No one could have predicted the way the workforce landscape would be permanently altered due to COVID19. Now that it looks like we are inching into a post-pandemic job market, here are five ideas for staffing agency marketing to help recruiters, staffing agencies, and temporary employment agencies prepare for the months ahead.
5 Staffing Agency Marketing Ideas for 2021 – and Beyond
1. Focus on still-stalled industries – and workers
Masks are starting to come off and the industries hardest-hit by COVID19 closures and slow-downs are poised to make a comeback – if they can. These industries may find it difficult to entice workers back, especially for jobs with high person-to-person contact.
- Travel and transportation – air travel, car rentals, cruise lines, etc., as well as their respective manufacturers, repair and maintenance companies, and suppliers
- Public transportation and private transportation and ride sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft
- Hospitality – hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, and the vendors that serve them (wine, beer, and spirits distributors, food distributors, meat and fish suppliers, linen suppliers, commercial cleaning companies – and so on!)
- Entertainment venues, convention centers, exhibition halls, meeting venues, casinos, theme parks, clubs, movie theaters and television and movie industry production
- Charities and non-profits
- Farming, food production and processing, and manufacturing
- Child care and daycare facilities
- Salons / hairdressers and the beauty industry overall
- Gyms and fitness centers
- Oil, natural gas, energy, and other utilities
- Fashion industry retailers and other non-food retail
Staffing agency marketing to employers and potential workers should focus on measures companies are taking to mitigate risk for employees and development opportunities (see “the great reassessment” below). Re-opening for many of these industries will likely be fast and turbulent, and may have stops and starts along the way. Staffing agency marketing that works to build a pool of potential workers could be the resource these employers need to recruit and hire through staffing agencies and temporary employment agencies instead of (or in addition to) in-house recruiting and human resources.
Temporary employment and staffing agency marketing should also highlight employers with career development opportunities to improve recruitment. Why? The great reassessment!
66% of adults say they seriously considered changing jobs
- 66% of unemployed adults have seriously thought about changing their profession and
- 49% of unemployed adults are pessimistic about their prospects for future employment (PewResearch.org).
- 5.7M workers expect to be called back to work but say they probably will not return (CNBC).
What is “the great reassessment” where U.S. workers are concerned?
“…there is a great reassessment going on in the U.S. economy… people are still hesitant to return to work until they are fully vaccinated and their children are back in school and day care full time… There is also growing evidence — both anecdotal and in surveys — that a lot of people want to do something different with their lives than they did before the pandemic.” (Washington Post)
There is growing evidence that a lot of people want to do something different with their (professional) lives than they did before the pandemic.
In addition to career diversity and development, employers that have childcare facilities or subsidies may also help to entice stalled workers back onto the job. The same applies to employers who are able offer flexible hours or work-from-home options for parents whose children are temporarily doing school from home or doing school from home part time.
2. Build a stable full of contingent workers
The new normal is not going to be like the old normal. Companies that previously had little trouble attracting and retaining employees may find that employees who worked with them during the pandemic are moving back into past jobs or moving up into new opportunities.
Contingent workers who are willing – or even prefer – to work on a contract basis could be the answer. What are contingent workers? Indeed.com describes them as workers hired:
- For a short-term time period
- For a specific project
- On a contract basis (often 1099 instead of W2) with no benefits or payroll taxes
- To fill gaps while trying to hire or grow
- To reduce costs for payroll, payroll taxes, benefits, etc.
These are individuals with highly sought-after skills and expertise who can hit the ground running with very little onboarding or training. Temporary employment and staffing agency marketing can attract contingent workers through LinkedIn, Indeed, and other job boards, specifically appealing to people who are interested in part time, contract, and other non-full time direct hire situations.
- Remoting all the processes
In the past it was difficult to find employers willing to let some (or even all) of their employees work remotely. Post-pandemic? It is going to be the norm. Temporary employment and staffing agency marketing that focuses on attracting individuals who may have reassessed their professional lives and goals, or who are reluctant to return to a traditional in-person workplace can build a pool of highly skilled employees ready to fill these remote positions.
Companies have found success from the work-from-home model.
“Companies have found success from the work-from-home model. Now that they’ve invested in more digital communication and collaboration tools, they have greater confidence in the process and are ready to hire the right talent, wherever they are.” (TheStaffingStream.com)
And it is not just about remote work. It is about remote everything. Remote recruiting and interviewing. Remote screening. Remote-forever jobs and remote-hybrid jobs that minimize the workers risk from exposure outside of the home will makeup a major part of the workforce for years to come.
- In-house outsourcing
Focus temporary employment and staffing agency marketing messages on your agency’s ability to fill outsource positions (or even whole departments) with high-quality individuals and teams. 32% of organizations are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers (4CornerResources). That’s one in three. As was previously mentioned, this is one way that employers can save on labor costs, since contingent workers generally pay their own payroll taxes and do not receive company benefits such as health insurance, paid leave, etc.
32% of employers are replacing full-time (direct hire) employees with contingent workers.
Companies that lost money due to slow downs and closures caused by the COVID19 pandemic are looking for ways to reopen and return to former levels of production and sales at a lower cost. Outsourcing is one way for employers to reduce direct payroll and benefits costs as well as recruiting costs, onboarding, and several other activities. Even for in-house jobs, outsourcing is a viable option for employers who need to reduce costs while ramping back up.
- Skill-driven recruiting
Temporary employment and staffing agency marketing recruitment efforts should pivot from being focused on experience and education to a more skill-driven approach. Staffing Industry Analysts report that there are labor shortages in several industries where skill and knowledge may trump on-the-job experience going forward:
- Pharma
- Healthcare
- Industrial / manufacturing
- IT – Information technology
- Help desk / customer service
A skills-based matching system can help your agency find individuals who have the critical skills their teams are currently struggling to find. “Assessing candidates based on skills, instead of their last job title, can help fill critical roles with the best talent.” (McKinsey.com)
A skills-based approach helps companies, job seekers, and the broader communities that rely on critical roles being filled with the best talent.
Skill-driven recruiting provides additional benefits, such as:
- increasing the talent pool – accessing new sources by thinking beyond job titles and education
- reducing unconscious bias by objectively assessing relevant skills
- facilitating in-house promotion, cross-training, and lateral moves based on needed skills
Given the permanent and long-term changes in the job market nationwide as a result of the pandemic, staffing agency marketing must change too. Temporary employment and staffing agencies which are successful in recruiting contingent workers and marketing those individuals to employers are more likely to experience agency growth than counterparts who do not pivot at this vital time.
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