Now more than ever, staffing companies have an infinite pool of candidates to choose from. That’s good news for staffing companies and their clients but now staffers face a new challenge: how to sift through the grossly amplified applicant group and find “the one.”

For many staffing companies, it’s business as usual if they have a placement process that’s tried and true. But still, finding the right fit for a position with potentially thousands of applicants can be daunting. And as a best practice, it’s always smart to take the time to find the ideal fit between client and candidate to avoid added costs and build a positive reputation and brand.

Technology Saves You Time

Many of our staffing company clients have a strategic placement process that weeds out candidates who aren’t a good fit for the job from the very start. This includes creating a dynamic job board that lives on their Web sites. This job board offers important information for potential candidates and allows them to apply online.

Applicants can search real-time job openings based on specific criteria and view thorough job descriptions that detail what the position is about. This puts the power in the candidates’ hands to ensure the job they are applying for is truly a good fit for their goals.

Once a candidate has determined the job they are viewing is worth applying for, they can apply online. Several of our staffing company clients have created an in-depth application process through their Web sites, built with specific criteria for the industry they serve. This allows them to identify only those applicants with the right skills, experience, certifications, availability and more as a first step.

Applicants can upload all the necessary documentation including resumes and fill out a quick or lengthy questionnaire (based on the staffing company’s personal preference). This application process has eliminated several steps that were once required in person or by phone, fax or e-mail. And that’s great for staffing companies that are short on resources but big on applicants.

Through our clients’ online applications, reports are e-mailed to the recruiters with top choices for the position they are advertising, once the system has identified them. Next is where the human element comes into play.

Personal Interaction Identifies Top Candidates

While technology is a great first step in reducing the applicant pool from hundreds or potentially thousands down to a manageable number worth looking into, nothing replaces the personal interaction component from this point forward. But the two go hand in hand, because reducing the applicant pool is vital in having enough time to schedule with the top picks in that group.

The in-person interview is a crucial step in getting to know someone on a more personal level. Many of our staffing company clients have made it a No. 1 priority to conduct one or more in-depth interviews and meet face to face whenever possible.

Another best practice is to treat your candidates as if they were your clients as well. This ensures that you’re not only looking for a right fit for the client company, but that you’re taking into consideration the goals of the candidate. This way, both parties are on the path to success. When you have both parties’ best interest in mind, you’re sure to have a winning fit.

The interview process allows recruiters to gauge verbal and nonverbal communication and interpersonal skills. A phone interview can be a great prescreen, but an in-person conversation is always important before the placement process can move any further.

And it’s important to assess a professional’s personality and customer service skills even if your staffing company deals with non-corporate settings such as light industrial and construction, for example. If you’re hiring for an industry that say, doesn’t require professional attire, keep in mind that your employees are still the face of your staffing company.

Important Next Steps Seal the Deal

Once you’ve identified the person who you feel is the best fit for the position, now is a good time to put the finishing touches on the process. Some industries will require a drug test at this point.

Other industries may benefit from hands-on skills testing, safety training, I-9 verification and more. Any criteria that should be covered for the industry the candidate is being placed in needs to be addressed.

The key here is flexibility in your placement process. You want to offer value that shows the client your staffing company is privy to what the industry needs, and that you’re taking extra steps to ensure you’re identifying the best candidate for the job.

Many of our staffing company clients have set up their placement process specifically for certain client companies. Maybe one company needs their workers to come fully prepared by going through a facility-specific orientation. In that case, the staffing company would conduct the orientation for their clients so the candidate can hit the ground running from Day One.

And of course, thorough and meticulous reference checks go a long way. This includes personal and professional references. Requiring a minimum of three is a good idea. Also, prior employment verification is a must.

Always Follow Through with Follow Up

Making sure you’ve identified the right talent doesn’t stop with a placement. Best practices show that following up with the client and candidate on a regular basis at specific intervals ensures the placement was a win.

And if it turns out it isn’t, having sturdy placement guarantees shows your clients and candidates that you believe in your placement process and are willing to correct anything that doesn’t ensure 100% satisfaction.

