What does hiring the wrong person really cost you? More than you think. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that hiring the wrong entry-level employee costs between $5,000 and $7,000 after three months. Mis-hiring a supervisor that makes $20,000 per year will cost you about $40,000.  Hire the wrong $100,000 per year manager and you’re out about $300,000. Add to this a decrease in employee morale, lost business and dissatisfied customers and you’ve got every hiring manager’s nightmare. So how can you find the right person for the right job? Staffing agencies can get the job done when it comes to meeting your hiring needs. Staffing agencies dedicate all their resources to finding your perfect fit– after all, this is what they do, 100% of the time.

“We know our clients’ time is valuable,” says Kelly Strukoff, Associate Vice President of StormStaff, a San Diego-based staffing firm. “We make it our priority to ensure that our clients get the hiring resources they need on time without sacrificing quality.”

In an economy where time is money and money is scarce, hiring managers can’t afford to make the wrong hiring decisions.  They need to be confident that the position will be filled by the right person the first time around. Working with a staffing firm can save companies time and money and can offer peace of mind, but how do staffing firms guarantee they have the right candidates for your open position?

While some staffing firms take a “one size fits all” approach, many firms work diligently on building long-term relationships with their customers. This allows them to learn the ins and outs of their customers’ businesses and fully understand their hiring needs, down to the smallest details. “At StormStaff, we personalize every aspect of our service because no two clients are the same,” says Strukoff. “We want to know as much as we possibly can about the client – their specific needs, work environment, business goals, everything. This helps us find the right candidate for them instead of just sending over piles of wrong-fit resumes. It’s always quality versus quantity for us.”

In-depth recruiting is also an essential function of staffing firms. Finding the right candidate for a client’s open position means screening, interviewing and evaluating a pool of candidates based on the needs of the client to find a mutually beneficial match. “Candidates are our clients too,” says Alex Silva, a StormStaff Account Manager based in Fort Lauderdale. “We do our best to market their skills and try to find their next career step, not just a job.” Not all staffing agencies invest a high-level of time and energy into the careers of their candidates, but those that do have no doubts that their customers will be fully satisfied with their services. Strukoff adds, “At StormStaff, we are so confident in our candidates that if there is any performance issue at any time, we’ll make a replacement without charging the client for the first week of the transition.” That’s a guarantee that any hiring manager will be happy to hear.

Thanks to our fellow Tweeters @CareerBuilder and @CBforJobSeekers I came across an article that reveals almost 25 percent of job seekers plan to use a recruiter in the next quarter, according to CareerBuilder’s quarterly Staffing Supply and Demand Outlook.

Other relevant information from the study reveals (as taken from CareerBuilder):

• Of those not currently using a staffing firm, more than half indicate they would if they were still searching three months from now.
• 34 percent of job candidates in the technical, IT and scientific sector continue to be most open to utilizing a staffing firm in their job search.
• 13 percent of hiring managers say they expect to use a staffing firm over the next three months.
• Of those managers, nearly one-in-10 expect to utilize a staffing firm to help in their search for full-time employees in the upcoming months.
• Six percent of hiring managers expect to utilize a staffing firm to help fill temporary or contract positions in the upcoming quarter.

StormStaff can help in your job search. We work with our professional candidates in the administrative, clerical and financial fields. If you are interested in searching our job postings, visit our website. You’ll also find more information about our services to help get your job search off to a successful start!

For more information on the survey results, visit The Work Buzz: the CareerBuilder.com Job Seeker Blog.

On Wednesday, Staffing Industry Analysts released survey results asking staffing companies how often candidates decline an assignment. According to the results, the median candidate decline rate is 11 to 15 percent. Those representing the healthcare industry reported the highest decline rate with a median in the 21 to 25 percent range. Meanwhile, business services ranked low on the spectrum, reporting a rate of decline at only 6 to 10 percent.

According to the report:

“Staffing firms primarily serving the business services… report the lowest rates of candidate decline.”

Another article in BusinessWeek reported that the business and professional services industry currently holds the second highest number of available jobs employers can’t fill. It seems companies are actively seeking qualified candidates but can’t seem to recruit the qualified talent or fit for their organizations.

So, what could all of this mean for staffing companies specializing in business services and the clients they serve? Well, it certainly means that both sides stand with much to gain.

First off, research shows that candidates specializing in business services aren’t likely to decline a position offered to them. Using a staffing company with a high level of expertise, resources, commitment and personal approach will certainly achieve favorable results.

Secondly, companies say they are facing trouble filling positions and claim they are “actively recruiting but so far have been unable to fill.” If these organizations use expert staffing companies, they will receive assistance from recruiters who know exactly what they are looking for and are true experts in finding the right fit for the right position. Recruiters find the high-quality, top talent candidates that companies want and need. Organizations that use staffing companies can save valuable time and money in meeting these demands.