Staffing News Online

Submitted by Peapack Private Investment Banking

Our team is pleased to present its 2Q21 quarterly human capital solutions industry update from our Senior Advisor, Jim Janesky, who oversees client coverage and leads the vertical.

Through this industry update, we will share with you our impressions on the market, track the leading macroeconomic indicators, report relevant transactions, public market valuations and highlight current trends.

Click here to download the report.

Submitted by DataScreening

Maintaining a company's culture is often more important than hiring that star employee for the success of the company. No matter how smart or how good a person may be, if their behavior negatively affects others in your organization, it's probably not worth it.

Fortunately, companies and CEO's today realize this more than ever. With information being exchanged so easily and rapidly, a company’s culture and reputation is extremely important to the success of a company. In Deloitte's 2016 Global Human Capital Trends, 86% of executives surveyed viewed corporate culture as vital to the success of business. From this, many companies have developed many different types of tools to exemplify their culture; mission and vision statements, carefully worded handbooks, written definitions of their culture, and designed meetings discussing the culture from within.

Sounds good, right? Let's unpack that for just a moment. Let's say someone you just hired isn't "fitting in" well. He's not very happy, other employees that have been there for a while are not happy, and he's actually disrupting others' work performance. Not the behavior he had shown in the interviews. But you caught it early and were able to let him go only after 2 months. Oh well, back to the drawing board. So, how much does that actually cost the company? According to a SHRM report, that departure will cost the company about 1/3 of that employee’s annual earnings. I guess that's the cost of doing business.

But what if we can figure out if that new hire will be a good fit before we hire him? Or at least lessen the chances that he will not be a good fit. You mean like doing a background check? Well, sort of. While a background check will give you an idea of a person's past behavior, let's face it, something that comes up on a background check may not mirror a new hire's cultural fit very well. And a conviction on a background check can be a one time mistake that occurred in the distant past.

What about something more in the present? Something like what they post online, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter... Background checks are now offering Social Media Checks as a service. This isn't getting someone's password and secretly looking in their accounts, this is about viewing someone's online presence; looking at what a person displays as their own behavior and casting their own social media reputation. Because think about, whether you like it or not, once someone is hired, their social media presence is part or your company's reputation. As more companies are allowing employees to work from home, Social Media Checks will become more important in screening a potential employee.

Having the ability to protect your company's culture and reputation as quickly as possible, will undoubtedly help your employees enjoy their work and help the organization achieve their goal.

Submitted by Withum

A key to staffing firms’ success is the individuals that make up the business. For this article, we'll focus on not the people themselves, but the margin of the services provided by those individuals.

This last year has brought an ever-increasing pressure to be competitive and retain the margin that pays salaries and powers growth. One outlet to maintain and increase competitiveness is the reduction of paper processes and increasing the use of technology. Across Advisory, Tax and Audit, our experts have been working with clients on automation to go paperless in some of these areas.

Time Tracking & Expense Reporting

Two critical processes to the margin of a staffing firm are time tracking and expense reporting. Individuals understand the importance of both processes but do not understand how automating this process can save time and money. Inaccuracies not only impact revenue loss, but also can be an additional expense for the company. Between following up with individuals, reviewing for accuracy and processing paper forms, more time is wasted. Resources can be better allocated to other aspects of a staffing business.

Surprisingly, many organizations already have technology at their fingertips to remove paper and automate the entire process. Imagine an individual entering their time or expenses every day and their manager or executive being able to review the submittals right away. This capability enables accurate planning, budgeting and makes end-of-month close-outs much simpler. During the pandemic, one organization gained hours of productivity by allowing virtual expense approvals. No copying, no pasting, and easy access via any device.

Accounts Payable/ Receivable

The office is closed. Do you know where your checks are? Need the purchase order number, accurate address, or payment information and no one answers the phone? Remote work does not easily support these traditional paper processes. Even with dedicated personnel, time is consistently wasted following up, discussing accuracy, and enforcing the timeliness of these paper-based processes. We won’t even describe the end-of-year efforts required to generate end-of-year 1099 reports!