A colleague recently sent some sales tips to me that was written by sales guru Jacques Werth. As I was reading the article, it became clear how simple sales can be if you have a system and tackle it with disciplined effort. The problem is most of us in business development, and staffing in particular, is that we have what many refer to as “my own system” or “our proprietary system”. The other problem I have seen is that while many of our industry colleagues put forth amazing effort, it may not be disciplined effort.

Here is a sampling of what Werth says the top producers are doing that 99% of the rest of the sales community is not doing:

1. They use the same system with every prospect. I enjoy the VITO (Very Important Top Officer) program by Tony Parinello. My first try with the system yielded a $4M annual contract. As you can imagine, I have used this system since that first try.

2. They only make appointments with prospects who are ready, willing and able to buy. This is probably the most simple but the most difficult to follow. Many staffing professionals think that any appointment is a good appointment. As Tony Parinello says, if you are selling to Seymour, they will waste your time always wanting to see more (more stats, more references, more lunches, more numbers) and you will not get the business.

3. They get conditional commitments to buy before they proceed. I see this a lot in direct hire. We send resumes to recruiters (who are not authorized to use an agency and who will not give you access to hiring managers) and you are spending your time on a non-existent requisition. I tell my clients that if you obtain agreement on the process, then you proceed to the next step. For example, I would suggest that you discuss resumes live rather than send them via email. I would say, I will send my top 2 candidates when we schedule a time to review them.

4. They determine what the prospects want to accomplish and whether they can satisfy their requirements. Why sell to a prospect who wants 90 day payment terms if you do not have the capability to fund the payroll for that long?

5. They are entirely open, honest and transparent about the negative aspects of their products and services. I recently consulted on a sale where the prospect was keeping only 1 out of every 5 temporary employees from a competing agency. The new staffing agency said, “I am going to be perfectly honest with you. As you go out to bid, you will find that I WILL NOT BE THE LOWEST COST PROVIDER. IN FACT, I MAY BE THE HIGHEST.” She concluded with the fact that if she could not double, at a minimum, their retention rate, she would not be worth the higher rate and would fire herself! I thought this was powerful.

In short, there is no need to recreate the wheel. If you work the hardest among your competition, have a system that is successful and repeatable, and you sell to the right audience with honesty and integrity, you will be a top producer. GOOD LUCK.

I love serving the staffing community, as an active member of the community for 11 years, it is no surprise that today’s market is obviously the most challenging any of us have ever faced. Most firms I speak with are down 25-40% from their peaks. Everyone has made as many cuts as possible which means the activities that staffing companies engage in today must be focused and must represent the best chance to contribute to your clients and produce the best return on investment for your time.

This laser-like focus will help you today and when the market returns, it is great practice for only working on top tier positions. Here are some tips to identify “Red Flag Orders”, those that may cause you to waste your time, while the competition remains focused and increases market share.

You know it when you are engaging in an appropriate sales process. There is open communication, there is a need that you can satisfy, and there is an understanding about the job and the terms. Simply stated – it just feels right. Conversely, it is also easy to identify “Red Flags” – it simply does not feel right. Here are some pointers:

• If the prospect has told you that they are unhappy about service they receive from a competitor you will offer creative solutions to address the needs. If after this process they continue to stall and will not make a change, they may not feel comfortable telling you no.

• You may also be selling to the wrong person. If the prospect is unable to make a decision and consistently needs approval or feedback, you may not be speaking with the appropriate person.

• If the process takes too long and needs are “always” on the horizon, you are probably stalled in the process and you will want to re-evaluate your approach.

• If you cannot receive orders that are within your core competencies but do receive orders outside of your parameters, you run the risk of over promising and under delivering. If you only get difficult to fill orders which are shared with five other firms, you need to evaluate your potential success and the time it will take to deliver.

• If the prospect refuses to sign terms and conditions and complete credit (never more important than today) – there is probably an issue.

• If communication issues arise like misunderstandings, misquotes, slow or no response, missed appointments, etc., you probably have not addressed their needs or they are keeping you on the back burner. You should ask them for feedback.

