Every few years, talk of an economic slowdown begins to fill newspapers, workplaces, and board rooms across America. While the warnings of an economic downturn are nothing to ignore, an experienced business leader has learned the value of standing strong.
In the words of Ariel Capital Management Founder John Rogers, Jr., “The most important thing is to stay the course — not to get shaken out of the market during a difficult time.”
Double down on what’s best for your company, and you’ll come out on top. So, what’s best for your company? It all starts (literally) with recruitment. According to Frontline Source Group, 90 percent of all companies in the United States use a staffing firm for workforce recruitment.
Outsourcing to a staffing firm is a timesaving, cost-cutting measure that creates a flexible, high-quality workflow and can help your business ride out an economic downturn.
Save Time
The fastest way to find the right people is with a staffing firm, which can save you time by doing the “heavy lifting” of talent acquisition. According to Techfetch, the average IT staffing firm places between 300 and 500 contract workers each year. These firms use various measures to maximize the efficiency at which applicants are vetted for employment.
From technical assessments to in-depth reference checks, staffing firms save you time by vetting quality candidates before you ever ask for them. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so it’s essential that you’re able to move quickly and find the right people for the job, fast.
Save Money
Outsourcing talent acquisition can be an excellent cost-cutting measure for your business. Between advertising vacancies, screening candidates and conducting job interviews, making a full-time hire can cost thousands of dollars per employee. With a staffing firm, you can dodge that cost escalation and instead pay a singular, fixed placement fee.
Contract work also comes without the costly overhead and onboarding associated with full-time employment. Staffing firms cover contractor healthcare, retirement, and PTO contributions.
As for onboarding, just tell the staffing company what you need, and they’ll make sure their candidate shortlist includes only contractors with the necessary qualifications. That way you’re not spending your own money training new hires.
A penny saved is a penny earned. And in an economic downturn, you probably want to keep your change.
Gain Flexibility
Another benefit of using a staffing firm is the added flexibility. Your recruitment needs can change quickly in a poor economy, as can the job market.
Sometimes you need to scale up, while other times you may need to downsize. You might start outsourcing for a few months with staff augmentation, and then decide to scale back to in-house employment just a few months later.
When you accept contract work through a staffing firm, you can get exactly what you need for exactly as long as you need it. And if, for any reason, you decide to bring more employees in-house, “contract-to-hire” gives you the chance to essentially “try before you buy.”
In an economic downturn, that kind of flexibility is invaluable. No matter what comes your way, you stay in control.
Guarantee Quality
Cost-cutting measures are well and good, but quality is king. At Technology Partners, we can promise you better talent for an equal rate to our competitors. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been recognized as a leader among IT staffing firms. Our reputation for quality and service is proven by our recent honor of ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Award® for client and talent satisfaction.
Economic downturns are hard for everyone, but if we work together, we can come out on top. Don’t let economic uncertainty stop you from achieving your goals. Let us know how we can help, and together, we can improve the world.
