HR Firms vs. Staffing Services vs. Recruiters: Who to Call When You Need to Hire

Hiring can make or break your business. So, therefore, can your choice of an outsourced hiring vendor.

Before shopping hiring vendors, be sure to understand key categorical differences between hiring vendor types. HR firms, staffing services, headhunters…each takes a starkly different approach to filling job vacancies.

Below is a high-level overview of hiring vendor categories. Please note: While intended as educational, this article should not replace your own due diligence as you decide who to trust with your business’s hiring:

• Full-service outsourced HR firms like myHR Partner handle all aspects of human resources, and approach hiring as a key part of the larger HR ecosystem. Thinking holistically, full-service HR firms shirk “placement” mindsets in favor of careful hiring in-step with your company’s culture and goals.
• Staffing services interview and catalogue mass quantities of applicants so they’re poised to place candidates at a moment’s notice – often for urgent, short-term, contract, or seasonal roles. Speed and volume are staffing services’ calling cards.
• Recruiters (also called headhunters) generally fill permanent roles. Many specialize in specific industries and/or executive-level positions.

Drilling down further, here are more differences between myHR Partner, staffing firms, and recruiters along other important lines:

Pricing model

• myHR Partner: Full-service outsourced firms like myHR Partner charge based on the time required to fill roles, not by placement fees or salary-based commissions. Being paid for the effort – not merely the placement – lets us devote the utmost care to the challenge. Notably, we often come in at a fraction of the cost of staffing firms and recruiters (especially for higher level roles). The fact that our clients don’t pay per hire also means they can hire as many of the applicants we bring them as they want. When this happens – and it often does! – calculated cost per hire is dramatically less than what you’d pay a staffing service or recruiter. Icing on the cake: Employees we source for our clients have significantly higher retention rates and ROI than employees sourced by staffing services especially.
• Staffing firm: Staffing firms make only a small markup on each hire. Success for them, then, depends on quantity. Not paid until they make a placement and eager to fill roles, most staffing firms charge temp-to-hire hourly rates or receive set rates for each placement. This incentivizes them to fill roles fast – a threat to the quality and fit of the hire, landing many of their client companies back at square one.
• Recruiter/headhunter: Like staffing firms, recruiters also get paid when they make a placement. Most earn set rates based on the position’s salary. This introduces the same risks that come with staffing firms.

Hiring strategy

• myHR Partner: Our proprietary, powerful Hiring Services framework starts with a carefully crafted hiring strategy custom-designed for your business’s culture, organizational goals, skill needs, diversity goals, and more. From there, our highly qualified Hiring Management team does it all for you: Creates impeccable job postings, sources candidates, screens resumes, conducts phone, in-person, and video interviews, executes background and reference checks, and more. Because we’re HR experts and well-versed in hiring across industries (our team receives up to 20 hours of formal training each year), we know the art of finding the right candidates—even if they’re not looking for you – and keeping your company one step ahead in the hiring game.

• Staffing firm: Staffing firms are known for plug-and-play hiring often based off of a high-level understanding of the job need – and without any meaningful understanding of your larger business.
• Recruiter/headhunter: Strong recruiters weave company culture and other nuances of your business into their search for right-fit talent. However, scales tilt in favor of merely making a placement.

Applicant tracking systems (ATS)

• myHR Partner: Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software electronically houses, tracks, and organizes all facets of the hiring process, including applicant details. myHR Partner clients have the choice: They can use our industry-leading ATS or we can collaborate on theirs, if preferred.
• Staffing firm: Staffing firm software differs from HR applicant tracking systems. Industry-specific, it segments thousands of candidates so that when a job comes in, applicants are easily searchable. Client companies like yours have no need for this type of system and therefore have no access to an ATS when working with staffing firms.
• Recruiter/headhunter: Same as staffing firms.

Recruitment style

• myHR Partner: Fully outsourced HR firms like ours recruit talent specifically for each role that needs to be filled. No databases – no exceptions!
• Staffing firm: Staffing firms source candidates through databases designed for volume and speed. This works for some scenarios, but keep in mind: Database candidates have not been vetted for – nor have they shown specific interest in – your company or position. They’re merely in a pool of individuals looking for work. Also note that many strong candidates won’t apply to staffing companies for any number of reasons including negative experiences or perceived incompatibility with the caliber of roles that staffing firms fill.
• Recruiter/headhunter: Many recruiters are industry and/or role-specific. They understand the specifics of a field of knowledge and/or the nuances needed to perform a designated role and maintain a database of relevant talent. Two points of caution: Recruiters do sometimes pass along their candidates’ resumes to clients before they’ve spoken with that prospect to gauge interest or even availability. And as is the case with staffing firms, some job candidates won’t consider recruiters.

Interviewing

• myHR Partner: We work with your business to customize interview questions for each role. From there, we work together to advance leading candidates. Interviews are often multi-tiered and last as long as needed to properly engage and vet candidates (especially strong candidates) When applicable, we also utilize our proprietary Customized Fullview Phone Interview Questionnaire – a key component of our hiring legacy.
• Staffing firm: Because high-volume placement is the goal, staffing firms commonly spend less than 10 minutes interviewing each candidate. Some depend exclusively on online applications and don’t meet or interview candidates at all before recommending them for a position.
• Recruiter/headhunter: There are many highly qualified recruiters out there, but also some who pull resumes from the internet and send them to clients without ever talking to the candidate! Others will take an applicant’s resume and create an “enhanced” version that makes them look more skilled than they actually are.

Candidate coaching

• myHR Partner: We present candidates to our business clients as-is. We don’t tweak resumes or coach candidates on how to interview. The reasoning is simple: We want to help you land the best possible hire for your business. Covering candidates’ flaws would fly in the face of that goal!
• Staffing firm: Staffing firms rarely coach candidates (a win!). Their communication with candidates is so minimal, though, that candidates are rarely even briefed. Talent often learns very little about the company where they’re hired to work and the role they’ve been hired to fill.
• Recruiter/headhunter: There are many excellent recruiters. However, some do edit resumes and coach candidates in preparation for interviews to make them look better to hiring managers.

Employee onboarding

• myHR Partner: Because we’re full-service experts and know your business inside and out, we can handle onboarding for all new hires – critical to positioning those sought-after hires for success.
• Staffing firm: Do not offer onboarding services.
• Recruiter/headhunter: Do not offer onboarding services.

Make the Right Choice for Your Future

Clearly, we’re in favor of outsourced HR! Whichever hiring vendor type your company chooses, though, one final word of advice:

Vet them like your business depends on it, because it does.

A reputable hiring vendor will be forthcoming about everything from their confidentiality policy to their team’s experience, and will express interest in your company’s future.

Want to bypass all these options and go with the time-proven hiring partner – myHR Partner? Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about hiring services and other vital aspects of HR!