Frequently, systems that are already in use (like QuickBooks) or easy to integrate add-ons can stop the printing and scanning tasks to support these processes. When moving into a system, you not only distribute the invoice but also automate reminders and can even directly receive payment. This allows you to ensure checks are never lost, money is received in a timelier fashion, and individuals can spend more time providing services to your clients.

Data Processing

It’s hard to quantify the amount of data entry required for each individual within an organization. Starting with the hiring process, during onboarding and monthly payroll, there are essential pieces of data and many opportunities for error. Many organizations have paper, or static, forms that are filled out and then re-typed into a separate system.

There are now many opportunities in professional services automation to create digital forms that gather information and automatically connect to the appropriate systems. Maybe adding Stripe or Shopify allows you to directly connect to your bank, payroll and accounting systems simultaneously. There’s even technology that can replace an individual typing data from one system to the next.

We know this data and documentation are relied on for both year-end financial audits or tax preparation, but it also affects each individual in an organization and the time they can spend focused on delivering services compared to administrative tasks. These are only a few processes that can be automated – don’t be the organization that has lost documents because they are downloaded on a personal computer, in a home office, or just lost in the shuffle of everyday work.

Submitted by Two River Benefits Consultants, LLC

A complicated payroll tax credit meant to reward companies which kept working during the pandemic.

ERTC Credit Amount: Unlike the ACA and PPP loans, the ERTC credit does not include full time equivalents. The payroll tax credit is based on Full-Time employees who have worked at least 130 hrs/month. The credit is based on 2019 quarterly revenues (form 941) versus 2020 and 2021.

The ERTC is reimbursable from the IRS as a check!

2020 ERTC: if the quarterly revenue decreased 50% or more between the respective quarters in 2020 versus 2019, the company is eligible for credits.

Small Employer < 100, can receive up to $5,000 on $10,000 of employee wages for 2020. A large employer >500, will receive a lesser amount but the case of large numbers may still result in a significant credit amount.

2021 ERTC: For 2021, the definition of a small company has been increased to <500 full-time employees. Instead of an annual credit, the credit is now based on a quarters total gross receipts versus the respective 2019 quarter. Instead of the 50% decrease, for 2021 a decrease in TGR of >20% will now qualify for ERTC’s.

Two Ways To Qualify

• Total Gross Receipts- as outlined above, however for many staffing companies the total gross receipts actually increased, so companies are qualifying under the second option: Operational.
• Government Orders: refers to a “partial business suspension:”, activities /changes made to your business due to Covid. These can include the impact to your clients, impact to the hiring process/recruiting, the impact to business development/sales.

If companies do not qualify under Total Gross Receipts, they generally will qualify under Operational.

Operational Considerations:

Light Industrial – Impact to clients
Most experienced shut downs early on in the pandemic

• Many have experienced outbreaks & had to close to sanitize
• OSHA/CDC mandates require restrictions on occupancy & distancing – this can lead to a reduction in how many people can be working at one – cannot be shoulder to shoulder on a production line any more. This can create additional shifts and even a reduction to their reliance on temp talent
• These jobs cannot be done from home and most are considered to be essential
• Supply Chain issues impacting clients has impact to staffing

