I have been posting here looking for feedback recently and I have received several good responses. I have been looking into my service business idea that I have been wanting to start and it came to me that I need to perhaps specialize a little more.

Here is my idea, please tell me what you think. In the area which I live there are a tremendous amount of people looking for employment. When an employer places an ad, they receive tons and tons of applicants (overqualified, underqualified, you name it). With this trend there is a lot of time and money invested by the employer seeking the right candidate. I thought perhaps if I created a service business that would go throught the application collection process for the employer (such as posting the position, collected the resumes at a neutral P.O. Box, sorting and critiquing the applicant resumes, conducting phone interviews, checking references and employment history, and meeting with applicants and submitting a report to prospective employers. I believe this is a service that would eliminate a lot of the leg work for employers and find them the best possible candidates for the job.

In addition to this I thought perhaps I would also be able to offer a service of completing new employee files prior to employees starting their new jobs, ensure all the necessary paperwork is complete and in their employee files prior to them starting work, I would also be willing to go through an orientation process with new employess as well if needed. I think these are tedious items that would save employers a tremendous amount of time if they outsourced them. I could also do additional employee file reviews and updates periodically.

Does this sound like an idea employers would pay for. I know it is a long and costly process and it takes away from the day to day productivity of running a business. So if it could be outsourced I think it would be of great benefit to employers. I also have familiarity with the medical field and I think this would be great to offer them because their are additional license and security checks that must be complete prior to employment in order for business to be compliant, if medical professionals are audited by the government and the employee's file is not in order prior to employement it can lead to a fine or worse.

Hi there,

This seems like it could be a legitimate business idea...however I would conduct more research on it. A few questions I have:

1) What makes you qualified to do this? Say a real estate company is looking into hiring new agents, what do you know about the real estate industry to know what certificates/experience qualifies someone as the best candidate for the job?

2) Have you talked to any business owners to see if this is at all something they would be interested in?

3) Is this service really something that a company couldn't just hire an extra secretary for?

I know that hiring agencies do exist, but I would do some more research into your market. Go out and talk to business owners and see if this really is an issue for them. Ask them if a service like you're suggesting was available if they would use it, and how much they would pay for it.

I don't know much about your local laws and what if any kind of licensing you would need to do something like this, so I would look into the legal side as well. After you've done this (or if you have already), come back and let us know the results and then we can get into more detail for things you could do to grow the business,

Good luck and hope to hear from you soon,
Curtis

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Curtis,

I do not have a HR degree if that is what you are asking. I have an Associates Degree in Business Managment and I have taken HR related courses. In addition I have been managment position in which I have been involved in the process of interviewing and screening applicants. I worked for an agency that had a very rigorous screening process that involved reviewing resumes, conducting phone interviews, reference checks, criminal background checks, health license verification and a serious of one on one interviews and the completion of an extensive employee file that was to be 100% complete prior to the employee starting. While working there a lot of time and money was wasted by the agency by my supervisor delegating these tasks to various co-op students and other employees not qualified for the task thus resulting in excessive turn over and lose of good applicants by improper follow thru. This was a health care related industry which required more extensive employee files for particular positions.

I felt that having seen the what to do and what not to do of this area I could be a great help. I am a pretty good judge of character and I would meet with prospective employers to gather and compile specifics of what they are looking for in an employee in order to narrow the scope of applicants to suit their needs. I would research and develop of resume critiquing system with perhaps a checklist and develop standardized questions to perform in telephone and one and one interviews in addition to incorporating specific questions pertaining to the position or that the employer may wish I ask. I would allow the potential employer to determine their level of involvement of the hiring process. I could prescreen to the top 3 viable candidates and then leave the final decision and final interview up to the potential employer if they so desired. I am just looking to make this process less cumbersome and more effecient for businesses that do not have the extra time to do this.

I am familar with health care and that is a large market in my area that I could tailor to, but I would be willing to assist in other markets as well. I would need to meet with prospective business owners to determine their needs and to determine that I could help them meet those needs prior to taking a assignment.

As far as just hiring an extra secretary for it I do not believe is the answer. Because again, how is that person qualified to assist with this matter. And again, there would be a process of hiring that secretary to do this job to find an applicant. I am eliminating additional HR costs to business who can hire me on a per diem basis when the need arises for additional HR assistance for hiring, evaluations by a neutral party, researching benefits information for employers, ensuring employee files are complete and reviewing for updates when needed, and completing any additional paperwork that may be required.

I have also reviewed the state licensing requirements and there is no licensing required for this business in my state if the employer is paying me to find staffing for their agency. However, if I were to charging employee's to find employment then I would be required to be licensed.

I have thought about this and I am not looking to be the expert upon all experts on this matter, but rather looking to be of assistance to busy professionals to help them expedite the process and still find quality staff who will stand the test of time and provide the skills that they require for the position. In addition, I will gain more knowledge along the way through reviewing information pertaining to what I am planning on doing and continuing my education as needed to become more of an "expert" in this field.

Thank you for your input.

Tam

Curtis is right, you're going to have to research this a little more.

My sister-in-law is chief headhunter for a company that does this out of Vancouver. They specialize in the High Tech and IT industries. A friend of mine owns a headhunting business that specializes in employees and execs for the Financial industry.

Another I know specializes in high quality temp employees for varied office tasks.

The one thing that all three have in common? They really know their field and are able to quickly decide whether or not the interviewee will suit the customer (the hiring company).

Figuring out what the employer is willing to pay is generally easy. They tend to charge based on the employees salary; assuming they are suitable at the end of the trial period.

Now... depending on the salary... are you going to be able to find the employee who suits the company well enough to maintain beyond the trial period, and this on the first try?

Aside from that, it's obviously viable if I know three people personally who are doing it for a living.

I hope these thoughts help and wish you good luck.

T

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

Tina,

I am not looking to be a temp staffing agency. But rather to assist employers in the undaunting task of finding permanent long term employees for their businesses when the time arises. In order to save them time and money by going through applicants and some of the prescreening and interviewing process for them in order to find viable applicants so that they may free up their time in order to do the business for which they are specialized in.

By doing this, because I will be familiar with the process I will be able to move forward in a more timely manner than someone who only does this occasionally and I will be able to ensure all pre-employment paperwork is complete prior to new employees starting.

In addition, I would be willing to periodically ensure employee files are updated (especially important for licensed professionals or those in Health Care), researching employee benefit info and other HR related duties on a per diem basis, thus eliminating the need for them to maintain a full time HR person if their is not a need for one.

Licensing is not required if I am being reimbursed by the employer for this service in my state. If I were charging employees or applicants then licensing would be required (but that is not my intent). I think it is a viable idea and I would like to specialize in health care for which I am familar with and the preemployement screening process is more extenisive with privacy issues and licensing that I believe there is a need for it.

I will leave to the employer to choose their level of involvement in the process, my expectation is help them weed the pool down to the best qualified candidates that meet their needs and that will be more apt to be a long term permanent employee, thus eliminating turn over for the employer and saving them considerable time in money over time.

Thanks for your input.

Tam