by Doreen Martel

Created on: November 07, 2011

Hiring agencies fill numerous needs and the problem is that they often are working on behalf of two conflicting clients. Hiring agencies are also known as temporary agencies and in some cases, derogatorily known as head-hunters. What is not always evident is whether hiring agencies address the needs of clients. In most cases, this is not as cut and dried an answer as yes or no.

Who are the clients?

Hiring agencies are brokers of jobs and skills. This means that their client base is often at odds with each other. A fair comparison would be to think about a hiring agency as a car dealership. They act as the middleman between the manufacturer and the buyer.  Hiring agencies work in much the same manner - they get work orders from one set of clients (employers) and they try to match up talent (employees) to fill those work orders.  This is often when one party or the other feels their needs are not being met.

Needs of employer

When a hiring agency contracts with an employer, their goals are fairly simple. Employers are seeking qualified applicants for their job openings. The hiring agents role is to identify potential candidates, pre-screen them to the clients specifications and in many cases to schedule interviews at the company with the candidates. The “unwritten” rule is that the client often wants the most qualified candidate that will cost them the least amount of money.  Remember, the employer will typically be the one who ultimately pay the fees associated with hiring agency positions.  

Needs of employee

Generally speaking, the hiring agency who accepts applications from employees is a middle-man between employers and employees. They often offer specialized testing in various subject matters, they pre-screen job offers for employees and they help facilitate assignments.  However, since most of the time job applicants are not paying fees to hiring agencies, they may not feel their needs are being addressed. Broadly speaking, this is probably accurate since the industry nearly demands the hiring agency meet the needs of the person paying the bills - that is the employer.

Unfortunately, for many job applicants, hiring agencies may not be addressing their needs. Realistically, an employee is seeking a position that pays well and utilizes their skills effectively. The goal of the hiring agency is to find the most qualified applicant at the lowest possible rate to meet the employers needs.  Since the employer is the one who is generally paying the fee for the hiring agency, it is quite possible that their needs are being met while the needs of the employee may not be met at all or only partially met.  With a tight job market, hiring agencies are growing more popular in spite of some of the warning signs that employees should heed.

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