The Truth About Staffing Agencies and the 4 Lies You’ve Been Told

Staffing agencies are nothing new. In the United States, they date back to the turn of the 20th century and in Europe, the idea dates back to the 17th Century! The movement did not start catching on until about the 1940s, during World War 2. With so many men off to fight, many positions were left unfilled. Staffing agencies were there to fill in the gaps.

With such a long and storied history, many myths have begun to circulate about staffing agencies. While some of these myths may have once held true, that is no longer the case. The workplace has changed in the past one hundred years and staffing agencies have changed along with it. Let’s take a look at four of these lies professionals have been told about staffing agencies and how they no longer hold water.

Staffing Agencies Only Provide Unskilled Labor

Staffing agencies have come a long way in the past few years. The short-term, unskilled work is no longer the sole focus of most agencies in the 21st century. The modern staffing agency often works with well-trained individuals. The positions they fill are as diverse as secretaries, construction workers, and substitute teachers. Some staffing agencies even provide candidates for white-collar positions such as computer programmers, accountants, creative professionals, and marketing agents. If there is a need in any industry, a staffing agency can fill it.

The Talent Pool Cannot Be Trusted

The hiring process has never been an easy one. With more and more employees leaving the workplace, recruiting teams have been hard-pressed to fill vacant positions. This has led to overwork and burn-out across multiple industries. Companies want to fill these vacancies fast, but they are concerned about the caliber of the employees that may come their way if they use a staffing agency.

The truth is that many staffing agencies today have a more rigorous approval process than your average HR department. Oftentimes candidates will not see a company’s desk until they have undergone a full background check and all of their documents are verified. Staffing agencies review resumes and other documents with a fine-tooth comb. Many agencies even hold phone interviews. If anything is there that makes a candidate look unscrupulous or under-qualified, they will never be suggested to your company.

All Placements are Temporary

One of the fears some companies have about hiring using a staffing agency is that the employee they bring on will just be temporary. They will have spent time and money training them only to lose the employee in 90 days. This is especially worrisome if the employee shows themselves to be a great fit for the company.

While many of the employees that are hired from a staffing agency are only contracted and will be with a company for a short period of time; companies have options to retain candidates they like. Many staffing agencies offer a chance to “buy-out” especially skilled employees. A buy-out fee is a set amount of money paid by a company to “buy-out” a temporary employee’s contract and hire them full-time. The “buy-out” fee helps staffing agencies recover the expenses they incurred in the recruitment process.

Staffing agencies typically charge hourly fees for placing temporary workers. A portion of the fee goes to the worker, and a portion goes to the staffing agency. This is how they make their profit. During a "buy-out" the agency evaluates its cost per worker and uses the buyout fee to recoup some of its costs from the company "buying-out" the contract.

At Frontline Staffing Group, we do something different. Rather than offering a flat rate fee no matter how long your temporary employee has been working with you, we offer a first of its kind, diminishing buy-out plan.This means the longer one of our placements work for you, the less expensive it will be to buy-out their contract. The first drop in price happens after the employee is with you for 90 days and the price continues to drop thereafter. So if you have found our placement to be a perfect fit, then you may find our price to be just right too.

Staffing Agencies Are Expensive to Use

In the age of the Great Resignation, companies are spending more money than ever to fill empty positions. One myth about using a staffing agency to fill these positions is that doing so is cost prohibitive. The truth is these agencies can actually help companies save both time and money.

Agencies know their industries and are experts at finding the right fit for every position. They can do so quicker and with more procession. Going through them also means your HR department will not be wasting their time and resources gathering and then wading through a pool of talent. It also means less overtime paid out to employees used to fill in the gap open vacancies left behind.

A staffing agency typically receives a fixed percentage fee based on the compensation received by the candidate. Typically, the employer pays the fee, not the employee. Permanent jobs typically pay 15–25% of the first-year salary. A temp or hourly worker's fee may range from 25% to 100%+ depending on the job and engagement model.

At Frontline Staffing Group, we charge nothing until our candidate walks through your door and begins working. This means that you are paying nothing for the time and effort to fill your position. With our previously discussed diminishing buy-out plan, our prices just can’t be beat. You’ll save time and money!