Staffing industry companies that successfully connect top candidates with company job openings can leverage this hiring surge to grow. Find out what the survey revealed and get four marketing ideas for staffing agencies that want to grow in the New Year.
5 Take-Aways from U.S. Hiring and Recruiting Managers for the Staffing Industry
Job board operator DHI Group recently released survey results that point to hiring growth in U.S. companies in the first half of the New Year. The survey findings don’t just point to more hiring; they also provide several interesting insights that temporary staffing agencies can use to refine their marketing strategies in the coming months. Among the survey findings:
61% of U.S. hiring and recruiting managers anticipate more hiring in the first half of 2016.
Hiring and recruiting managers are strategizing with other corporate leaders right now, updating long range business and marketing plans for the New Year. Once the holidays are past, job boards could quickly become more crowded, making the hiring landscape very competitive and top talent more difficult to find.
17% plan to hire about one-third more professionals, up 5 percentage points from the same time two years ago.
As opposed to the past few years when many of the openings being created were in non-leadership roles, more companies are planning to add to the ranks of leaders and managers in the New Year. This is great news for the staffing industry, whose agencies should expect an uptick in demand.
45% of hiring and recruiting managers surveyed said it’s taking more time to fill open positions than it was last year.
Time is money; the longer it takes to fill an open position, the greater the cost per hire. Not only are direct hiring and recruiting costs a concern for HR professionals, but indirect costs add up as well. Unfilled positions often mean opportunity cost for a business as well as overtime for other employees who are carrying additional workload. In some cases, a longer time to hire can even result in lower morale and higher stress for employees in understaffed departments.
37% of hiring managers are seeing more counteroffers.
Never mind the pros and cons of playing a game of candidate counteroffer; when a hiring manager finds themselves on the losing end, they’re back to square one. A rise in counteroffers could indicate that the labor market is tightening, or could mean that employers are stepping up to the plate with irresistible offers to keep top talent on board – or both.
29% of hiring managers say they wait to hire until they find the “perfect match.”
In spite of the opportunity and organizational costs attributed to unfilled positions, sometimes making a bad hire is costlier than not hiring at all. More HR professionals are waiting to hire a person they view as an ideal organizational fit, rather than taking a risk on one that fulfills only some of their “candidates must have” hiring criteria. Staffing industry professionals can help fill the gap with high quality temporary placements.
4 Marketing Ideas for Staffing Industry Agencies that Want to Grow in the New Year
- Don’t Wait to Fill the Candidate Pipeline
The more time you save employers, the more valuable your services and candidate placements will be to them. Having a short list of pre-vetted candidates who meet a position’s hiring criteria can open the door for you with local companies. Plus, given indications that hiring will increase for more senior positions in the new year, your agency’s profits per placement could grow as well.
- Conduct a Local Hiring Manager Survey to Gain Intel
There’s still a few weeks left before post-holiday hiring and recruiting activities will kick into high gear. This could be an ideal time for you to reach out to local employers and invite them to participate in a survey to gain market intelligence on how your region’s local labor market might change in the New Year. Incentivize participation with a free drawing for an iPad or Amazon gift cards. Not only will you gain intelligence that can help you grow your temporary staffing or recruiting agency, you’ll also position your agency’s brand for top-of-mind awareness with local employers.
- Market Candidates on Soft Skills
With more hiring managers waiting for the perfect candidate, the soft skills a candidate brings to the table could make all the difference. Sharing values, testimonials from referrals and talking about a candidates work ethic and personality strengths might help local hiring managers envision them as an ideal fit for their corporate culture.
- Do the Math
Price is often an objection employers raise to working with staffing and recruiting agencies; however, when all of the true costs of hiring, recruiting and losses a corporation sustains when a position goes unfilled are taken into consideration, employers might realize the true value of working with your agency.
BONUS Tip #5: Factor Invoices to Get a Jump on the Competition
Invoice factoring is an ideal financing tool for temporary staffing agencies. Factoring offers a ready-made staffing industry payroll financing solution and expedites cash flow, which can be crucial for agencies that want to fill the pipeline with qualified candidates in anticipation of strong local labor demands in the New Year. Find out how factoring your temporary staffing or recruiting agency’s customer invoices can expedite cash flow so you can grow your business more quickly, or request an invoice factoring proposal for your temporary staffing or recruiting agency using the form below.