Efficiency is the foundation of success in the staffing industry and optimizing efficiency is the only way to scale.

Staffing agencies struggling with inefficiencies face reduced profitability, employee dissatisfaction, lagging fulfillment, and an array of other issues.

Staffing-specific technology, however, have brought solutions tailored to some of the biggest challenges agencies face. Below is an overview of four problems you can cross off your list with the right staffing agency software.

Onboarding employees has been a perennial drag on staffing agency efficiency.

It’s a complicated process. Hourly employees are often recruited to work on multiple assignments for multiple employers. It’s especially challenging when temp employees get multiple offers from several agencies. The most compelling offers, employees say, are those where the onboarding experience is seamless, engaging and fast.

One of our staffing agency clients reports that if a recruiter takes more than two hours to complete onboarding, the employee will not stick with the job.

Streamlining the onboarding experience will give you back several hours of time every week that you can put to better use.

With the staffing agency software in place, temp employees can complete the onboarding process on their mobile phones, via text, and with no app to download. Paperwork is complete in 10 to 15 minutes, and recruiters get automated status alerts so everyone stays on the same virtual page.

Big jobs can create big inefficiencies. When hundreds of employees are generating thousands of transactions, timekeeping complications are inevitable. Every payroll processor, administrator, and manager has had the experience of having to review, validate and unravel timekeeping errors that range from missed punches to meal violations.

Technology solves this problem with “management by exception.” When designed from the ground up, great systems know the rules and automatically generate alerts when rules are violated.

We hear frequently from staffing firms who tell us how much time and worry this saves by enabling them to address violations before they become a larger issue.

Meal violations can seem unavoidable and are especially frustrating because they carry the added risk of litigation.

The burden of addressing violations rests with the staffing agency. Yet, no matter how vigilant you are, meal violations can slip through the process. This can cost agencies thousands of dollars in penalties.

Technology helps in two ways. The first is by monitoring employee clock-out time via a mobile app. If lunch breaks must be at least 30 minutes, the app ensures they are never shorter.

Secondly, technology automates the time card process by identifying, calculating, and automatically updating employee cards if violations occur and ensuring they are addressed quickly. Meal-related penalties are mitigated, if not completely avoided. A complete audit trail identifies updates and/or changes made to the employee’s time card for added peace of mind.

Reporting is the heart of critical decision making and performance monitoring. Yet no matter how many reports a system offers, new options and formats are an ongoing need.

Because customization is what makes your staffing firm unique, look for staffing agency software that includes a robust and customizable report writer. The setup should be simple, allowing any user to create custom reports by format, layout and data. It should also be fast, requiring no more than a few minutes to set up and tweak for the report style that works best for your company.

Reporting capability should include the ability to schedule and distribute reports to the right people at the date and time of your choosing.

For example, you may need a daily attendance report. Your custom report can be developed and programmed for delivery to key team members first thing each morning. Report writers can deliver on the information you need, quickly and seamlessly.

Staffing firms must navigate fast-paced and complex information challenges in a people-based industry. Thankfully, few complications are unique, and effective technology has evolved to address them.

If you want to maximize productivity, consider what staffing agency software should be doing for you. When you put automation to work, less mistakes are made, your teams offer better service, onboarding is a breeze, and high-risk areas of the business are mitigated.

The right staffing software can help drive revenue as well: the less time you spend on problems, the more time you will have to land more profitable placements, work with larger clients, expand into new vertical markets and geographies, and to scale your agency. If you have questions about how to take advantage of timekeeping, job order management, payroll, billing, and other staffing automation, contact one of our digital staffing experts today.