Jon Osborne's Blog

What do staffing firms hate the most? No, it's not VMS.

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, we surveyed staffing firms with regard to their attitude toward a wide variety of factors--legal and regulatory topics, staffing specific issues (such as VMS and RPO); and exogenous variables (such as the economy).  We asked: "For each of the following factors, do you think they are a net positive, net negative or neutral with regard to your company today?"

This... More

Staffing firms are from Mars, staffing buyers are from Venus

I happened to be going through some of our survey data from 2009, and noticed an interesting coincidence. 

When buyers were asked what advice they would give to staffing firms, their number one response was that staffing firms should be "more of a real business partner."  Strangely enough, in a separate survey, when we asked staffing firms what advice they would give to buyers... More

Welcome to Kafka's Department of Labor

The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has discontinued its practice of offering specific guidance to employers wanting clarification regarding independent contractor compliance.  It used to be that you could write in and get help understanding the intricacies of the law.  No more.

Instead, turning customer service on its head, the WHD may soon require employers--large and small,... More