Choosing a staffing agency: How to hire the best…at hiring

The first step in outsourcing hiring is hiring the outsourcer—are you choosing the right staffing agency?

You want an agency that’s more than just a vendor—you want a partner.

Because people are your organization’s greatest asset—and you’ll be relying on the staffing agency’s expertise to maintain a “pipeline of the preferred.”

Now where to begin…

The easy part

It starts with an evaluation of your immediate needs.

• What aspects of hiring are you farming out? What aspects will stay in-house?
• What are the positions you hope to fill?
• Are they temporary? Are they permanent? Are they contract to hire?
• What’s the cost? One-time? Ongoing? Are there conversion costs if you decide to hire the candidate as your employee?
• Who will be the agency’s contact person? (An important consideration, because questions always arise)

The tough part

So far, the analysis has been simple—identify your own needs and ask the staffing agency about their terms. But then comes the hard part—you need the lowdown.

• How do they screen candidates? What’s their ready talent pool? If they must recruit a new candidate, what are their methods?
• Which industries do they handle?
• Do they dig deep—evaluating resumés, screening at length (potentially getting others on the team involved to further vet the candidate), contacting references?
• What’s their turnaround time—can they move fast, even on high-level positions? Keep in mind, speed isn’t always the key consideration. Are they sending you resume after resume, not at all meeting the qualifications of the role, just to prove they are ‘doing their job?’ Always remember, quality over quantity.

In short, are they good and ethical at what they do?

You’ll want to get references—from companies they’ve worked for, from candidates they’ve placed. And this may not be easy.

At Garnet River, we choose to be upfront with our business partners. We want you to be informed at every step; no surprises. You have questions? We have answers—for your preliminary inquiries, and for all your staffing needs. Hiring the best starts with us.