3 Strategies to Beat Your Staffing Firm's Competitors

Staffing is a highly competitive industry. For this reason, knowing all you can about your competition is vital to your success. Studying your competitors provides insight into their positioning and messaging, the pricing you can achieve, and whether your customers are using other staffing agencies. You can use this information to improve your agency and stay on top of your industry.

Mastering the Art of Outpacing Your Staffing Agency's Competitors: Three Expert Tips!

1. Be Staffing Competitors’ Positioning and Messaging

Stay current on your competitors’ operations and advertising. What is their sourcing process? Where do they post job openings? How do they select candidates? Use your findings to implement similar strategies in your own hiring process. -Also, visit the customer section of your competitor’s websites to see which companies they do business with. Use the information to create a plan to approach similar customers. 

Related Read: How to Conduct Swot Analysis of Your Staffing Company 

2. Know the Pricing You Can Achieve

Be aware that you can charge different bill rates for each customer. When setting your pricing, take into account the elements of your direct costs (statutory expenses, pay rate, workers comp) so you can estimate what your gross margin will be. Keep in mind that most staffing agencies have a gross margin between 14-50%, with an average aggregate gross margin of 25%. You may want to get creative to reward a customer who gives you a lot of business. 

Want to quickly calculate your Gross Margin, Bill Rate and much more click here to access our free staffing calculator. Don't forget to bookmark this page

Factor in variables such as

• The number of temps needed
• The duration of the assignment
• The amount of recruitment time needed
• The compensation level of the resource.

Plus, because a customer’s anticipated volume, rate management approaches, location, turnover rate, ease of filling the skill set, and knowledge vary, your bill rate should reflect these issues. 

Consider how much competition you have. The fewer competitors you have, the greater your ability to achieve higher markups. While markup is ideally a very accurate internal measurement tool, try to resist engaging in a contract that bases your pricing on markup.  To create a free competitive analysis for your staffing firm, click here. 

3. Find Out Whether Your Customers Use Other Staffing Agencies  

Determine whether your customers turn to other agencies to fill their staffing needs. If they do, talk with them about creating an exclusivity agreement with your agency. This is an opportunity to point out how your customer will receive better quality candidates by working with only one agency. The reality is that working with multiple agencies creates motivation to produce candidates as quickly as possible.

What does this mean…

• Lengthens the search process
• Can produce lower-quality candidates
• Miscommunications due to multiple points of contact
• Increased number of phone calls, emails, and administrative work on the company’s part, resulting in more spending

Staying informed about your competition is essential for maintaining industry leadership and identifying areas for improvement. By recognizing and addressing gaps in your staffing agency, you can seize significant opportunities for enhancement. Stay vigilant, adapt, and subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive insights and top recruiting tips delivered directly to your inbox every Friday. Gain access now!