By Jonathan Lee

So you need to hire someone. Just applying for a job is difficult enough, but it can be an even bigger pain for those who have to review the masses of applications followed by countless interviews. Of course, there is no guarantee that these efforts will net your desired result.  How can you possibly make a decision when so many people apply for a job?

Most of us would love to be able to just give everyone a job and not have to make a difficult decision that will inevitably leave so many qualified candidates without employment. That is usually just the nature of business, but there are other options that can help to eliminate the hassle and work associated with hiring a new employee. You have probably heard of staffing agencies. These are companies that have a large group of professionals available to work for you at any time. Many of these individuals are qualified and can perform many different tasks. They are not just available for labor, but also for a number of different positions that require different levels of skill. The employee comes into your business and performs the particular task you need them to perform. There is no contract and when the employee is done with the job, you can choose to either never work with them again or offer them further work. Staffing agencies, in other words, allow for you to get special projects completed that you don't need to hire a whole new employee to do.

But what if you need to hire someone for good? Would a staffing agency be able to help you then? The answer would seem to be yes. You might think that employing a temporary worker to do what a full time new worker should do would be a waste, but there are actually several benefits to choosing this route. One of the major benefits of doing pre hire work through an agency is that you will be able to review the employees skills and work effort in your business environment without having to make any kind of commitment to them. If they are a poor worker and incapable of accomplishing the assigned task, you can simply choose not to hire them. If they are highly competent then you might have found a great worker and someone that will greatly improve the productivity of your business.

Using temporary services for pre hire also ensures that the employee will have gone through some sort of screening process with the staffing agency.  This is an expense of time and money that your company will save. When you hire from the general, unscreened public, you run the risk of getting anyone in your business.

Another advantage of using staffing agency employees for pre hire is that you can see if they fit in well in your business environment. This can be a big advantage for you and for them. If they don't like the business then they will find out quickly. It won't pay for you to have an employee who hates to work in your company, so both you and the employee can win through pre hire.  This time spent evaluating their soft-skills and personality compatibility is extremely valuable.  It is this evaluation that lends far more information into your hiring decision than can possibly be obtained during an interview.

After doing the pre hire with a temporary staffing agency employee, you might also realize that you don't really need someone to fill the position, or that you could give that position's responsibilities to someone else. The advantages of pre hire are really fantastic and could save you substantial amounts of money, time, and hassle.

In addition to eliminating a risky hire and saving time, turning to a staffing agency can save you money. An agency can eliminate the direct burden of workers compensation, liability and potential legal exposure.  A staffing agency also gives you the flexibility to release the employee without any cost to you and you won’t be the one responsible for unemployment costs. Lastly, as a cost reduction to a business; bringing on extra staff from an agency is less expensive than paying current staff overtime. The average cost of a new hire is significant and an agency is able to substantially reduce that cost to a business by taking on these extra burdens.  There is no need for you to incur the upfront recruitment and screening expenses that could lead to a ‘zero’ return on investment. 

If any of the above information is new to you, you may be more familiar with the traditional view of staffing agencies.  You understand that work doesn’t stop when someone has to leave on an emergency in the middle of the busiest season or when your employees take vacation; someone needs to always be available. Staffing agencies can fill these assignments in addition to temporary to permanent and direct placement needs; offering you a range from seasonal/short-term work all the way to long-term full-time careers. So if you are tired of long lines of people who you have to interview, or who end up providing the wrong sorts of services, consider a  staffing agency and their employees before you decide on someone else. Your staffing agency is an important partner of your management team, one that helps lead your company to success.

• Inject a fresh pool of expertise into your team, bringing new ideas and approaches to problem solving.
• Optimize your resources budget by paying only when you need the expertise.
• Provides the answer to workload backlogs before they spiral out of control.
• Smooth out the peaks and troughs in staffing demands without a lengthy appointment period.
• A staff experienced at interacting quickly and effectively with in house teams.