Finding success in the American Staffing market isn’t easy. Your industry is uniquely vulnerable to economic changes, technological innovation, changes in the workforce, and even political changes. 

New opportunities can arise quickly and result in losing your position in the market. For example, look at the shift to remote work, which has permanently altered candidate and client expectations. As a staffing agency, you must adapt to support remote work, or you may lose some of your best talent. 

Similarly, California’s AB5 rule, enacted in 2020, re-defined how staffing agencies could use the independent contractor classification by introducing a new qualification test. This forced many agencies to adapt quickly or risk becoming non-compliant.

Ultimately, success in the staffing industry is not easy, but intelligently tapping into the $200-plus billion market can lead to significant results. 

But what does an intelligent approach look like? Tom Erb, the president of Tallan Resources, a specialized staffing agency consulting service, has four key principles and three more counterintuitive lessons that can drive success even during periods of uncertainty for your agency. 

What are the Key Principles of Growth?

Erb believes that there are roughly five fundamental guiding principles that can help guide your staffing agency to success, no matter the situation it faces; here are a few key ideas you can adopt for your agency: 

Leverage New Technology 

It may be tempting to keep your workflow as “low-tech” as possible. A low-tech approach saves costs and generally allows you to stay in the comfort zone of more traditional staffing techniques. 

However, think of it this way: if your competitor uses an automated CRM and increases the efficiency of their talent placing process by 10x, their clients will have experienced much better service in their minds. This can lead to your staffing agency losing its market position.

A few new tools that have changed how staffing agencies operate are worth embracing.

The first is a specialized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). These tools provide a centralized platform for staffing agencies to manage client and candidate interactions, facilitating streamlined communication. Ultimately, a quality ATS and CRM improve the experience of your candidates and clients and save you time. 

Similarly, embracing recent developments in AI and automation can make your operations much more efficient. AI and automation tools can automate repetitive tasks like resume parsing, follow-up communications, and interview scheduling. This can save your staffing agency a lot of time and lead to you making placements much more quickly.

By embracing new technologies, your staffing agency can enhance client and candidate experience. 

Clients benefit from faster placements and better-matched candidates, while candidates experience a more responsive and transparent recruitment process. This leads to higher satisfaction rates and fosters long-term relationships, ultimately creating a more reliable source of income.

It’s worth conducting regular assessments of existing technologies in the market to determine their effectiveness and where you could improve. You could even ask past clients and candidates about areas they’d like to see improved when engaging with your agency to identify processes you might need to automate. 

Focus on Relationship Management 

One often overlooked part of growing a staffing agency is nurturing the relationships you already have. Focusing solely on acquiring new business and talent and neglecting your current clients' candidates can be an easy mistake. 

However, if your current clients and candidates feel like they’re simply an afterthought, they may quickly become unsatisfied. 

As a result of this process, you can quickly find yourself taking one step forward but two steps back, as you will continually lose clients. Building sustainable success is much more difficult as you constantly need to replace rather than add to your income source. 

A high-quality client relationship can be measured by two main aspects of your service: service quality and how your interactions make clients feel. 

Aside from the bare necessities of quality service, like speed and delivery for your clients, you should aim to deliver tailored services that address specific client needs. In practice, this means treating every placement like a unique opportunity instead of something that you need to fill as quickly as possible.

For example, if you’re a staffing firm specializing in tech development, you should aim to understand the technical specifications a client needs before placing talent. If you place a developer who codes in HTML to work on a Python-based project, your client will likely be unsatisfied.

This personalized approach increases the likelihood of client satisfaction and, thus, client retention. It encourages referrals, as satisfied clients are more likely to recommend services to others, helping you to grow. 

When interacting with your clients, you should be a trusted advisor rather than a simple service provider. Thoroughly understanding a client's business objectives and industry dynamics will make your clients feel you truly care about solving their problems rather than simply making a placement. 

Similarly, regular and meaningful interactions with candidates are crucial for keeping them engaged and informed. Consistent communication helps build trust and ensures that candidates feel valued throughout the recruitment process. 

This can help retain your top talent for high-value placements. Utilizing various channels, such as emails, phone calls, and social media, can help maintain this engagement effectively.

Be Flexible

Flexibility is an essential component of operating a successful agency. It enables agencies to address the shifting demands of clients and candidates. Practically, this means handling different contract staffing models, such as project-based or temp-to-hire models. This allows you to shift and provide a service relevant to your clients. 

For example, if your staffing agency can handle an on-demand staffing model, where you make placements quickly to handle unexpected or seasonal increases in demand, you open yourself up to a lot more business. 

