Yet, it’s easy to see how partnerships can become lopsided, when business values are not evident.
To have a good business relationship with your staffing agency, your partnership must be based on real mutual benefit. Clients benefit from a flexible workforce that can respond to the demands of varying production or work load. Clients also benefit by not having the human resources management costs for that portion of their workforce provided by a staffing agency partner.
Staffing agencies benefit by offering a skilled temporary workforce to their clients for a reasonable and profitable fee, providing those benefits to their clients.
Unfortunately, the business folklore is full of the lopsided win-win lose-lose partnerships. In staffing, it’s no different. Driving markups down make the partnership lopsided. It’s bad for the employee, and its bad for the staffing agency partner.
Competing on price is not a business value.
Driving price down to impossible levels will eventually be unsustainable. Unsustainable cornerstones make poor foundations for long-term effective partnerships. Focusing on price over business goals and results will result in unintended costs to the client’s bottom line – usually in terms of production misses, quality, time to delivery and ultimately customer satisfaction.
It’s always possible to find a staffing agency that will undercut your current rates. When presented with that option, ask: “what they are not doing for you?” Ask: “what they are not doing for the employee they send you?” Something fell out of the business equation.
Making people and operational sacrifices is rarely aligned with business goals.
Clients will achieve better business results and satisfy their own customers better by knowing how their staffing partner’s business works.
Food for thought today. Great leaders build win-win partnerships. They understand that economic and regulatory pressures they have, also affect their staffing partner – and ultimately the business results they produce.
Since 1998, the cornerstone of Barton Staffing Solutions business values has been to:
- Listen to customers.
- Lead with safety, quality & prompt service.
- Treat employees and clients professionally.
- Invoice and payroll reliably with unequaled accuracy.
- Build long-term trusted partnerships through honesty and integrity.
Barton Staffing Solutions’ five core values are the foundation we use to build great partnerships that are mutually beneficial in terms of business results for our clients and Barton Staffing Solutions, as well as a fair wage to our employees for a days work.
What are the values upon which your current staffing agency is built?
Next time your staffing agency account manager calls, ask them this question. The answer should be something aligned with your own corporate values, not “price.”
Call us today to learn more about how Barton Staffing Solutions is aligned with your company’s values. We value the opportunity to share how we are focused on your goals to produce business results through a balance partnership.
