Companies across the United States want to streamline their processes. Flexibility, efficiency, and cost savings are necessary to survive in this new economy. Contract staffing allows companies to achieve those goals and become productive at the same time.
There are three pieces of good news here for recruiters. One is that the companies you are already working with for direct hire placements probably need contractors, and you already have those business relationships established.
The other piece of good news is that any recruiter, regardless of size, can add contract staffing to their business model if they use a full service back-office provider. The back-office should handle the financial, legal, and administrative tasks so you don’t have to deal with funding, contracts, time sheets, payroll, taxes, workers compensation, background checks or any other administrative issue.
Finally, because workforce flexibility and cost containment are such critical needs for companies, you won’t have to spend a lot of time convincing them that they need contractors. With that in mind, the focus of your marketing efforts should be two-fold:
- To make sure that when a company has a contract staffing need, they can find you.
- To differentiate you from your competitors.
Fortunately, with the Internet and other tools, it is easy for you to meet both of these goals.
Put It On Your Web Site
Perhaps the most important thing to do is add a contract staffing page to your Web site. This is the best way to ensure that companies will find you when they have a contract staffing need. Make sure your contracting page includes keywords such as contract staffing, contract placements, contractors, contract-to-direct, etc. This is to improve your position when someone uses a search engine to find you.
Consider a Blog
A natural extension of your Web site is a blog. If writing is not your forte or you are short on time, you may be reluctant to try this. But don’t dismiss the idea too quickly. A blog is a great way to meet both of the goals discussed above. If companies are running Internet searches for recruiters who can place contractors, you want to make sure you show up. Search engines like blogs because their content is updated regularly. And by sharing the tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise you have through a blog, you can position yourself as an expert and set yourself apart from your competition.
Consider Social Media
Social media sites offer plenty of ways to spread your message. The king of social media for recruiters is LinkedIn. Your profile should address the fact that you do contract staffing, and your firm should have a complete company page with a “services” page that mentions contract staffing.
You can also join and participate in LinkedIn Groups in your niche. By adding to discussions and posting relevant content in Groups, you again set yourself apart from your competition by positioning yourself as an expert. You can even start your own Group to further expand your name recognition. Just be sure you are providing useful information rather than being self-promotional.
Here are some other social media sites to consider:
- Google+
Marketing Materials
Since companies want to streamline, they often want one vendor to meet all their staffing needs. Therefore, mailing or emailing marketing materials explaining you can handle both direct hire and contract placements is a great way to differentiate you from your competition. If you work with a contract staffing back-office, they may be able to help you put these together.
Some More Ideas
Here are some more tactics that have worked for other recruiters who are successfully making contract placements:
- Mention contract staffing services on email signatures, brochures, business cards, standard fee schedules, etc;
- Attend regional or industry-specific conferences;
- Send promotional products (stress balls, cups, pens, etc.);
- Send press releases to newspapers and other publications.
These methods have all been used successfully by recruiters who do contract staffing in addition to their direct hire placements. But all recruiters are different, and all companies are different, so some of these marketing ideas may work better for one group than another. Only you can decide which ones can help you expand your business and increase your cash flow.