The jobs market remains heavily competitive, with companies across all business verticals looking to staffing firms to help optimise the hiring pipeline. Such a partnership can reduce strain on internal HR teams while helping to smooth interviewing and onboarding processes for candidates. However, there are many risks that staffing companies face to preserve their positive reputation, in the eyes of clients and job seekers alike.

From maintaining strong communication with partner businesses to staying aligned with company culture and skill set needs to adhere to cyber and data protection best practices when handling sensitive information, risks abound day to day that need to be proactively mitigated. Below are some considerations for staffing firms, and how to avoid damaging the company’s reputation.

Maintaining reputation among clients

There are myriad ways in which staffing firms can fail to secure new clients and retain existing ones. As famously quoted “It takes months to find a customer and seconds to lose one”. Translation, for all the time it takes to develop a strong relationship with your customers, it only takes one incident to ruin it.

Any promises made at the beginning, and indeed during the partnership need to be kept, and transparent conduct is key to consistently positive correspondence. Whenever an issue arises, solutions – ideally prepared in advance of possible setbacks – must be offered quickly and clearly. Listening to feedback from customers is also important in showing a strive to improve services where necessary. 

When an issue does arise, overcommunication with the client is paramount to ensure confidence that you are resolving.

Additionally, with wider corporate purpose increasingly being considered when choosing a staffing partner, there is also a need to maintain ethical best practices. Honest and respectful communication is just as vital when corresponding with candidates, as it is with hiring managers.

Mitigating cyber threats

Reputational risks can also extend from client and candidate relations to cybersecurity management. Cybersecurity threats that warrant attention include shared devices and systems being targeted by threat actors – particularly operating over unsecured networks – as well as email phishing and ransomware attack attempts. 

Any incident in which a candidate’s data is breached can damage a staffing company’s reputation, not to mention the significant financial penalties associated with fines for breaching data regulations such as GDPR and the CCPA, as well as third-party claims

With hiring software continuing to evolve in response to demands for more flexible contractual arrangements, having strong encryption and security protocols in place is paramount to keep cyber threats at bay. Other security measures that should be considered include anti-virus software, firewalls, and IT audits carried out on a regular basis.

Given the sensitive information present within staffing IT systems, including personal and financial data, care should be taken around where data is shared, whether on-premise or in the cloud.

Failure to mitigate these threats could compound the severity of the fines/penalties and damages from third-party claims should it be determined that the staffing company failed to provide adequate risk mitigation or loss prevention efforts. 

Talent mismatches

With organisations in nearly every sector looking to staffing firms to help close skills gaps, it is vital that the right talent is found for the right role regularly. Staffing companies risk damaging the relationship with a client if a candidate proves ill-suited to a particular role or end up not being the right fit with the company culture.

Aligning the educational and skill background of a candidate with a particular vacancy remains a common challenge. Research from the UK National Institute of Economic and Social Research reveals 30% of university graduates to be overqualified for a job, while 34% are employed in sectors unrelated to their obtained degree. Mismatches of talent skill sets have also led to wage penalties of up to 42%, which can further damage the reputation of staffing firms.

To effectively close staff shortages and skills gaps in an ever-competitive job market, staffing firms should look into investing more in talent development programmes that can get candidates properly ready to hit the ground running upon starting a new role.

Partnering with a talent engagement provider

Collaboration with a talent engagement service provider can go a long way in easing and streamlining the background check process, as well as optimising cybersecurity and compliance best practices across all operations. 

Experts situated across the world can also provide specific, up-to-date guidance on the latest regulations around data protection and management, providing peace of mind to any business offering staffing solutions.