High-Hazard Employment: How Staffing Agencies Can Win During COVID-19

On Wednesday, June 3rd, we were lucky enough to have Brad Talwar, CEO of TalentBurst, share how they’re managing risk for both candidates and clients in this new high-hazard world. TalentBurst is an Inc 5000 company that specializes in managing complex hires and staffing requirements for a variety of industries. 

When the economy started shutting down, Brad thought it was over. How would they hire? How would they manage client expectations? How would they win new contracts? There were a lot of unknowns and a large potential to fail. However, despite the odds, TalentBurst is thriving. Their team quickly pivoted, started identifying patterns, and figured out that six new types of employees were needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once that lightbulb went off, they wasted no time in figuring out how to onboard and employ high-hazard workers while mitigating risk for their clients and themselves. 

Since then, they’ve continued to win new staffing contracts and business has boomed during this time. Listen to the recording to hear how TalentBurst has managed to staff for the six new or adjusted high-hazard roles:

Thermal screeners – temperature checks
Swabbers – nasal testing for COVID

Day porters/janitors – increased sanitation responsibilities
Warehouse workers – increased sanitation responsibilities
Grocery supply chain – maintaining health safety standards
Nurses – new responsibilities of keeping critical workers safe (power grid operators, water treatment operators, etc.)

As you watch the session, here are three key learnings to keep in mind:

1. Make sure your business is agile. If you weren’t able to switch to remote work, hiring, and onboarding overnight, you will continue to miss opportunities. Now is the time to find the right partners and vendors to keep your business agile and set up for long-term success in any hiring environment. While COVID-19 was unprecedented, it was a clear sign to employers that they can no longer be caught off guard or operate inefficiently.

2. Seek out the change and embrace it. Take a page from TalentBurst’s playbook and find the next set of thermal screeners, contract tracers, and nasal swabbers. Look for patterns and actively find solutions for your clients so that you can provide the solution and win before the competition does. 

3. Accept that this is the new economy. With no vaccine in sight, how will you plan your business and adapt to the new way of hiring and onboarding workers? Especially if you’re employing for high-hazard roles, take all proper precautions to keep your candidates, employees, and clients safe. Don’t wait or expect the old ways of hiring to come back this year. Model out and scenario plan for all situations to be prepared for your client’s changing needs.