Every staffing agency aims to be great at what they do—finding top talent and filling roles efficiently. But staffing agency recruitment is a challenging business. Finding and hiring great people in today’s labour market requires effective recruitment strategies.
We’ve put together a list of some of the key tactics that can help recruiters hire better, for the benefit of clients and candidates.
Why are effective recruitment strategies so important right now for staffing agencies?
Staffing agencies—especially those that manage workers in the skilled trades—are facing a range of challenges right now. As the skilled labour shortage marches on with no sign of slowing, there are fewer qualified workers and more open roles.
With talent pools shrinking, there is steep competition for workers, and great candidates are often juggling multiple offers. In these conditions, it’s critical for staffing agencies to adopt strong recruitment strategies.
What are the most effective recruitment strategies for staffing agencies?
Looking for ideas to give your staffing team the boost it needs? Here are six top staffing agency recruitment strategies that can support effective hiring.
Create a referral program
One of the key strategies for sourcing great talent is to tap the networks of the strong candidates already in your database. Developing a referral program helps your agency reach new talent, and it also brings other advantages, including speeding up the hiring process and increasing the chances of a good culture fit.
Referral programs don’t have to be complicated. Just establish a clear process for referring others as well as an appropriate incentive (cash is usually the way to go). While such an initiative might sound costly, research shows that referral programs actually lower hiring costs.
Get the right staffing software
Implementing staffing software can be a game changer for staffing agencies. The right platform can offer a range of benefits for both recruiters and candidates.
Saving time: Staffing software can help agencies shave off time throughout the recruitment process, from job postings to onboarding.
Automating functions: Many staffing platforms offer options to automate some of the most mundane and repetitive tasks in staffing, including data entry, filtering candidates, and sending reminders.
Improving the candidate experience: The right platform can ensure that candidates enjoy a smoother recruitment process by eliminating friction, maintaining consistent communication, and keeping people engaged.
Reconnect with past applicants
Looking to expand your agency’s talent pipeline? The pool of past applicants can be a valuable source of future candidates.
Once again, that’s where staffing software can help. By onboarding every applicant to your company’s platform, the agency will receive all candidate data and keep it on file. Even if you don’t end up placing a job seeker in the position they wanted, you can reach out to them for future roles. And unlike using online job boards, there’s no extra charge to contact the same candidates again and again.
Leverage social media
Once considered unconventional, using social media is now a top recruitment strategy for staffing agencies. It’s a powerful tool because it allows agencies to reach new audiences, connecting with people where they spend their time.
Through social recruiting, staffing agencies can also engage with candidates who aren’t actively searching for a new role but would consider one if the right opportunity came along.
Optimize the recruitment process
In recruiting, candidate experience is king. Research shows that the experience a candidate has with a potential employer throughout the hiring process, from job posting to job offer, has a major impact on their likelihood of accepting a role.
Recognizing the importance of the candidate experience, a key strategy for staffing agency recruitment is to optimize processes to ensure the satisfaction of job seekers. That optimization could include ensuring strong and consistent communication, speeding up the process where possible, offering flexibility, and being responsive to feedback.
Define your agency’s brand
It’s only natural that people are more likely to choose to work at companies they know and trust. That’s where branding plays a key role.
Consider how your agency can enhance its brand to become more attractive to potential candidates. It can help to look at your website, social media, and job postings through the eyes of the candidates. As a job seeker, what characteristics would you look in a staffing agency? What qualities or brand elements would encourage you to apply?
While branding is just one element of any staffing agency recruitment strategy, it can be the additional factor that instills confidence in your team’s work.
The bottom line
In today’s competitive landscape, it’s never been more crucial for staffing agencies to differentiate themselves to get ahead. Adopting strong, effective recruitment strategies is key to standing out.
To gain an advantage, staffing agencies might consider integrating a technical solution such as staffing software or other initiatives to optimize the candidate experience. Marketing can also provide a boost, including elevating the company’s branding or increasing engagement on social media. Agencies might also consider new strategies such as reconnecting with past candidates or implementing a referral program.
In today’s hiring realities, adopting innovative methods for seeking out talent is essential. The push for continual growth is what distinguishes great staffing agencies from the rest.
