Staffing Agency Operations

Manage staffing agency finances, compliance, and operations across multiple verticals, optimizing billing, margins, payroll burden, and key performance metrics.

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only playbook for running a staffing agency; its content, required resources, and runtime instructions are internally consistent and do not request credentials, binaries, or installs.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description match the SKILL.md content: a business operations playbook for staffing agencies. The skill does not request unrelated resources (no env vars, binaries, or config paths). The README and SKILL.md reference AfrexAI as the author/source even though registry 'Source' was listed as unknown; this is an attribution mismatch but does not affect capability coherence.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md contains static guidance, tables, and recommendations for billing, compliance, cash flow, and growth stages. It does not instruct the agent to read files, access environment variables, contact external endpoints, or exfiltrate data. No vague, broad instructions grant the agent additional access.

Install Mechanism

No install spec and no code files — instruction-only content. Nothing will be downloaded or written to disk by the skill itself.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, credentials, or config paths. There are no secret requests that would be disproportionate to the stated purpose.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request persistent or system-wide configuration. It does not modify other skills or agent settings. Autonomous invocation remains possible (platform default) but this skill's content does not appear to require elevated privileges.

Assessment

This skill is a static business-playbook and appears coherent and low-risk: it does not ask for credentials or install code. Before using it in production, verify any legal/compliance claims against up-to-date local/state law (the SKILL.md lists state rules that change over time). Treat external links (AfrexAI site and paid products) as commercial references — they are not required to use the skill but may be promotional. As a general precaution, do not provide your organization’s private credentials, payroll data, or confidential personnel records to any third-party agent unless you have verified and authorized the vendor. If you need automated integrations (payroll, ATS, VMS), prefer skills that explicitly declare only the minimal API keys they require and whose source/homepage you can validate.

Run a staffing agency with hard numbers. Covers temp, temp-to-hire, and direct placement across light industrial, clerical, healthcare, and IT verticals.

Billing & Markup Rates

Vertical	Bill Rate Range	Typical Markup	Temp-to-Hire Fee
Light Industrial	$15-22/hr	35-55%	15-25% annual salary
Clerical/Admin	$18-30/hr	40-60%	20-30% annual salary
Healthcare (CNA/LPN)	$22-45/hr	35-50%	$3,000-8,000 flat
IT/Technical	$45-150/hr	30-45%	20-25% annual salary
Accounting/Finance	$25-65/hr	40-55%	20-30% annual salary
Executive Search	N/A	N/A	25-33% annual salary (retained)

Gross Margin Targets

• Temp staffing: 22-28% gross margin (after payroll burden)
• Temp-to-hire: 25-35% blended
• Direct placement: 80-90% (fee minus recruiter cost)
• Blended agency target: 28-32% gross margin

Payroll Burden (on top of pay rate)

Component	Rate
FICA (employer share)	7.65%
FUTA	0.6% (first $7K)
SUTA	1.5-5.4% (state-dependent)
Workers' Comp	1-15% (industry-dependent)
ACA compliance (30+ hrs)	$350-550/mo per employee
General liability	0.5-1.5% of payroll
Total burden	12-30% of pay rate

Key Metrics (Weekly Dashboard)

Metric	Target	Red Flag
Fill rate	>85%	<70%
Time-to-fill	<3 days (light industrial), <10 days (professional)	>7 / >21
Gross margin %	>25%	<20%
Temp turnover (weekly)	<8%	>15%
Recruiter productivity	8-12 placements/week (temp), 2-4/month (perm)	<5 / <1
Days sales outstanding (DSO)	<35 days	>50 days
Client retention (annual)	>80%	<65%
Workers' comp mod rate	<1.0	>1.2

Compliance Requirements

Federal

• I-9 verification — within 3 business days of start. E-Verify if government contracts. Fines: $252-$2,507 per form (first offense), $2,507+ repeat.
• ACA employer mandate — if 50+ FTE, offer coverage to anyone averaging 30+ hrs/week. Penalty: $2,970/employee (2026).
• FLSA — joint employer liability. You AND the client can be liable for wage violations.
• OSHA — staffing agency shares responsibility for worksite safety. Must conduct site assessments.

State-Specific

• Licensing — required in: CA, FL, IL, MA, NJ, NY, TX, and others. Fees: $100-$5,000. Some require surety bonds ($10K-$100K).
• Pay transparency — CA, CO, NY, WA require pay ranges in job postings.
• Ban-the-box — 37 states restrict criminal history questions on applications.
• Temp worker bills of rights — IL (2024), NJ (2023) require equal pay/benefits parity. More states following.

Technology Stack Costs

System	Monthly Cost	Purpose
ATS (Bullhorn/JobDiva)	$100-200/user	Applicant tracking, client management
VMS integration	$500-2,000	Vendor management system connectivity
Payroll/billing (TempWorks/Avionte)	$5-15/employee/month	Payroll processing, invoicing
Background checks	$25-75/check	Pre-employment screening
Drug testing	$30-60/test	DOT and client requirements
Job board posting	$300-1,200/month	Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter
Workers' comp (PEO vs direct)	3-12% of payroll	Coverage and claims management

Growth Playbook

Stage 1: $0-$500K revenue

• Solo owner-operator + 1 recruiter
• Single vertical focus (pick one: light industrial OR clerical)
• 15-30 temps on assignment at any time
• Startup costs: $20K-$75K (licensing, insurance, payroll funding)
• Critical: secure payroll funding line — you pay temps weekly, clients pay net-30

Stage 2: $500K-$2M revenue

• 3-5 internal staff (recruiters + account manager)
• Add second vertical
• 50-100 temps on assignment
• Invest in ATS, systematize onboarding
• Workers' comp mod rate becomes make-or-break

Stage 3: $2M-$10M revenue

• Branch office or second market
• Dedicated sales team vs recruiting team
• 150-500+ temps on assignment
• VMS/MSP program participation
• Consider direct placement division (higher margins)

Stage 4: $10M+ revenue

• Multi-market, multi-vertical
• M&A for geographic expansion
• Technology platform investment
• Enterprise MSP contracts
• Exit multiples: 0.5-1.5x revenue, 4-8x EBITDA

Cash Flow Warning

Staffing is a cash-intensive business. You fund payroll before collecting from clients.

Revenue Level	Working Capital Needed
$500K/yr	$40-80K credit line
$2M/yr	$150-300K credit line
$10M/yr	$750K-$1.5M credit line

Factoring (selling invoices at 2-5% discount) is common for agencies under $5M. Transition to traditional LOC as you scale.

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