There are many ways that you can structure a staffing agency. The goal is to manage your resources to profitably place qualified candidates with your clients. Your processes and employee structure impact how well you achieve that goal. Specialization of roles can help improve your agency’s performance. In this 3-part series, we’ll discuss the staffing process, staffing agency structures, and best practices.
Organizational Structures
Organizing a staffing agency can be tricky. The agency should focus on the macro steps outlined in part one of this series. Functions such as finance, HR, and marketing should support this main revenue-generating activity. An agency’s recruiting function can be structured in the following ways:
- 360 Degree Recruitment
- 180 Degree Recruitment
- Recruiter and Sourcer
360 Degree Recruitment
The concept here is that the recruiter owns the whole process. They are responsible for hunting new clients. They must qualify job orders from clients and fulfill those orders. The recruiter is also responsible for the long-term success of the candidates they place and the clients they serve. In this structure, each recruiter acts as a self-contained operating unit. They live and either thrive or struggle based on their own energy and network. The recruiter does not have a lot of oversight or guidance from management.
180 Degree Recruitment
As the name suggests, in this setup the recruiter only deals with half of the above process. They source new candidates, qualify them for the job, and guide them through the interview process. “New Business Development” and “Job Order Intake” are no longer the recruiter’s responsibility. Dedicated salespeople focus on finding new accounts, nurturing relationships, and driving new business. Account managers deal with the client and manage the job order intake process.
Recruiter and Sourcer
This structure further separates tasks and responsibilities in the agency. The recruiter becomes more specialized and the role divides into sourcer and recruiter. The sourcer is in charge of creating a long list of candidates that meet the client’s requirements. They must also conduct the initial engagement with those candidates. They pass qualified, interested candidates to the recruiter who guides them through the rest of the process. This separation of tasks allows the recruiter to focus on selling the candidate on the opportunity and preparing them to succeed in the interview and the role.
In the next and final part of this series, we’ll share best practices and recommendations based on our first-hand knowledge and our client’s experiences.
