The pandemic has affected every kind of business and industry, but when it comes to staffing it’s a particularly important time. The loss of many jobs have lead to an increase in the services of staffing agencies to find candidates in new positions. It’s also meant finding enough candidates for client requirements where the pandemic has caused an increase in business. But your staffing firm is only as good as its own employees, here’s what you can do to improve yours.
Communication
Some staffing firms are using this period to upscale recruiters and refresh on negotiation skills. Many firms are still utilizing video software such as Zoom and MS Teams to communicate with their internal team. Because of this, employees have noticed there is more bonding between employees during the pandemic. Functions on zoom such as the “water cooler” can allow employees to sign in and chat with co-workers in an informal setting; this “no shop talk’ zoom link functions as a virtual cafeteria/lounge while employees are working from home.
Technology
Keeping up to date with technology is important in any kind of business, and recruitment is no different. Software keeps you efficient, productive, and helps to improve your ROI. Three software solutions that successful staffing firms are already using to help create more effective client relationships include:
- CRM
Customer relationship management software can help you to regulate how well everyone at your staffing firm communicates with clients. It builds better relationships and increases your sales. By using a CRM, your team can easily respond to clients, collaborate on an account, efficiently share information with clients.
- ATS
An applicant tracking system can locate applicant records quickly and allow you to stay organized during the recruiting process. You can screen out under-qualified applicants by asking pass/fail questions, and create custom pre-screening questions by position. Keep track of applicants through custom work channels, and automatically merge duplicate applicants.
- Social Collaboration Tools
Social collaboration tools will help maximize your sales and recruiting processes while integrating with your existing social media practices. Your clients will expect you to stay informed and up-to-date with potential job candidates before their position is ever posted, or before the candidate even knows they’re looking for a new job. Social collaboration tools can enable you to do this.
Training
Staffing agencies don’t find jobs for people, they find people for jobs. Because of this, you’ll need to know your client’s industry inside out, and so education and training are always going to be an important part of improving your internal staff as well as your business. Lectures and seminars, training days, and online courses are all great ways to go about this. When you think of training in terms of a staffing firm, it’s the training of the candidate that first springs to mind.
Training your own employees so they can do the best job possible is crucial, and could be the difference between success and failure in your staffing business.
