4 Duties a Quality Staffing Agency Should Be Handling for You

Using a staffing agency is an efficient and easy way to secure talent. But what exactly should you be getting from the staffing agency? What does a staffing firm do for you? People may think a staffing firm just matches temporary employees to open positions, but the best staffing agencies spearhead all aspects of the temporary employment cycle. They act as a constant liaison between the parties involved throughout. Regardless of the sensitivity of the task, a staffing firm should be heavily involved. Let’s take a look at some of the tasks a staffing agency should be handling for your company.

1. Hiring the right candidate for the position

A quality staffing agency should have a comprehensive recruiting process. Their specialists work to understand the needs of your company and the skills necessary to do a particular job well. The right candidates for temporary employment are out there—it’s just a question of matching them with the right position. A comprehensive recruitment process uncovers the right candidates and matches them with your need. The onus for this activity should be entirely on the staffing agency constituting the very basis of their service.

2. Firing a temporary employee

Though clearly hope is to have all temporary employees complete their contact with your company to term, this isn’t always the case. There may come a time when a temporary employee needs to be let go. Perhaps the needs of your company have changed and a particular role is no longer needed. Maybe the temporary employee just isn’t the right fit for the position. Whatever the reason, a staffing firm should handle this entire process on your behalf. Beyond communicating the situation to the temporary employee, they should resolve to lead the full transition of your temporary employee from your company, tactfully and efficiently.

3. Screening temporary employees for your company

Before a staffing agency brings a temporary employee to your business, they should be fully screened. This means that full background checks are run to detect any false information the candidate may have given. Beyond protecting your company from any kind of nefarious occurrences, you also get the confidence that your temporary employee is exactly who they say they are.



As part of the screening process, the staffing company should also thoroughly check any professional or personal references provided by the temporary employee. Not only does this go some way to providing assurance that the employee is right for the job, it shows that they completed past work experience at a satisfactory level and are capable of functioning in an office environment. If previous employers were satisfied with the temporary worker, chances are you will be too.

4. Moderating between your company and the temporary employee

As with any employer-employee relationship, there may be occasions requiring some form of moderation. The role of moderator should be entirely handled by the staffing company. If there is any negotiation of salary to take place, the staffing agency should be able to make recommendations regarding reasonable ranges and find quality temporary hires that fit within those ranges. Likewise, the staffing agency should discuss and manage salary expectations of the temporary employee prior to them having any contact with your company. This way, ideas about salary temporary employee and employer are aligned.

Likewise, if any issues arise between you and a temporary employee during their period of employment, the temporary staffing agency should act as the moderator between the two parties. A temporary staffing agency acts as an extension of your HR department—facilitating for ensuring a positive relationship between employer and employee.
Ultimately, a temporary worker is an employee of the staffing agency and needs to be treated as such. The best staffing agencies see the temporary employees they place as ambassadors of the agency itself. They should want to show they have the best workers on their payroll, capable of fitting their clients’ needs. By handling these duties on your behalf, quality staffing firms can ensure a positive temporary hiring experience for your business.

If you’d like to learn more about what a quality staffing company can do for you, contact J & J Staffing today.

Unveiling the Standard Hiring Process

Applying for a job may appear to be a straightforward task to job seekers, but the hiring process involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work on the company’s end. Often, an applicant will be halfway through the hiring process after an initial interview, wondering where he or she may stand. An applicant may or may not be notified if they are rejected, adding further to the mystery and the frustration—why couldn’t the company get back quickly with a simple yes or no? Understanding what the hiring process involves gives you a better idea of what to expect when interviewing with a company for the first time, whether it’s for a small business or a large corporation. To help you understand each potential step, here’s a guide to what happens in the hiring process.

When does the hiring process begin?

The hiring process begins before the initial interview, with a company weeding out applicants that may not fit the initial criteria for a new hire. This process of finding the best pool of applicants is often fulfilled by the human resources department or a dedicated team of recruiters. There are different techniques to sorting through potential applicants, ranging from a simple glance at a resume to a more thorough examination of a cover letter. Generally, only applicants that are an obvious miss-match for the position will be taken out, while the others will move along to the next step in the hiring process.

How long does it take for an employer to respond to your resume?

Potential candidates should be prepared to wait from anywhere between a few days to weeks until they hear back from an employer on their resume submission. While most employers do not want cold calls to their office, emails are a great way for an applicant to follow up with a submission—and to check if the right person read the application. The next phase in the hiring procedure involves the human resources or recruitment staff as they narrow down applicants to candidates that meet the hiring criteria. This may involve setting up email correspondence as well as phone calls to learn more about a particular candidate’s skills or qualifications. The end result may lead to a list of no more than 15 or 20 candidates to proceed on to the interview phase.

Phone interviews

Before the face to face interview, phone interviews may be conducted as part of the hiring process to make sure candidates understand the position requirements and salary expectations. These calls may be as short as 15 minutes, but many times they last longer to gain a better understanding of a candidate’s background. In many cases, the recruiting team will reach out a second or even a third time to have the candidate speak with various executives or members of a department to ensure they are the right fit.

Face to face interviews

The last hiring procedure usually involves face to face interviews, in which candidates meet with key personnel of the company and get a chance to ask further questions involving the position. Typically, there are 5 to 7 candidates in any one round of in person interviews, with some companies opting to use multiple rounds before making an offer. After a candidate has been selected, an offer of employment will typically be made to the most qualified candidate within a few days after the final interview round. If the candidate declines the offer of employment, the company may extend an offer to the next best qualified candidate in line.


When unraveled, the interview process can certainly look intimidating! Luckily, there are always resources available to help land your next job. Depending on your location and industry, it may be worth considering an external solution such as a staffing agency to help you through the various stages of the hiring cycle.