Whether an employee of staffing company, a candidate working with a staffing company to find their next career, or a company that has hired the services of a staffing company,  one had better make certain that it is E3 Certified. What is an E3 Certification you ask?

The E stands for EMPOWERMENT. The 3 represents the EMPOWERMENT of the following 3 groups:

1. Employees
2. Candidates
3. Clients

OK…you got me. An E3 Certification is not currently a recognized industry certification, but it ought to be. If you are not empowering or enabling your constituents (the three groups listed above), this means you are typically falling short of satisfying your bottom line whether your company priority is to satisfy stakeholders, shareholders or both. The staffing industry is filled with brand names that claim to put “people first” and are dedicated to their clients and candidates. Many firms would like to say that they have been voted “Best Staffing Company to Work For”, sadly this is not the case. The fact is that many companies find themselves not capable of empowering one or more of these groups at the expense of the others.

Employee Empowerment: For example, if a staffing company is unable or unwilling to invest in ongoing training and technology for recruiters, the company runs the risk of recruiter burnout. This affects how recruiters communicate with candidates and clients. Has your company invested in recruiting automation  or CRM technology that empowers them to make placements rather than unnecessary manual data entry? If you are a company that provides consultants or temporary services, do you provide your consultants or contingent workforce with online timesheets? Are your employees recognized for beingpeople oriented people?  It is critical in a service oriented industry such as staffing and recruiting to recognize how you recognize employees.

Candidate Empowerment: If you empower candidates with job requirements that are in-line with their skill sets and make it a point of providing timely feedback whether it is by phone or an automated email, this reflects on the quality of your recruiters, services and your company overall. We’ve all seen unsavory posts about how a candidate was perceived to be treated by a recruiter? These comments are costly. How about empowering candidates with a candidate portal? Are candidates able to easily upload resumes? How about other documents and online evaluations? Do they receive an acknowledgement that the resume and documents have been received? Attention to these details creates a positive candidate experience.

Client Empowerment: If your staffing company utilizes technology that enables you to fulfill open job recs quicker, bridges the gap with timely communications between client and candidates and makes the staffing process seamless and comfortable for all involved, this empowers clients to continue a strong partnership with your company and positively influences their reputation as a great company to interview with, especially through a third party recruiting firm.

Can a staffing company satisfy the needs of employees, candidates and clients? Only you can answer that. Do you have an organizational, technological or economic reason holding you back and why?

Questions for you:

If there was a real E3 Certification, would your staffing company qualify?
If the answer is yes, we’d like to know how you empower each group.
Let me know at reena.gupta@avankia.com