Your staffing agency should have the infrastructure in place to handle multiple models of contract staffing, which it can adapt to meet varying demands. 

Use data to make decisions. 

Data-driven decision-making is key to ensuring sustainable growth for your staffing agency. Analytics can help you gain insights into operational performance, client needs, and market trends. This enables you to develop proactive strategies to exploit new and emerging opportunities. 

There are some key metrics that staffing firms can keep track of to optimize their performance. 

Things like Time-to-fill, which tracks how long it takes for your agency to fill a position, can provide insight into how your agency performs compared to your competition. The average Time-to-Fill is about 15 days across the staffing industry, so if yours is lower, you know your candidate pipeline and internal processes are robust. However, if it’s higher, you can identify it as an area that needs improvement. 

Similarly, tracking your client retention rate or the number of clients who return to you for placements versus those who don’t can help you understand whether your service needs improvement. 

As a staffing agency, you should also track industry and market shifts. A report by the Florida Hospital Association projected that by 2035, the state will face a shortage of nearly 60,000 nurses. 

Statistics like this can help you identify potential niches where demand will be high, and competition will be low, enabling you to take advantage of opportunities that will drive your staffing agency forward. 

What are Some Counter-Intuitive Lessons? 

While there are some key and relatively intuitive principles staffing agencies can use to ensure their success, there are some counter-intuitive takeaways that many agencies overlook. 

Embrace Remote Staffing Models

Limiting your staffing operations to simply your local area can be tempting. However, with the advent of remote work and advances in communication technology, it’s now possible for you to make placements all across the country. 

By removing geographical constraints, staffing agencies can access a broader talent pool, leading to better candidate matches and quicker placements.

For example, a staffing agency in Texas may face significant competition. To overcome this, it could begin making placements in Georgia. 

According to the Staffing Industry Analysts, Georgia ranks fifth in the U.S. for temporary staffing employment demand; however, it has a much lower number of staffing agencies, meaning they’d face less competition.

Look at Your Existing Talent First 

Leveraging and optimizing your staffing agency's existing talent pool can be key to sustainable growth. In practice, this means staying up-to-date with your talent and understanding how their careers are developing. 

For example, you can update your internal profile if they’ve recently received a new qualification. If a client needs this qualified role, you have a talent you trust and are ready to fill it. 

Consequently, your staffing agency will have a faster Time-to-Placement as candidates in your database are often pre-screened and familiar with your process. This leads to quicker placements and minimizes the time and expense associated with recruiting fresh candidates.

Invest During Economic Downturns 

During periods of uncertainty, it’s natural for staffing agencies to try and shrink costs. Often, sales and marketing initiatives are the first things to go. However, a proactive approach during challenging times can position your staffing agency for success.

By doubling down on sales and marketing efforts, firms can position themselves for rapid recovery and even gain market share when the economy rebounds. Moreover, you may find niches that are resistant to more broad market slowdowns to push your staffing agency forward. 

How Can Ascen Help Your Staffing Agency Grow? 

Ascen is a modern back-office platform and employer of record (EOR) service tailored for staffing agencies. Ascen for staffing agencies looking to expand their operations and enables agencies to streamline operations to ensure compliance.

Streamlined Operations with Technology

Ascen integrates Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to enhance efficiency. Features include automated resume screening, interview scheduling, and real-time analytics, allowing agencies to save time, improve client and candidate experiences, and scale operations seamlessly. 

Support for Flexible Staffing Models

Ascen's platform supports various staffing models, including temp-to-hire, project-based, and on-demand staffing. Its dynamic talent pool management and compliance features ensure agencies remain agile and legally secure in market conditions. 

Strengthened Client and Candidate Relationships

With client and candidate portals, communication tools, and personalized insights, Ascen helps agencies nurture strong, loyal relationships. Tailored services and consistent engagement foster trust and drive retention. 

Data-Driven Growth Strategies

Ascen provides actionable insights into performance metrics like time-to-fill and client retention. Predictive tools identify market trends and opportunities, enabling agencies to use data to improve efficiency and plan for the future. 

Nationwide Expansion Capabilities

Ascen's remote work capabilities allow agencies to tap into talent across the U.S., targeting high-demand, low-competition states. Remote placement tools simplify virtual hiring and onboarding processes, opening new growth opportunities. 

By leveraging Ascen's comprehensive platform, staffing agencies can streamline operations, adapt to market demands, and achieve sustainable growth in the competitive U.S. market. 

If you’d like to see how Ascen can help your staffing agency grow, please book a demo here.