On a job hunt? You might have bumped into some ads from labour hire agencies and recruitment agencies. Perhaps you might be planning to send in resumes to both, thinking that they both do one and the same thing – to get you a job. And although that is true, there are some key differences that you absolutely have to know about before you decide to work with either.
Before we get into how different they are, let’s first get their similarities out of the way. A labour-hire agency and a recruitment agency exist to hire workers for companies. However, the types of workers and the duration of their service contracts are very different from each other. Let us take a look at how recruitment agencies go about their process first.
Recruitment Agencies: Long-Term Employment Solutions
Recruitment agencies provide workers to companies that are looking for qualified applicants. Many companies opt to outsource the hiring process with recruitment agencies since doing so efficiently cuts their costs on having an in-house human resource team. Although establishing one’s own human resources department is great for big and established companies, most small- to medium-sized businesses could not afford such an investment just yet.
Getting the perfect candidate from a recruitment company does not happen overnight, however. This is because recruitment firms have to make sure that the people they send out are suitable for long-term employment under the client company.
So, before the recruitment firm can send out a list of candidates, they have to know exactly which positions need to be filled and which people are suitable for those positions. Doing so takes a lot of assessment and planning on the recruitment company’s part.
How do the workers get paid?
Since the recruitment agency sends out workers for more permanent or long-term job positions, the employees are going to be paid by the client company if they get hired. Once a candidate hops on board the client company, a recruitment fee will be aptly paid to the recruitment agency that made the placement possible.
Benefits of Using a Recruitment Agency
Engaging services from a recruitment agency can bring a lot of benefits for your growing company. Here are just some of the few examples:
Save Recruitment Time
Looking for the right hire can be time-consuming – you have to sort through a lot of resumes, interview one applicant after another, and so on. But the worst part is taking the risk that you might have hired the wrong applicant, resulting to even more delays and costly interviews.
Find the Best Talent
Recruitment agencies know a fair deal about the industries they engage in. As such, they will also be connected to the best people in the business, people that they can refer back to you!
Convenient Payment Terms
In business, time is everything. You can spare yourself from the pesky paperwork with recruitment agencies. You don’t have to go through a lot of payment hoops and hidden surcharges anymore. The payment terms are pretty straightforward, so you still get plenty of time to focus on your business.
Labour Hire Agency: Short-Term and Convenient Solutions
Companies typically face fluctuating demands throughout the year, and for those seasons when the demand peaks, labour hire companies come in to save the day. People in recruitment are all too familiar with the challenges that absentee employees and peak season bring in. That gap in the workforce can spell the difference between a successful project and one that isn’t.
Building or construction project managers are mostly the ones that turn to the help of labour hire agencies. But labour hire provides skilled and unskilled workers for various other industries too. Work can range anywhere from short-term plumbing jobs to contract-based commercial projects.
How do the workers get paid?
The client company calls on the labour hire agency for short-term labour hires. As such, payroll and other work benefits are handled by the labour hire firm. OH&S responsibilities, however, must be covered by both.
Benefits of Using a Recruitment Agency
Supplementing your existing workforce with the workers from the labour hire agency can be beneficial for many reasons. Here are some of them:
Flexible Working Arrangements
Workers from labour hire agencies are supplementary labour. This means that client companies can hire them during peak times and end their contract during off-peak times. This way, you won’t have to keep maintaining a workforce that is larger than the tasks you will have further down the line. You can also scale up or down whenever necessary without a hitch.
Conducting a Test Run
Using a labour hire agency does not mean you have to give up a good worker once the contract ends. Think of it as conducting a test run on whether their performance suits your standards or not. The great thing about labour hire is it provides an avenue to test the performance of a worker before you commit to officially hiring them as a part of your in-house workforce.
Specialised Skills
From plumbing to construction, you can find many labour options through labour hire agencies. These workers have specialised skills that can come in handy in trade, construction, and many other sectors.
Another great thing is that you can save a lot of money and time on administrative affairs. You no longer have to arrange payroll accounts for additional employees. Everything from insurances to taxes will be taken care of by the labour hire firm.
Training and Management
Skilled and unskilled workers all need the training to hone their skills. It is also a good way for them to pick up new ways of performing their job. However, not many companies put training their employees as their top priority. Understandably so, training and managing employees can be time-consuming and costly.
Fortunately, client companies can rest assured that they are still getting highly-trained people on board without even lifting a finger since most labour hire agencies handle it instead. Some of the most important and non-negotiable training they must provide include work health and safety training, as well as tools and workplace management.
If you have more questions on the differences between a labour hire agency and a recruitment agency, feel free to strike up a conversation with us here at Labor Solutions Pty Ltd.