Launch your Own Staffing Platform: Build vs Buy

With the rise of digital talent marketplaces, some staffing companies are taking matters into their own hands by becoming their own talent marketplace to better serve their clients' needs and stay relevant in the industry. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of healthcare staffing companies creating their own talent marketplaces and whether to build or buy. With the rise of digital platforms tailored to staffing in various industries, some staffing companies are taking matters into their own hands by launching their own, branded platforms to better serve their clients' needs, better service their workforce and stay relevant in their industries. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of staffing companies launching their own platforms and why buying could be a better option than building. For this particular post, we’ll focus on the healthcare industry as an example.

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^{Top 4 Reasons to Implement a Staffing Platform}

Grow your talent pool

In healthcare, for example, staffing companies can use a platform solution to solve increasing demand for healthcare professionals as well as filling shift gaps. Jobseekers upload their resume and credentials and the platform automatically creates a worker profile without the need for any unnecessary back and forth between the candidate and a recruiter. This process is sped up tenfold compared to traditional staffing methods, so your team can onboard an unlimited number of workers with a faster pace. This speed doesn’t affect quality either, as there are mechanisms to ensure workers are screened and vetted before being shown any actual jobs. This way, you can grow your talent pool while curating it simultaneously - a foundational piece for strong scalability.

Customized Solutions

Launching their own staffing platform allows healthcare staffing companies to provide customized solutions to their clients. They can tailor pieces of the marketplace to the specific needs of their clients, offering a more personalized experience. For example, if one client’s business model differs from another, there is typically a degree of flexibility on the money flow. Or, if job requirements vary between clients, there is a level of customizability to the job order. Instead of having to respect rules of current software solutions in their tech stack, a company launching its own platform could create their own rules and processes.

Streamlined Processes

By consolidating workforce, onboarding documents, job orders, clients, invoicing, and more in one location, staffing companies can work more efficiently than traditional staffing methods when using a platform. Also, since these staffing platforms are digital tools, automation systems could also be integrated into them to save even more time. This could free up your staff to focus on marketing and outreach activities that help source clients and workers, instead of manual, time-intensive activities like outreach. Implementing automation could tighten up onboarding processes (your own ATS system), enable smart payroll, or even speed up shift scheduling.

Greater Control

Staffing companies that operate from their own talent marketplace have greater control over their workforce pool as opposed to stand-alone job marketplaces where independent contractors or freelancers can openly sign-up. Your recruitment team can input candidate requirements directly to the platform and even offer more support and training if needed through customized onboarding. This is a great point to use to win over clients who are considering using existing marketplaces.Staffing companies that operate from their own staffing platform have greater control over their workforce pool as opposed to stand-alone job marketplaces where independent contractors or freelancers can openly sign-up. Your recruitment team can input candidate requirements directly to the platform and even offer more support and training if needed through customized onboarding. This is a great point to use to win over clients who are considering using existing marketplaces.

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Once you’ve Decided on Integrating a Staffing Platform, the Next Question to Ask is Build vs Buy

When deciding whether to build or buy a staffing platform, companies should consider several factors.

Control: Building a staffing platform in-house can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, but it offers greater control over the platform and the ability to customize it - both for now and into the future when you scale and need to add new features as the market or your clients expand their needs. However, an alternative could be buying a customized white-label solution.

Cost: If you build your own platform, you are going to undergo many more overhead fees for platform infrastructure and maintenance than you would buying. Buying a platform, especially if it’s white-labeled, is a great way to make your users think that you’ve spent millions on creating your own solution.

Time: Also, if speed to market is important for you, it is going to be much more efficient to buy a marketplace instead of building your own. In the years that are spent building from scratch, competitors could have bought their own platform and entered the market.

Let's say after careful consideration and maybe even some experimentation, you decide to buy. As you head into market to shop, where do you start? We've built a checklist to help break down what to look for in a staffing platform solution:

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Conclusion

Creating your own staffing platform could be a strategic move for staffing companies looking to gain a competitive advantage against today’s key players, especially as the staffing industry continues to move its trajectory towards digital platforms. When deciding whether to build or buy, it’s important to consider your growth goals, timeline and costs, and the immediate resources you have at your disposal.

If you're interested in learning more about WOLF's white-labeled staffing platform, book a demo today here.