Major disparities exist between staffing firms’ perception of the service they provide and what clients say about the service they receive based on factors such as service delivery, proactivity and communication, according to research released today by staffing software provider Bullhorn in collaboration with CareerBuilder.

“Alarmingly, many of today’s staffing firms are disconnected from client expectations and perceptions,” stated Perception vs. Reality: How Staffing Firm Service Compares to Client Expectations, the ebook presenting the research. “And it seems the supplier-buyer relationship is misaligned on several fronts: service satisfaction, proactivity and communication.”

The report found:

• Skewed perception vs. reality. When asked to rate the level of service staffing firms provided to their clients, staffing firm respondents gave their firms an average score of 8.81 out of 10; however, when asked to rate their satisfaction with the staffing services they used, buyers gave their staffing providers an average satisfaction score of 5.98 out of 10.
• Unhappy clients with unsatisfactory hires. Thirty-nine percent rated average performance of the hires their staffing supplier provided as an average of 5 out of 10.
• Proactivity missed the mark. Staffing buyers rated their staffing firms’ anticipation of client needs an average of 4.98 out of 10, while staffing firms ranked their own anticipation of client needs an average of 8.14 out of 10.
• Lack of timely communication. Less than half of clients, 47%, said their staffing firms contacted them weekly or more frequently. About one in four, 24%, of clients said contact occurred once per quarter or less.

When asked what their staffing service providers could do to better meet their needs, 63% of clients said firms could “increase the quality of recruited candidates.” Other choices, like “provide a higher number of applicants” (at 27%) and “respond more quickly” (at 9%) were also reiterated, but high-quality placements was seemingly more important to buyers than volume or efficiency.