For many business leaders, staffing agencies are a necessary evil; there, I said it. Like many other outsourced business processes – marketing, IT support, accounting – finding the right partner is absolutely key; not having done so is perhaps why so many organizations have had what they’d consider a ‘bad experience’ with a recruitment company.

Well, things are changing – particularly in the world of recruitment. The level of service is higher and, for businesses like us here at NLG, we’re proud to be showing our clients the true value of a real employer-staffing agency relationship. In fact, scratch the word “relationship” – we’re building partnerships. And here’s what they should look like.

An extension of your HR team.

When you work with a staffing agency like us, congratulations are in order; you’ve found a partner with whom your goals and aims are now fundamentally aligned. That is to say, we too want to find the absolute best fit for whichever position or positions you might be hiring right now – much like your own HR team, our aim is to find your next star player, secure their employment, get them aboard and then keep them engaged. Our success depends entirely on your own.

This is not an ‘us and them’ scenario. It’s ‘we’ – as in, we are invested in the best possible outcome for your business. So, instead of thinking of your staffing agency as a necessarily evil, consider us the HR team you never had; or, a handy extension of the one you do have.

A tool at your disposal.

Much as you would with your own team, don’t be afraid to delegate to us. We staffing agencies are certainly not one trick ponies; when it comes to anything employment related, it’s likely that we can help. And if you’re not sure whether it falls under our scope of capabilities? Ask!

Your relationship with a staffing agency should go beyond receiving the odd resume here and there and interviewing a few candidates a week. We’re here to earn back your time which, as a business leader, could be spent on other business-critical tasks. So, if you don’t have time to write your job adverts in the best way possible? Delegate. Need certain paperwork or admin completed before you’re able to move forward with an interview? That can be on us, too. Unsure how to get the best out of your new hire by making a solid onboarding schedule? We can help.

A two-way conversation.

You’ve hired us because we have insights, knowledge and experience at our disposal which you or your team may not personally possess – so let’s talk about it.

Ask us questions and listen to the answers – after all, we’ve gotten to this point by having asked a thousand of our own, to businesses just like yours over the years. Don’t be afraid to ask for our opinion, and trust that you’ll receive an unbiased one – if you need proof of this, refer to heading “an extension of your HR team” of this very article. The employer-staffing agency relationship, whilst service focused for sure, should be a two-way conversation; we’re here to both ask and answer, whether you’re concerned about market conditions, interested in hearing more about a candidate’s background, or simply struggling to come to a decision about making a hire for one reason or another.

Partnering with a staffing agency should be a process which truly feels comfortable, beneficial and driven; driven towards mutual goals, whether that’s finding the top talent to join your business, improving your payroll process or myriad other ways in which we can help.

We’re proud to be leading the way in doing exactly this, and would love nothing more than to show you what the employer-staffing agency relationship really should look like.

Get in touch with our friendly, experienced team of consultants in Charlottetown, or drop President Andrew Lavoie a LinkedIn invite to start a conversation today.

Any views or opinions expressed within this blog do not necessarily reflect the official policy of  NLG. Any points made are for general information only, and none should be relied upon as a basis for making any business, legal or other decisions. Neither NLG nor the author can be held responsible for any reliance placed by you on any information or material within this article.