opportunity and haven’t already applied for positions. Staffing agencies can help with this level of recruiting and can do the screening of these passive job seekers.

Increasing Flexibility

One of the many advantages of utilizing temporary employees is that it allows businesses to use staff as needed, whether it be just a few hours a week or on a full-time basis. Temporary employees can be brought in to cover the absence of an employee due to illness, injury, or maternity leave, for instance. Additionally, many staffing agencies have candidates that are skilled in a wide variety of disciplines to help meet the needs of different business types while increasing their value as an agency in the process.

Using a staffing agency means avoiding the permanent commitment that a full-time employee requires and brings flexibility to employment that usually results in little to no waste and jobs that are completed on time.

Improving Productivity

Hiring temporary workers to assist in larger projects and assignments and helping with work overload can prevent full-time employee burnout. When employees feel overloaded with work, they can become unmotivated and overwhelmed which may lead to a lack of motivation and decreased productivity. This can also increase mistakes and contribute to increased absenteeism. Bringing in temporary staff to handle the extra work load allows full-time employees to continue to focus on their main job tasks while maintaining their productivity and overall job satisfaction.

The Bottom Line

Employers can benefit greatly from working with staffing agencies by saving money and time while increasing job flexibility and productivity in the workplace. Good staffing agencies work to connect the best employers with the best candidates, ideally creating lasting relationships that serve both parties.

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About CSL Staffing

CSL Staffing is a human resources firm that provides general staffing needs for both temporary and direct hire. Our consultants bring a wide range of expertise and experience to our team and we’ve worked extensively with many of the leading companies in the Southern California area and other major metropolitan centers throughout the U.S. We’re dedicated to connecting the right candidates with the right employers. View our job listings today!