There are more than 24,000 Staffing companies in North America and it can become very easy for companies like mine to be pigeonholed as “Just another staffing company.” When it comes to differentiation in our business there are two major focus areas that I believe any great staffing company has to posses to be truly different.
The first area is Specialization. There are many generalist staffing companies that will take your job orders that were last written in 2008 from a different HR manager and plug them into Monster/CareerBuilder/Indeed or LinkedIn and throw you resumes over the wall that really have nothing to do with the core of what you are looking for in a candidate and why you are looking for a certain type of candidate to fulfill your company’s growth objectives. The fastest growing and top staffing companies that I have the pleasure to know in the industry, are very specialized in the types of candidates they recruit and the types of clients they work for. There are so many different industries and geographies that allow for niche staffing companies to bring true value to growing industry sectors in specific areas. The more you can find a staffing partner that specializes in exactly the types of candidates that you are looking for, the faster you will access that specific market. All staffing companies have the same tools and similar processes for finding candidates. You certainly wouldn’t go to your primary care physician for heart or brain surgery as that would be ludicrous. Find a partner that specializes in the space and take the time to really have them understand your specific needs and why.
The second area of focus has to be the Partnership process. Finding a staffing company that truly understands who you are as an organization, and what you stand for is imperative to having the staffing partner accurately market you to the candidate base that you were looking to acquire. So many times a company will just send us a resume or a job description and tell us to go find the talent. It is important to take the time upfront to understand a company’s culture, their goals and objectives for growth, and the opportunities that exist inside their organizations for career pathing. In our organization we call this sharpening the axe. Take the time upfront to really get laser focused on the targets of who, what and why a company is looking to fill this role and the recruitment process becomes infinitely easier. This also builds long term partnerships between staffing organizations and their client companies. There are many times that we come across amazing people, that due to our strong relationship and understanding of our partner clients, that we proactively send them candidates to upskill their labor.
As a customer, if you ever feel like the relationship with your staffing company is similar to that of a used car dealership… please run and find a partner that will help you build your business in a collaborative way.
