What are the main reasons potential employees and companies should not use staffing agencies?
I am writing an article about why people on the job search and companies should never use staffing agencies and would like to hear what your thoughts are.
Good Answers (8)
Greg C.
Human Resources Consultant for Small and Mid-Size Firms
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For people who are looking for work, the difficulty of using staffing agencies is understanding how the staffing agency works. There is a common misperception that the agency will help you find a job,when, in fact, the agency works for the company that hires them to find people. Just like a real estate agency, the staffing firm works for the one who pays and, just like a the real estate agency, the staffing firm is tasked with providing good candidates to the paying firm; hence, if you are not a good candidate for the job in question, you are not important to the staffing firm.
This misconception can be confusing and difficult for those seeking work. "I want to work, you have a job listing that I think would be good for me, why don't you send my resume?" To make matters worse, the staffing firm is not always good at communicating bad news. How do you tell someone that you are not a good candidate without risking some kind of complaints or worse?
As for employers, the purpose of a staffing firm is to weed through all of the potential candidates and provide a slate of good possibilities.
However, staffing firms are not good at this weeding process unless they understand what the hiring firm is looking for. Commonly, the staffing firm uses the method of "throw enough s... against the wall and some of it will stick" hoping that 1 or more of the candidates will be suitable.
At the same time, hiring firms look down on the staffing firms and try to take advantage of them, hoping to save some money. The hiring firm deals with the staffing firm only because they have to and, oftentimes make it difficult for the relationship to work.
So, why should a potential employee not use a staffing firm? Because you can do a much better job yourself at finding a suitable job. Most jobs are filled because someone knows you. Get out and network, expand your network by asking those you know to introduce you to people they know. Volunteer and let people know that you are available. Avoid the internet job engines. Use your trade associations. Finding a job is hard work and you have to work hard at it.
Why should an employer not use a staffing firm? Because you can do a much better job of sourcing people yourself. Ask your good employees for referrals; talk to your local colleges and community colleges; tell people you know that you are looking to hire; talk to your local chamber of commerce. It's like Alice wandering through Wonderland, when she meets the Chesire Cat; "I wonder whcih way I should go, she asks?" "Where do you want to go?" he asks. "I don't care where I go," she responds. "Then you are sure to get there." If you don't know what you are looking for then you are sure to hire the wrong person. By focusing on what the "right" person looks like you will have a much better chance of being successful than if you let someone else do it for you.
Laurel B.
non fiction writer and editor (technical communicator)
Best Answers in: Small Business (1), Starting Up (1)
I've always had excellent results when using temporary employees via a staffing agency. I've also found an employee through a temp to perm situation. For a small business, it's very worthwhile to use the HR services that I can't do myself. I'm wondering what the drawbacks are that you are writing about.
Will J.
Associate Director, Validation at MedImmune, Inc.
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Harley, a great question - and Greg, I love your answer. I totally agree and would like to add a little from the business point of view.
The return you get from a good fit between job and candidate as a hiring manager is immense. Not just from the perspective of respective staff performance and retainment (happy employees work harder and stay), but also general impact on the team, department, company. To utilize a staffing agency is often a sign of management looking at skill sets rather than people and the misunderstanding that anybody with the general minimum competency profile is automatically a fit.
Personally, I believe it's management's responsibility to build a team with diversity yet professional cohesion - compatible with the corporate culture. It's an art to find people who can perform with their team members and the other stakeholders in a matrix...something no staffing agency was so far able to do for me.
Hope this helps?
Will
Phil L.
Information Technology Manager/Consultant
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That would depend on the staffing agency and what they charge. The staffing agency's understanding of complex job requirements often is limited to incomplete job descriptions. Most people can do the material duties of jobs they apply for, it's all of the important aspects of the job that get lost in the translation.
Hugh O.
Proofreader at M&M Candies
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Here in Sydney, Australia, the recruitment agencies have tied up just about all of the employment scene. As professional salespeople equipped with contact lists built up over years they have access to all of the main employers, who they canvass continually to such an extent that direct contact with a potential employer by any individual jobseeker has become effectively impossible.
