Greetings from Gardner Resources Consulting, LLC

The general optimism for our future economic health continues but is still tempered by high unemployment and an understandable skittishness by companies to increase spending levels.  The result is that the current trend for companies during this budgeting season is to keep projected spending relatively flat for 2010 and to hire only for critical positions or projects.  The staffing that will take place will be mission critical and it will be increasingly important to ensure that it will be successful.  This month's article examines the role that Niche Staffing Firms can play in the success of your 2010 staffing plans.

ARTICLE: The Niche Advantage: Using Niche Staffing Firms for Specialized Hiring
A major local Financial Services Institution was one year into a multibillion dollar consolidation, which would involve several entities and span 50 states. Despite its criticality, the project was at a standstill, facing a tangle of business, technology, regulatory and personnel challenges. The organization needed a Project Manager/Business Analyst who could move mountains - fast. There was no-room-for error in finding a candidate who knew the industry, understood the regulations, knew the client's products and services and had a proven record of managing complex, large-scale change, and be a good cultural match for the organization. Of course, it would have to be a candidate who would want the opportunity and accept an offer.

High-stakes jobs such as this require an unconventional mix of skills, experience, industry knowledge and organizational fit. What makes it possible for one firm to make a successful placement where other agencies and internal recruiting efforts fail?

Niche experts stay ahead of the curve
When it comes to specialized recruiting, there are advantages to working with a firm which specializes in the vertical market or job function you're targeting. Firms that focus on a specific niche or industry have better contacts, stronger relationships and more powerful networks than generalists who must spread their resources over much broader territory. Niche firms don't need time to ramp up; they are already imbedded in your marketplace. You can expect them to be well-versed in the lingo, job requirements and hiring issues for your job opening even before they go to work for you. It makes good business sense to rely on an expert who has the most robust network for your specialty and the insights to know what drives successful hiring for your job function.

Hiring from a very limited talent pool
A niche hiring professional is also indispensible when hiring for a position that requires a unique or eclectic mix of skills. Recently, a major healthcare institution needed a Senior Project Manager who could bridge the gap between their IT organization and their operating room staff and oversee the implementation of a new IT application. The ideal candidate would be a Senior Project Manager with Business Analysis skills who also was a clinician with operating room experience, a combination not typically seen in a stack of IT Project Management resumes.
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