In this interview, Laura, who runs a temporary staffing firm, discusses the pivotal role of a Candidate Relationship Resources (CRR) team in treating temps as humans rather than interchangeable labor. She explains how her company deliberately selects clients whose values align with theirs, rejecting high‑volume, low‑margin contracts that compromise fair pay and worker wellbeing. Laura describes the financial strain of taking on such contracts, the internal turnover it creates, and the vicious cycle of racing to the bottom on price. She emphasizes that focusing on a smaller set of high‑quality "A‑clients" leads to better long‑term margins, reliable payments, and a healthier culture. The conversation also touches on the challenges of scaling while preserving these standards, the risk of cutting corners as the business grows, and the importance of consistently delivering great service as the core value proposition.
Chapters
It actually sounds like you've been quite client-led in terms of the organizations that you work with and advising them and consulting on, like, how can we actually create an environment where, like you said, we have less people sick, they're paid fairly.
Yeah.
Okay, maybe outside looking in, people be like, I couldn't do that job, or that job must be rubbish, whatever. Some people might say that, but actually there's plenty of people out there that want to, want to, like, just show up to work, be paid. Yeah, whatever.
Yeah.
How critical— do you have like a temp care team, or like, I'm assuming that must be part of the strategy where you have an entire workforce? Yeah, that's dedicated to making sure people are paid on time, they're being treated fairly. Yeah, I've found that a lot when I speak to companies that do a lot of temp is like that care team has been like crucial.
Yeah, so we have like, they're called candidate relationship, right? Um, CRR, candidate relationship resources. So they will look after all of the new candidates and the existing candidates and just build that relationship and they do a fab job. And it's, I don't know whether, I've not had an experience of like any other world than where I'm at, right? But I feel like they're really grateful candidates when they get, they get treated like humans rather than just, hey, you know, can you be in work in half an hour? Oh, you can't, next person. I think that there's just, I think that's the massive gap in our market. But then equally there's a lot of clients that don't want that level of service. We've pitched for business before that want to have 100 people on Monday, don't care who they are, they just want to tick the boxes and then they're there for a week and they go. That's fine. And that is a need of a client, but that's not the kind of clients that we want to work with because that doesn't sit well with our values on how we treat our clients or our candidates. You can't impact a client positively. You're just being measured on numbers and that's not what we're about.
I get that. I think that's the beauty of having your own business, right? You can decide who your ideal client is.
Yeah.
And you sort of maybe have to learn the hard way sometimes of taking on that client who want to hire all these temp workers for the Christmas sale, whatever. You did it, the margin was good, but then on reflection, not sure that we'd want to do that again. Like, sometimes you have to go through that, don't you, to sort of realise?
And also as well, it's really difficult because if you're ever experiencing a business where you need more business, it's easy then— it is really— it's easy then to go, okay, we'll take it on below the margin than what we, we're happy with because we know we need the business. And then you end up being in a race to the bottom and it's very difficult to get out of that cycle. And this year I think that we've probably suffered as a business because of that financially. But I'm brave enough and hopeful enough that that will pay off next year.
In the long term.
In the long term. But that takes, it's nervy. There's times where I've had like our sales director say, Laura, I mean, she must hate me sometimes. Like I've got this client, they wanna sign terms, these are the rates. And I look at it and go, 'You know we can't agree those rates,' and she goes, 'Oh, like, I've got this deal, it's so close to going on,' and I'm like, 'Absolutely not.' And there were times where I just think, 'Oh my God, that must be so annoying.' But I think that if you, if you say you are something, you have to live and breathe that even when times get tough, and that is hard. I found that hard this year.
I'm sure you've looked at the data though, as to like, if we say no to those types of organisations and we really make sure that we win these types of organisations, and it might be fewer, they are for you. It pays out. And, and not in terms of like just margin, but in terms of like how you work together. They pay on time. Like just all this stuff around a better client, those A clients. I'm sure you've looked at the data, and that is, that is actually— whenever I'm like learning, trying to be a better entrepreneur, that's something you always run into, is like actually if you want to stabilize and you want to be consistent, you probably actually have to say no to to more people and just be really laser-focused on who you serve, all these things. And it might be less, but probably in the long run— not always, but in the long run— they're more better to work with. And in terms of finances, probably they're people that you could earn more in the long run as well.
Absolutely. Yeah, it is difficult. And there has been times this year where I've gone, oh my God, you know, it'd be great to have an extra 50 temps out, we could win that account. And then It's not just that, but I think if I'm then to employ someone to manage an account within a client that I wouldn't wanna work for, I've then gotta employ someone that's gotta work for me in an account that we don't wanna work for. So the turnover internally is then gonna become a problem, right? 'Cause they're gonna be calling on the phone at 4:00 AM or— Yeah, it's a vicious circle. There's so many things that it affects, but it is really difficult. And our space, the margins can be tiny. Like we can go into a pitch and just go, whoever's quoted X, Y, and Z agency has quoted that rate, they're breaking even. How are they gonna deliver a service? But when there's all the cost increases we've had this year, clients just go, I just want the best price.
Mm. That must be hard.
It is really hard because what you, what you can't do is tell a client, well, you're paying the cheapest amount, but you're gonna pay more of the cheapest amount because your quality's gonna be poor.
Mm.
So actually in the long run, you're gonna be spending more money even though it looks cheaper. Mm. And you have to have people that really believe you when you tell them that, but we're all good salespeople, right? So people don't always trust—
I'm sure you have some good case studies and everything.
Yeah, we do.
But the thing that I find interesting in having this conversation, and I appreciate you being really honest about it, is like there's a lot of crossover here in like whenever I sit down with people who are in the opposite world to you. Okay, I'd be interested to hear, actually, just in, in terms of honestly, like, it's wild because what, what still I hear time and time again when I sit down with people who, where the average deal size might be like 5x what yours is or whatever. Yeah, is like, when they boil it down, how can you be different? How, like, what makes up your value proposition? All these things. And it only comes, honestly comes down to like doing the great things well, consistently, service. All the stuff that you're talking about that you're trying to create, advise on, do, deliver, be, be truthful about in your world is the same for people in the opposite world.
Yeah.
So I think there's a lot to be said about that because it's easy for us to sit here, reflect on your business, and say you care about your temp workers, you're doing this, you're doing that. The hard work is in actually delivering that. And I can imagine even more so— again, maybe it's not fair for me to say, actually, even imagining you also— but as you, as you grow your business, there's more people that could cut corners.
Oh yeah.
And there's more people— you're more susceptible to begin— I'll be all right, like it'd be fine, but that's what you got. That's actually what you got to protect.
