The staffing industry has become one of the most competitive industries in the world today. What’s often overlooked by staffing professionals is that, like our clients, staffing professionals have a choice too. In other words, you do not have to take on every new company that is looking for staffing help. You can be selective in your staffing partners! You should qualify your next staffing customer/partner, just as they qualify you. Many of the headaches that arise in the staffing industry can be avoided entirely by being selective with your staffing partners. You may be wondering what the best way to be selective with your partners is, and by what metrics to gauge potential clients. Read on to learn the top 3 things to look for in your staffing partners.

Being a Selective Staffing Partner in Terms of Qualifying Your Next Client

When qualifying your next client, consider these things below before taking on new business.

Is the prospective client contact likable, professional, and cooperative?

If the person you are talking with seems incorrigible, you might want to pass on choosing them as a staffing partner. Staffing can be stressful; you want to make sure you have a partner that you can work with when times get challenging.

Is it the right job?

When learning about your prospective client, make sure that your team has the capacity to fill those types of jobs. If they are looking for a forklift operator, and you have dozens of qualified forklift operators in your database, keep going! If they are looking for tightrope walkers, you should not take on that business. The last thing you want to do is make a promise to fill a position that you cannot fill in a timely manner. The quickest way to lose a client is to overpromise and underdeliver. Being selective in choosing staffing partners pays off by creating long-term, mutually beneficial arrangements, and those arrangements have to come from a place of alignment.

Additionally, you want to ensure that your staffing channels match what the company needs. If they’re aiming to staff employees that tend to skew younger, you’ll want to ensure that your mobile staffing software solution is in order. Likewise, if it’s a healthcare company, you’ll want to ensure that you’re using healthcare staffing software that qualifies the right people for the role, no matter what that role will be. Play to your strengths, and you’ll find clients that align with them.

Is it the right pay rate for the job?

There is nothing worse than signing a new contract with a client and presenting an order to your team for a skilled position with a below-market scale pay rate. In these cases, it’s unlikely that the team is going to be able to fill the position, but it will also create tension within the team and with the client. When this happens, you are setting up everyone involved to fail. Instead, negotiate the pay rate and share a wage analysis with your prospect. If the prospect does not get on board, you should likely pass on the opportunity.

Synopsis

Do not compromise your brand and the talents of your team. Make sure the next staffing partner business you secure is the right job, with the right partner, at the right pay rate, and at the right location! When you selectively secure business, you create an opportunity with 3 wins. The client wins when you successfully fill the position, your associate wins when they find a satisfying job, and finally, your team wins when you secure another happy client. Being a selective staffing partner helps to make all three of these wins far more likely, more satisfying, and more profitable than taking any client that comes along.

Ready to create more wins by selectively securing business? Manage your clients, candidates, and job orders through an all-in-one staffing software solution, Ultra-Staff EDGE. Schedule a demo to see how it can help your business processes and help you secure more wins.

Written by Bob Pettke

Bob Pettke is the Chief Sales Officer at Automated Business Designs, developers of Ultra-Staff EDGE Staffing Software. Bob is also the host of The Staffing Buzz Network, an original Ultra-Staff EDGE podcast.