• If you are concerned about safety (or other legal/financial issues) – do not work with the client.

• If the client wants a proposal or rates before you have even met – they are only concerned with price or it is a polite way to say no. You should weigh the pros and cons of exposing pricing without understanding the positions.

Engaging in the discipline of working only on the opportunities that you have a great chance of success will ensure ROI for your time today, and enable you to focus on the right opportunities when the market comes back.

As I consult with staffing companies and users of staffing services, I have been asked several times recently about co-employment. This issue was hot after the “Microsoft Case” http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/03/17/focus5.html but after a few years, this has seemed to be put on the back burner. I believe this issue is back because companies that have been using a contingent workforce have not been hiring these employees given the economic conditions. As a result, we have seen the length of assignments rise, with little or no temp-to-hire opportunities. So, temporary employees who may have regularly been on assignment for 1000 hours, have now been on assignment 2000 hours, with no end in sight.
Rightfully so, users of contingent labor are assessing the risk of longer term assignments. Here is what we typically share with staffing companies and their clients:

Co-employment, aka joint employment, is when a person works for a staffing company on assignment at another company, where both the end user and recruitment service benefit from the professional services of this person.

While the idea behind co-employment is a win-win situation for all parties involved, it poses a risk of liability for companies who are not careful to manage the situation. If managed correctly, contractors working on assignment through a staffing company should always be considered employees of the staffing agency, not that of the client of the staffing agency.

With co-employment, both the staffing company and the client company exercise different levels of supervision over the contractor. When the agency hires employees for contract jobs, they pay their wages, make decisions regarding discipline and discharge, and communicate with the contractor as the employer.

Clients of the staffing firm supervise the contractor’s day-to-day work, determining pay rates and making decisions about ending the assignment or converting the contractor to the client company’s own payroll. But because contractors are not regular full-time employees of the client company, client companies must be cautious of how they treat contractors obtained through a staffing agency, by ensuring that the treatment of the staffing company’s contractor is not identical to the treatment of the client company’s own employees.

Staffing Company Responsibilities

Some areas are solely a staffing firm’s responsibility and minimize the amount of risk to their client companies:

· Payment of wages / compliance with wage and hour laws
· Workers’ compensation insurance
· Unemployment insurance
· I-9 contract employment verification
· Federal, State and Local Tax Withholdings

Responsibilities Staffing Firms Share with Client Companies

Sometimes, there is a fine line as to who is responsible for certain circumstances or conduct. Depending on particular circumstances, responsibility can fall on both, the staffing agency and/or the client company in the following areas:

· Liability for unsafe working conditions
· Discrimination
· Sexual harassment
· Family and medical leave
· Invasion of privacy
· Contract employment benefits

Game Plan for Reducing Risk in Co-Employment Settings

Minimize your risk by making clear distinctions between your staff employees and contractors working through an agency. Specific strategies include:

· Using separate forms for your employees and contractors. Redesign forms like acknowledgements and confidentiality agreements to reflect the agency as the employer.

· Considering the extent contractors can share in the types of activities regular, full-time employees participate in, if any. Consider how much those working in contract jobs through an agency should participate in work functions, employee discounts and bonus programs, if at all, as well as whether they should have any access to purchase order sign-offs, petty cash and facility keys. In order to limit risk, contractors obtained through a staffing agency should not be allowed to participate in the same types of benefits or perks as your own employees.

· Be clear in the expectations of full-time employment. Don’t lead those in contract positions through an agency to believe they’ll be offered a position with your company if they do a good job. Ensure that contractors obtained through staffing agencies sign an agreement that indicates there is no guarantee of employment with the client company. Agencies may want to use similar language in applications and agreements.

· Allow the staffing firm to do its job as the employer. Inform the agency about contractor attendance, performance or company policy violation issues. The staffing firm should address issues directly with the contractor. Likewise, inform the staffing agency about transfers/reassignments, assignment extensions, pay rate changes, fall off, or conversions to full-time employment, so they can act accordingly.