Choosing the right technology platform for your staffing firm is a critical decision. Get it wrong and it can have detrimental effects through disrupted work and inefficient processes.
If an off-the-shelf solution does everything you need it to, given they are the fastest and simplest solutions to deploy, then this is what you should move forward with. But there will always be a point at which you reach a limitation with a solution like this. So if they don’t meet the requirements of your staffing firm, then you will want to evaluate solutions that provide more flexibility.
Buying cycles for a new recruitment Front Office and Middle Office can take firms 6, 12, sometimes 18+ months to fully map out the current state or ‘as is’ and future state or ‘to be’ requirements and then evaluating solutions against those requirements. When this is the case, it’s vital that you not only obtain the relevant information to make the right decision for your firm, in a timely manner, but also in a way that helps you build the business case to assist your other internal stakeholders involved in the evaluation process.
The team at MPloyee has spent years helping staffing firms make the best decision for them and walking them through the evaluation process. We’ve taken that experience and created a high level guide to help you navigate your assessment so that you can identify the best solution to manage your high-volume contingent staffing agency.
What information do you need to make a decision?
Making the right decision for your staffing firm relies on having a clear understanding of how the technology aligns with your business goals. What are the objectives, what are your priorities from the system?
Furthermore, what functionality do you need, does it need to integrate with other systems, what specific tasks are essential? Once you have a detailed scoping document, you’ll be able to rule in, or out, certain systems. Enabling you to cut down on research time before you start looking at solutions in depth. It’s also worth defining the sign-off process before undertaking any research to ensure a swift decision and understanding from those involved what information they need to make a decision.
Why might you need an Enterprise solution?
As mentioned above you could just buy an off-the-shelf solution that’s ready to plug in and go. But for many the inability to flex and adapt the technology platform means it’s not the right long-term solution. In those instances, it’s time to look at an Enterprise solution.
Enterprise solutions, such as Mployee, can be configured to your specific needs and situation helping you to invest not only in the right technology platform for your staffing firm right now, but to also set you up for the future.
It’s essential to do your research when looking for a new staffing solution. These are the factors that you need to consider when looking for a new technology platform:
Financially sound and established global partner
When you invest in a technology platform you want to know that the company is financially sound and planning for the future, both theirs and yours. Understanding their financial position, growth plans and geographical reach and support will help you evaluate their capabilities and longevity.
Data security
When you're storing personal data you need a system that’s going to keep it safe. That’s why you need to dig into the infrastructure underpinning their solution and how that impacts their ability to keep your data secure.
Implementation and support
You can have a top-level system but if it can’t be implemented in your set-up then it’s pointless. It’s imperative to find out how the solution will be implemented, how data will be migrated, who will oversee the project and then what support is on offer going forward.
User experience
Are you clear on who will be using the technology platform and what they’ll need it for? The user experience of your tech stack is crucial for its successful implementation. Map out how different users across your business will access it, view data, collaborate and fulfil their daily tasks.
Integration
For most staffing firms their technology platform must integrate with their emails, calendars, telephony, job posting, time collection & processing, finance, payroll, and numerous other elements of their tech stack. Can the solution you’re looking at do that? Can it deliver results smoothly with no delays, no crossover and no duplication? Systems that don’t work seamlessly together cause unnecessary delays, disruption and dissatisfied staff.
Daily tasks
Data entry and other operational functions is an area that many systems fall short on. Ensuring your chosen vendor can support your daily tasks and varied requirements around the Middle Office will ensure your technology platform is adopted in your staffing firm and creates the efficiencies it needs to.
Mobile enabled
Do your recruiters, sales or operational personnel access your platform via mobile devices? Or is that an area that you want to build in to future-proof your investment? Check that the solution you’re thinking about investing in is mobile enabled, even if you don’t need it now, it’s an area that you might need a few years down the road.
Configurability
It’s essential to establish how flexible the platform is for any changes that you may want to make in the future. Does the vendor include any ongoing support to allow for this or is it something you’ll need to budget for?
Reporting
If you rely on regular reports, share those with the vendors to ensure they can deliver the same, or better, reporting functions. Asking for demonstrations of different reporting set ups will help you to evaluate how easy it is to report within the solutions you’re assessing or whether it’s something that you’d need an external tool to do.
Search functionality
Searching candidates and matching them with specific opportunities is a critical part of your technology platform so a robust search function is a must. Map out what characteristics you use to search for candidates currently and check that each vendor is able to reproduce them.
Automation
Automating repetitive, manual processes is a straight-forward way to save time and minimise the risk of human error. Does the system you’re looking at allow you to automate processes? How flexible are the vendors in allowing you to do this? This is an area to think about for not only your current situation, but also what you’d like to be able to do through the platform in the future.
How to evaluate which technology platform is right for your staffing firm?
The functions we’ve mentioned are critical to making the right decision. But part of choosing the right technology platform goes beyond the technology itself. It’s about choosing a trusted vendor who can bring your vision to life and become a long-term partner, supporting your firm on its mission and enabling you to grow and succeed.
Mployee has spent years building the most flexible and scalable solution, on the Salesforce platform, for managing a contingent workforce. Now we are working on creating content to assist Staffing firms looking to review their technology. What information would you like to see from us, before even speaking to someone in sales?
