According to the "U.S. Staffing Industry Forecast” released by Staffing Industry Analysts last year, temporary staffing companies are going to generate $115 billion in business in 2015. This continues the industry trend of growth and expansion. Certain trends in the staffing industries are fueling this growth and transforming the industry.
Four Industry Trends You Need to Watch
If you are in the temporary staffing industry, there are certain trends you need to pay attention to:
1. The competition for talent is rising.
Unemployment is down. That means there are fewer people looking for a new job. It also means that key skill sets are harder to find. Staffing companies need to build a brand that is employee friendly. They also need to pay a fair wage, offer a decent benefits package, and create training opportunities for recruits and employees alike.
Staffing companies need to work with clients to help them understand the changing talent pool and what it means for finding the right candidates to fill their open positions. It is also important to work with job candidates to identify skills they can acquire to make themselves more qualified for jobs available on the market.
2. A social media presence and mobile friendly technology are essential for success.
Two out of three of your clients use social media for recruiting purposes. If you do not have a strong presence on social media, you are missing out on recruitment opportunities.
Job seekers want to use technology in their search. If they find an open position, they want to apply quickly and without fuss. They want to be able to send an application via smartphone, tablet, laptop, or any other device they have on hand. If your site is not mobile-friendly, you may be losing a lot of your talent to mobile-friendly competitors.
3. Manual processing is going the way of the dinosaur.
If your recruits are still using paper timesheets, your process is seriously out of date. This is not only inconvenient. It may be working against your best interests.
Manual processing is time consuming for everyone. You are paying someone to process all those timesheets. That takes a lot of money and endless hours. Investing in staffing software that tracks hours and lets staff and clients enter information will pay off. It will make your entire process more efficient and make your staff and clients happier.
4. The importance of talent communities and category-based recruitment is on the rise.
Online communities targeted to certain talent sets are a great place to attract potential candidates. These communities are dynamic, collaborative, and open, encouraging two way dialogue. It allows the staffing agency to build personal relationships with individual candidates. This helps build a long-lasting relationship that pays off for both the staffing company and the candidate.
Category staffing is a related trend that staffing companies need to be aware of. Instead of recruiting for a specific job, the agency recruits a recruit-based on expertise and abilities. Then, as jobs come available, the staffing company then assigns jobs as they become available.
Your temporary staffing company needs to stay on top of these trends and changes. If you need to free up cash to make your operations more technology friendly, or to bring in experts on talent communities, invoice factoring might be just the solution you are looking for. You can free up the cash you have trapped in your outstanding accounts receivable for any purpose you have.
