Staffing platforms can completely transform how your agency operates. If you’re thinking of getting your agency started, you’re going to need to investigate your options. Below we’ve outlined some of the most important things you’ll want to think about as you begin the evaluation process.
New to staffing platforms? Find out if your agency should be using one.
Figure out your goals and agency needs
This might go without saying, but you should always outline your goals and pain points for your staffing agency before you go searching for a provider. A number of agencies will come to us with the notion that implementing just any staffing app will help them achieve growth. Each staffing platform as a service (SPaaS) provider has their own distinctive offerings that will help agencies tackle their pain points. It’s good to uncover what those are (you can start by looking at these KPIs) so that your provider can advise you on which features are most important and likely to help.
Are you going to build or buy?
Considering all the initial costs and ongoing maintenance, building in-house is obviously very expensive (costing a minimum of about a million dollars). The choice to build or buy a staffing platform is dependent on your resources but also in part with how long you’re willing to wait to get your product to market. On average, it will take at least a year to build a minimum viable product and if your competitors are implementing solutions right now, you can’t afford to lose that time. SPaaS providers are a more affordable and quicker way to get your app up and running.
What you’ll want to know about staffing apps and SPaaS providers
Integrations with current tools
Double check to make sure that your integral tools that are already in use such as your applicant tracking system (ATS) are compatible with the staffing app. Integrations are useful so that you’re able to transfer or sync your data back and forth between the two systems seamlessly.
Potential to replace or consolidate tools
You may also want to evaluate whether a new platform is able to replace any of your existing tech stacks. For example, our platform can also be used without an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) while many require one to be fully functional. Texting is built in as a capability, along with a referral engine, which means merging your tools is easy. Replace or consolidate where you can – it’s a good way to reduce costs and increase end-to-end visibility for your team.
Scalability
Make sure that your product is fit to grow with you. Scalability ensures that your agency will always have access to more features and services as you grow. Updates and improvements should be seamless and done regularly to ensure top quality of your staffing app.
To understand what goes into making platforms scalable, learn more about how we build our staffing apps for scale here.
Watch their presence in the industry
Working with a company with an established presence in the industry matters a lot more than you’d think. Building tech that works right requires a deep understanding of what is happening in the industry and the people it’s intended to be used by. Pay attention to whether the leaders in the company are also thought leaders in the industry. Follow the conversations they’re involved with on social media or at conferences and other events – you can get a good idea of whether they’re up-to-speed and capable of helping you scale your organization down the line.
Pro tip:
Make sure any provider you are considering has a live, functioning app. This may seem straightforward, but ensure that what you are being shown is not a prototype. There are a few ways to test this:
- When looking at the demo, keep an eye out for a translucent circle clicking through the app. This is indicative of a Figma prototype (a common software for designing product UI)
- Ask them for a demo app you can download from the App Store and play around with on your own time
Think about tech stack specifics
Really investigate whether a native mobile app or a progressive web app (PWA) better suits your agency’s needs. A native app is an application specifically designed and downloaded onto an Apple iOS and/or Android mobile device (it can also be made into a PWA). A progressive web app (PWA) is a smaller version of a regular site that adapts to the size and shape of your device. The choice you make should take into account your goals for your agency and explore the ideal type of experience you want to deliver to your recruiters, candidates, and clients.
Market validation
With so many new SPaaS providers popping up in the industry, it’s become a real task to identify which staffing apps are ready for market. Many are in the prototyping phase and don’t actually have a live working product yet. This means your timeline to launch can get pushed indefinitely while they work on getting the solution to market. To identify if a provider has a live, ready-to-use app, ask to play with it yourself instead of relying only on demos led by their team.
(Experience our candidate app here: Apple iOS / Android).
Another way to establish if an app is live in the market is to ask to speak with customers using the solution. Go beyond just viewing testimonials on the website or review sites, but see if you can have a conversation with an actual user. They can tell you a lot about working with the company and what it means to partner with them.
Expectations for support
Work with a vendor that will help you understand what you’d be getting in terms of availability, performance and support. Depending on your spend level, this can vary. Established providers will be able to work with you to define what your expectations should be and set you up for success.
Do they have the experience, knowledge and resources to help set you up for success beyond technology such as insight on how to increase app store visibility or best practices for cleaning your database? Verify that you’re working with a supportive company that can guide you and your agency and won’t abandon you to figure out the next steps.
Digging into the company and their services can help you build confidence and ensure that you’re working with a team of experts that will help you make all the right decisions throughout the process. Start your investigation into staffing platform providers by scheduling a demo with a staffing platform expert on our team.
