When you want to know how far you’ve come, just look back. As Strategic Staffing Solutions celebrates its 25th anniversary, it’s a great time to reflect on lessons learned, progress made, and the staffing industry’s changing role in the workforce.
Here are a few key lessons we’ve learned along the way that we want to share with you:
Quick and agile puts you ahead of the pack. Successful staffing companies have become experts in managing new technologies, such as VMS systems, which eliminated the “who you know” factor and leveled the playing field. It also allowed for exponential growth, as before staffing firms had to be located physically near their clients.
As customers’ needs evolved, so should your solutions. The ability to quickly roll out different services, such as call center staffing, SOW, project-based solutions, and even JAVA training will help to differentiate you from the rest.
Depth, not breadth. Become an expert in specific industries, which will position you to add unique value beyond staffing to your customers. Choosing certain verticals and your clients accordingly allows for deeper business partnerships rather than simply customers.
PREMIUM CONTENT: 2015 Diversity Staffing Suppliers List
Take the definition of partner seriously. Very seriously. Let those close partnerships organically guide your expansion efforts. Go where your customers need you to be. Keep them always in mind first when making decisions.
Seize the opportunity. On one hand there’s a company on the constant lookout for new, creative and cost saving solutions for its customers. On the other there’s a country of young, well-educated but under-employed go-getters. What do you do? You open offices there. Look for untapped markets to address your customers’ pain points, while helping a market to fully emerge.
Do the right thing, always. Doing the right thing makes decisions easier, and you’d be amazed by where it can take you. When S3 founder, President and CEO Cynthia Pasky made the decision to actively recruit military veterans, it was simply because it’s the right thing to do. Launched in 2013, S3’s Combat Recruiting Support Team consisted of four military veterans. Today, this pilot project has more than quintupled in size with sourcers placed throughout the S3 network.
Be a leader. Not a follower. Jump right in when it makes sense to. It could have industry-changing results. S3 is proud to be one of just five firms to originally develop and implement Staffing Industry Analysts’ Certified Contingent Workforce Partner program, an industry standard of best practices that educates human resource professionals about the world of contingent staffing.
Remain true to your values and keep your eye on your mission, always. Use your mission and values as your compass as you navigate through the staffing industry. If you remain true to those things, the rest falls into place.
MORE: Put Big Data to Work for You
