It’s official. The Canadian economy is experiencing an unprecedented skills shortage and employers are being forced to look beyond their traditional recruitment methods to attract skilled candidates.

Latest figures predict that around two thirds of Canadian employers are struggling[1] to find skilled workers to fill specific jobs.  For employers who are traditionally used to advertising vacancies and waiting for the applications to flood in this is unchartered territory.

One option open to employers is to partner with a staffing vendor. While some employers may have had a negative experience of working with staffing vendors, a reputable company has the potential to contribute towards the achievement of an employer’s long term business goals and reduce recruitment costs.

Here, we highlight the advantages of partnering with a reputable staffing vendor:-

• In today’s candidate driven market, a specialized staffing vendor will be well networked within a specific sector. They will understand the issues their clients face and the skillsets of the candidates they need to attract. This insight enables staffing vendors to advise their clients on whether or not their recruitment expectations are realistic and to offer alternative solutions where necessary. The consultants within an experienced staffing vendor’s team will ideally have worked in the client’s industry themselves or have extensive experience of the market sector.

• Ethical and professional staffing vendors will value their candidates and treat them with respect and honesty. Through gaining the trust of skilled workers they will have access to a talent bank of candidates, whether their clients are seeking permanent or seasonal employees. They understand that candidates are their clients too and understanding their aspirations will contribute significantly towards higher staff retention rates.

• Specialist staffing vendors will partner with colleges and educational organizations training unskilled workers for specific skills, such as heavy equipment operators, mechanics or welders. This enables them to maintain a potential flow of candidates for employers.

• Professional staffing vendors will form strategic partnerships with their clients. Understanding an employer’s long term business goals enables staffing vendors to offer relevant advice on the most appropriate methods of recruitment, leading to improved efficiency, cost effectiveness and consequently a stronger bottom line.

• The most skilled staffing vendors will work on an inter-provincial basis.  They will understand the legislation and relocation issues involved -together with the potential social and personal impact on their candidates – and offer advice to employers accordingly.

• Staffing vendors can help to reduce employer attrition rates through a post placement policy. Offering a channel of communication for newly placed candidates to ensure their smooth integration into the employer’s workforce will improve retention rates. Any problems during training and the initial months of employment can be dealt with by the staffing vendor.

• Above all, partnering with a staffing vendor on a long-term basis is a cost effective way of recruiting.

In the midst of the continuing skills shortage a reputable staffing vendor is that vital link in the recruitment chain.

Forming a strategic partnership with an ethical company will provide cost effect solutions to employers facing a potential recruitment chasm in the current economic climate.