6 Questions to Ask a Staffing Provider

Each year, Inavero studies how companies and organizations use staffing firms. Its latest study (2013) found that 22 percent of those organizations surveyed used a staffing or recruiting company “in the past year.”

If your Riverside or San Bernardino county company plans to find a staffing firm this year, read below for six questions to ask a staffing company before you decide to hire the firm.

  1. What is the churn rate for internal staff? That is, what percentage of the company’s staffing managers and recruiters leave in any given year? Working in a staffing company is not for everyone. The pressure can be intense and expectations from clients and job seekers are high. That said, many people love working in staffing for the excitement and the chance to find great people for client companies and great jobs for applicants. Still, it’s critical that you find a staffing firm that tends to keep its internal employees; the longer relationship you can have with recruiters and managers, the better they will come to know your specific needs. The industry turnover average for internal employees is 21 percent (according to Inavero); aim to find a firm that has a percentage lower than that.
  2. Ask the firm for a list of current clients. Then contact that list and ask them about the staffing firm’s quality. Asking for a list of current clients is better than asking for a list of client company references; compared to a list of references, a company’s current clients should be full of happy as well as unhappy clients, allowing you to get a better idea as to the staffing company’s overall quality.
  3. Ask about the company’s screening process. If possible, go through the screening as if you were a candidate yourself. If looking for specific, hard-to-find candidates (such as machinists), ask the company how it sources these candidates and what types of tests it gives prospective employees.
  4. Take a look at the typical type of jobs a staffing firm fills. If you’re looking for forklift drivers and the company specializes in administrative assistants, you would have much better luck going with a company that specializes in light industrial positions, no matter how much the staffing managers may insist they can find qualified people for you.
  5. Ask the firm what it pays its employees. Yes, you’ll be paying a higher rate, but you need to know that the company pays its employees competitive wages, otherwise they’ll jump ship as soon as they get a higher-paying offer.
  6. Ask the company how it decides if a candidate is right for your particular company. This will show you that the staffing firm has researched your company and knows a good deal about your industry and how to find the best candidates.

If you’re looking for workers for your Inland Empire company’s temporary, temp-to-hire or direct-hire job opportunities, call upon the recruiting experts at Arrow Staffing to find them for you. We’ve been helping Inland Empire companies find great workers for more than 40 years, so we know a thing or two about recruiting, and we’re well-versed in the staffing needs of the region’s employers. Contact us today.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *