Phone Etiquette
Phone Etiquette Guide for Staffing Agencies
In staffing, the phone is your fastest path to winning (or losing) a placement. Clients expect speed, candidates need clarity, and urgent temp coverage can fall apart in minutes if you miss a call. This guide gives you ready-to-use scripts and rules for handling client and candidate calls in a staffing agency—especially when you’re juggling interviews, reference checks, and client meetings.
1) Answering Speed: Your “First-to-Respond” Advantage
In staffing, speed is part of your service. When a client needs a same-day temp because of a no-show, they often call 2–3 agencies at once. The first agency that picks up and starts intake usually wins the order.
Answer target: within 2–3 rings during business hours. If you can’t pick up (you’re interviewing a candidate or on a client call), return the call within 5–10 minutes. For urgent temp coverage, treat anything that mentions “today,” “no-show,” “shift,” or “start time” as a priority callback within 2 minutes.
Set a simple internal rule: if the phone rings and you’re mid-interview, excuse yourself for 15 seconds to see if it’s an existing client line or a repeated caller. If you can’t answer, send a fast text or email: “In an interview—can you share the role, start time, location, and pay range? I’ll call you back in 5 minutes.”
If after-hours calls are costing you orders, consider a 24/7 answering option like SkipCalls to capture the details (shift time, job site, pay bill rate) so you can respond first thing—or immediately if it’s truly urgent.
