In Conversation With Tom Erb from Tallan Resources

In Conversation With Tom Erb from Tallan Resources

With an objective to enlighten and guide the staffing industry professionals through the expert opinion of the industry’s well-known thought leaders, NextCrew has brought together the new concept of Expert Interview Series. 

Under this series, we would be interviewing a thought leader every month to learn their take on the staffing industry’s recent happenings, trends, and how best to move forward for a better future.

We kick-started this amazing concept by interviewing Tom Erb, one of the prominent staffing industry influencers, about his views on the impact of Covid-19, digital transformation, trends to witness in 2021, and much more.

Below is the download of Tom’s thoughts and response to our questions.

Hey Tom, how, according to you, has Covid-19 reshaped the staffing industry and the way we function?

Tom: Well, one of the biggest things that I’ve realized during this time of uncertainty is that we don’t always have to be in-person to work effectively and efficiently. The growing remote culture has made it certain that the same quality of work can be delivered through remote working as well.

The candidates or the workers have always preferred such remote work arrangements, allowing them to work in a modern space without any kind of dependency on conventional work methods. However, we as an industry had always been unwilling to adopt such modern approaches and cater to their needs.

Whether it’s hiring or onboarding or payrolling, we had been accustomed to performing it the old-fashioned way and had been slow at adapting technologically powerful tools over the traditional methods. 

However, Covid-19 and the increasingly growing remote work culture has considerably changed that mindset of staffing businesses. The remote workers, as well as the clients, demand staffing companies to leverage technology for seamless working, and companies are gradually realizing the fact. It’s good to witness this slow but sure digital transformation in our industry.

What are the common mistakes made by staffing businesses during the Covid-19 phase?

Tom: Most of the staffing businesses invest most of their time attracting new candidates for their staffing requirements, rather than spending an equal amount of time on the existing database. 

While putting a lot of human resources on attracting quality applications, they entirely ignore the power of the database they have built over these many years and how it can help create a better employer brand.

Some of the candidates in the existing database might be active while some passive. Hence, if businesses emphasize and work on creating targeted messaging for each set of groups within the existing database, it can not only help them turn those candidates into brand advocates but also help cut down the amount of effort they put in attracting new ones.

How can the USA staffing industry recover faster from the crisis?

Tom: One thing that the entire period of uncertainty has made certain is that as an industry, we need to be more efficient and competitive in order to attract the best talent and recover thoroughly.

Well, that doesn’t mean that while trying to attract quality candidates, we overlook the existing employees. Retention of the existing employees is equally crucial to ensure delivery of the same quality of work to the clients. Focus on paying and treating the old employees rightly to retain your company’s most important asset.

Also, if your industry has been slow at recovering, take inspiration from the other industries that have been doing well to survive and grow. Learn their action points and how they had been working together to thrive despite the ongoing uncertainty.

Another way that the staffing businesses can recover faster from the crisis is by deploying technologically powerful tools in their daily processes. It’s highly critical to leverage technology that can act as a catalyst for the recovery and meet the expectations of clients as well as candidates.

Today, candidates and clients demand fast work processing, and such quick delivery of work requires implementing a self-service platform that can allow them to work in real-time with minimal dependency on the staffing managers.

What can staffing companies do to safely deploy a temporary on-site workforce in 2021?

Tom: The kind of safety that we have always been focusing on is accidental safety. The focus needs to be as well on the Covid-19 safety.

To make sure that the workers are Covid-19 shielded, the staffing software utilized by the businesses needs to be capable enough to ensure daily health checks of the workers and are safe enough to work on the job site.

Any staffing trend(s) that you think we will be witnessing in 2021 and beyond?

Tom: The trend that I think will be prominent in 2021 and beyond is workforce automation. Technologies like AI and machine learning have been working wonders in streamlining the work processes and increasing business productivity.

Hence, workforce automation with added AI and machine learning functionality would be something huge and incredible to witness in the coming times. This trend will allow the businesses to be more efficient and targeted with candidates and clients.

Thank you, Tom, for your valuable time and insights.

About Tom Erb:

President of Tallan Resources, Tom Erb lives, and breaths staffing and is recognized as one of the most influential figures of the USA staffing industry. With over 25 years of experience, Tom has established himself as a consultant, trainer, and speaker and has worked with some of the most well-renowned staffing companies in the United States to help them optimize their workforce strategy. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.