Temporary workers are almost as likely to find their staffing agency through the referral of a friend or colleague as they are by being directly recruited, according to research recently released by Staffing Industry Analysts.

The survey asked temporary workers how they first learned about their current staffing agency. Thirty-one percent of the respondents said they were recruited directly by their staffing agency, while 26% said that a friend or colleague recommended the agency to them; an additional 4% said a friend/colleague recommended a particular recruiter at the agency.

“It’s striking how important reputation is to recruiting,” said Jon Osborne, VP Strategic Research.  “And we know from our surveys that staffing firms vary materially in likelihood of being recommended by their temporary workers. Firms that make an effort to leave temporary workers with a positive impression will have a material edge on the recruiting side.”

Additionally, only about one-quarter of temporary workers seeking a specialty recruiter, 23%, said they would contact a staffing agency, while 38% said that if they wanted to find a specialty recruiter, they would search the Web and 36% said they would ask a friend or colleague for a referral.

Temps in most higher-paid professional occupations were more likely than average to discover their agency by being actively recruited; the exception was healthcare workers, where 40% depended more on the recommendations of friends and 20% on Web searches.

The survey was conducted in late 2016 and reflects the opinions of 5,840 temporary worker respondents from 38 staffing firms. The full report is available online to corporate members.