Light Industrial – Impact to the Hiring process/Recruiting

• Most blue collar workers apply in person at a branch. This is referred to as “walk-in” business or foot traffic. Many branch locations would see 20-30 applicants PER DAY in a branch. They would apply, be interviewed, and go through background checks, etc all on location.
• Due to mandates this had to be totally modified. Most branch locations were shut for a period of time, once reopened they had to comply with restricted occupancy and that would not allow for the same foot traffic. Had to go to appointment only model in many locations. This reduced the application rates.
• On sites have been affected the same way and many have been shut down.
• This industry is typically very involved in Job Fairs/Career Fairs & Hiring Events- all suspended.
• Blue collar workers are not generally as virtually adept, and this makes virtual interviews/hiring more problematic.
• Higher rate of “no call, no show” with virtual interviews.
• Increased cost in marketing and investment in technology
• “Cost to Hire” has been 4-6 times higher
• Once a temp has been placed at a job there has also been very poor retention rates. Many never come back a second day. This often due to fear of the virus. This has led to many clients offering “Retention Bonus” or “Attendance Bonus” to incentivize people to work during hazardous conditions.
• Very common in this industry is increase base rates/overtime – Hero Pay, Hazard Pay, Crisis Pay, Combat pay. Well known example is Amazon paying extra $2/hour for warehouse workers. Also American Eagle, Kroger, etc.
• OSHA requires scheduled “Safety Walk throughs” . They help identify hazards, unsafe conditions and keep a regular check for better safety at work. ... It also helps to establish work practices and ongoing practices and procedures by identifying the safety gaps. These have not been allowed due to COVID.
• Biggest challenge right now is finding people who want to work for blue collar wages. Between unemployment/stimulus checks, tax refunds and fear… it is extremely difficult to fill orders. This has caused the increase in base rates/bonuses/etc to try and incentivize people to work.
• Can’t “walk the halls”

Impact to Business Development/Sales – all industries

• Staffing is a relationship business- it is built in person – face to face! Overall COVID has restricted in person interaction and that is the primary way staffing companies grow their business, meet to clients, build brand awareness and recruit new temps.
• There are so many staffing companies out there and online platforms – the way a staffing company provides value is the little touch points that have all been suspended.
• Trade shows, conferences, industry events and association meetings are all VERY popular and common in staffing – all suspended.
• Business Development/Sales heavily relies on networking, in-person meetings, referrals, dropping off donuts/business card, etc to bring new logos into the company. All suspended.
• All interviews have gone remote and that has been a tough transition – they like to “lay eyes” on the candidate to make sure they are the right fit.
• Most direct hire business dried up – no one was wanting to take on new permanent employees.
• Lack of child care has made it VERY hard to hire while schools have been remote.
• Remote Internal employees are hard to manage and don’t allow for the collaboration and cross selling that is so important to the industry. Has hurt the culture and efficiency.
• On sites were a way to constantly look for new opportunities at a large client and a way to ensure great services and manage the contingent workforce… most have been forced to WFH.
• The combination of a lack of people wanting to work, the suspension of all hiring events, cancellation of industry meetings and in ability to service their contracts in the same way did create a huge suspension in the way staffing companies are used to doing business. These are the services and processes that set them apart from indeed.com.

Staffing is a “people” business, the above are general suggestions as to ways Covid-19 and the restrictions may have impacted your staffing company business. If your company has been affected by many of these reasons, you will qualify for the retention tax credit.

Submitted by Assurance

With mask mandates loosening, vaccine accessibility increasing and employers deciding how to get “back to normal,” there are a lot of questions. We recently hosted an Assurance University Webinar to provide employers with answers. We also highlighted a few of the top Q&As below.

Which guidelines do I need to follow? Federal, state or local?

When developing a return-to-work policy, employers must first look at federal, state, and local guidance. OSHA and other government agencies haven’t released any timelines as to when or how often guidelines will be updated, so employers will need to routinely check to confirm their policies continue to remain in compliance. Employers also need to ensure they are adhering to all applicable guidelines and regulations. This means that if an employer is in an industry that requires compliance with a more stringent face covering guideline or distancing guideline than a local guideline, they should comply with the stricter one.

Can I ask employees for proof of vaccination? Is this a violation of HIPAA?

After reviewing current guidelines, employers must determine how they wish to handle face coverings and vaccination status requirements. The EEOC has clarified that employers can ask if employees have been vaccinated and may require proof of vaccination. However, they should be cautious about asking anything beyond that and clearly state that only proof of the vaccination is required, likely through an employee attestation or copy of a vaccination card, but that no other medical information should be obtained. This is not a violation of HIPAA, as the information isn’t being requested in relation to the health plan. On May 28, 2021, the EEOC clarified that vaccination status is medical information, so confidentiality should still be maintained and the records should be retained with other employee medical information.

