As the economy continues to reopen and recover, business is buzzing at many light industrial staffing firms in the US. US GDP is now forecast to grow a sizzling 5.5% this year, according to the base case outlook of The Conference Board. Against this backdrop, many staffing firms are gearing up for a big year — and also making investments in technology to maintain and enhance their competitive positioning.
One technology that is receiving a lot of attention is staffing platform technology that enables candidates to accept shifts and temporary assignments from clients in a more automated, self-service fashion that leverages mobile app technology. Early pioneers of this approach include TrueBlue Inc. (NYSE: TBI) with its JobStack app and platform that launched in 2017 and that now processes a majority of their temporary assignments (57% in 2020). Other early pioneers using a native staffing platform approach include Wonolo, Adia and BlueCrew. The latest wave of newly started companies applying a staffing platform model includes Indeed Flex, Shiftfillers and Shiftone, to name just a few examples.
Light industrial staffing firms wishing to compete in this emerging service line have some choices on how to offer their own services. They can acquire a company, they can build their own technology, or they can license with a growing number of SPaaS (staffing platform as a service) technology providers. Rapid growth reported by SPaaS providers points to the increasing traction in the marketplace. For example, WorkN processed 50,000 shifts per day in February 2021, up from 19,000 in July 2020 and 8,000 in July 2019. Other SPaaS providers include TempBuddy (Bullhorn), Shiftgig, Sirenum and TimeSaved.
Beyond the light industrial segment, staffing platform technology has achieved remarkable growth in the US nurse staffing industry, in part due to high volume of demand related to the pandemic. Aya Healthcare reported that the rollout of its self-service platform resulted in massive volume growth in assignments filled. Aya reported more than 20,000 clinicians on assignment in Q1 2021, versus roughly 5,900 clinicians in Q1 2020. Other nurse staffing firms that feature a platform model include Gale, IntelyCare, NurseFly, Nomad, SnapNurse and Trusted. As further use cases develop in professional staffing, more best practices and techniques may be made available to light industrial staffing.
The rise of staffing platform technology was a topic discussed in depth at SIA’s Executive Forum North America Virtual Event, which took place March 8-11, including in the opening keynote by SIA President Barry Asin. If you missed the 30th annual Executive Forum North America, there is still an opportunity to access 30 sessions from 100 speakers on demand for a limited time. Learn more by contacting memberservices@staffingindustry.com.
As the light industrial segment of the staffing industry returns to full strength this year, we will be closely watching to see the impact that staffing platform technology will have on clients, candidates and staffing firm operations.
