An Employer's Guide to the Different Types of Staffing Services

Filling Vacant Positions

If you’re an employer that’s been struggling to fill vacant positions, it might be time to work with a staffing agency. While staffing agencies provide a very useful service, it can get confusing because they often have different specializations. 

Finding staffing agencies for your company can be difficult. Here are a few tips on the different types of staffing services that these firms provide. 

Staffing Service Solutions

What exactly are staffing service solutions? Employers may have a hard time filling an open position or staffing an upcoming project at their company. This could be due to market conditions or the employer not having an in-house HR department. That’s where staffing agencies can help. 

Each agency has their own niche and types of staffing services, but in general, staffing agencies will work to find talent for your company. Their staffing services may include marketing the job, drawing on their network of contacts, and sometimes even assisting with the onboarding process. For a busy company that needs to focus on reaching business goals, this can save time and energy.

The Different Types of Staffing Services

Bear in mind that this is not exhaustive, and not every staffing agency will offer each type of staffing service mentioned below. These types of staffing services are commonly offered and should be familiar to employers in need of staffing assistance. 

1. Temporary Help

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of workers participating in temporary work increased by 223,000 in February 2023 to 2.8 million. This number could increase if the labor market remains tight. 

As the name suggests, this type of staffing service solution is to provide temporary staffing to companies in need. This may depend on the industry, but in general tends to happen around busier times of the year to respond to consumer demand or large projects. 

2. Trade Specific

There are so many different trades out there that it’s impossible to know them all. That’s why many staffing agencies specialize in a particular niche to offer more tailored staffing services. They know the jobs and qualifications of their specific trade and usually have long relationships with the types of workers you need. 

3. Personnel Placement

This is known as “recruiting” and is more permanent than a temporary help. You provide the description of the job or project plus your ideal candidate, and the staffing agency will handle the rest. They’ll market the job on social media, websites, and mediums to target skilled trades. Then they’ll interview applicants and it’ll be up to you to select the final one to bring aboard. 

4. Onboarding 

Harvard Business Review recently highlighted the importance of the onboarding process for retaining new hires. Once you’ve selected a candidate, some agencies will also offer an onboarding staffing service solution. They’ll handle the onboarding paperwork, qualification, and sometimes the finances like payroll tax. Like other staffing services, offloading the onboarding process can allow you to focus on other business goals. 

5. By Project 

Some staffing agencies may specialize in a particular trade or skill. Others may specialize in a specific project, such as construction, facility maintenance, or manufacturing. They’ll help supply labor, skill, and management for the projects of their expertise. They’ll often have a portfolio of projects they’ve worked on in the past and can be a real asset if your company is considering one in their wheelhouse. 

There are many staffing agencies and even more types of staffing services. It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed. By knowing what services are commonly offered you can begin to develop a plan for working with an employment agency. 

When you’re ready to talk to a staffing agency about overcoming your workforce challenges – contact us.