Can anyone ask employees about vaccinations, or is it limited to the HR team?

Employers should also avoid asking questions such as “how was the vaccine?” or “did you have any side effects?” Additionally, they should consider who they want to allow to be asking and/or requesting this information from employees. Generally, it would be recommended to have the personnel who is trained to handle medical information receive the vaccination status information from employees. From there, they can let supervisors know which employees have the option to wear a mask and who don’t. The information must not be used negatively, and employers and management should make it clear that harassment between masked and unmasked individuals won’t be tolerated. There are various reasons that vaccinated individuals may still choose to wear a face covering, even if policy does not require them to.

Is it sufficient to use the honor system for allowing employees to forgo wearing masks in the office?

In some cases, employers are opting to rely on the honor system for allowing vaccinated employees to not wear a mask. Ultimately, the decision comes down to risk tolerance. Having a protocol or some level of verification in place helps an employer demonstrate that they have abided by safety guidelines for their employees. Barring any industry requirements, employers may allow employees who have been vaccinated to discontinue face coverings. It’s important to note that the CDC guidance doesn’t indicate that individuals who have had COVID-19 but have not been vaccinated can also go without a face covering. The guidance only pertains to those who are fully vaccinated.

Can I require employees to get vaccinated? What about using incentives?

Employers must also decide if they plan on requiring vaccinations or not. Requiring vaccinations does have more risk for the employer, in the event of an adverse reaction. At this time, many employers are opting instead to educate employees on vaccinations, providing time off for the vaccination or offering small incentives aligned with EEOC guidelines to employees who get vaccinated.

What if an employee refuses to come to work and asks for an accommodation?

Some employees may be unable to be vaccinated or, even with the vaccination, may not be comfortable returning to the physical office. Employers should consider each scenario on a case-by-case basis. The CDC has a list of conditions that would make someone a high-risk individual for COVID-19. If an employee falls into one of those categories or is otherwise covered by the ADA, employers should follow ADA interactive process to determine the proper accommodation for those employees.

If an employee requests an accommodation, employers should use their standard accommodation request process. If they don’t have a process or forms to utilize, they should visit the Job Accommodation Network website and/or consult legal counsel to avoid requesting unnecessary information. Generally, just a refusal to return to work isn’t a valid reason for an employer to have to accommodate an employee. For concerned employees, it’s important to provide sound information on safety protocols and procedures to help ease their mind about returning to work. In many cases, safety concerns can be overcome with clear and consistent communication with employees.

Once employers have drafted their return-to-work guidelines or amended existing guidelines, they should clearly communicate the policy, guidelines and expectations to their employees. As with any policy, employees who fail to abide by the policy may be subject to disciplinary action.

As with most topics related to COVID-19, this is an ever-evolving subject that employers should continuously monitor to ensure their policies remain in line with applicable laws and guidance.

To learn more, watch our recent Assurance University Webinar Replay, COVID-19 Employment Issues: Returning to Work and Vaccines.

Submitted by Avionte

Shopping for a new staffing ATS, CRM, or system of record? Then you’ve probably heard the term “open API” thrown around in a few demos. Usually after you ask “does this integrate with [insert list of necessary solutions here]?”

Over the last 20 years, APIs have become essential tools that allow staffing firms to streamline tech stacks and improve operational efficiency. But, in light of recent concerns around data integrity and security, it’s become clear that we need to have a better understanding of the benefits and risks associated with this common buzzword.

What’s an API?

If you want to get technical, an API, or an application programming interface, is a set of specifications and protocols that allow developers to create applications that access or share the data or features of a system.

At the most basic level though, an API is the bridge that lets two systems connect and share data.

