As temporary workers become a larger part of the workforce, planning for the cost of these workers becomes a significant consideration for any business.
Companies can best handle these expenses by negotiating a contract that works for everyone involved – your company, the staffing firm and the workers.
When working out an agreement, one key thing to remember is that whatever pricing structure you arrive at with the staffing firm will directly affect the amount the service pays the workers who will work at your site. You want to make an equitable arrangement for your company, but if you demand rates that are under the market average, you will probably not get the best people, but workers who may not have the level of skills that you want and/or need.
You can find out if the rates your staffing firm is charging are reasonable by comparing them with the rates of other staffing services. But you need to be aware that the rates you pay will change depending on the number of contingent workers that you use and the kinds of skills you need. The more workers you use, the more leverage you will have negotiating with the staffing agency, and so the price will be lower.
However, if you are using workers with very high-level, specialized skills, the rates will be higher, and there is usually not much margin for negotiation because these workers are in demand.
The most effective way to control expenses for your contingent workforce is to first determine what your criteria are for the workers you need. You should determine exactly what your needs are before getting involved in buying negotiations with a staffing firm. If you will be using a large number of contingent workers, you should look at what kind of standards will be used to select workers. For example, one criterion might be the ability of an agency to provide second-shift workers..
Then, do some research to find the agencies that have workers that will meet the criteria you have. Your company’s human resources department generally will do the preliminary work to identify qualified agencies in your area.
You also will need to factor in that the staffing firm(s) you choose will raise their rates occasionally.
Need help with staffing your Portland, Chicago, Tacoma, Seattle or Lake Oswego business? Then contact the Opti Staffing Group. We’ll help you find great employees for your temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments. We look forward to hearing from you.