As part of our 2015 Europe Staffing Company Survey, we asked staffing organizations, to what degree certain functions are outsourced, if at all.
While a clear majority did not outsource, 38% of staffing firms did report outsourcing marketing/social media functions and 14% said they outsource for sourcing/recruiting.
Because it can affect your risk and service quality, it pays to understand whether your supplier is among those companies that outsources some of your work. If you learn your supplier is outsourcing some services, there are some key questions you can ask to assess your risk level:
- Do you audit your sub-contractors and if so, how often?
- Do you share the results of the audits with the clients? Ask to see one.
- What are the security standards (physical and logical) and data protection standards of the subcontractors? Do they have the same standards as yourselves? Where are they located and how often do you visit their premises? What client data will they have access to?
- How old is the relationship with the subcontractor and how many mutual clients do you have with them?
- What was the selection criteria used in selecting a subcontractor?
- What is the engagement model and governance approach with the subcontractor?
- What are the minimum prerequisites that are checked before a subcontractor is approved?
- Will you notify clients if you change subcontractors?
- Can a client use their own subcontractor and swap out the staffing firm subcontractor if requested?
- Does the subcontractor perform background checks on their staff? If so, what types of checks?
- How many subcontractors are used across the business?
- What service-level agreements and query response times are agreed with the subcontractors?