You’ve been doing your own recruitment with success for a while – here’s why you should maintain a relationship with a recruitment and staffing firm:
We know the market has been a bit of a rollercoaster lately, and that this trend is set to continue and even intensify with the US Tariffs currently rolling out. With more people entering the job market and companies bringing recruitment back in-house, it might seem like you’ve got everything under control. But when it comes to temporary, seasonal, or contract positions, there are some compelling reasons to consider partnering with a staffing firm. Let’s dive into why this could be a critical strategy for your business.
- The Economic Landscape: A Balancing Act
Over the past couple of years, as employment rates have loosened up, many companies have had success bringing recruitment back in-house for key, full-time roles. You may even see higher retention rates due to the economic uncertainty around tariffs, and employees being more cautious about job changes. As US tariffs on many Canadian goods roll out, companies are scaling down their workforce while they work to adapt and manage the turbulence. This is where a staffing firm can provide the flexibility you need to quickly adapt to changing demands.
2. The Recruitment Challenge: Time is Money
We’ve heard from many in-house hiring managers about the headaches caused by AI-generated resumes and automated submissions on platforms like Kijiji and Indeed.ca. These features have resulted in an increase in unqualified candidates slipping through the cracks, wasting valuable time for your in-house recruiters and interviewers. With ABL as your staffing partner, you’ll have access to a fully paid suite of recruitment, advertising, and marketing tools to identify and manage these issues efficiently, ensuring that only the most suitable candidates make it to your desk for consideration.
3. One To Three Month Projects & Seasonal Work: An Administrative & PR Headache
Does your company require varying volumes of staff to manage fluctuations in operations or demand? Managing the hiring and lay-off process for temporary or seasonal positions can strain smaller or over-stretched HR teams, both in onboarding and lay-offs. A staffing firm can handle recruitment, screening, onboarding, and payroll administration for these roles, allowing your team to focus on core business activities.
ABL helps manage candidate expectations and maintain communication throughout, supporting your ability to meet client expectations and deadlines. Our coaching improves retention and productivity, while our expertise in off-boarding minimizes negative reviews that can impact your company’s public image.
A trusted staffing partner like ABL can efficiently and cost-effectively manage all these tasks. Our skilled staff and investment in cutting-edge tools streamline skill-matching, interviewing, testing, onboarding, and payrolling, ensuring we identify the best candidates for your positions. Our systems make generating and processing ROEs and T4s easy, helping you avoid disruptions and difficult conversations with exiting employees.
2 Recent Case Studies From ABL:
ABL to the Rescue: Let’s take a look at 2 real-life examples of ABL customers benefiting from our service in turbulent market conditions:
1. Scaling Up:
One of our clients, a mid-sized manufacturing company, faced a sudden increase in demand for their products due to a new cross-provincial supply contract. Their in-house HR team was already stretched thin, and they needed to ramp up their workforce quickly. They turned to ABL for help.
We tapped into our extensive database of candidates with experience in the manufacturing sector and used our incredible search engine optimization (SEO) and automated candidate engagement tools to quickly identify, engage, and screen potential hires. Within hours, we had a team of qualified workers ready to go. The client was able to meet their production deadlines without overburdening their HR team, and they were thrilled with the results.
2. Scaling Down:
Another client, a large contact-centre focused on the financial sector, faced a pause in one of their service lines due to tariff turbulence, affecting a team of customer service and front-line technical help desk roles. While optimistic about a resolution, they were concerned that their skilled and highly rated representatives might become unengaged or unavailable during this interim period. ABL presented them with a plan minimizing the impact of the pause in operations.
ABL designed an ongoing communication and engagement plan using automated candidate engagement tools to maintain regular contact with this candidate pool. We offered short-term employment opportunities at other client companies to help them maintain income, and provided free online training and webinars to enhance their skills. This approach has proven successful in previous economic slumps, allowing us to return the majority of candidates to their original employment and saving our customers time, aggravation, and expense when ramping back up: The sign of a trusted and experienced staffing partner invested in your long-term success.
Conclusion: The Smart Choice
While in-house recruitment has its advantages, partnering with a staffing firm for temporary, seasonal, or contract positions offers flexibility, efficiency, and expertise. In a volatile economic environment, this approach can help companies navigate challenges and optimize their workforce management.
