Sound familiar?
Map where time leaks out of the placement process
Every agency's workflow is a little different, but the leaks tend to show up in the same places. Walk through each stage and note where work waits, gets repeated or depends on one person.
Common time leaks, stage by stage
What a streamlined workflow looks like
1. A standard job intake form
Use one form for every job order, with required fields for pay rate, bill rate, start date, requirements and the hiring contact. Sourcing starts faster when nothing is missing.
2. One shared candidate pipeline
Every recruiter works from the same system with the same stages, so anyone can see where a candidate stands and pick up where someone left off.
3. Automated scheduling and reminders
Let candidates book screening times themselves, and set automatic reminders when client feedback is overdue.
4. Digital onboarding that feeds your systems
Collect onboarding documents through online forms that flow directly into payroll and HR tools, instead of being retyped.
5. Clear handoffs between recruiting, account management and billing
Write down who owns each stage and what "done" means before work passes to the next person. Most delays live in the gaps between roles.
Find out which accounts are really profitable
Revenue and gross margin tell only part of the story. Once you count the recruiter time it takes to fill each account's roles, some big accounts turn out to be less profitable than smaller ones.
Two accounts, one quarter
Illustrative example · Sample numbersAccount A: large client
- Gross margin on placements
- $12,000
- Recruiter time (180 hrs × $40)
- − $7,200
- Job boards and tools
- − $1,000
- True contribution
- $3,800
Account B: smaller client
- Gross margin on placements
- $9,000
- Recruiter time (60 hrs × $40)
- − $2,400
- Job boards and tools
- − $500
- True contribution
- $6,100
To see this for your own agency, track three things per account: gross margin, recruiter hours spent, and time-to-fill. Even a simple monthly view helps leadership decide where to focus, when to renegotiate, and when to walk away.
Frequently asked questions
How can a staffing agency reduce time-to-fill?
Start with complete job orders, a shared candidate pipeline and automated scheduling. Those three changes remove most of the waiting between stages.
How do I calculate account profitability for a staffing client?
Take the gross margin from that client's placements, then subtract the recruiter and admin time spent on the account, plus any direct costs like job board spend.
Do I need a new applicant tracking system?
Not always. Many agencies already have an ATS that isn't being used consistently. Standardizing how the team uses it often delivers more than switching tools.
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