Hiring a staffing agency in Ontario can make a tremendous difference to the quality of your hiring process. It can save you time and money. It can help you find better quality candidates. It can help reduce turnover and improve retention, morale, and job satisfaction. In essence, working with a staffing firm can solve your company’s staffing problems.
You’ll only gain these advantages if you work with the right staffing agency in Ontario, however. Inexperienced or unqualified recruiters will do nothing to improve your hiring process.
Not sure the staffing firm you’re looking to hire is right for your business? Check out these telltale signs of a top-notch employment agency. Compare the list against the firm you’re considering working with in order to make the best decision.
1. Great Reviews and Testimonials
You have the internet at your fingertips—use it to conduct a bit of research on the staffing firm’s reputation. Don’t just rely on the agency’s website testimonials, either. Dig deeper and find out what previous client companies and candidates thought of working with the firm. Check out several review websites, such as Indeed and Glassdoor, and look to the company’s social media pages for complaints and compliments.
Put simply, a great firm will have great reviews and testimonials. People will love working with its recruiters. When it comes to the staffing industry, reputation counts for a lot. Stay clear of a firm that has consistently poor reviews.
2. Specialization in Your Industry
Even if a staffing agency in Ontario has stellar reviews, however, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right firm for your unique business.
There’s a lot to be said about specialization. A staffing firm that works within your niche is more likely to have a greater network of qualified candidates with the specialized skills and experience you need.
Working with a niche staffing firm will also allow you to benefit from the recruiters’ in-depth knowledge and expertise of the market—such as salary scales, in-demand skills, and shortages.
3. Years of Experience
We’re not saying a new staffing agency in Ontario can’t produce results, but a firm with decades of experience will often be the better choice. A long-standing agency will have already refined its recruiting and hiring processes, so you’ll be on the receiving end of valuable industry experience. It will also have had the time to build vast networks that you can take advantage of.
4. Seeking Understanding of Your Brand
A mediocre staffing agency in Ontario will only want to know about the skills, education, and experience necessary to do the job right so it can create a job description. A stellar staffing firm, on the other hand, will go above and beyond. Its recruiters will actively seek out more information about your company, will want to get to know you, and will ask a lot of questions.
This will allow them to find the ideal candidates who match your company culture. At the end of the day, this leads to better long-term hires.
5. Transparency
You wouldn’t want to be friends with someone who was always hiding secrets from you, so you shouldn’t work with a staffing agency that isn’t transparent about its business practices either. Though there will be some trade secrets recruiters won’t be able to share, you should feel confident that you understand exactly what you’ll pay and which services you’ll receive in return.
6. Customer Service
A great staffing firm will assign you your very own responsive customer service agent that you can go to for all staffing questions, concerns, and queries. If you have a staffing emergency, you don’t want your calls or emails to be ignored for days or weeks at a time. If a recently placed hire isn’t working out, you need to be able to get a hold of your agent to work through the problems.
Customer service is key—don’t settle for less.
7. Awards
Accolades like the Reader’s Choice Award are a big indicator that the staffing agency cares about the clients and candidates it serves. Awards like these are based on votes and recommendations. If the staffing agency has won many of these awards, you can feel confident knowing it can be trusted for its services.
