Staffing Agencies act like middlemen between the employer and the workers. Job seekers also use staffing agencies to find a job, and companies pay agencies to find employees on their behalf. Therefore, job seekers apply for jobs through the staffing agency and not the employer. However, this is not common among many employers due to many issues. In this article, let us discuss the pros and cons that come along with this practice.
Pros of using staffing Agency
1. Qualified candidates- using a staffing agency enable the company to get high-quality employees. This is so because they have close access to a large pool of talents, and they can assess the best candidate in the market. This may have upsides to a company as its production is likely to increase.
2. Ease hiring- staffing agents help in shortening the process of looking for an employer to fill the vacant position. They are capable of finding a candidate faster than the company itself. This is beneficial to the company in ensuring there are no delayed services due to the vacant position.
3. Cost-effective- the practice of using staffing agents is somehow cost-effective, saving the company from some expenses. Staffing agents find and interview prospective candidates to choose the best; this process proves to be expensive and time-consuming. However, due to the presence of staffing agents, the company can avoid all these expenses.
4. Creation of job opportunities- staffing agents largely depend on this job to get their daily bread. Therefore, using this practice enable any individual who would rather be unemployed to secure a job. Also, this practice has access to the talent pool, and the strongest candidates can secure a job easily using this practice.
5. Local and abroad connections of candidates- staffing agencies have a great outreach; they have not only local candidates have local candidates and those from other countries. Through this, the company can hire the strongest candidate who is more experienced.
6. Flexibility- staffing agency offers flexibility to the company. Sometimes the company is faced with a bigger task than its number of employees; during this economic uncertainty, the company may need to employ a skilled contractor to assist. The staffing agency steps in and rescues the company by giving them the qualified candidate for the job.
7. Less time-consuming- unlike other methods of finding a prospective employee, using a staffing agency consumes less time. The company uses less time to get candidates as it is the role of a staffing agency to find prospective candidates. This saves the company time.
8. Lower risk- using a staffing agency helps the company avoid risks experienced in the career market. These risks are passed to entrepreneurs who are responsible for losses that occur. Also, a staffing agency allows the company to sample a candidate before hiring them permanently. The candidate is allowed to stay in the company for a given period to be observed.
9. Specialized knowledge- for a company to succeed, it has to match its job with the right person. Staffing agency ensures this is achieved as they have access to wider talent pools with expertise and specialized knowledge needed by the company. Therefore, using a staffing agency may be beneficial in avoiding the downsides that come along with employing an unqualified person.
10. Higher chances of getting hired- staffing agencies have simplified the process of getting a job. They have connections with both the most employers and the unemployed qualified candidates. In case of a vacancy, the staffing agency rescues the situation by providing one of the candidates.
Cons of using staffing Agency
1. Poor communication- due to the presence of middlemen (staffing agency), there is no direct communication between the employer and the prospective candidate. This may bring challenges in matching the employer’s expectations.
2. Expensive- the practice of using a staffing agency is expensive. The company is responsible for paying both the employee and the staffing agency, which proves to be expensive compared to when the company finds its candidate.
3. Fraud- at times, there could be fraud and corruption. Most of the staffing agencies do not conduct interviews to identify the strongest candidate. They rather use shortcuts to get them. These fraud methods may lead the company into trouble employing unqualified workers, thus lowering the company’s production. Also, these staffing agencies may take a lot of money from the candidate and fail to provide them with the job.
4. Lack of attention- staffing agencies deal with many candidates at the same time. In the process of finding the one who fits the job best, they only consider the one with the highest qualification, thus ignoring or rejecting the rest. Therefore, in this practice, there is no surety.
5. Problem with training- some of the hired contractors may not have the required skills to carry out the work assigned to them. Therefore training is necessary. The company may incur the cost needed for training, and also, this can be time-consuming.
6. Bonding issues- hired contractors may not socialize or mesh well with the existing workers. They may have different views, which may result in reduced binding and interpersonal relationships among themselves. This would negatively affect the productivity of the company.
7. Decreased loyalty- one main challenge with using a staffing agency to look for new employees is that most of them are employed on a contract basis (temporary), and due to this, they may have decreased loyalty to the company as compared to those permanently.
8. Cultural fits and issues– when staffing agency is advertising for job vacancies, they rarely talk about the companies brand or its culture. The hired contractor may fail to match perfectly with the norm and culture of the company. This can lead the companies into many issues, and also there’s a high possibility the hired contactor mat quit the job.
9. Staffing agencies are ignored- staffing agencies have a bad reputation for fraud and poor communications, and thus many candidates don’t tend to apply for jobs through them.