For example, let’s say you have a staffing CRM and background check provider. If you connect the two systems using an API, then the CRM could share contact information with the background check provider, and the background check provider could share screening results seamlessly with the CRM.

This data exchange allows you to manage your background checks efficiently and maintain detailed contact records without duplicate data entry or manual tasks.

Sound cool? It is! API technology has allowed us to create tighter, more effective integrations with best-of-breed technologies, so we can improve efficiencies across the board.

But, not all APIs are created equal. Before creating the code for an API, the developer needs to determine whether it will be an open API, or a closed API.

• Open – These APIs are intended to be shared with the world. They’re published online and are easy to access and consume.
• Closed – APIs that are closed can only be accessed and consumed by approved parties.

Benefits of an open API for staffing

While most technologies prefer to use closed APIs, open APIs have been trending with HR technologies because they offer a number of advantages for the provider and the developers.

From a consumer standpoint though, there are 3 big benefits.

• Innovation led by a highly collaborative environment – developers from all walks of life can create, share, test, and document new features and use cases.
• Increased variety in ecosystems and marketplaces – because anyone can access the API, the ATS, CRM, or system of record provider can expand their partner ecosystem or marketplace quickly without having to invest in development resources.
• Potential for savings – technology providers using open APIs can turn a profit thanks to licensing opportunities and reduced development costs. This revenue stream may lead to lower pricing for end users.

Open API risks

While the three benefits outlined above are wonderful, they’re offset by a number of major concerns around the safety and stability of open APIs.

Major risks include, but are not limited to…

• Security concerns – open APIs provide a single (and well-documented) point of entry for hackers to access sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) such as employee social security numbers, direct deposit, and tax information.
• • They’re also susceptible to malware and ransomware, and the code can share data with 3rd parties you didn’t intend to share the data with.

• Slower systems with an increased risk of downtime – if the API isn’t properly managed, then one system may overwhelm the other with data or information requests. This could slow or stop your workflows completely at any given time.
• Shallow “integrations” that don’t function the way you need them to – open APIs depend on the other system’s developers to create the connection, and the connections aren’t always uniform.
• • For example: a developer from Company A could build a deep connection that emphasizes the user experience, and a developer from Company B could create a basic data bridge with no additional functionality. Both integrations would be considered “valid” depending on the marketplace or ecosystem.

• Overwhelming ecosystem options that may not meet your needs – because anyone can connect to the API, there’s no guarantee that the technology being connected to the system of record is useful to staffing, recruiting, or talent.
• • It’s a little like Googling “good chinese food near me” and getting 10,000 results for frozen supermarket pad thai. The frozen pad thai may be good enough in some cases, but it’s not quite what you’re craving and it requires a lot more effort to prepare.

Should you work with a CRM, ATS, or system of record provider that uses open APIs?

The answer really depends on you and your business. If you’re okay trading deep connections, decreased down time, and lower security risk for an expanded partner ecosystem and potential cost savings, then moving forward with a system that uses open APIs could be the right decision for your staffing firm.

However, if your focus is on integration quality and security, then closed APIs are your best route.

Does Avionté+ use open or closed APIs?

At Avionté, we don’t believe the benefits of an open API are worth risking your data security, but we also understand that closed APIs reduce the speed of innovation that a firm needs. In order to provide the best of both, we designed our partner program, Avionté+, around a subset of closed APIs called “private APIs.” Private APIs are closed APIs that can be consumed like an open API for approved technologies.

To put it simply, we provide approved and certified technology partners with the documentation, flexibility, and support necessary to easily access and consume the API. This means that they can:

• Consume more attributes in the API without needing our teams to co-develop with them (unless they’d like us to.)
• Innovate and design the ultimate user experience without compromising on system security and data integrity.

How are partners approved and certified?

