| The future success of staffing and recruiting firms | | | | Strategically, new innovations in recruiting and staffing |
| depends on their ability to leverage constantly | | | | software can help you modernize your business |
| evolving technology to meet the changing needs of | | | | operations to compete more effectively, improve |
| their clients. | | | | your service delivery and create more satisfied |
| The staffing and recruiting industry responded to the | | | | customers. So, if you haven't upgraded your |
| near-meltdown of the economy in 2008-2009 with | | | | software in the past three-to-five years, your |
| cutbacks and retrenchments just as their clients | | | | business may be at a serious competitive |
| have. Now, with the economy beginning to grow, | | | | disadvantage. |
| staffing and recruiting firms are facing a very | | | | TWO: New staffing and recruiting software can help |
| different business landscape. Instead of a rapidly | | | | you cut operational costs |
| expanding post-recession economy that drove high | | | | Over the past several years you've done everything |
| levels of temporary job hiring and recruitment, | | | | you can to cut your operational costs as a survival |
| economists and business leaders are pointing to | | | | mechanism. There's nothing left to cut - or is there? |
| fundamental economic shifts that imply a longer, | | | | If you're like many staffing and recruiting firms, you |
| slower growth pattern. | | | | have an enterprise system comprised of server |
| The challenge for staffing and recruiting firms is how | | | | hardware, software, networks and internal IT |
| to be successful in this new "slow-growth," | | | | support staff. You may have had the system for |
| highly-competitive environment. Significantly then, it's | | | | some time - it's paid for and works OK - but if so, |
| important that you make investments that will | | | | you're missing out on potential savings. You could |
| support the strategic success of your staffing and | | | | outsource all or most of your IT infrastructure and |
| recruiting operations. Chief among these, your | | | | put the savings in your pocket. |
| investments in business technology can give you the | | | | Managed services programs (MSP's) and software as |
| biggest advantage and payback. In fact, | | | | a service (SaaS) deployment of your staffing or |
| seventy-two percent of senior managers place a | | | | recruiting software offers a well-proven means to |
| higher value on the role of information technology | | | | reduce your IT hardware and support costs and |
| because of the economic crisis, according to a | | | | deliver improved system performance, security and |
| December, 2009 Accenture study of more than 550 | | | | reliability. Further, outsourcing your IT infrastructure |
| executives. | | | | offers you a means to reduce or repurpose your |
| With that in mind, here are the top three reasons for | | | | internal IT support staff for further cost-savings or |
| you to invest in staffing and recruiting software | | | | other business purposes. |
| information technology now. | | | | In short, any up-front costs associated with investing |
| ONE: New staffing and recruiting software can give | | | | in new recruiting or staffing software deployed via |
| you a competitive advantage | | | | MSP or SaaS may be quickly recouped with a |
| As Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive of | | | | predictable, manageable fixed cost for the services |
| General Electric Co., recently said, "If you keep | | | | provided. |
| investing in technology and innovation in the worst of | | | | THREE: New staffing and recruiting software can |
| times, your competitive advantage grows." | | | | position your firm for success |
| Immelt's statement is backed-up by a recent survey | | | | The economy IS improving. "The Accenture High |
| by the American Express OPEN Small Business | | | | Performance Workforce Study" released in July of |
| Monitor. It's based on a nationally representative | | | | 2010 noted that more than half (54 percent) of large |
| sample of more than 700 small business owners | | | | U.S. businesses that reduced staff in the past 12 |
| managers of companies with fewer than 100 | | | | months plan to rebuild their workforces to |
| employees. "Technology can dramatically increase | | | | pre-recession levels within two years. However, their |
| your productivity, resulting in more output without | | | | hiring will be much more skill-strategic than in the past. |
| necessarily adding to your staffing expense," said | | | | "A lack of relevant skills may present a hurdle for |
| Anita Campbell, Editor and Founder of Small Business | | | | companies as they position themselves for growth," |
| Trends, LLC. "It's no coincidence that of companies | | | | said David Smith, managing director of the Accenture |
| that plan to spend, technology is the biggest | | | | Talent & Organization Performance practice. |
| category of planned investment expense (39 | | | | "Companies need to rethink how they equip |
| percent)." | | | | employees with the skills required to be competitive |
| And here's great news for you - software vendors | | | | today. They must also consider new strategies for |
| have not been sitting still during the recession. | | | | hiring and developing untapped talent currently |
| Software features and functions that are being | | | | available in the market." |
| introduced now are focused on helping staffing and | | | | Study results like that make a point. They strongly |
| recruiting professionals get more work done with less | | | | imply that your investment in new staffing and |
| effort. And that always helps drive bottom-line | | | | recruiting software along with appropriate training and |
| results. For example, new staffing and recruiting | | | | support can give your team the tools it needs to |
| software with automatic feeds to social networking | | | | meet these client hiring demands successfully and |
| sites such as Linked In, Facebook or Twitter can | | | | profitably. They are an enabler of the effectiveness |
| improve your firms' communications with candidates, | | | | of your own business marketing and innovation skill - |
| employees and clients without increasing the work | | | | and that positions you for success. |
| load on your staff. | | | | |