Are the Benefits Offered By Your Staffing Firm Competitive? It Matters.

The fact is that temp benefits is not really part of the tête-à-tête between buyers of staffing services and their suppliers. Sure, it’s in the contract. But the reality is that it’s an area that is seldom visited once contracts are signed.

Here’s why it matters.

A recent report by Staffing Industry Analysts questioned 4,700 temporary workers about how they perceived the benefits and bonuses offered by staffing firms they worked for.

Contingents cited health-related insurance benefits as the thing they most want. Let me explain how this impacts your business. Buyers want quality talent. If temporary workers feel that they are not being treated right, i.e. not being offered competitive benefits, it’s likely to make them less productive, less engaged and more likely to leave. Or worse, your company doesn’t attract high-quality talent because the word on the street is that you are a cheapskate. It’s irrelevant that the staffing firm is providing the benefits and not your company.  The perception is what counts.

Staffing firms represent you. A worker doesn’t distinguish between you and the staffing firm that represents your firm.  Ask a temp where they work and the response will be ABC Client. “I am at ABC Company for a three-six month project” is the typical response. They almost never mention the staffing firm that placed them there.

Currently, your suppliers are in a quandary thanks to healthcare reform.  The more sanguine of suppliers believe that if they pay for healthcare benefits for temporary workers, they will increase bill rates. So the costs of healthcare will and should be borne by the buyer.

Others less optimistic are thinking of ways to avoid benefits to keep bill rates low.  Here’s where buyers need to vote with their feet on the ground.  You want the suppliers to represent you the right way.  Or else the cost could be more than just having a reputation as a skinflint.