Did you know that there are approximately 3.1 million people in the US who work as temporary employees?
Temporary employees are a great way to bolster your existing staff for a sudden spike in staffing requirements. It’s also helpful to cull long-term employees from the batch and build your main workforce. Temp agencies in Columbia, SC can streamline the process in a way your own HR department may struggle with.
But before you turn to a staffing agency in Columbia, SC, what things can you expect about the process? Staffing agencies take a huge burden off your shoulders, but you will have to adjust somewhat to working with them.
Keep reading as we discuss everything you need to know about working with a staffing agency.
Interviewing is perhaps the longest and most resource-intensive step in human resources. Employers often go through a minimum of two interview rounds before choosing a candidate for a single position. This is why it can take you months to replenish your workforce after economic changes or layoffs.
When you hire a staffing agency, they handle the entire process for you. Not only did they do the recruiting, but they do the interviewing as well. This includes when there are multiple interview stages and multiple hiring rounds as they whittle down to the perfect candidates.
You can customize this interview process as you please. You can choose the questions they ask, the tasks they require, and the grading scale used to determine candidates.
However, keep in mind that besides that, you won’t have much control over the interview process. You will need to trust the best staffing agency in Anderson SC to do the interview process well. Rest assured, their entire business focuses on staffing, so quality hiring practices are the least of your concerns.
While the staffing agency is responsible for sourcing and interviewing the candidates, they do not greenlight them for work. You still have the final say-so on who works for you.
This is a benefit to you since every candidate that walks through your door has been vetted. Temporary workers are often very flexible and hard-working. In an effort to get the job, they will try hard to impress both you and the staffing agency.
Suppose you only need to hire in short spurts to replace employees here or there. It’s not cost-effective to keep a full HR team that sits around during the slow periods. But you may be concerned that a staffing agency will require you to contract for a long period whether or not they are hiring.
Fortunately, with the staffing agency, you can contract them only as needed. If you only need to hire on a dozen employees, they will be set to the task. You only need to pay the staffing agency again for your next hiring run.
Often the most difficult part about hiring is finding those who fill your skill requirements. This usually means verifying that someone has the education and certificates that you require. It can waste your time when you discover that applicants have lied on their resumes.
Staffing agencies know how to seek out the employees that you’re searching for, regardless of their qualifications. They can even cater to unique requirements for multiple industries. You won’t need to hire a separate janitorial staffing agency if you just need someone to clean your office bathrooms.
Hiring is rife with liabilities and legal challenges for employers. It’s not just the concern that employees may lie about their qualifications, leading to compliance issues in the future.
For example, applicants may complain about potential discrimination. This can lead to tricky legal investigations and delays in hiring as authorities perform said investigation. So not only would you be understaffed, but you would have to deal with this investigation on top of that.
This is only the beginning of the risks that a staffing agency takes on for you. But one thing is for sure: you don’t have to deal with any of it anymore.
A common misconception goes around that staffing agencies charge through the nose for their hiring practices. It would seem, at first glance, that it would be more cost-effective for you to handle the hiring yourself.
But when you think about it more, you realize that it’s better to outsource this process. Since a staffing agency, like you, exists to make a profit, they have to reduce their expenses. That means their whole business model is built around providing effective, streamlined hiring for a fraction of the usual cost.
As a result, you get the expertise and efficiency that a staffing agency provides. You save money because you no longer have to assemble your own HR team and all associated legal and hiring costs.
Temp agencies in Columbia, SC can provide stellar temporary employees for a fraction of the costs that your HR team incurs. However, you should be aware before contracting an agency that they will handle the entire process. This is, in the end, a benefit for you since it relieves your financial, manpower, and legal burden.
Looking for a reliable staffing agency that can meet your needs? Defender can help. Visit our website today and see how we can build your workforce.