3 Reasons Your Business Should Be Partnering with a Staffing Firm
by MindSpring Michael on October 6, 2020 in MindSpring Michael, partner with staffing firm
Hey again,
It’s Michael. How’s your week going? I know you heard from me pretty recently, but I’m dropping back into your feed today with some important info on why businesses should partner with a staffing firm. I know what you’re thinking… this isn’t his area of expertise, right? Yes, you’re correct. I don’t know much about running a business or recruiting and hiring talent. That’s why I thought it might be better if this week you heard from someone with a little more firsthand experience. Meet my friend, Marcus.
Marcus and I met years ago, when we were both still pretty new to IT, working on the same tech team at a large company. Since then, Marcus has worked his way up the ranks and he’s now a Manager with a company here in Chicago. Even though we’re not working together any longer, we still talk from time to time. In fact, he reached out a few months ago when he heard I’d been furloughed and made the switch to contract work to see how things were going.
Recently, I saw Marcus post on LinkedIn about trying to grow his team and the challenge of finding the right people with the technical skills he was looking for. I sent him a message about MindSpring and just a few days later connected Marcus with Casey, Director of Technical Staffing and Consulting. I’ll let Marcus fill in the rest…
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Thanks, Michael, and hello to all you techies and business professionals out there. As Michael mentioned, I’m Marcus. I’ve been working in the Chicago tech scene for about ten years now and I’m leading an IT team responsible for managing and maintaining my company’s entire network. When the pandemic hit and we had to shift everyone to WFH, we realized we’d need more staff to keep up with the tech support and remote systems management. That’s when I started looking for talent who matched our job requirements and company culture. I thought that with so many people out of work, finding quality candidates to join my team would be easy. Turns out, I was wrong.
The whole candidate search process has been overwhelming and I can barely keep up my other responsibilities. Getting connected with Casey and the MindSpring team was a huge relief. We discussed how partnering with a staffing firm could help my company find the right talent and save me time and energy. I’d never really thought about using a recruiting firm before now. I’m guessing maybe you haven’t either. So, here’s what I learned from MindSpring and why I’ll be partnering with a staffing firm for all my hiring needs moving forward.
Quality Over Quantity
Are you searching for someone with special skills or expertise? Need to expand your team on a temporary basis to help manage a seasonal or circumstantial increase in business? These were the first questions MindSpring asked me during our initial meeting, and my answer to both was yes. I’d been struggling to find candidates with the right tech skills to fill the gaps in my team. I also wasn’t sure if these new positions would become a permanent part of the team or would go away with the pandemic (whenever that is…).
Casey explained that they use a multi-step screening process to sort out the best candidates and only present you with the options that are a good fit. For small and medium-sized companies, like mine, this approach makes a lot of sense. We don’t have a huge HR team and I definitely don’t have the time to conduct a full search or deal with calls and outreach from unqualified candidates. A staffing partner, on the other hand, takes care of this step for me, ensuring I get the quality candidates I’m looking for.
Expanded Candidate Access
As a professional with years of experience and a pretty extensive network in the Chicago area, I figured I’d be able to rely on my professional connections to send at least a few good candidates my way. Unfortunately, most people in my network didn’t really understand what skills and experience I was looking for. As a result, the tech talent they connected me with often didn’t meet the job requirements.
What I didn’t realize is that a good staffing agency will have a much more extensive talent network that they can use to find you the right candidates. At staffing firms like MindSpring, recruiters often specialize in specific industries or areas and spend years building connections through networking and referrals. Thanks to this industry expertise you get to work with a partner who not only understands your business, but also what you’re looking for in candidates. Beyond expanded candidate connections and access to passive candidates who might not be actively seeking new opportunities, recruiters have awareness of local market trends, salary ranges, and more. It’s great to know I have a partner that I can count on to help me reach new talent and take the next steps in the hiring process.
Hire Quickly and Test the Talent
When I started searching for candidates, I wasn’t sure if the positions I was hiring for would be permanent or temporary. Lucky for me, a staffing partner can help with both. As Casey explained, hiring contractors can be a great way to expand a team quickly or replace a lost employee. Because temporary candidates are screened, hired, and onboarded by their staffing agency, they’re ready to start right away. The staffing agency also takes care of the paperwork, payroll taxes, workers comp, benefits, and more. I have never been a fan of paperwork or complex HR processes, so this seems like a great deal to me.
There’s also the temp-to-hire option which allows a company to bring on a temporary worker and test their skills to make sure they’re a good fit. If things go well, you can hire them on as a full-time employee. If not, you let them know when their contract is ending, the candidate goes back to their staffing agency, and you can test out other talent who might be a better fit going forward.
After a long conversation with Casey, we decided my best option would be to hire contract tech professionals for now. My team has been overwhelmed with projects lately, so the sooner we can get some additional help, the better. I feel great about the decision, and I’m excited to start working with MindSpring to bring exciting new talent to my team and company.
Are you searching for great candidates for your organization? At MindSpring, we believe partnerships are meant to last and we’re here to help with all your staffing needs. Learn more about our staffing services today!
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