Finding qualified talent is hard enough, especially now with the migration drought and mass resignation trend triggered by the pandemic. This is where a staffing partner can help do the hard work of scouring the market to find talent that fits your organisation’s exact requirements.
The global health crisis brought about a massive shortage on staffing that has affect many companies all over the globe, forcing them to think outside the box and integrate staffing partnerships into their core business strategy.
Staffing partners specialise in connecting organisations in need of talent to qualified candidates, most of the time offering end-to-end services at a lower cost. They collaborate with the company to identify specific needs, lead the search for qualified professionals, do the screening and interviews, and onboard the new hires.
With a global talent shortage, most businesses prefer staffing partners that offer offshore outsourcing services. An offshore outsourcing company aims to meet the goals of an organisation by allowing them to look beyond their borders and to tap the skilled resources in regions across the globe where talent is capable and rich.
If you’re planning to scale amid a global skill shortage, find roles that are not available in your region, or meet surging business demands with additional labour, you need to get the right staffing partner that can help you meet your targets. Here are some steps you can take to find the right one for you.
1. Identify your exact needs
Begin with the question “why?” Create an outline of your objectives and make them clear and precise. Having a list of your exact staffing needs makes the whole process easier and faster. Create profiles of the candidates you need with your managers.
Enumerate the soft and hard skills needed for each position. Identifying soft skills are equally important because they can be a measure of the candidate’s potential to grow within and alongside your business.
You must also identify the time you need to hire, especially for niche roles or the positions that are hard to find. Having a specific list of requirements makes it easier to collaborate with your staffing partner.
2. Look for experts in your field
Some staffing service providers specialise in one or two verticals, like finance and accounting, while some are big enough to help you find talent in multiple sectors.
If you’re looking to outsource talent in just one sector, you may want to find a provider that focuses on that field. But if you’re looking to outsource talent in different sectors, find a partner that has experts in these verticals.
The best staffing partners have vertical experts who lead their recruitment teams. This information is readily available on most of the websites of the provider but making a quick phone or online consultation will go a long way.
3. Find a partner that enables business flexibility
The extent of flexibility a staffing provider offers is important, especially when you are building an offshore team.
Flexibility can refer to team management. Can the staffing partner provide talent that can work in your time zone? Does the provider have a structure that puts your brand, identity, and culture first? Can the provider allow you to have a branded and customised office abroad?
Flexibility can also refer to contracts. Find a partner that can allow you to expand or contract your international team whenever needed without the burden of lock-in or long-term contracts.
4. Study your partner’s metrics
Data can tell you a lot, and there is no harm in requesting the metrics of your chosen partner. When asking for the metrics of your outsourcing partner, you should know what you’re looking for.
Typically, the most important data to look at are the following: turnover rate, placement ratios, placement outcomes, customer satisfaction, and cycle time.
These numbers are not usually seen on the provider’s website, but you can always ask for a detailed report. With this information, you can tell if the staffing provider can meet your required outcomes.
5. Learn about your partner’s service and processes
According to Simpalm, an IT staffing company in USA, “Experienced staffing partners have a large organisational structure, and it pays to learn about how each of their teams can help you achieve your goal.”
While the sale’s team of a staffing partner can answer a lot of your questions, you can make more informed decisions by asking the IT and technology team about how they can secure your people, especially if you’re building a team abroad.
You can also compare notes with the staffing partner’s recruiters to create better job descriptions. Ask them about where they will source the talent and how they will assess if those candidates could meet your requirements.
6. Understand the costing
Find a partner that shares their cost calculations with full transparency. Ask about how the specifics on how they compute the service fees. A good staffing partner can provide a detailed account of the cost and will not charge any hidden expenses for any part of their service.
If you have time, consult your internal accounting team to study and compare the costs. Clarify variables with your staffing partner and ask if additional costs are needed for services that you may need soon.
With the right staffing partner, you can leverage their expertise in any given field and the networks they have built over the years. These networks make finding talent faster than doing it on your own. Most staffing providers have up-to-date data and active talent pools to make the search easier.
Many staffing partners are also equipped with resources to provide your new hires necessary training and upskilling, making onboarding more seamless. Some even offer temporary staffing for businesses that need additional labour during peak seasons.
What most businesses look at when it comes to outsourcing talent are the huge cost savings. Tapping global talent means gaining access to talent-rich developing countries where the cost of living and wage range are significantly lower compared to major economic regions.
Aside from being less costly, skilled professionals in these regions are also highly adaptive. The Philippine workforce, for example, is known not only for their fluency in English but also for their high cultural adaptability, making this country one of the top outsourcing destinations.
A staffing partner will help your business in many crucial ways. They may not always offer a quick fix to your problems, but they are always willing to take time and study your pain points to find long-term solutions. Understanding this will help you foster a healthy and lasting partnership with the staffing provider.
Emapta, one of the leading offshore and outsourcing companies in the Philippines, has been providing staffing solutions to businesses in nearly every industry across the globe for over a decade. We help our partners meet their goals by finding talent that matches their exact requirements while providing a collaborative workflow that allows them to seamlessly integrate their brand, identity, and culture into their teams. To learn more about our services, contact us.
