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Best Practices Temporary Staffing Referrals

On the success of our Tends and Impact blog series – which will continue as we see new trends emerge, the Barton Staffing Solutions blog kicks off a new series of Staffing Industry Best Practices blogs. This new series will focus on best practices that clients, temporary employees, and the industry can adopt to increase the value created through effective use of temporary staffing.

Today’s blog is Best Practices Temporary Staffing Referrals. From time to time, as a client of temporary staffing services, you receive an application for employment from a valuable resource that doesn’t fit your current direct-hire needs. You can put the candidate back out in the job market to be hired by another company. The applicant you see value in, but don’t have an opening to fill, may be hired by a competitor, a situation you likely want to avoid. Alternatively, you can work with your staffing partner to redirect the applicant to submit an application to work for you, through your temporary staffing agency.

Right Way To Refer An Applicant

Temporary staffing agencies value a referral like this, especially when you have interviewed and found value in the applicant, but just don’t have a position they fit at the moment. Call your staffing agency about the applicant. They will need to submit an application for employment with the temporary agency.

To properly become an employee of your staffing firm, they must interview the candidate first, perform all screening, testing and training that they have for their workforce baseline requirements. For Barton Staffing Solutions, we perform and keep a record of E-Verify, drug and alcohol test results, and safety training and testing – at a minimum. Many temporary employees go through additional client-specific screening activities in addition to an interview, and all I-9, and W-4 steps that must be in the system before they can go out on a temporary job assignment.

Technically, this is a legal requirement – a worker cannot work if eligibility is not completed. Risk-wise, no employee that has not gone through the temporary staffing firm’s qualification process is covered in the case of an accident for workers compensation, and your firm may be liable for significant liability, if you don’t hire all employees – temporary or direct-hire – within these legal guidelines. ALL employees must go through the same baseline process in the eyes of federal, state and local labor regulators – which is why clients cannot add a temporary employee to the roster and payroll.

Wrong Way To Refer An Applicant

Of course, don’t refer candidates that are a bad fit – don’t waste the candidate’s time, or your staffing agency’s time. Your staffing agency is not a dumping ground for applicants that are better released completely from your hiring process so they may find a company where their skills are a better fit.

Take Caution, never assume you can hire a temporary employee for your staffing agency.

Clients cannot hire an employee for a temporary staffing agency. Only the temporary agency can hire their employees. Submitting hours for someone not already on your temporary agency’s payroll creates enormous issues for you, your staffing firm, and the employee. Temporary employees must be qualified for eligibility, and may not get paid, and your partner-relationship with your staffing firm will be strained.

Benefit Of A Strong Staffing Partner

By sending applicants you have qualified, but do not fit directly into an available open position, that applicant may fit a need your temporary staffing agency provides. Assuming that applicant is eligible to work and fits all the screening and hiring criteria of your staffing agency. As part of your operation in a temporary role, the applicant learns and becomes more valuable to your company (not a competitor) until that time comes when you to have the opening that fits.

Barton Staffing Solutions has a flexible policy for temp-to-hire conversion that can help you make these subtle, but powerful growth moves for your firm’s operation.

Barton Staffing Solutions is available to discuss how this works. As your partner, we can keep your talent pool skill level high, and support your operations and organizational needs. We want to work together with clients that partner and collaborate to optimize a balanced workforce. If you have an applicant you want to refer, call us today so we can work together. The first step is to communicate. The second step is for the applicant to fill out a Barton Staffing Solutions online application at www.Bartonstaffing.com to be qualified to work.

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