The staffing service industry, particularly temporary staffing, is often shrouded in myths and misunderstandings that can deter job seekers and create unnecessary apprehensions. In this blog post, we'll clear up the six most common myths about working in the staffing service industry, helping you to make informed decisions about your career path.
There are many myths and misunderstandings about the staffing service industry, particularly temporary staffing, which can create uncertainty and raise questions among work applicants.
The number of people working in staffing service companies has increased in recent years. In 2022, there were 170,000 people working in staffing service companies in Finland, which is approximately 2.7% of all employees. Of the employees, 93% would recommend working for a staffing service company to their friends. In this blog post, we discuss the six most common myths about working for a staffing service company.
Myth 1: The staffing service company takes part of the employee’s salary
This is not true. Withholding a share of the salary is illegal. The employee always receives their full salary, no share of which goes to the staffing service company. This is a strange but surprisingly common misconception.
Barona is one of Finland’s largest employers and a reliable payer. Even if the client does not pay the invoice, the employee always receives their salary.
Myth 2: The staffing service company only offers temporary work with a short notice period
This is not true. Nowadays, staffing service companies often offer fixed-term and indefinite employment contracts depending on the client’s needs. There has been a big change, especially over the past ten years. The prevalence of different types of employment contracts varies widely from one industry to another, reflecting the uniformity of business demand from clients in the industry.
Employees themselves often enjoy gig work because it is a suitable form of work for many different life situations. However, the most important thing is to tell your contact person your own wishes, as one of the best aspects of a staffing service company is the ability to offer diverse opportunities that suit everyone’s own life situation.
In addition to these options, staffing service companies also have ongoing recruitment assignments for direct employment with the client companies. This can also provide good opportunities for the employee.
Myth 3: Staffing service companies pay poorer wages
This is not true. A staffing service company pays at least the salary specified in the collective agreement, but often also a higher contractual salary depending on the employee’s competence and experience. In addition, the pay policy of the client company is followed, which must be equal to the pay policy of the client's own staff.
The staffing service company is often a good representative between the employee and the client company in the salary discussion: the staffing service company can, for example, articulate the employee’s competence to the client. Barona also publishes the client’s salary range in the job advertisement, if approved by the client.
Myth 4: Staffing service companies have poorer employment benefits
Barona’s employment benefits have developed and expanded significantly in recent years. Our employees have access to occupational health care services that are more extensive than legally required, as well as a personnel benefit programme. In addition to our own benefits, some of our client companies offer our employees the same benefits as their own employees.
Myth 5: A staffing service company does not offer opportunities for development
This is rarely true. There are different sizes of operators in the staffing service sector, so there is no clear answer to this. At least the largest players in the industry offer different training paths that can help develop people's own professional skills and even move into a completely new profession.
Barona offers short training events and courses, apprenticeships and recruitment training programmes, organised both in person and online. In addition, we organise joint coaching sessions with our clients. We help with industry changes and competence development at all stages of working life.
Myth 6: The recruitment experience is worse when the recruiter is a staffing service company
Sometimes this may be the case, but often not. In general, each company develops well in its own core business. Therefore, the company that recruits on a daily basis has the competence, processes and systems that support the creation of a good job applicant experience. In the latest employee experience survey, Barona’s eNPS recommendation index was 31.5. However, there is always room for improvement, and we are constantly working to ensure that a good experience is realised in every recruitment and for every individual.
There are many myths about the staffing service industry, and critical consideration and open discussion are at the heart of breaking down misconceptions. We understand that individuals may have bad experiences of the industry and that these experiences cannot be questioned. However, over the past decade, the staffing service sector has undergone a huge development, and negative experiences have decreased significantly. However, the differences between the players in the industry can still be significant. As a work applicant and employee, you can and should be critical in an appropriate way, regardless of which company you apply to.
At Barona, we consider the employee experience to be one of our most important values. Working for a staffing service company is no longer a rapidly passing stage at the beginning of the resume, but we want to be part of our employees’ journey throughout their careers. At Barona, we support you, whether you are taking the first steps in working life or finding a new direction in your career.