Since the latest economic downturn, many companies have changed their hiring practices. Some employers prefer to tackle the process themselves, while others turn to third-party employment agencies. There are plenty of reasons why hiring an experienced employment agency makes good business sense.

The commonly recognized plusses of outsourcing hiring is saving time and money. Picking the right employee the first time increases the length of retention and reduces recruiting and training costs. With the unemployment rate as high as it is, many people are desperate for work and employers are hit with a tsunami of resumes for open positions some are highly qualified, while others are obviously not.

The employment agency will screen out the non-qualified applicants. This may seem easy enough, but many unqualified candidates insist that they can learn anything with training.

Companies that depend on employment agencies are typically seeking well-trained candidates who can hit the ground running upon being hired. They're also looking for someone who is a right match with the company's culture. Anna-Marie Sparks, president of NH employment agency Sparks Employment Group, says, "Making a positive employee to employer match is the most satisfying part of the business."

Many businesses prefer going through employment agencies because they can leverage the temp-to-perm model. This option allows companies to employ workers for a predetermined length of time usually around 520 hours (13 weeks) while the client company decides whether the worker is the right match. It allows the flexibility to: try a different employee if the worker is not a good fit, hire the employee at the end of the trial period, extending the period if they're still unsure, or buying out the remainder of the employee's contract if they know early on they found the right person.

Before hiring an agency, it's important to ask about conversion fees. Some agencies tack them on, while others do not. Usually, employees are thrilled when their contracts are bought out, as it places them in a permanent position sooner than expected and shows them they add real value to the organization, raising their self esteem. People who study employee motivation realize salary is not really the prime motivator for most people. The feeling that company wants me and values my talents is the factor that actually puts a smile on the face of "temp to perm" workers. This is especially true for workers that have been downsized for economic reasons and not their talents and abilities.

Employment agencies are primarily known for handling "temp" employees. Most agencies handle various other types of assignments, though the temporary employee business is as important as any of the other types of assignments. As was discussed earlier, agencies also handle "temp to perm" assignments. There are also "pay rolling" assignments where the employer picks the candidate(s) but has the employment agency hire the person and handle the human resources functions. The agency is responsible for handling the payroll, all taxes and workers compensation commitments.

Most employment agencies have a division, like SEG Direct (Sparks version), that handles permanent positions. Company Presidents, Engineers, IT, Human Resource Professionals and various other types of Leadership Executives. The agency will work from the client company job description, or help them develop one that will attract the appropriate candidates. The agency will accept resumes, interview, screen, background check and recommend the top candidates to the client company for further interviews. The best part of this method is, none of the candidates know the identity of the client company until they are in the final stages of the process. That shields the client company from aggravating phone calls, repeated in person check ins, and E-Mails asking about the process and where they stand in it. As a recent example, we had to find a full-time Financial Manager for a local company, who had to integrate with the parent company in Sweden. A candidate was identified, from a l arge number of resumes, that fit all the criteria and she was hired. Both the client company and the candidate felt it was a great "match."

It is a myth that employees that come from employment agencies are under trained and not interested in the company they are assigned to. There have been occasions in the past where there have been poor "matches" by agencies that have been more interested in sending a "body" to fill the order quickly as opposed to refusing the order due to lack of qualified candidates. This is generally the exception, not the rule. Employment agencies today need to be ethical and diligent in filling their orders to be competitive. Verifying the experience, references and testimonials of an employment agency is a good way to be sure the agency is the best one to handle all your employment needs.

When you contact an employment agency, they should, as I would do as the author of this article, be happy to answer any questions you have as a client company and help you plan your current and future personnel needs.