Introduction
Not all staffing solutions are created equal. Picking the right one can mean the difference between an empty shift and a fully functioning team.
This guide breaks down the main types of staffing services available, what they offer, where they fall short, and what option is the best for flexible staffing near me.
1: Traditional Temp Agencies
Traditional temporary agencies have been around for decades. For years they have been the choice for finding temp staff for your business.
So how does temp work work? Temp agencies or also known as labor agencies are a staffing firm that recruits its own employees and then assigns them to other places to work on a temporary basis.
When a business needs workers they will contact a labor agency near me and request workers. The temp agency then takes care of recruiting, background checking, and placing the workers at that company.
Pros:
- Local relationships
- Industry knowledge
- Pre-vetted workers
Cons:
- Slow placement times
- High Costs with little transparency
- Limited worker control
- Low fill rates
A business and a temp agency usually sign a contract that specifies how many workers a company will get, what the workers will be paid, and how long the workers work.
There is a reason temp agencies near me have been the go to option for years. Temp labor is an integral part of a successful staffing plan. Temp agencies have relationships with local temporary labor near me.
With years of experience, labor agencies often have industry specific knowledge that can be valuable for businesses who just want someone else to take care of their staffing.
Finding temp workers near me through a temp agency has its limitations. Temp agencies are not fast, it can take weeks for an agency to source the workers a company needs. Because of the contracts businesses get higher costs and limited control with temp agencies. The biggest challenge is the low fill rates associated with a labor agency near me.
2: On-Demand Staffing Apps
Staffing apps, like Bacon Work, are the technology driven modern day temp agency. Online staffing platforms offer instant, flexible staffing for modern businesses looking for temporary workers.
With staffing apps businesses find temp employees by posting the shifts they need onto the platform. Workers view the shift and if they are interested in working it they apply. The business then chooses who to accept to their shift.
Pros:
- Post shifts and find temp employees quickly.
- Flexibility
- Full Control
- Great for many industries: events, general labor staffing, warehouse temp staffing, and seasonal surges.
- High fill rates
Cons:
- Requires someone internally to post the shifts
Online staffing platforms are great for businesses who need to quickly find temp workers. Posting a shift is quick and workers are instantly notified of the new shift posting.
The increased control allows businesses to flex their staff to meet real time demand. Businesses have full control over their shifts, including worker numbers, requirements, and worker wages.
3: Full-Time Direct Hiring
This is the traditional way of staffing. Posting a job opening, reviewing candidates, interviewing, and eventually hiring. This type of staffing still plays a role but it’s not always ideal for businesses facing rapid change or demand spikes.
Pros:
- More control over worker training and development
- Long-term team stability
Cons:
- Slow hiring process
- Onboarding costs and time
- Less flexibility if business needs fluctuate.
This type of staffing is best for hiring core business roles or highly specialized skill sets. This is not the most efficient way to find general labor staffing but is great for hiring supervisors or manager positions.
This type of staffing service is slow and puts all of the work on internal teams. This is also one of the least flexible staffing strategies.
4: Temp-to-Hire Staffing
Temp-to-hire staffing is a type of staffing service that offers a “trial period” before making a full-time offer. Traditional staffing agencies can sometimes offer this option. They will send a temp labor to a business for a period during which both the employees and the client consider if it is a good fit.
Pros:
- Evaluate performance and culture fit before committing
- Reduces turnover and improves hiring confidence
Cons:
- Workers may prefer opportunities elsewhere
- Traditional labor agencies often charge a hefty fee to hire one of their workers full time
Temp-to-hire is best for growing businesses looking to expand their teams while hiring with confidence. Businesses can evaluate a worker's performance and test how they fit in the company culture before committing to a full time hire. This reduces turnover and improves hiring confidence.
However workers also get a choice and if they don’t like the culture at a company they can choose not to accept the position. There is also a very heavy fee for hiring a temp worker full time. Check out how much does a temp agency charge per hour to learn more about temp agency fees.
5: Freelance Staffing
Freelance staffing is when businesses contract with a consultant or freelance worker. These workers aren’t hired full time and often have specialization in a specific area. Many industries are tapping into freelance workers for project-based or highly specialized tasks.
Pros:
- Access to highly skilled professionals on a short-term basis
- Flexibility to bring in talent without long-term commitment
- Usually don’t need to be trained
Cons:
- Not ideal for routine general labor staffing or warehouse roles.
- Managing multiple freelancers can be complex
This kind of staffing is best for creative work, IT projects, consulting, and other high skill task-based jobs.
Freelance workers are skilled professionals who are specialized in doing specific tasks. So if a business needs a high skilled task done freelance work is the way to go.
Freelance workers are great for short-term commitment and usually don’t need training to do their specific tasks.
Freelancers are also independent contractors, they often are not interested in becoming full time workers. Each freelancer will have their different rate and schedule so managing multiple freelancers can be difficult.
Conclusion
So what type of staffing service is best? The answer is usually a mix of multiple options.
Hiring your core roles full time gives you a solid base. Using online staffing platforms, like Bacon, to source warehouse temp staffing or general labor staffing gives your business the ability to scale up or down to meet real time needs.
For businesses needing fast, flexible, affordable temp labor, Bacon is the best option.
