Streamline Your Recruiting Efforts with Market Research
Is your staffing firm having trouble delivering the right candidates to your clients? Are your clients becoming less satisfied with your services, or have they already moved their business over to one of your competitors? In order to achieve a successful staffing firm, you must have satisfied clients. Are you listening to their needs? Have you invested the time and energy needed to truly understand their ideal candidates? If your staffing firm’s brand is not already associated with excellent service and the ability to deliver highly qualified talent, it is imperative that you use market research to streamline your recruiting efforts.
Get to Know the Industry
As a provider of talent, it is essential that you thoroughly understand the staffing industry. Do you know what types of constraints and pressures your clients are under? Who are the decision makers and which positions ultimately have the authority to approve a candidate placement? What does the company culture look like at each site, and how is it going to play into your client relationship? Market research is a great way to find out more about a particular niche of the staffing industry. Search online for blogs and forums that are focused on your staffing specialty. Participate in conversations frequented by clients or qualified candidates, and be prepared to share your expertise.
Understand Your Clients
Get to know your clients and make their priorities your priorities. Who are they, and equally as important, what types of candidates are they searching for? Do you know what is important to your clients, and what factors drive their decisions? If you are unclear about their expectations, you do not have any hope of delivering the right type of talent, so you need to ensure that you are crystal clear about their goals. Use market research to streamline your recruiting efforts and get a better understanding of what makes your clients really tick.
Understand Your Candidates
The bottom line is that clients are looking to hire qualified candidates, but it is important to realize that a successful placement is the result of many different factors. In addition to prior work experience and a relevant educational background, you need to assess the company culture in order to find the right fit. Gather market research on what candidates are looking for in the marketplace and to find out about what is important to them. How do they feel about certain types of clients or industries? What sort of content do they enjoy, and what type of messaging is going to resonate with them? Use market research to learn about the online habits of your target audience and to better understand your candidates.
Where’s the Data?
Now that you have a better idea of who your clients are and what type of professionals they are searching for, it is time to do your homework. Secondary research is a great place to start. Data that has already been gathered and is readily available online is much more economical than starting from scratch. While secondary research may not necessarily be focused on the exact topic you are investigating, it will most likely be able to shed some light on the subject and help to fine tune your efforts. Ask your current clients and candidates for feedback. If you are still in need of further insight, consider conducting primary research. Focus groups, interviews or surveys are all great ways to collect valuable information and use market research to streamline your recruiting efforts.
Stay Ahead of the Game
Competition is fierce in the staffing industry, so you must ensure that you are planning for the future by building solid client relationships. Market research is a great tool for monitoring trends in the staffing industry and anticipating any fluctuations in the client hiring cycle. How are your current clients and candidates evolving? Stay ahead of the game by anticipating new requests from your clients. Show them that you are being proactive and doing everything possible to fulfill their needs.
Key Takeaways for Streamline Your Recruiting Efforts with Market Research:
- Use market research to learn more about a particular niche of the staffing industry
- Get to know your clients and make their priorities your priorities
- What are candidates looking for in the marketplace and what is important to them
- Make use of both primary and secondary research to gather relevant data
- Monitor trends in the staffing industry
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.