Statistics show that the U.S. is facing a significant talent shortage. In January 2022, the Department of Labor reported there were 11.3 million job openings, 6.5 million hires and 6.1 million separations.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the ManpowerGroup revealed that talent shortages have more than tripled in the past ten years, with as many as 69% of employers struggling to fill open positions.
Employers and recruitment professionals praying for a swift change of circumstances will likely end up being disappointed; a new report from Korn Ferry predicts that more than 85 million jobs could go unfilled by 2030, simply because there are not enough skilled people to fill them.
It’s no surprise that this candidate-driven talent market is placing enormous pressure on recruiting firms and staffing agencies. Professionals in this industry are having to work extra hard to attract, recruit and retain top contractors and keep their clients happy.
In this article, we explore how effective redeployment plans can help staffing agencies weather the ongoing talent-shortage storm. We’ll also investigate the role continuous monitoring has to play in supporting such a strategy.
What is redeployment and why does it matter?
What happens to a staffing agency’s contractors once they finish up on their current assignments – do they simply disappear from the workforce, never to be seen again? Seems unlikely. More often than not, they’ll start hunting for a contract elsewhere.
Redeployment describes the process by which a staffing agency places its contractor into a new position once their current placement ends. Doing so makes perfect sense for several reasons.
For one thing, redeploying existing talent is far speedier and far cheaper than the process of trawling through job boards and social media platforms to unearth qualified talent or waiting around for them to respond to job listings and advertisements.
Even when agencies do manage to identify qualified candidates, recruiting them is easier said than done. The attraction, interview, screening, and onboarding process is timely and costly and there’s always a chance the best talent will be snapped up by a competitor – particularly in today’s talent-driven climate.
Redeployment allows staffing agencies to maximize their databases, hold onto their top talent, increase revenue, reduce time-to-fill and keep their clients happy. Plus, it’s advantageous to the contractors themselves.
While these workers obviously value the freedom, large pay checks, flexibility, and variety that come with the lifestyle of a contractor, there is much to be said for securing a reliable income stream and consistent employment. When staffing agencies promise redeployment opportunities and consistently deliver on these promises, contractors will be better equipped to manage their finances and plan for the future, ultimately feeling more secure.
Redeployment opportunities also serve to boost the happiness and wellbeing of contractors, and not just because of the increased job security. By investing in redeployment strategies, staffing agencies affirm that their contractors are doing great work and make them feel truly valued for their contributions. Not only will this motivate contractors to work harder, but they are far more likely to continue engaging with a staffing agency that has shown them commitment, loyalty and dependability.
Despite these extensive benefits, many staffing agencies are failing to implement effective redeployment strategies. Indeed, one survey found that firms are failing to deploy anything from 70% to 95% of their talent.
Other research shows that 70% of contractors go unplaced when a job finishes and almost 50% of contractors who go unplaced immediately after an assignment have no record of being contacted about another role ever again. That’s an awful lot of missed opportunities and revenue for both staffing agency and employer.
So what can agencies do to improve their redeployment rates?
How can staffing agencies boost their redeployment rates?
There are several ways for organizations to improve their redeployment rates. This includes:
- Communication – Staffing agencies should commit to engaging with top contractors before, during and after each assignment. This helps to maintain meaningful relationships and reassures contractors that their agency will continue to find suitable placements for them.
- Data analysis – Staffing agencies have access to a wealth of information via their contractor database. Doubling down on their efforts to properly analyse this data, and ascertain the skills and experience at their disposal, can vastly improve redeployment rates.
- Automation – Staffing agencies may not have the time or resources to nurture each contractor with consistent and personalized communications. But the rise of sophisticated HR and recruiting technology promises to address this challenge. These solutions enable staffing agency professionals to automate their contractor outreach programs and track important metrics such as engagement and response rates.
Continuous monitoring, a process of performing post-hire screening of a select group of contractors, is another key component of a successful redeployment strategy.
What is continuous monitoring and why is it important?
If staffing agencies want to move their contractors efficiently and compliantly from one placement to the next, they’ll need to consider the onboarding and screening requirements of their clients.
Employers require all sorts of different pre-screening requirements, be it credit checks, criminal background checks, drug and health screening, driving history, I-9 form verification, and social media background screening. The more people in a staffing agency’s talent pool, the more employers served, and the broader the geographic scope of the agency footprint, the more complex this process can become.
When screening is only conducted at the point of hire, or at set intervals after initial hire, there can be significant delays in deploying or redeploying a contractor. This is far from ideal given that new placements often begin immediately after the former one finishes, and neither the contractor nor employer will be keen to wait around while piles of paperwork are filed.
By implementing a continuous monitoring program for its contractors, which often focuses primarily on criminal background checking, staffing agencies can better protect their brand and reputation, prevent legal issues, create a safe environment for both contractors and clients and increase the redeployment of contractors from one role to the next. Rather than performing background checks as and when needed, a continuous monitoring program provides real-time updates on the status of an agency’s contractors, allowing them to act when necessary and ensuring contractors are ready to assume a new position at the drop of a hat.
Continuously monitoring programs like Accurate’s offer staffing agencies and other employers alike screening solutions that can be developed and implemented to meet the needs of the employer. These programs can help give staffing agencies the peace of mind as they redeploy contractors to their next assignment.
Get in touch with Accurate today to learn more about implementing a continuous monitoring screening program.
