Service Provider Struggles with
Containing High Agency Costs

Employers needing assistance with filling positions frequently turn to agencies. Contingency and retained search agencies are appropriate strategies particularly when the number of positions you need help filling represent a small percent of your openings (e.g., 10% or less). However, if agencies begin to account for more than 10% of your hires, The WorkPlace Group (WPG) can be a better alternative.

Here’s why:

• Agencies or contingency firms often charge 20-30% or more of compensation hired. The high fees help agencies recoup costs on all the positions they couldn’t fill with other clients. So when you pay a contingency firm, you’re paying for work it didn’t necessarily do for you – and paying more for your hire than you should. 

• Contingency firms represent their own or their candidates’ interests, and have a financial incentive to present the same candidates to multiple clients as well as endorse candidates whether they’re right for your organization or not.

Business Challenge

A midsize service provider was exploring ways to contain their skyrocketing agency hiring costs. Although having their own recruitment staff, depending on the particular department, contingency and retained agencies accounted for 30% - 70% of hires.

Solution

WPG worked with the client in developing a solution to increase internal capabilities and reduce agency hires to 10% or less. The solution involved Multimethod-Multisource Candidate Acquisition™, Candidate Screening, Customized Candidate Assessments and Onsite Recruitment Support to efficiently process the high volume of hires and manage agency relationships. The WorkPlace Group also helped the company streamline and standardize their hiring process, and conduct workforce analysis and workforce planning.

Results

As a result WPG:

• Reduced agency hires to 5%, saving millions of dollars

• Delivered 50% below budget

• Enhanced the client’s competitiveness in the job market

• Received satisfaction ratings from Hiring Managers that exceeded the client’s previous year’s score

 For more information please visit, www.workplacegroup.com

About The WorkPlace Group®
The WorkPlace Group family of companies (WPG), founded in 1997, provides customized recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), project-hiring recruitment, contingent workforce management and professional temporary staffing services for all levels and functions across industries. Our services are provided globally with staff located throughout the world. We service North America, Central America, South America, The Caribbean Islands, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia-Pacific countries.

 

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