Staffing agencies are busy places. There are clients calling in. There are job candidates showing up for interviews. There are employees with questions about assignments. Add in the day-to-day running a small business and you see the challenges that a staffing agency professional faces everyday. Getting organized and staying that way is essential for keeping everyone happy, while maintaining your sanity.
Five Tips for Staying Organized
Keep a detailed, up-to-date to-do list.
The reason why so many organization specialists swear by the to-do list is because it works. It gives you a single source for keeping track of everything you have to do. When a new task comes across your desk, put it on the list. When you get a task done, cross it off the list. Simple.
If you want to go to the next level, consider using an online to-do list, like Trello or Wunderlist. You can access your to-do list from any device you have, in the office or on the go. You can create custom to-do lists for each client, each candidate, and each employee. You can share or assign to-dos to colleagues on the same system.
Make your calendar work for you, not against you.
The calendar of a staffing agency worker can fill up quickly with client calls, new recruit interviews, employee concerns, and marketing events, among many other things. You need to keep everything together on one calendar to avoid conflicts and to give yourself time to prepare for anything upcoming. Trying to juggle your personal business calendar with an agency calendar is a recipe for disastrous double booking and being unprepared.
Once you have everything on a single calendar, try color coding. Assign colors in ways that would work for your sense of organization. You might color code high priority appointments a different color than day-to-day events. You might assign different colors to client, new recruit, and employee appointments.
Automate as many tasks as possible.
Most staffing agency professionals will tell you there are just too many things to do in a given day. Automating tasks can make the day go a bit easier. Here are a couple of suggestions on where to start:
- Build email templates. If you have standard verbiage that you use in a good number of emails, make a template that you can insert into a new email. This will save time and ensure you don't miss any key points.
- Schedule your social media and job postings ahead of time. Social media is a key part of modern staff recruitment. By scheduling your tweets and posts days before, you are not going to forget to send out that tweet or make that Facebook post about a new job.
Make your key documents accessible from any device.
Most staffing agency professionals are no longer tied to a single desktop computer. They use smartphones, tablets, and laptops in a variety of locations, in the office as well as off-site. Accessing an Excel or Access database only from a desktop doesn't work anymore.
One option is switching from Excel spreadsheets to Google Docs. They are accessible from the office, from home, and from anywhere along your commute. You can make notes and edits when you need to, without being at your desk. Google Docs also offers a common destination for many forms of incoming paperwork. New recruits can upload resumes. Employees can upload updated tax documents. Clients can upload detailed job specifications.
Set aside time to keep yourself organized.
This is probably the least commonly used tip, but one of the most important. You can spend all the time in the world getting yourself organized the first time. But, if you don't spend time staying organized, all your efforts are for naught.
- Set aside time each day to get organized for the next day. Update your to-do list and prioritize what you have in front of you. Review your appointment schedule to see if you need to do any prep ahead of time. You will need time to research a new client or to review the resumes of potential hires.
- Set aside time each week to get organized for the next week. Some appointments need extra prep time. Some tasks involve multiple steps. Getting a longer range view lets you plan ahead and not let anything drop in the process.
- Set aside time monthly, quarterly, and yearly to do long range planning. You have professional goals you want to attain and agency goals to meet.
Each of these tips will help you (and your office) stay better organized. What organization tips do you use to keep your agency running smoothly?
