9 building blocks for a future-proof business model in the temporary staffing industry

Why the Business Model Canvas?

Of course, there are countless fancy models to analyse an industry or company. The Business Model Canvas - from now on, we'll abbreviate it to BMC - is one of them. What makes the BMC so great? Its simplicity. Because that's what we love at clevergig.

What is the Business Model Canvas?

The BMC is a widely used tool to describe your business model on one page. Or to formulate new strategies. It consists of these 9 building blocks:

Customer segments

We start with the customer: which target groups and customer segments are you focusing on? An important starting point is: if you sell to everyone, you sell to no one. So, make clear choices and delve deep into the profile of your client. What do they do in an average week? How do they research and make purchases? 

Value proposition

What added value do you offer your customer? What sets you apart from other staffing agencies and how do you address the needs of your target audience? Is it your quality, price, or ease of use? And again, don't forget the candidate. What is your proposition to them? Why should a job seeker register with you? Can you easily answer that question?

Customer relationships

How do you engage with the customer? Is it mainly personal, or primarily online? Do you want your customers to handle a lot themselves, or do you want to provide intensive support in using your product or service?

Channels

Through which channels do you sell your product or service? From a store, online shop, perhaps even mobile? A new player like Youbahn operates under a completely different model than the traditional staffing agency with a branch in the city centre.

Revenue streams

How do you make money? This goes beyond your rates: consider the choice between a subscription with recurring revenue, or a one-time fee. Are you relying on a single source of income, such as a matching fee or a markup per hour worked? Or are there opportunities to create multiple sources, such as training candidates at the request of your client?

Key resources

What are the key resources needed to deliver your value proposition, to run your business? Are you relying on others, or can you keep those business assets in-house? Besides candidates and personnel, think about technology and software.

Key activities

What are your key activities, the ones that create your value proposition? These activities you don't want to outsource but rather continue to do yourself. So, also consider which activities are not part of your 'core business' and therefore which tasks you no longer want to do yourself.

Partners

Who do you collaborate with to grow quickly or to deliver your product? And if you choose to outsource certain activities, you can't do it without partners for the services they provide.

Cost structure

How is your cost structure built? Do you have many fixed and few variable costs? Are you using a flexible model with many variable costs that you can quickly adjust as demand for your product grows? Do you need to invest a lot to start, or can you get started right away?

How to use the BMC for your organisation

A significant challenge for you as an intermediary lies in your role as a go-between. You need to recruit both clients and candidates. And for both, come up with an interesting and distinctive proposition.

In the coming years, this challenge will also be accompanied by significant changes in legislation and the impact of technology on business models. A beautiful challenge in our opinion. And the perfect time for you as a staffing agency to strategically orient yourself towards the future using the business model canvas.

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We're not giving away too much, of course, but this is what Business Model Canvas looks like when filled in for the staffing agency of the future. (our copyright: clevergig).

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