How Staffing Agencies Work
How Staffing Agencies Work
Staffing agencies aim to match the right job candidate with the right position. Their input can help save time for both employees and employers. If you are currently looking for a job, you might want to know more about staffing agencies to use their services. In this article, we explain how staffing agencies work and some tips to enhance your experience with them.
Staffing agencies recruit employees on behalf of employers looking to fill positions and help candidates find appropriate jobs. The positions are sometimes temporary and can be part-time or full-time. Staffing agencies allow employees who are willing to start working in a new industry to gain experience and test new positions before committing to them. They are also known as recruitment firms or temp agencies. They usually specialize in a particular industry.
When they need to hire new staff, employers contact a staffing agency specializing in their industry. The employer specifies the job requirements, number of employees needed, rate they will pay and for what period staff needs to work. Based on this information, the agency composes a job description and advertises it on its website or other job boards. Recruiters might also use social media or other professional networks.
Job candidates can browse a job opening on the agency's website or other channels. They can also meet with recruiters to discuss their qualifications. In both scenarios, the recruiters review their skills and background and then select corresponding positions that employers are looking to fill. The candidates sign up with the agency, who will manage the entire recruitment and hiring process. Candidates receive feedback to improve their chances of success.
Once the agency finds possible candidates for positions, they perform screening interviews. Depending on the type of position, employers may participate in the interview process. Staffing agencies introduce the selected candidates to the employers, who decide who they want to hire.
The agencies take care of most of the paperwork, such as managing the candidates' contracts and terminating them when necessary. They manage employment taxes, including Social Security, as well as payroll. Employers can save time and energy by using staffing agencies' services. For temporary positions, staffing agencies pay the employees directly. When the employees get hired by the company for which they performed a temporary job and did well, the employer takes over the payroll.
Employers pay fees to staffing agencies to outsource their hiring process. If they didn't work with an agency, they would have had to pay hiring costs directly for job-board ads and internal recruiters instead.
A job candidate doesn't pay fees to use the services of a staffing agency. There might be deductions on their paycheck once hired, but the amount paid corresponds to what the employer would have paid directly. The employer is paying the fees to the agency. No staffing agency should charge an employee.