Trends That Matter
We include developments from the Staffing Industry Daily News and The Staffing Stream to help you focus on emerging movements that could shape your business for the better.
Economic Outlook Lowered
Forecasters lower their estimate for 2013 and 2014 GDP growth.
The economic outlook for the U.S. over the next four years is weaker than projected in the second quarter, according to the new third-quarter Survey of Professional Forecasters by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve. Forecasters estimate real gross domestic product will grow 1.5 percent for 2013, down from a prior estimate of 2.0 percent. Estimated annual GDP growth for 2014 was lowered to 2.6 percent from the second-quarter estimate of 2.8 percent.
Temping Brings More Money
Job seekers leverage staffing firms to get better pay.
More than half of U.S. workers plan to engage with a staffing firm for their job search, and 70 percent of those candidates believe they will get a larger salary and compensation package because they are working with a staffing firm, according to Addison Group’s 2013 U.S. Workforce Survey.
“The bar is set higher for our team and staffing firms across the country,” said Addison CEO Thomas Moran. “People expect us to help them achieve their professional and personal financial goals.”
The Rural Connection
It’s not always location, location, location.
You just landed a large staffing assignment with a great company. Only catch is: It’s in a rural community. Dial-up Internet. No health club. And the nearest Starbucks is 120 miles away.
No matter how great the workplace, sourcing talent in this scenario isn’t easy. But it is possible. A 2012 CareerBuilder Candidate Behavior study found that 83 percent of millennials and 58 percent of baby boomers are willing to relocate for the right position.
—Source: “Needle in a Haystack: How to Successfully Recruit in Rural Communities,” The Staffing Stream, by Chris Skerrett, regional sales manager, CareerBuilder.
Watch Out for Zombies
Old players confuse customers looking for true SaaS.
There’s a zombie uprising in the software industry. Two years ago, client/server software was dead and software-as-a-service was king. Customers simply had to choose the best SaaS player. Suddenly though, the client/ server guys have risen from the dead. They have great makeup artists because they can resemble true software-as-a-service players from a distance. The practice is called “cloud washing” and it’s confusing to customers because many times, these imposters are hard to distinguish from their true SaaS competitors.
—Source: “Attack of the Fake Cloud Zombies,” The Staffing Stream, by Art Papas, co-founder and CEO of Bullhorn.
OSHA Inspections Rise
Agency has toughened its stance on the safety of temps.
Since the April 29 instruction to pay more attention to issues involving temporary workers, inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted more than twice as many inspections of temporary staffing agencies compared with the same period a year ago, according to a Bloomberg BNA report.
Federal OSHA inspections identified 262 establishments between April 29 and mid-July where temporary workers were exposed to safety and health violations, with 270 violations cited. That number could grow as inspectors complete their reports.