As a staffing firm, we know that you have needs that extend beyond your core platform. You need partners that will elevate your workflows, drive a competitive edge, focus on security, and answer the phone when you call for help. So, when we first look at the solution that’s interested in connecting to our systems, we evaluate their…

• Customer service
• Technical support model
• Data model
• Data security

If they excel in each category, then we sign an integration certification agreement that clearly outlines expectations from both parties.

Tip to clients: remember to ask a third party technology if they have an integration certification agreement before signing up for their service.

Once the agreement is signed, we connect their developers with our integrations team and work together to build the strongest, most effective, connection via private API.

The private API keeps our client data secure and allows us to offer the best possible end-product to the staffing and recruiting industry.

How does Avionté+ benefit you?

Our network of pre-integrated, best of breed technologies and services using the private API help your teams:

• Quickly gain extra efficiency
• Maintain a single system of record/ single source of truth
• Improve data integrity
• Mitigate compliance risk
• Make informed business decisions

To date, 60+ technologies have cleared the pre-vetting and pre-integration process with more being added each month.

Have questions about APIs, integrations, or Avionté? Reach out to our team today!

Submitted by Avionte

There are new business technologies hitting the market every single day. So how do you know which technologies are right for you and your staffing firm. When it comes to a CRM for staffing companies, there are a key features you need to keep your business running smoothly and ensure your team has everything they need to close deals fast.

Key Features of a Modern CRM for Staffing Companies

Personalized Dashboards

With the technology available to us today, we all expect speed. We don’t want to go digging for information – we want information to get to us in as few clicks as possible. Dashboards are a useful tool to see important information immediately and take action on it. Personalization of this feature is also key. Users need the ability to customize their Dashboard to make it relevant and useful (and dare we say fun) for them to use!

Texting

To win sales, you have to meet your prospects where they’re at. In today’s world, texting is king. According to ZipWhip, 83% of people reply to text messages from a business within 30 minutes and 74% say they have zero unread text messages at any given time. That means texting is an extremely powerful form of communication and will actually get your prospect’s attention.

Robust Search Capabilities

Sales outreach is an integral part of winning deals and nurturing your pipeline, but this can also be a time consuming activity. A CRM for staffing firms needs to be primed with powerful search features to help your team quickly locate accounts that require outreach and send emails, texts, or calls with minimal clicks.

Integration with Networking Sites

What if you could prospect new clients with a single click? Manual entry is a thing of the past. In order to compete in today’s market, you need speed! Modern CRMs have integrations or tools used with networking sites like LinkedIn or Zoom Info to help you parse in prospect information with a click of a button. This saves time and eliminates potential error so you can prospect faster than ever.

Conclusion

To learn more about Avionté’s CRM for staffing firms, check out product videos.

Click here to view the article online.

Submitted by Haley Marketing

Technology is amazing.

With a single click, you can instantly find out where those pens you bought on Amazon are – and when they’ll arrive at your door. You’re always in the know!

Now, think for a minute like a candidate applying to a position on your job board: Once you hit the Submit button, your application and resume typically disappear into a recruiting “black hole.” Most of the time, you have no idea when – or even if – your submission will be reviewed, or you’ll get a call.

Compare that to the experience of ordering a box of pens through Amazon.

See my point?

Your candidates deserve Amazon-quality communication during the recruiting process.

And thanks to improvements in technology, it’s easier than ever to improve candidate CX – especially when it comes to communication during the recruiting process.

Real-time feedback: The antidote to candidate anxiety and ghosting.

Real-time application feedback can help you:

Alleviate candidate anxiety. Knowledge is power during the recruiting process. Leverage technology to keep applicants informed throughout the hiring process:

• Autoresponders. At a minimum, set up an automated email to acknowledge candidates who apply. All websites we develop automatically generate a Thank You message when candidates apply, acknowledging receipt and informing them about next steps.

• Automated interview reminders. Use marketing automation tools to create an automated communication plan that reminds candidates about job interviews and upcoming assignments.  Using email and text, ask people to confirm their appointments and then have your recruiters call people who fail to respond.

