Given the growing need for ad-hoc workers in industries such as healthcare or foodservice, staffing agencies are in demand like never before. However, this increased activity also brings challenges. How do you keep overhead costs to a minimum while expanding in a business which relies on employee pool management, something that is inherently time- and cost-intensive?
Below, we will have a look at the challenges which staffing agency software can help you solve, what type of tool you might want to use, and how it can improve your productivity.
Here is an overview of some of the most common challenges facing staff providers today:
The most important issue for staffing agencies is the speed at which they are able to respond to an employer request and fill an open role. A quick and seamless provision of suitable employees is what their business revolves around and what gets clients to come back to them time and time again. This puts pressure on slower staff providers, who will struggle to keep up unless they can shine in other ways (such as consistently providing highly skilled workers). Even so, they will have a hard time competing with faster agencies. Improving response times is therefore the number one issue agencies need to tackle to stand out from the competition.
While skill shortages have plagued the industry for many years, the pandemic has brought the issue into an even sharper focus. As skilled workers are so hard to come by, they can afford to be demanding, and any advantage you can offer them gives you a higher chance of retaining them. This does not necessarily need to be monetary - there are other ways to improve the employee experience which will have an impact on whether you attract and keep skilled workers. An easy-to-use software interface - such as an intuitive employee app which lets workers accept jobs with just a few taps on their smartphone - can play an important role here.
The staffing industry has traditionally suffered from high turnover, as it attracts people who are in-between jobs, looking for part-time work next to their day job, or who work for several staffing agencies at once. As mentioned above, a simple and effective software tool can help you attract and retain the right talent, but the relationship between staffing agencies and their workers is not to be underestimated here. When we speak to staff providers, they often tell us how switching to a software tool has meant more time to listen to their employees' needs rather than being bogged down in admin work.
The staffing industry is a highly competitive sector, with those agencies who can supply workers across a wide variety of skills - and quickly - coming out on top. As we mentioned above, response speed is a major factor for their success, but an agency who consistently provides unreliable or unsuitable workers cannot make this up in speed. Client satisfaction is just as important as worker retention to ensure that your agency keeps getting asked to fill open roles.
Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash
This table outlines some of the main strategies staffing agencies can use to overcome their challenges.
| Issue | Main Strategy |
| Lack of speed | Streamline communication channels |
| Skill shortages | Improve worker retention rate |
| High turnover | Increase worker satisfaction |
| Competition | Improve client satisfaction |
A good software tool should not only allow you to schedule people efficiently, but it should enable you to swiftly communicate with your workers without having to leave the interface. If you are able to quickly find suitable workers and invite them to fill an open position through a software, and if they can then answer by accepting the job just as quickly on their smartphone, your response time will be much shorter than if you had to call or text individual people. A flexible employee planning app can streamline this communication channel.
When you find skilled workers, you want to hold onto them. However, the competition from within and outside the staffing industry often means they hop from one agency or employer to another, depending on what they are offered. Having the right tool can make a big difference here, as it not only improves how easy it is for workers to take on jobs, but also gives them the freedom to pick which jobs they want to do, lets them check in and out of work and submit any receipts they might have. If you can offer ease of use with an intuitive smartphone app, you not only retain, but also attract talent.
Improving your turnover rate has huge implications for your business. If you are able to supply reliable and skilled workers to your clients every time, you will likely thrive. Aside from ensuring ease of use for your workers, having a good software tool can also hugely reduce admin work, which will have a positive impact on their satisfaction. In addition, both your administrators and your staff pool can spend time previously needed for admin tasks on more interpersonal matters such as feedback.
While having more skilled workers in your pool, a lower turnover rate and faster response times will go a long way towards your clients' satisfaction, staffing agency software can also allow for customer feedback, which can be added to your workers' datasheet. In addition, being able to quickly match the right person with the required job specs means fewer mistakes, and the reduced administrative burden means that you will have more time for your clients.
Technology can help you tackle all of the issues mentioned above, though it is important to keep in mind that implementing a software tool can be a challenge in itself. Administrators need to get used to incorporating it into their daily workflow, and workers will need to be switched over to the app. Once a staffing agency software tool is implemented, it should however greatly improve your efficiency and profitability. Read more about how some of our clients have found the software implementation process.
It is important to know exactly which issues you would like to tackle when choosing a new software tool. Is workforce management most important to you? Or do you do shift planning for your client? Some tools will offer hybrid solutions for freelance workers and employees. Is this something you care about? You should carefully consider what you want from a staffing agency software. Our list of top 5 staff scheduling software tools might help.
Although investing in a new software tool and upsetting tried-and-tested modes of working may seem daunting, our long-standing experience in working with staffing agencies tells us that the long-term gains are palpable and can help you stay ahead of the game in an increasingly competitive sector.
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Title photo by Isabela Voliveira on Pixabay