5 Reasons Why South African Companies Need Top Staffing Solutions

Companies depend on human resources services to provide talented workers who can meet a wide range of needs. Staffing agencies can play a vital role in helping companies find, retain, and further develop talent.

A specialised staffing agency that provides a complete staffing solution is needed when you need to expand your full-time roster quickly. Staffing agencies can also help minimise the risk and cost of replacing employees with MASA’s temporary-to-full-time hiring solutions.

The main reasons people go to recruiting agencies are the lack of talent and the inability of the company to achieve the expected growth. In the current economic situation, companies face many challenges, hence the need for staffing solutions to cater to different needs.

Before finding quality employees, you need to choose a staffing agency that suits your business. Consider a staffing agency as a wholesale business – you will get rid of all the extra packaging that your company would hire by hiring a recruitment agency, HR agency and human resources specialists to employ employees.

“Hire Character. Train Skill.” Peter Schutz

It All Starts with a Staffing Solution

South African companies currently face the reality of several staffing issues that they could solve with the correct implementation of a robust staffing solution that aligns with its strategic objectives.

1) Rising Resignation Rates

The ‘Great Resignation’ trend is moving across the globe, leaving no industry or sector unturned. The term describes the unprecedented number of quitters last year, linked to workers breaking out of burnout, finding more meaning in their jobs, and finding employment in healthier places.

Employees are becoming more aware of what makes them tick and want to feel valued in the workplace. Companies are currently being left with record turnover rates as employees break away from the norms and focus on areas they believe are essential to their overall well-being.

2) Talent Flight

Employees are looking at alternative employment options outside of the South African borders, with more and more people exploring opportunities in foreign countries. Given the mobility of today’s youth and the desire to make an immediate impact, full employment of top talent is becoming critical to employee retention.

With a growing gig economy, younger generations are taking greater risks and prefer to work freelance, allowing for greater freedom and more effortless movement between different countries. While money is often one of the reasons employees leave a company, it’s often not the only reason.

With stronger foreign currencies and higher potential earning opportunities, moving to another country is becoming an attractive option. Many companies seem to be encouraging talent flight without giving employees enough reason to stay.

They are also seconding employees to foreign branches and have not been able to retain employees at the end of their contracts. Creating incentive programmes to return to South Africa’s shores to transfer valuable skills learnt during these periods could potentially solve the talent flight problem.

3) Shortage of Skilled Workers

South Africa is currently experiencing a surplus of unskilled labour rather than a severe shortage of skilled workers. 30% of South African employers cited a lack of industry qualifications or certificates for skilled trades as a problem. The shortage of skills is directly related to the fact that the labour force cannot meet the demand for employment in the economy; this can also be called a “labour shortage.”

Compared to the country’s financial capital status, the lack of skills means it is challenging to develop the economy because it does not have the capital (in terms of skilled workers) to grow. There is an extensive debate around the different stakeholders that the chronic skills shortage and the inability of the education and training system to meet the current and future needs of the economy.

One area identified as problematic is the number of students at higher institutions who are not directly involved in the critical STEM areas of study, including science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The growing skills shortage has prompted employers to look for innovative ways to address the skills problem, starting with implementing at a Basic Education level.

4) Fake Staffing Agencies

Over the years, there have been several different scams where con artists try to convince both companies and individuals to use their services. Scams have included fake job applications, sign up for trial periods, and pay for item scams. These scams have created mistrust within the industry, emphasising why it is crucial to work with verified and accredited agencies.

Scammers often advertise that they can guarantee job applicants. Technically, all the average agency can do is consider you for potential jobs, refer you to clients, and hopefully get you interviews where you can sell yourself. In some recruitment scams, the fake staffing agency sends an initial job offer or links to fictitious job advertisements. Watching out for outlandish job offers is one way to test the validity of such opportunities.

According to South African law, a candidate should not pay for employment in any position. The most alarming red flag of scammers at work is asking a candidate for money upfront. In other cases, fake recruitment agencies may ask you to pay a registration fee so they can process your application or ask you to pay a certain amount of money to get a job. Stats SA fell victim to one such agency and sent out a warning message via its website for people to remain vigilant for such antics.

5) Foreign Worker Quotas

Local is lekker is a term South Africans have become accustomed to when it comes to buying local products, but the same could be said for the employment and development of the local workforce. In a country where the unemployment rate is touching 35%, developing local talent is becoming a necessity as the brain drain of skilled workers is becoming critical.

South Africa plans to introduce job quotas for foreign nationals as the government grapples with record unemployment and a resurgence in anti-immigrant sentiment. These quotas are meant to ensure that more jobs are reserved for South Africans to reduce the climbing unemployment rate.

There is a wide range of opinions regarding the matter. Economist Dowie Rudt was quoted as saying, “There was no point in expelling foreigners in an attempt to create jobs for South Africans.”

The policy gives the Director-General of Labour the power to seek a fine of up to R100,000 from the Labour Court for any business whose foreign employee appointment does not meet the newly introduced quota. South Africa will also impose various obligations on employers and foreigners to impart skills to residents.

Staffing Solutions – It’s not a one size fits all solution

People are your company’s biggest asset and can give your business a competitive edge. We will provide a one-stop solution for all staffing solution needs. At MASA, we understand our clients and are determined to give you the best possible solution to your problem.

The overall value of building a solid working relationship with a reputable company is that you have access to HR professionals who will help you find the right mix of talent to achieve your business goals and save you time and money.

MASA is a leading national and international employment/staffing agency capable of effectively managing the critical elements of your employment/staffing needs ready to facilitate seamless hiring and onboarding of new drivers for your transport and logistics company.

If you require professional assistance with hiring, onboarding, and training new employees in a range of industries, be sure to contact us so you can leverage the top staffing employment and labour outsourcing services in SA.

Check out our article “What Does Your Ideal Staffing Solution Look Like?” to learn more about leveraging the right staffing solutions in South Africa and beyond.