Busy executives understand that hiring is a time-consuming, complicated process that requires a lot of patience and effort to get the results you need. Rather than pull talent from their assigned jobs (which keeps the business running smoothly) to handle a task that isn’t part of their traditional skillset, many managers choose to utilize a staffing agency instead. The agency deals with the pursuit and vetting of potential candidates, producing highly qualified individuals who meet the needs of the company. At the same time, the company is a good fit for the individual’s goals as well, creating the foundation for an excellent working relationship. The staffing agency does the heavy lifting, and the business focuses on its business.
A staffing agency fills important positions in a time-sensitive, cost-effective way. But when it comes to actually choose one, there’s a little more to the story.
Types of Staffing Agencies
Staffing agencies can be categorized into two general groups: generalized and specialized. As the name implies, a generalized staffing agency is a one-stop-shop for a variety of job openings across different fields. They need to search for candidates of almost every type because their clients could have any type of opening. Using a comparison to a retail store, they need to have a little bit of everything on the shelves because they have no way of knowing what a customer might want.
In contrast, a specialized staffing agency is used by businesses looking for a specific type of job candidate. They deal with a smaller subset of open positions, and search for and target a certain kind of candidate for their database. Their customers know what they need and know that only a specific type of candidate will fit the bill. Using the retail store analogy, a specialized staffing agency is the place customers visit if what they need isn’t likely to be found on the shelf of a common store. They need something specific, they need it quickly, and they need experts to help them find it.
With these two options, it’s no surprise that more companies are turning to specialized agencies than ever before. Part of that trend is due to a maturing business environment. A decade or two ago, there wasn’t the same need for certain business technology positions (and many didn’t exist yet). As businesses grow, operations become more complex and competition increases even in specialty markets, the need for specific types of hiring has gone from luxury to necessity. And hoping that a generalized agency has exactly what a company needs isn’t the best strategy when time and cost are critical factors. It makes sense that candidates with specialized skills are more likely to be found in abundance at a specialized agency.
There are several areas where a generalized staffing agency simply cannot complete with a specialized one.
Understanding the Position
Unless a company needs to hire its entire staff at once, they probably have specific positions that need to be filled, either for the first time or as a replacement. In those cases, it makes sense to work with an agency that is focused on filling exactly those types of jobs.
When prospective candidates look for a career, they have specific skills and abilities that come from their education, certification, or training. Candidates in every field don’t all look for jobs in the same places. They aren’t interested in the same types of companies, they don’t respond to the same wording and copy, and they aren’t attracted to the same opportunities and benefits. When looking for the right candidate for your job opening, you need to be able to speak directly to their needs and goals. And a generalized agency simply doesn’t have the resources to attract the best of every type of employee across all fields.
In contrast, a specialized agency doesn’t need to speak to every candidate looking for every job. They look for very specific types of people who are looking for very specific types of positions. They know where they look for positions, they know how to attract them, and they have contacts in many areas of education and with working talent across that particular field. Their database isn’t a catch-all for whatever job openings occur. But for that specialized field, their database meets the criteria. For that type of job, they have better candidates, and they have more of them.
Time and Money
With that kind of expertise, a specialized staffing agency can find the right candidate faster, getting them into your company and working for you in a shorter period of time. The business spends less time with the position open, making it more productive and able to take advantage of the employee’s skills earlier. Saving time means saving money, and it also means saving the frustration of waiting around for a good candidate. Finally, getting it right the first time creates less turnover and saves money that would have been spent on restarting the entire hiring process over again, and eventually retraining a new candidate.
Imperium Knows Business
Imperium Data is an industry leader in specialized staffing for business technology talent. Our contacts, experience, and commitment to service ensures that your staffing needs are not just met; they’re exceeded. Our skills and expertise enable us to find excellent candidates quickly, giving you leverage in your job search and allowing you to focus on your business while we find the right people to fill your positions. And we’re here to advise and consult at the beginning of the process and follow up afterward to make sure everyone is satisfied. For more information and to answer any questions, please use our contact page.
