When staffing agencies sales and recruitment organizations are not strategically and tactically focused on the activities and behaviors that fuel the highest ROI, the firms short and long-term financial performance is adversely impacted.
The Problem With The 80/20 Rule
A common threat that leaves the staffing agency vulnerable is the 80/20 rule. This happens when 80 percent of the revenue is being derived by 20 percent of the firms existing client base, which subsequently often equates to 20 percent of their internal sales and recruiting staff who are responsible for driving these financial results. This means that 80 percent of the staff responsible for revenue generation from both, the sales and recruiting organizations are not performing at the productivity levels needed to achieve and sustain forecasted revenue goals. This also typically indicates that 80 percent of the agencies monthly revenue and profits are derived from 1-3 customers, which leaves the firm at the mercy of these few customers.
No matter how significant your value proposition, what differentiates your staffing firm from the competition or your tenure in the industry, not linking sales and recruitings performance jeopardizes your firms success.
Staffing management teams need to ensure that their organization is always focused on new business development, streamlining their marketing messaging, providing the recruiting organization with access to the talent pool needed to succeed in their recruitment efforts and that these two organizations responsible for revenue generation are in lock-step in their sales and recruiting objectives. Only when this occurs, can they consistently deliver on expected performance, productivity and meet or exceed customer expectations.
7 Strategic Staffing Solutions: Accomplishing the Highest Return-on-Investment for the Staffing Firm Owner
- Assess and determine those weaknesses in the sales and recruiting organizations where greater alignment should be tactically focused on the highest potential, most immediate and profitable growth opportunities that are closest to the money.
- Strategically identify market conditions and opportunities for high-growth to infuse scalability for professions that are in high-demand.
- Re-deploy in-demand contractors where the same type of resource can be utilized at the end of a contract assignment to many customers in the same market in advance of assignments ending.
- Streamline and optimize the end-to-end sales and recruiting processes by implementing and adopting proven repeatable workflows that maximize gross margins.
- Apply sales and recruiting competency Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on meaningful behaviors that reduce waste in various processes to increase the bottom line.
- Align compensation with strategic growth goals so that On-Target-Earnings (OTE) are commensurate with those behaviors required and financial reward is not only achieved by 20% of the organization.
- Leverage technology that allows the staffing firms sales and recruiting staff to compete more effectively and efficiently.
The misalignment of sales and recruiting activities, coupled with poor performance behaviors have been proven time and again not to drive profitable and sustainable financial growth. Only when the execution of strategic recruiting solutions by a staffing and recruiting agency occurs religiously, are they able to achieve their annual financial forecasts.
Interested in learning more? Check out Are Your Staffing Agency Sales Reps Making Free Money?for additional strategic recruiting solutions that will reduce waste and maximize your ROI.
