The holiday season is in full swing! It’s the time of year for holiday shopping, cookie baking, singing carols, and embarking in your favorite holiday traditions. It’s also the time of year to watch some of your favorite holiday movies. One of my favorites is It’s a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart.  It’s a Wonderful Life follows the story of George Bailey, a struggling businessman, who has the opportunity to see what life would be like if he had never been born. As he is taken through different life events, he quickly sees the impact he has made on lives throughout his life and begins to appreciate everything that he has. 

We have seen renditions of It’s a Wonderful Life countless times in popular TV show episodes, where characters have the chance to see what life would be like if certain events didn’t take place. This got me thinking about staffing and the value staffing companies bring. Have you ever thought about the value you have brought by working in staffing? What if you decided not to work in staffing? Think about the impact you have made on countless lives; the number of candidates you have helped find work; the number of candidates you have helped find work when perhaps you were their last hope; the number of executives you have helped find workers for; the number of executives that were burnt out and didn’t have the time to find the workers they needed. By working in staffing, you make an impact on lives each day. 

According to the American Staffing Association, nearly 2.5 million temporary and contract employees worked for America’s staffing companies during an average week in 2023. Additionally, during the course of 2023, America’s staffing companies hired 12.7 million temporary and contract employees. In numbers, this is the impact the staffing industry has on the American workforce. 

There is no doubt that the impact staffing professionals make is life changing. As we reflect on 2024 and the year ahead, now is a good time to reflect on the value you bring to the industry. Put your company in the scenario of It’s a Wonderful Life, if your company didn’t exist, what would customers and candidates be missing out on? As you reassess the value your staffing company brings to the industry, you can begin to market that value to candidates and customers. What makes you different? Why should a candidate or customer work with you in 2025?

As you plan for 2025, it’s also important to re-evaluate what candidates and customers want. You can then incorporate your value and selling points into your message. 

What Candidates Want in 2025

Overall in 2024, fewer employees were voluntarily quitting their jobs, according to iHire’s 2024 Talent Retention Report.  This new movement, unlike the Great Resignation, is called the Great Stay. Due to the economic uncertainty, more employees are staying with their current employers. With many companies implementing cost cutting measures, there is a fear of getting laid off if a move is made to another company. Employees feel like their jobs are more stable with their current employer. 

In iHire’s 2024 Retention Report, it was also found that employees value flexibility over pay, with many willing to take a pay cut for a better work-life balance. In an iSolved survey, it also showed that burnout is declining and there is a greater focus on work life balance.  

All of these statistics show that employees are more motivated to stay employed with their current employer and that work life balance is becoming more important. In 2025, staffing companies can have a greater focus on retention strategies and work with staffing clients to communicate the growing importance of work-life balance. 

How to Retain Candidates in 2025

From the above statistics we can see that many employees prefer to stay with their current employer. This gives staffing companies and staffing clients and good opportunity to focus on retention strategies. There are strategies that both staffing companies and staffing clients can implement in 2025 to retain employees. As the studies show, employees are more motivated to stay employed with their current employer, so small nuggets of value can be added to both of your retention plans to keep employees happy. 

First, communication with your staffing clients on what candidates are looking for in 2025 is important. Communicate these latest trends and offer tips for implementing more work-life balance tactics when needed. 

Communication

From a staffing company side, good communication with candidates is always key. Text the candidate before the assignment to see if they need anything for their first day. Also, schedule check-in’s throughout their assignment to let them know you are thinking of them. Little touchpoints help them feel you care about them and offer a positive work experience. The check-in’s can be as simple as a text message. If you have the option to automate text messaging within your ATS using an automation tool, this is something you can automatically schedule to go out with all of your assignments. 

Awards and Incentives

With work-life balance, culture is big. Think about benefits and incentives you can offer employees that go an extra step to keep them wanting to work for your staffing agency. This can be a simple award program that offers a bonus for good attendance. Or perhaps you offer tenure awards for the length of time someone works for you. Awards/incentives can be either cash or non-cash related, such as a streaming service subscription, grocery store voucher, tickets to a sporting event or local attraction, etc. Small incentives to keep employees motivated can go along way for employee happiness and engagement. 

