The talent market is more competitive than ever right now, and staffing agencies are feeling the squeeze. Amidst an onslaught of challenges, we know that staffing teams are searching for workflow improvements to help them work smarter and get more done.
If you lead a staffing agency, you’re likely looking innovations to help your company get jobs filled quicker, knowing that quicker turnarounds lead to happier clients—not to mention more business growth. To help, we’ve compiled a list of the top ideas for improving the workflows at your staffing agency.
What challenges are staffing agencies facing right now?
Staffing agencies are facing a range of challenges right now as a result of the ongoing labour shortage in the skilled trades. With Baby Boomers retiring in droves, clients are looking to urgently fill open roles with qualified tradespeople.
Unfortunately, new talent is tough to find right now. Skilled work is unpopular among youth, with recent surveys showing that only 16 percent of Gen Z are likely to consider a career in a skilled trade. The result is more open jobs and less workers to fill them.
What does that mean for staffing agencies? It’s more critical than ever to work efficiently and effectively, recognizing that competition for recruiting top talent is tight right now. To get an edge over other agencies, staffing teams should be exploring what they can do to improve workflows and increase productivity across their organizations.
How can you improve the workflows at your staffing agency?
Often, the prevalent belief is that to get more done, employees should simply work harder. However, allow us to suggest an alternative—working smarter. By integrating a few intelligent solutions within your operations, you can increase productivity without adding to your team’s workload.
Ditch the paperwork and spreadsheets
While most companies no longer work with paper files, there’s a new productivity enemy to be concerned about: spreadsheets. If your company is using a network of folders and spreadsheets to track candidates and job postings, you’re costing your team valuable time at every step of the staffing process.
Not only do spreadsheets take heaps of time and labour to update, but they are also error-prone, creating mistakes that can be costly down the line. Plus, they simply don’t scale well. While a basic chart might be fine when you have 200 candidates, what will happen when you have 2,000? If you’re serious about your company’s growth, it’s critical to set up your workflows to prepare for it.
Get staffing software that meets your company’s needs
Once you ditch the spreadsheets for good, you’re ready for a software solution designed to help your staffing team get more done.
While there are plenty of HR software solutions on the market, it’s critical to search for one specifically designed with the unique needs of staffing agencies in mind. The staffing world moves fast, and you’ll need a tool that will move with you, tracking all your job posts and candidates effortlessly.
We suggest a staffing software solution that automates processes, smooths workflows, and simplifies complex functions. Some features to look for include integrated online background checks, customizable filters to help you search your database effectively, document storage to track candidate resumes, and collaboration tools to help you work with colleagues and clients. You also want to keep an eye out for options that will provide support with transferring your data over to the new tool.
Automate, automate, automate
In 2024, automation is a must. It’s the single key that will smooth your company’s workflows and help you get more done.
Look for tech that will help you automate functions at a variety of phases in the staffing process, saving your team time that could be better sent helping clients and candidates. The right software will use AI to populate profiles so candidates and staff no longer have to spend time on manual data entry. Automation can also be helpful for building job postings and communicating with candidates.
If you work in industries that require many certifications, you’ll want software that will track them, automatically sending workers reminders when it’s time to renew. In addition to saving you time, this functionality will ensure that you never staff someone with an out-of-date licence or certification, helping the company avoid accidents and liability.
The bottom line
It’s a challenging time for the staffing industry. With the ongoing labour shortage heightening the competition for top talent, it’s more vital than ever for staffing agencies to improve their efficiency and productivity.
By giving up cumbersome processes and integrating new software solutions, staffing agencies can fill roles faster and get more done. To get an edge in this tough climate, your company should be prepared to automate processes, innovate, and embrace new technologies.
Is your staffing agency looking to improve your workflows and boost productivity? Designed with staffing teams in mind, Labourly™ is a simple, intuitive solution for managing your skilled workforce. Book a demo call to discuss how the right software solution can help your company grow.
