This article is reprinted with permission from the American Staffing Association. It first appeared in the ASA Membership Sections Spotlight email, December 4, 2009, edition.
Diversify Your Client Base to Discover New Opportunities
By Lindsay Estes*
With changes in the economy, new technology, and an increasingly global market, many ASA members have taken strides to diversify their business to generate broader appeal and stand out from their competitors.
“When we first started, we set out to be in a niche and intended to stay in one area,” says Douglas Firestone of Arcus. “However, over the past several years, we realized we need to diversify not only in our placement types, but in all aspects of our business.”
A natural move for many staffing firms as they seek to diversify is to delve into new sectors. For Drew Hudson of the Choice Inc., researching new sectors to operate in involved paying attention to the news. “As soon as we knew President Obama was into energy efficiency, we reached out to the U.S. Department of Energy and green associations, knowing we were going to be busy in this new arena. We even got leads from cnn.com.”
“We got stung by being captive to too few clients a number of years ago, and we have done quite a few things to diversify as a result,” says David Ingram of Capital TechSearch Inc., who also has used new government opportunities to widen his client net. “We made a rule that no more than 25% of our business comes from one single client. We have also developed a specialty of finding cleared people for government placements. This has diversified our services and helped us develop several niches.”
Location is another way that members have been diversifying their business. Firestone notes that his firm’s move to different geographic areas came about in a nontraditional manner. “We started our diversification process with our client base. These choices were not geography-specific, but we have expanded into geographic locales that are convenient for our larger clients.”
Your firm may even be able to diversify geographically without leaving the state. “While we have stayed in Texas, we have branched out across the state. We have also begun offering services that are not geographically limited, such as behavioral and skills assessments, which have been very well received,” explains Dennis James of FiStaff Inc.
Several ASA members are offering more diverse service packages to their clients. “We offer accounts receivable management, background checks, human resource support, as well as payroll process and all related governmental filings,” explains T.J. Person, CSP, of Employment Edge.
Todd Palmer of Diversified Industrial Staffing says, “We are working to build the next generation of skilled tradespeople. We developed a book to teach candidates how to find a job, and we have been working with local community colleges and universities to get in touch with people in school for work force retraining. The average American welder is 58 years old. We are going to need this younger generation, and we are working to provide them with the learning tools they need now.”
Diversification can help a staffing firm stand out from competitors—whether you broaden your business by acquiring new clients, offering new services, or attracting previously untapped talent.
“Diversity is just how it is supposed to be,” says Firestone. “I made a commitment to diversity on all levels, including in my own employees. This is the differentiator in my mind between us and the people down the street.”
*Lindsay Estes is the ASA sections assistant.
About the ASA
The American Staffing Association promotes legal, ethical, and professional practices for the $86 billion U.S. staffing industry. ASA members account for 85% of U.S. staffing industry sales and operate more than 15,000 offices throughout the nation. Some 2.7 million Americans go to work for U.S. staffing companies every business day.
Founded to promote flexible employment opportunities and ensure the quality of staffing services, ASA has been the voice of the U.S. staffing industry since 1966. Members provide a wide range of employment services and solutions, including temporary and contract staffing, recruiting and permanent placement, outplacement and outsourcing, training, and human resource consulting. ASA and its affiliated chapters promote the interests of the industry through legal and legislative advocacy, public relations, education, and the establishment of high standards of ethical conduct.
For more information about the American Staffing Association or membership, please visit their website at AmericanStaffing.net. Capital TechSearch is an ASA member.