Self-Service Tools

Candidates also want access to self-service tools. As they are on their assignment, give them easy access to submit time, view payroll checks, and other important employee documentation. Also give them access to view future job opportunities. As one assignment is finishing, let them be able to apply for another assignment with you. Self-service tools keeps working for your staffing agency easy. Self-service tools can be offered through an employee web portal and/or a mobile app. A mobile app is even better because employees can have access to everything they need right on their mobile device. Depending on the mobile app, you may also be able to send instant job opportunities to candidates to accept or reject. This allows for a fast and seamless assignment to a job. What more can a candidate ask for?

This day and age, everyone wants to do tasks faster and conveniently. If something isn’t convenient, then you can forget about it.  

Exercise: Think about your current retention strategies.  Which ones are working and which ones do you want to continue in 2025? Can you fit any of the above retention strategies into your plan?  As you market your value to candidates, this can be part of your marketing plan to both attract and retain talent. 

What Customers Want in 2025

Candidates are just one side of the business. On the other side you have your customers. According to the American Staffing Association, two of the top reasons staffing clients turn to staffing companies is to achieve workforce flexibility and to access talent. Staffing companies relieve recruiting stress from their clients, so they can focus on mission critical tasks and leave the recruiting up to you. From a staffing partner, they want a quick time to hire, quality employees, and employees that finish the assignment. 

Just as candidates like self-service tools, clients also like self-service tools. Think of how busy you are in a given day and how busy your customers are. Eliminating unnecessary back and forth communication can be a game changer.  This can also be solved by offering a Customer Portal that allows customers to view and rank candidate submittals, view the status on open job orders, approve time, view open invoices, and more. Self-service tools can bring value to customers by making it easy to fill positions and work with your staffing agency.

Exercise: What current value do you bring to your customers? What do you offer that is unique compared to other agencies? 

Using Analytics to Market to Prospects

As mentioned above some of the top attributes that staffing clients look for in a staffing partner is a quick time to hire, quality employees, and employees that finish the assignment. How are your metrics when it comes to these segments and can you use them to market your staffing company in 2025?

Your ATS is a powerful tool that you can use to analyze your metrics. Use your ATS to pull reports and see what metrics stand out that you can use to your advantage when selling to a potential prospect. 

Below are a few key metrics to look at:

· Time to Fill: How long does it take to fill a position? If you have a short time to fill rate then this could be a metric to market.

· New Hire to Assignment Rate/Ratio: Out of the candidates you place, how many are showing up to the assignment on the first day? Staffing clients want candidates that show up to work, especially on the first day. 

· Turnover Rate: Out of the employees that begin an assignment, how many are staying for the whole assignment? If you have a low turnover rate then this would be an excellent metric to share with prospects. Staffing clients want candidates that not only show up to work on their first day, but who finish the assignment.  

· Quality of the Hire: Are your hires good workers? Do they come in on time and complete the task at hand with no trouble?  You can quantify the quality of hires by measuring job performance, evaluations, retention rates, and client feedback. This metric shows staffing clients how successful your staffing firm is at acquiring and hiring top talent. 

All of the above metrics can play a role when marketing your staffing agency to potential customers. You are not only telling them your value, but showing them your value through a powerful data story and visual.  

Your It’s a Wonderful Staffing Life Story

As you reflect on your value and plan for 2025, think about your It’s a Wonderful Staffing Life story. How do you currently provide value to your candidates and customers? What can you do to provide more value in 2025? What can you do to show and market your value to candidates and customers? As a staffing agency, you provide immense value and impact every day to companies, job seekers, and employees.  Every staffing agency provides a unique touch to the experience and you have yours.  Show your value in 2025 because it truly is a Wonderful Staffing Life. 

Ready to use a staffing software solution that’s equipped with tools to market your staffing agency’s value in 2025? Schedule a demo of Ultra-Staff EDGE Staffing Software, a complete front and back office solution with web portals, onboarding, mobile, data analytics, and scheduling. 

Read more from Jennifer Roeslmeier Mikels