• Chatbots. Scripted, automated responses from chatbots can prevent communication vacuums after a job seeker applies online or completes an initial interview. Chatbots can be integrated with a variety of communication platforms, including websites, SMS, email, social media, messaging apps, and applicant tracking systems – to dramatically enhance CX.

Minimize candidate drop-off. The “not knowing” part of the hiring process can be incredibly frustrating for a job seeker. Using the tech outlined above to keep candidates up to date on the status of their application will help prevent them from giving up on your employer’s opportunity – especially if your process is complex or lengthy.

Improve completion and redeployment rates. From offer acceptance to first-day arrival to ongoing assignment feedback, use technology to execute a consistent, structured follow-up process. Create a series of emails, text messages and calls from recruiters to ensure your employees show up, are satisfied with the job and put in their best efforts.

Strengthen your employment brand. Great communication demonstrates genuine caring, transparency, empathy and respect for the individual’s time, all of which build your reputation as an employer of choice. When candidates are well-informed, they’re more likely to share positive reviews about their experience – even if you’re unable to place them.

Don’t forget the power of human feedback, too.

Technology is powerful, but you need to pair it with great “people processes” to deliver a share-worthy candidate experience:

• Train your recruiters to reach out to EVERY job applicant within 24 hours, letting them know what to expect.
• At the end of the interview, let the person know what to expect next. If the candidate is not qualified, tell them why you can’t offer them a job and what they need to do to improve their skills.

Click here to download the article in PDF format.

Submitted by E3 HR

The 2021 outlook for the staffing industry remains very positive with multiple opportunities to expand and grow. Labor shortages should be temporary with relief on the horizon as special unemployment benefits either expire or are canceled at the State and Federal levels.

With mounting pressure to improve margins, it is more important than ever to control worker comp costs considering the vital role these costs represent when pricing existing and new business opportunities.

Clearly, claims management should include strong and timely reporting combined with aggressive controls on the back end to ensure the expenses are regulated and premiums become more predictable leading to enhanced margins and profitability.

One practice often overlooked in the claims management process is the critical step of returning the employee to work when they are released to light duty. Understanding that a light duty position is not always readily available, there are still alternative solutions. One is verifying if your worker comp provider and claims management team has partnered to provide another avenue for light duty. For instance, E3 has partnered with a company called ReEmployAbility (REA). Utilizing a nationwide network of Non-Profit Organizations, REA will seek out a cost-effective return to work solution for the injured worker by finding them a position at one of their preferred vendors. The position will always accommodate the physical restrictions outlined by the treating physician – allowing the employee time to heal, while at the same time earning compensation and reducing the overall risk profile of the claim.

Understanding the Value

Using this example with REA a “win-win” outcome is created for everyone in the claims process. It provides benefits for the injured workers, the clients, and the the Non-Profits who are always in need of extra help. In 2018 alone, 57% of employees referred to ReEmployAbility accepted the assignment, leading to an average indemnity savings of $4,200 per claim. The economic impact on the non-profit industry was valued at over $53 million.

The injured employee will also benefit in multiple ways if enrolled in the REA program. They remain mentally connected to their employment, reducing the likelihood for the claim to malinger, and increasing the speed of the rehabilitation process. Employees can learn new skills that compliment regular employment, feel productive, and maintain self-confidence and pride in doing meaningful work. In REA surveys, participation in the program has demonstrated that the worker feels valued by the employer, and that their health and wellbeing is being taken seriously. This can decrease the potential of the worker retaining legal representation, keeping the claims cost lower, as well as boost overall morale among other employees.

Anytime a program can be put in place where all parties receive a benefit is a great positive in the world of business today. The success of programs like this one are proven and will certainly be another tool for staffing companies to deploy in an attempt to make certain expenses and earnings more predictable.

Submitted by Avionte

Are you in the process of bringing new technology to your staffing company or upgrading your existing platform? Then before you pull the trigger, wait a second. Making the almost-right decision here can be the difference between gaining a competitive advantage in your market and fading into irrelevance.

