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What
is a staffing service?
A staffing service,
also known as a temp agency, is the go-between that connects a company with an employee. The employer contacts the staffing
service with a request for a certain type of employee, and the staffing service goes through its pool of potential employees
and contacts one with the job offer.The jobs
offered by staffing services are based strictly on the employers’ actual needs, so they could be any type of position
and last anywhere from one day, to one year. In many cases, a company hires temporary employees to fill personnel gaps caused
by maternity leave, unexpected departures, or sicknesses. At other times, a company needs extra help during a busy time of
the year.
Staffing services contact and provide employees on all levels. While entry-level employees are among the most common
users of staffing services (more than forty percent of new employees use staffing services), all levels of employees use staffing
services to look for temporary work.
According to the American Staffing
Association, more than ninety percent of American companies use staffing services. Staffing services are not a short-term
solution for these companies, but rather a permanent aspect of human resource strategy. Likewise, employees may use a staffing
service not only to fill the gaps in a career, but as a key stepping-stone in a career.
How can a company best utilize a staffing service?
In general, a company can best utilize a staffing
service by taking advantage of everything that a staffing service offers. Many staffing services will provide basic training,
sift through job applicants for you, and do the accounting legwork to pay the salary of temporary employees. The more a staffing
service does, the less the company has to do, so it is important to find a staffing service you can trust and then let it
do what it does best.
With this in mind, it is important to think through which
staffing service your company will use. Contact other companies and see what agencies they have used in the past. Ask questions
of staffing services regarding the size and skill level of their employee pool, as well as what kind of training they provide
and who some of their clients are. The best way to learn about a staffing service, though, is to try it out. Hire a few employees
through an agency, and see if you are satisfied with the kind of employees you are sent.Help the staffing service by communicating your expectations clearly. What kind
of skills and experience do you want your temporary employees to have? What time commitment and salary will you offer this
employee? Do you have any other specific requirements for your employees that you want to communicate up front? The more information
you can give your staffing service, the more likely it is that they will send you a satisfactory employee.
Why should an employee use a staffing service?
Employees in all
kinds of job fields use staffing services. Often, employees are looking for permanent work and are just using staffing services
to pay the bills in the meantime. This is a fine reason to use a staffing service, but it is just one of many advantages that
a staffing service offers.
- Flexibility: Staffing services allow you to specify when you will be able
to work and what kinds of job you want. While this specificity will keep you from
receiving some temporary jobs, it is more likely to provide you with one you enjoy.
Foot
in the door: In many cases, companies
use temporary employment as a testing period at the end of which they will offer a permanent job to a temporary employee.
Even if this is not the case, you can gain experience in fields and in companies in which you are interested. Variety: Staffing services allow you to
work several different jobs in the space of a few months or years. This varying experience might give you some direction on
the fields you should search for a permanent job. - Resume building: A staffing service will often give you experience with reputable companies and respectable bosses. Not only does
this beef up the work history section of your resume, it also strengthens your reference list.
- Training:
Many staffing services offer training (often free) to employees in various fields, especially in computers
and technology. This training makes you very attractive to prospective employers, long after you stop using a staffing service.
What are the advantages to using a staffing service?
From a company’s point of view,
staffing services are an opportunity to outsource. Staffing services can do the hiring work that the company does not want
to do itself, when the company does not have the personnel or the time to devote to staffing issues.
When a company uses a staffing service, it eliminates the need to deal with the issues
of attracting, hiring, and training new employees. Companies do not have to advertise or list job openings. Human resource
officers do not have to sift through resumes and conduct interviews with job applicants. Managers do not have to provide basic
training to new employees.
In addition, a company
that is considering expansion can use a staffing service to help determine if it should invest in a new person or position.
By creating a temporary position and using a staffing service, a company can examine whether there is enough work to validate
that position as well as exactly what kind of employee is needed for that new position. Staffing services thus serve as a
way to test the waters of expansion.
Finally,
staffing services allow companies to be flexible. Many businesses have a busy season, and all business have unexpected personnel
issues. Utilizing a staffing service can help your company respond to and weather these unexpected developments.
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