Seven mistakes to avoid when choosing an IT staffing firm
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Increased employee turnover and growth in demand for skilled IT manpower makes it important for organisations to partner with the right IT staffing company.
However, before signing on the dotted line when hiring a professional staffing service provider, the organisation must be clear not only about its manpower requirements but also about the capabilities of the staffing company. Mistakes in both can prove to be costly and time-consuming to amend.
To have a fruitful partnership with the staffing company, it is important to avoid a few common mistakes while finalising the firm. The observations will hold for both flexi staffing and permanent hiring.
Experienced but not enough expertise: While experience cannot be ignored, it will be a mistake to assume that decades of staffing experience translates to expertise under all circumstances, especially in a rapidly changing business and technological landscape. Experience and success must intersect to make a partnership worthwhile.
It hardly needs to be mentioned that technology has been evolving at an unimaginable speed and a professional staffing services company must be conversant with the changes and adapt itself to emerging needs. It must be familiar with current trends to be able to meet the requirements of clients. On its part, the client organisation must take care to choose a firm that’s experienced, forward thinking in its approach and has had successes in the recent past.
Large and famous firms are not always the best: A large IT staffing company may have better resources in terms of financial security, talent pool and marketing but it may not be the best in terms of fit. Unless the staffing company has enough personnel who understand and focus on the IT industry, the partnership is doomed to fail. In fact, a smaller professional staffing service provider may have fewer resources but more focused personnel who are driven to succeed. Besides, smaller firms, staffed with skilled people, may have less bureaucratic hoops to get through.
Similarly, the recruiting organisation should not give in to the urge of gravitating towards well-known names without doing sufficient research. Established old companies may have expertise in certain areas but if those areas do not match the client’s requirements, it’s going to be rocky.
Too much focus on technical requirements: A staffing company that only looks for candidates with the best technical skills is on the wrong path. The best IT staffing company will understand that suitable candidates are more than a collection of technical skill sets. In order to find such candidates, a professional recruiting company will make the necessary efforts to understand the ins and outs of the hiring organisation, such as company culture, growth opportunities, team dynamics, responsibilities of the selected candidates and much more.
- Insufficient communication: Communication is critical for any partnership to succeed. An IT staffing company that communicates too much or too little is a problem. Not enough communication is perhaps the bigger problem. The hiring organisation must ensure that the staffing company is willing to provide sufficient feedback on a regular basis. Active communication will enable the recruiting company to source, vet and polish the best candidates for competitive roles. The best IT staffing companies will be transparent about their recruiting strategies and willing to answer all relevant questions.
Low cost is not always preferable: While it is very tempting to pick an IT staffing company based on lower costs, it may not be the best decision. A company may be offering a cheap deal for a reason. And that may not be in the client’s favour. It is best to shop around and get multiple quotes.
Culturally incompatible: Cultural compatibility hinges on both the client and the professional staffing service provider sharing similar business ethics and values. A difference of opinion in this area can lead to many hiccups in the long-term. If the staffing company is not making enough of an effort to become familiar with the client’s working style and culture, it could be a red flag.
Transparency about the screening process: It is important for the hiring organisation to have a sufficiently clear idea about the processes used by the staffing company to screen possible candidates. Transparency will set the tone right from the beginning. Professional staffing companies will have a system to check candidate references and understand why a candidate is looking for a new opportunity. It must be capable enough to screen eligible candidates completely before the organisation connects with the candidates.
It cannot be denied that an organisation’s relationship with its staffing firm decides the kind of candidates who will shape its future. An organisation must be proactive and work on finding the most suitable staffing company at a time when it’s not in a crunch. It must carry out the necessary research.
Careernet’s outlook on staffing is not operational but transformational. It adopts a problem-solving approach to find the right people for a client’s evolving business needs. Careernet FlexiStints, Careernet’s professional staffing solution, offers instant services for specialised talent for short-term engagements. Our staffing solutions are custom-built for specific projects as well as to support employers on an ongoing basis.
Write to us at sales@careernet.in for a demo.
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