When searching for a new staffing system of record, you want to make sure you find a provider that offers the following:

• A TRUE end-to-end staffing solution
• Proven track record of success
• Powerful platform integrations

A True End-to-End Staffing Solution?

A true end-to-end solution—one that encompasses all your workflows from winning new clients to managing back office operations—can provide a differentiated, positive experience for your team members, your talent and your customers.

For example, with all your data housed in a single, secure location, the different arms of your business can easily share information and insights. At Avionté, our clients love the fact that:

• Recruiters and sales share a single system and can finally align on pipeline and talent needs.
• Operations can map the talent journey from application to payroll and work with relevant teams to optimize the process, minimize cost, and improve ROI.
• Back office teams can quickly access robust integrated data sets to drive informed business decisions.

If you don’t invest in an end-to-end staffing or recruiting solution, then you’ll need to rely on a host of best-of-breed point solutions to build your workflows.

At the bare minimum you’d need:

• Applicant tracking system (ATS)
• Client relationship management tool (CRM)
• Interviewing tool
• Onboarding platform
• Employee engagement system
• Time and attendance tracker
• Payroll platform
• Billing and AR system
• Business intelligence or reporting tool

Each of those platforms comes with individual contracts, bills, support teams, and logins that all need to be managed and maintained by your team on a regular basis.

What’s worse, if you can’t connect these systems together, then your teams will not only need to learn separate systems, but manually re-enter information in each of these systems, which wastes time and impairs data integrity and security.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to scale your staffing business with inefficient teams and inaccurate data. An end-to-end staffing solution will help unify your data, your operations, and your talent/ client experience so you can grow with confidence.

Proven Track Record of Success

Staffing is a complex industry. Don’t waste time working with a vendor that doesn’t understand it. Look for a solution that provides a proven technology—one that many staffing firms before you have used to grow their businesses. Only a vendor who understands the industry can address the unique needs of your teams, your clients, and your talent.

As an added bonus, a trusted staffing technology provider will have a firm financial foundation and will likely be around to support your business far into the future. This stability allows them to focus on nurturing their relationship with you and boosting your long-term success.

Powerful Platform Integrations

While an end-to-end solution provides a solid foundation for success, teams may need to utilize a custom tech stack or best-of-breed point solutions to maximize workflows and maintain a competitive advantage. That’s why you want a system that offers powerful platform integrations geared towards growing and scaling your business while improving the staffing/ talent/ client experience without having to leave the core system of record.

Your vendor should also thoroughly vet all their technology partners and ensure security protocols—so your data is kept safe and you can meet compliance standards.

What’s the best end-to-end staffing and recruiting platform on the market?

That depends on your business. But the smart choice for clerical, light industrial, IT, and professional staffing is Avionté. Avionté offers a true end-to-end platform that drives efficiency, maximizes profitability, and boosts productivity for nearly 1,000 staffing agencies throughout North America.

The core platform offers:

• Advanced candidate search and next-level sourcing
• Text recruiting and video interviewing
• Personalized job boards
• Task and activity tracking
• Paperless process from talent apply to payroll
• The ability to analyze data for a 360-degree view of your business

But staffing is a complex business with needs that extend beyond your core front and back-office solution. That’s why Avionté also offers powerful platform integrations through the Avionté+ program.

With Avionté+ you have the ability to:

• Quickly connect to pre-vetted, pre-integrated technologies that have an emphasis on staffing and security.
• Customize your experience to fit your firm’s unique needs through a powerful data exchange infrastructure of secure APIs, automated file transfers, and events.
• Trigger actions from multiple technologies with a single click in a single system of record.
• Quickly gain extra efficiency through an engagement and experience-based tech stack.

All of which frees you up to land new clients and recruit top-notch talent while running all your back office functions and planning for the future.

If you’re ready to unify your data, streamline your tech stack, and build the ultimate staffing experience, then schedule a demo with Avionté today.

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