Temporary and contract employment has become more prevalent than ever, but working with staffing agencies is still a pain point for hiring managers and candidates. Some of these pain points include lack of communication, unqualified candidates, rushed hires, and the overall experience of working with the staffing company. Agencies usually operate with tight deadlines, pushing candidates and clients through the hiring process as quickly as possible, sometimes without getting a clear picture of the job roles. Companies can end up contracting the wrong candidates as a result. Little to no follow-up after the placement between agency and client, as well as agency and their employees further adds to the problem. This churn-andburn mentality over-promises and under-delivers.

Mackin Talent was founded with the sole mission of changing this narrative for the staffing industry.

For Mackin Talent, it all comes down to creating and nurturing valuable, long-term relationships with clients and candidates alike, and providing them with the highest quality of service, benefits, and support at every level.

“Companies find an honest consultant in us, as we are invested in understanding their business goals, expectations, and deliverables before placing the right people in the right positions. We also ensure that the candidates we are placing in contingent worker positions feel valued and treated the same as full-time employees. Many staffing companies view contingent workforce as external parties, and they never truly become part of the internal team. They also get depreciated benefits. But not at Mackin Talent. We provide the same paid time off (PTO), 401k plans, holidays, and benefits to the contingent workers as our internal workforce,” says Leniece Lane, CMO, highlighting the Mackin difference.

A Staffing Agency that’s Worth Client’s Time

As a smaller staffing company, the biggest advantage that Mackin brings to the table is customizability. Larger staffing firms are often stuck with standard processes and procedures and find it challenging to work outside of those parameters. Being nimble helps Mackin Talent to really fit the needs of its clients.

Their tailored staffing services are executed with a consultative approach. For instance, a tech company might estimate they need 10 data engineers to work on a project for a year and a half. Instead of blindly executing the task, Mackin dives deep into understanding the project, the scope of work, the end goals of the project, and the skill requirements. It could be that the project can be expected to have a better outcome with only seven data engineers and two project managers; an option the client had not considered.

Or, a client may seek a contract employee only to realize later that they need a full-time employee for the role. Mackin Talent, being equally proficient in direct hiring, helps clients make the needed adjustment with the right individual.

Companies of all sizes find this consultative approach priceless. Small to mid-sized businesses and startups, especially, find such consultations helpful as they are not always aware of all their options in employment and workforce management.

“Our other advantage is offering each client a dedicated engagement team that acts as the client’s first point of contact. This service directly addresses the rising frustration of companies around staffing firms not being accountable. If the contracted talent’s performance is not where it needs to be, we immediately step in and solve the problem. We offer this personalized support free of charge because we believe it is part of our value add to the client,” says Andy Mackin, CEO of Mackin Talent.

Having an engagement team allows them to explore the additional needs of its clients well in advance. Whether they need to expand their team, require help in KPI reporting, or want to improve the quality of their project outcomes, the company efficiently supports every need.

The Extended Arm of a Client’s Recruitment Team

With Mackin Talent’s recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services, companies of all sizes can free themselves of the cost of constantly adjusting the size of their internal recruitment and staffing team, especially those who hire infrequently. But there is a legitimate fear that external recruiters don’t understand the ethos of a company as well as internal HR professionals.

Mackin Talent’s expertise in employer branding creates all the difference in this regard. They accurately represent clients in the market. It provides a consistent experience that reflects well on the client and attracts more high-quality candidates, something even an internal recruitment team may not be able to achieve.

An Employee Culture Like No Other Staffing Firm

Mackin Talent prides itself on finding the missing piece of the puzzle in the staffing industry; employee culture.

Skilled talent avoids temporary or contracted staffing positions because they don’t get a sense of belonging. They also complain about not being taken care of like permanent workers.

Mackin is challenging conventional thinking. Its virtues lie in honesty and operating with integrity to build a relationship with contingent candidates.

“We go beyond the job they have applied for and try to understand their career goals. Some candidates have been with us for years and have worked in different positions with different clients because we know their career goals,” says Lane.

The company constantly supports its contingent employees in earning certifications and developing skill sets to reach their long-term career goals. Like any other internal employee, they are also provided paid volunteer time, encouraging them to give back to the communities. This amazing employee culture is driven by inclusiveness, where their mental, physical, or operational struggles are addressed with care and sensitivity. Mackin Talent also organizes team events and annual award ceremonies to recognize outstanding and innovative talent.

“I like to think people who work for us feel part of something bigger because we do things differently than a typical staffing company. We don’t have a lot of attrition, which speaks volumes about us. We’ve had people that quit their full-time jobs and come back to us because of how we treat them,” states Mackin.


Staffing Reputation Rooted in Successful Outcomes

The candidates and managers are Mackin Talent’s biggest ambassadors. Eighty to ninety percent of the businesses that work with Mackin Talent are through referrals. Managers of big tech companies often reconnect after moving to a new company. These repeat clients substantiate Mackin Talent’s philosophy of making relationships matter.

In one instance, Mackin helped a company acquire 39 skilled workers to complete an urgent project. But within a few months of the collaboration, they realized that the client lacked a solid infrastructure, with different managers on the same project having no visibility into each other’s deliverables. As a vendor who placed talent in all the teams, Mackin Talent had that vital visibility.

Taking advantage of that, Mackin was able to evaluate and understand the client’s business processes and made a crucial assessment of the need to centrally organize the skill sets of all team members.

The teams included high-quality talent, with various skills that were very hard to find. Mackin organized those skill sets into a searchable database. Now anyone looking for a particular skill set can use the database to quickly find a list of people within the teams with that expertise, saving hours of work.

Finding solutions that reduce client hiring needs might sound counterproductive, but for Mackin Talent, it is not about the money; it’s about the value they drive for clients.

“We also have no qualms walking away if we see we are not a good fit for our clients. That’s why clients trust us,” says Mackin.

Packing a “Powerful” Punch for the Future

Mackin Talent operates in 13 countries, including 20 states in the U.S. Every location has very different recruitment needs, but Mackin Talent’s global exposure allows them to easily assimilate to new places. The element of growth through acquisition is another strong asset, helping the company diversify into different sectors, like biopharma and fintech.

From the recruitment industry standpoint, it is also an opportune time for Mackin Talent to help companies wade through their fear around the recession. For many companies, the best, current strategy is to work with a firm like Mackin Talent that can provide not only labor, but also consulting around things like improving workforce efficiency. This can help companies in a hiring freeze figure out ways to work effectively with limited resources. Companies that have downsized their recruitment team also seek out Mackin Talent as a valuable partner.

With a competent team, Mackin Talent outlines nextgen staffing solutions and eliminates common blind spots in the industry. A decisive step in this direction is a new training program to train recruiters to make successful hires. Promising candidates looking for a career in recruitment can be put through this program, and later become a part of Mackin Talent or its client’s recruitment team. Through these endeavors, Mackin Talent reaffirms its vision to propel itself into the staffing market with out-of-the-box thinking.