Choosing a staffing firm can have a significant impact on your company. In today’s economy your “human capital” is your greatest asset. Having the right employees, skills, experiences and personalities in your workplace can increase your profitability and growth. Partnering with the right staffing firm to recruit, screen, test, interview, and background check pre-employment can be efficient and profitable for most businesses of all sizes. It is recommended that you do your homework first to determine which staffing firm can meet your specific business needs.

The first step would be to meet with the staffing firm under consideration and research the following areas before making a decision.

Is management local or in another city? How long has the management team been in place?
This will determine how long decisions will take to get decisions made on special requests.

How many recruiters do they have on staff and what is the average tenure of a staff member? Are they certified by the National Assoication of Personnel Services or the American Staffing Association?
The experience and knowledge of the recruiters will determine how long it will take for your positions to be filled.

How many years has the business been in operation and financially established? Ask if they are involved in any community organizations?
Community participation is an indication that the company is invested in the local community and working toward making your community a better place to live and work.

What is the staffing firm’s reputation and are they reliable?
Ask for references from clients in your area. Call one of their references and ask about a problem and how it was handled. Every staffing relationship will have an issue once in a while but a service oriented company will handle those issues quickly, professionally and to everyone’s satisfaction. It is their delivery of service that makes the difference.

What are the recruiting techniques employed and what retention programs do they have in place?
Ask about their current database and if they use the internet, website, social service agencies or other media. What benefits do they provide their employees?

How are employees screened and tested?
Ask for the service to walk you through their process. Do they do employment references? Do they meet every candidate in person in their office? Do they do criminal background checks pre-employment? What type of skills evaluation testing do they utilize? Do they have tutorials available? Can you view the test scores? Do they verify education? Do they check identity? Do they do credit checks? Do they do drug testing?

How are employees are assigned to clients? What technology is utilized to evaluate employees and filling open position requirements? Do they use metrics to measure successful performance? Do they measure their success ratio in terms of filling the job right the first time?
If the client has provided a complete job description and good picture of the work environment the firm should be able to closely match personality and skills to meet your requirements.

What type of insurance does the staffing firm have? Do they carry Employment Liability Insurance? Do they carry adequate workers compensation insurance to cover any potential workers compensation claims? How is a workers’ injury handled? What is their process?
Ask what level of coverage the firm carries. Do they bond and insure their employees? Do they carry a Fidelity bond? Do they carry Errors and Ommission insurance? Do they carry general liability insurance?

How does the staffing firm pay their employees?
The staffing firm should pay the employee each week through direct deposit, payroll check card or check withholding appropriate payroll taxes?

What is their Guarantee?
If you are not satisfied with the employee on the first day of the assignment what is your financial commitment? If the firm has a strong guarantee that can tell you quite a bit about their confidence in providing quality service. Will the firm bill you if you are not satisfied with the performance of the employee on the first day?

Should your decision be based on price alone?
It is important to save money but it can cost you dearly in the long run. Sometimes spending a little more money up front makes sense when you calculate the time saved in screening, interviewing, follow-up, reference checking, testing, and lost production time.