A Staffing Atlas to Guide You

What’s the temp penetration rate in your county? If someone asked you that, you would probably dismiss both the question and the person who asked. But for those in contingent workforce management, it’s not an inane request. And we at Staffing Industry Analysts can help answer it.

Our analysts have come up with a tool, the 2012 Opportunity Atlas, which contains not just temporar yworker data but traditional employee statistics as well at the state, metro and county levels. Available to SIA’s corporate and  council members, it’s a great interactive resource for staffing firms. And there are two really good reasons to use it. To begin with, it helps you benchmark your own performance.

For instance, you are a staffing in Akron, Ohio. You want to know how much of the market your agency has. Well go to the atlas and you can find out. It also helps with expansion openings. For the reader’s convenience, Staffing Industry Analysts has ranked all U.S. markets by an “opportunity score.” This score has a potential range of 0 to 100; higher scores indicate greater opportunity for staffing firms. The calculation for the score takes into account local market growth trends over the short- and long-term — in terms of general employment, temporary employment and branches — as well as sales activity per branch.

So the atlas tells you that perhaps expanding (further) into Akron is not the answer. You already have 50 percent of the market. Maybe it’s time to look at another metro or even state. So next time your boss or a client asks you what the temp penetration rate in Oregon is, you can stun them with your brilliance.

P.S. Buyers of contingent workforce services: make sure your staffing suppliers have access to this tool. It can help staff your next project more efficiently.