Working with an MSP (Managed Staffing Provider) is pretty much like a derby race for staffing agencies. Each winner has an advantage of a few seconds and it can make a difference whether clients are being supplied the quality candidates they need. Their success all depends on the resources they have to get them to the finish line.
Here are three important factors to consider when your staffing business is racing to win:
An Agency Up Design
In the staffing industry, MSPs and Vendor Management Systems (VMS) usually go hand-in-hand to fill and manage a company’s contingent workforce needs. However, it’s no secret that VMS has been leaving a sour taste in the staffing agency’s perspective. In our opinion, most systems operate on a “down design” where most of the authority is concentrated on the technology and it trickles down to the staffing managers and client hiring managers, often creating interference to filling job orders, assigning candidates, and building a transparent relationship between agency and client. In turn, an “agency up design” gives each individual staffing agency the power to have control and transparency over the system they are using to fill job orders for clients. Furthermore, the WurkNow design also helps fill orders, making it a true “agency up design”.
“It’s all about consistency”, WurkNow CEO Sammy Singh states, “As each person fills a job order, it blanks out the spots that have been filled already and, it doesn’t allow you to put anyone in there that may have come through another agency. That saves them a lot of time too.”
There is less interference because agency managers will be able to receive orders and assign candidates using one system. This strategic design saves agencies time and creates less friction within the process, fostering a better relationship between agencies and clients.
Identification
We’ve mentioned real-time functionality quite a few times. As recruiting technologies become more sophisticated, the demand for seeing data in the fastest way possible has also grown. Being able to receive real-time status and identify data is important for staffing agencies to be able to go through work processes more efficiently. One of the most important requests we’ve received from our clients is the need to know the real-time status of job orders.
Who’s filling? What is my part in it?
This is important because if a client gives them an order for ten workers and another agency has filled three, they can move quickly and supply the other seven that are needed. Second, agency managers also need to know if someone is coming through another agency which causes an unnecessary overlap and delay. Having access to real-time status provides the necessary check and balance for all parties involved to identify delaying factors and move through the work process quickly.
Universal
A VMS is usually a stand-alone system and it’s quite common for agencies to use multiple systems to onboard candidates, enroll workers to a time clock, or manage timekeeping. However, there are many positives when an order and timekeeping platform is eventually integrated into a cohesive, universal system. This is particularly helpful for agency managers to ensure their workers have a seamless experience which in turn ensures they show up to client sites as expected.
“Usually, VMS programs are for larger businesses with many buildings and many agencies. Universal order management and timekeeping platforms eliminate the confusion,” Sammy Singh shares, “Workers can walk in, use any time clock, and we can identify where they’re at, so they are not wasting time trying to figure out which agency they belong to and what they’re supposed to do.”
The Victorious
Embracing automation technology in job order management is a must to eliminate human error and ensure that quality candidates are onboarded to clients. However, this goes beyond automating processes. Technology must empower the people who go through these processes, whether they be agency account managers, client hiring managers, or the workers themselves. When we keep technology tools human-centric, everybody wins.
Contact us to learn about staffing and job order management software
