THE STAFFING INDUSTRY IS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF CHANGE, EMBRACE IT

By Tom Sarach, Jr., VP Operations
 
After having spent a good deal of my adult life in the staffing business, I have come to realize that our industry is in a constant state of change.  For better or worse; we must learn to embrace the change we like and challenge that which we do not.  I'm often asked if staffing is harder today than when I began my career.
 
My fast answer is usually yes, but given a few minutes to reflect, the real truth is not as one would expect.  It is not really harder, just different.  Sure there are many additional aspects of staffing that we must keep educated on; there is the government, the economy, technology, and generational differences of the candidate pool.  While all these facets require our attention we may find ourselves losing sight of the fact that we are still and remain in the people business.
 
One hard fast rule of staffing is that you cannot change people, not the past, current or future generation.  We cannot make all of our associates show up, provide them with an outstanding work ethic, or assume they all know the proper interview techniques.  We can however be good coaches and educate our staff to provide encouragement to those associates on the front lines.  Candidates should always benefit from our industry experience and we can well assist them in building better resumes and providing solid interviewing and life skills.  Many job candidates are also still not aware of how a staffing firm works.  A recent survey by CareerBuilder demonstrated that a full 10% of those polled still believe staffing firms charge a fee.  Educating candidates must remain a priority.  A little enthusiasm goes a long way with how we represent our firms.  Remember, for most of us, we still have a job and we have not been on the unemployment lines.  As industry representatives it is our responsibility to present our firms well and to always remember why we traveled the road to staffing in the first place.  If we seek a positive and willing workforce, our understanding and encouragement is a must.  Compassion can go a long way in the people business.

What has grown more time consuming and difficult is the amount of time we spend working to adhere to mounting government requirements. The work necessary to properly conduct business in the USA has placed an ever increasing demand on small business.  And, not only are we spending more time with government issues, the issues are also different.  In the past, state government stacked up legislation and typically not in our favor.  If fact, I'm hard pressed to remember legislation that supported or understood our business model.  I digress; today we must prepare and educate ourselves on both the Federal and State Legislation facing our industry.  Cap and Trade, Health Care, Card Check, and State Sales Tax are only a few of the terms which must become part of the staffing industry vocabulary if only to ensure our voice is heard.  I'm certain we have written our leadership regarding these issues and with good cause.  The legislation facing our industry today is unlike anything prior and we must dedicate time to educate our leaders.  

-Tom Sarach, Jr. is the Vice President of Operations for COATS, Inc., a staffing industry technology provider based in Virginia Beach, VA. He can be contacted at 757.499.3808, or by email at tsarach@coatssql.com.