Keeping your head above water

In the current financial climate, many recruiters are facing daily struggles to priorities workloads and balance finances, creating a need for sustainable growth strategies to avoid collapse. Particularly in smaller agencies, core staffs are expected to be veritable multi-taskers, tackling everything from CRB checks and candidate screening to setting up timesheets and payroll systems for new clients.

Why outsourcing works

While the option of outsourcing instills concerns about a perceived lack of control over finances and contractor management system, in most cases, outsourcing an agency back office can in fact deliver the opposite result, freeing recruitment staff to sign up more contractors and grow the business.

Technology-based solutions available to today's market are more cost-effective than ever, providing full 'back office' support for a fixed, and therefore manageable, fee. Comparatively, existing out-dated payroll management are often costing agencies money through their limitations in accurately processing holiday pay, AWR, and as of this tax year, PAYE/RTI and the impending pension legislation (note: this is UK-specific legislation).

Bang for buck

A contractor management outsourcing company will typically encompass electronic solutions for time-intensive tasks such as e-timesheeting, e-invoicing, expenses and e-payslips.

Some outsource providers offer a complete back office service that also encompasses all employment and insurance cover, contractor set up, timesheet chasing, payroll processing and cash collection.

Contractor management software can also be fully integrated into existing payroll systems, removing the need for upgrades to existing software.

In sophisticated end-to-end payroll management services, contractors are supported by dedicated client service managers, which have a significant impact on the time agencies, need to invest in each new candidate. Agencies are guaranteed net margins to ensure clear financial accountability for these services.

Staying in the driver's seat

Outsourcing companies will provide fully transparent management reporting with 24/7 real-time access to all contractor information so recruiters remain in the driver's seat when it comes to payroll services Australia.

This means agencies can work faster, smarter, from anywhere, and still be in complete control of all contractor management, with access to every single contractor's config, timesheet, payroll slip and expense reporting.

This ensures full accountability when it comes to meeting service level agreements.

Sustainable, competitive growth

The current climate is the perfect time to review existing systems and processes, looking for opportunities to rethink and improve the bottom line. It may be as simple as altering payment schedules or reviewing payment terms to achieve financial gains and provide more stable cashflow.

While outsourcing is still an 'unknown' for some agencies, it provides clear advantages to those facing continually eroding margins and provides a growth opportunity, by reducing costs through the management of 'back office' functions.

In such a competitive industry, recruiters need to identify and adopt contractor management strategies to ensure they stay ahead of the competition, but these strategies must be sustainable, adding to the bottom line in a way that allows the agency to grow, rather than adopting cut-throat measures that ignore the need for growth.