SIA recently published the results of the 2022 North America Staffing Company Survey. The 2022 survey reflects responses from executives at 438 staffing firms operating in North America, with 100 firms indicating that the industrial skill segment was their largest segment by revenue. This was the 14th year that SIA conducted the survey, and the 587-page report provides a compilation of the results of both the 2022 survey and a variety of topics and metrics. This article provides an overview of some of findings from the 2022 survey.
One section of the 2022 survey covered staffing/talent platforms and process automation technologies. For usage or consideration of platforms, 17% of industrial staffing firms reported current use, with another 36% planning to adopt platforms within the next two years. The remaining 48% indicated they were either not interested in or unaware of platforms. Regarding process automation regarding temporary and permanent worker candidates (which includes but is not limited to such activities as viewing and applying for jobs, downloading tax documents, or indicating availability for shifts) use by industrial staffing firms remained at 58% for the third year in a row. Process automation relating to staffing buyers — which includes but is not limited to such activities as viewing billing formation, searching candidate profiles/resumes and assigning temporary workers to shifts — declined slightly, to 27% from 28%.
We also asked staffing firms about their plans for 32 vendor-provided services (19 technology services and 13 non-technology services). Among vendor-provided technology services, industrial staffing firms expressed the greatest interest in increasing their use of texting and email technologies, with 65% indicating plans to increase their use of these services. At 61%, engagement platforms were the second-highest portion of firms planning to increase service use. Recruitment chatbots, workforce analytics, and analytics & benchmarking were also high-interest technology services. Split fee networks, psychometric assessments, and staffing platform-as-a-service technologies were those with the least interest, as measured by the percent of industrial staffing firms indicating they “won’t use at all” these technologies.
Another section of the survey asked staffing firms about their preparations and plans for a possible recession. Among industry verticals, industrial staffing firms expressed the most aggressive plans, likely reflecting the segment’s elevated sensitivity to business cycles. When asked about 11 specific precautionary actions, 26% of industrial staffing firms indicated they have already pursued at least one of these acts or will during 2022, and 36% indicated they would pursue at least one if a recession were formally declared.
The full survey report provides extensive detail on the topics summarized above, and hundreds of pages of information on other topics, including trends over time. For more detail on these topics and others covered in the 2022 North American Staffing Company Survey, findings from prior years’ surveys, and trends, the full report is available to SIA corporate members.