As they say, it would be laughable were it not so tragic - our Government demands that jobseekers who are in receipt of unemployment benefits approach employers, on threat of financial penalties for not doing so, while Government office refuses to accept direct contact from jobseekers, to the extent of refusing to accept phone calls, refusing to provide contact details, refusing to accept messages at reception.
Recruitment agency personnel are usually hired for their selling skills, which most jobseekers are unlikely to be able to compete with; they tend to not understand the nature of the various work functions for which they are selecting candidates; the field is packed with young bimboes on Gen-Y backpacker visas; being vacuous themselves, they select on externals - appearances instead of qualities; the buzzwords of the game are to be 'excited' and 'passionate' about the job - competence in the work involved, educational standards, knowledge, intelligence, even the ability to read and write, don't appear to count any more.
Being an old fart with whiskers I obviously don't stand a chance against a young thing with perfect hair and teeth and clothes and a perfectly empty head who can say 'excited' six times in any one sentence, even if I not only know how to do the work, but also how best to do the work ....
Bitter? Sadly yes ... anybody out thereable to put a pre-loved communications guy to gainful employment?
Links:
Britta S.
Career & Executive Coach, Writer & Social Entrepreneur
Best Answers in: Staffing and Recruiting (1), Corporate Governance (1)
Well, it all depends on a number of levels and while I think there are differences between retained searches and contingency searches, here my two cents on the topic:
As a job seeker one should not use more than one or two recruiters. When working with multiple recruiters, one has to be careful that he or she understands how these recruiters or agencies operate and what market segment they cover. It can get very messy quickly if there is not a clear understanding. Plus if the recruiter knows that the employee is only using one recruiter or agency, the employee is more likely to get the best possible service and won't run into the problem that his/her resume was submitted to the same potential employer by two different agencies. This can reflect badly on all parties.
HR professionals in companies should not "use" agencies just to generate resumes to make themselves look good towards their superiors - which I have seen happen. It's a waste of time and unfair towards the potential candidate. Companies should also only engage an agency when they are absolutely clear on what they want and are confident they are willing to pay the prize for the talent.
Lastly, either party should stay away from working with agencies or independent contractors if there is a lack of mutual trust which is the hallmark of a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship.
Let me know if you would like me to elaborate further. Good luck with your article!
Hi Harley
This is a good question and one that needs to be asked often by business. I hope my response shines some light onto the topic for you.
Best wishes
Merydith
Outsourcing
More and more organisations are outsourcing recruitment. It is primarily done because of a lack of time and a belief that recruitment organisations are experts in the area but it does not guarantee you will get a better quality of candidate. The recruitment organisations may hear what you want but they don’t know what your culture is like, the daily pressures you face and they don’t know the other members of the team with whom this candidate will have to work.
Links:
Margaret F.
Exprienced Administrative assistant
Best Answers in: Job Search (1), Staffing and Recruiting (1)
For those people looking for work, the last resource would be a job agency because the recruiters job is to try to "lure' the job seeker in telling him/her that they can help him/her in finding a permanent position.
The staffing agency may have temp to hire positions, but if the job seeker gets that "position" and work at so & so company for quite some time, then the "temp" will become permanent. Not so! After awhile, once the company do decides to "hire" that temp, the rates that the staffing agency charges is OUTRAGEOUS. There is no way so & so company will be paying so much just to hire that "temp".
Later, the "temp" will be notified of his/her last day at the company. The supervisor or Human resources person will tell him/her that the position will be filled by someone else. The "temp" will be disappointed and have to call the agency telling their recruiter that person is available. The job seeker is back on the available list and have to wait for another position to come in through the agency that matches the job seeker skill level.
If that same temp, gets another temp-to hire position through a different company, he/she will go through the same process as the previous company that didn't hire him/her. The rates are too high for any company to pay the staffing agency.So, that is why no potential employee should go through them at all.
