A year-end business reflection is the best time to evaluate how well your staffing partner supported your productivity, safety, and long-term goals. A partner might seem reliable on the surface, but when you take a closer look at their year-round impact, the real story becomes clear.
This guide walks you through how to evaluate staffing partner success, what metrics matter most, and how to determine whether your current partner is truly helping your business grow—or holding it back.
Why Year-End Staffing Reviews Matter
A staffing provider is more than a vendor. In light industrial operations, they are a direct extension of your workforce strategy. The right partner reduces turnover, strengthens safety, and helps you navigate peak seasons smoothly. The wrong one drains time, money, and morale.
Research shows that nearly 1.1 billion jobs may be radically transformed by technology in the next decade. Employers need staffing partners who can support not just immediate hiring needs, but long-term workforce adaptability as well.¹
Here’s a structured year-end review that can help you assess your staffing partner:
1. Evaluate Performance Through Hard Numbers
A truly effective staffing partner tracks and shares data—not vague promises. According to AIHR, recruiting success is best measured through objective metrics like time-to-fill, quality of hire, and retention performance.² These indicators reveal whether your partner is simply filling seats or consistently delivering workers who contribute to your operation. When reviewing their performance, start with the numbers that show the real impact of their placements.
Fill Rates and Time-to-Fill
Consistent, fast placement is a core measure of staffing success. Consider these questions:
- How quickly did they fill openings throughout the year?
- Did delays force your team into overtime?
- How often did you have unfilled shifts during peak seasons?
Attendance and Reliability Metrics
Strong partners monitor attendance and flag patterns early. If absenteeism increased this year, it’s worth asking:
- Did the partner address the issue?
- Did they replace unreliable workers promptly?
- Did productivity dip as a result?
Conversion and Retention Rates
If you rely on temp-to-hire roles, look at how many workers were successfully hired as permanent employees. This number alone can reveal whether your staffing partner is placing people who truly fit. Retention reveals quality. High turnover indicates:
- Poor screening
- Weak cultural alignment
- A rushed placement process
Read more: How to Staff Your Warehouse Before the Year-End Rush
2. Examine the Quality of Candidates Beyond the Resume
Metrics matter, but so does the on-the-ground experience. Year-end reflections should consider how well workers integrated into your operations.
Are the workers following safety standards?
Safety compliance is non-negotiable in manufacturing and warehousing. If you saw more near-misses, injuries, or equipment incidents, your staffing partner may not be screening effectively—or providing adequate training.
Do temporary employees fit your culture?
Culture fit shows in:
- Attitude
- Work ethic
- Team interactions
- Respect for procedures
If your supervisors spent more time coaching or correcting behavior than they did last year, this signals a deeper issue with screening and onboarding. Good onboarding can result in 69 percent of employees staying for about three years.³
Did workers show initiative and reliability?
You want workers who contribute—not just fill a slot. Evaluate whether your partner delivered talent who added value or simply met the bare minimum.
3. Assess Operational Impact and Cost Efficiency
Staffing ROI goes beyond hourly rates. It includes the hidden financial effects of labor issues that either boost or drain your bottom line. AIHR shares that businesses lose more than $36,000 annually due to turnover—including rehiring costs, time, resource reallocation, and lost productivity.⁴
Did your partner help reduce overtime?
A strong staffing partner prevents burnout and fatigue by ensuring adequate coverage. If your overtime costs kept rising despite using temporary labor, your partner may not be supplying enough workers—or the right ones.
Did they help stabilize production?
Look at indicators like:
- Fewer production delays
- Fewer quality issues
- Smoother shift transitions
- Reduced downtime due to coverage gaps
These factors reveal whether your staffing partner is helping operations run smoothly or creating friction.
Did your staffing partner support peaks effectively?
Peak seasons, especially in Q4, are where strong partners shine. If your teams struggled, burned out, or fell behind, it’s a sign your partner isn’t planning ahead or maintaining a strong talent pipeline. A survey found that 54 percent of companies with strong staffing partners report increased productivity and see 50 percent more flexibility and agility.⁵
4. Evaluate Communication, Transparency, and Support
The best staffing partners don’t disappear after placements. They stay engaged, communicate proactively, and treat your goals as their own.
Responsiveness
Did they respond quickly to urgent needs? Were they available outside regular business hours when peak season hit? Being responsive and supportive is a factor that companies should look for in a great partner.
Proactive Problem-Solving
Great partners don’t wait for issues—they bring solutions. If they flag attendance trends early, help assess turnover, or adjust their model before problems grow, that’s the kind of partner worth keeping.
Transparency and Reporting
You should never have to guess how your staffing program is performing. Your partner should provide clear reporting, consistent check-ins, and honest conversations about challenges and improvements.
5. Consider Whether They Act Like a True Partner
A vendor fills orders. A partner strengthens your workforce. If they stay hands-off or transactional, your business may not be getting the strategic value it deserves. Year-end reviews should reveal whether your staffing partner:
- Visited your worksites
- Understood your equipment and culture
- Anticipated your seasonal needs
- Supported your safety programs
- Helped you forecast and budget more accurately
Ready to strengthen your peak season planning? Download our white paper: Entering Peak Season: Combining Operational Agility and Risk & Safety for Light Industrial Companies. Get frameworks for evaluating staffing partners, building workforce agility, and maintaining safety during high-demand periods.
Look for a partner that proves impact. Choose Horizon America.
Evaluating staffing partner success shouldn’t be guesswork. Horizon America gives employers the transparency, data, and performance insights they need to make confident workforce decisions.
With a proactive talent pipeline, strong safety focus, and personalized support, Horizon helps companies reduce turnover, control labor costs, and maintain reliable staffing all year long.
If you’re ready for a partner who can prove their value—not just promise it—Horizon America is here to help.
References
- Tupper, Helen and Ellis, Sarah. “It’s Time to Reimagine Employee Retention.” HBR, 4 Jul. 2022, https://hbr.org/2022/07/its-time-to-reimagine-employee-retention
- Van Vulpen, Erik. “23 Recruiting Metrics You Should Know.” AIHR, https://www.aihr.com/blog/recruiting-metrics/. 8 Nov. 2025.
- “110+ Employment Turnover Statistics in 2024.” MyShortlister, 2024, https://www.myshortlister.com/insights/employment-turnover-statistics
- Ahuja, Amrita. “Cost of turnover climbs, but hiring plans stay strong.” SIA, 13 Jun. 2025, https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/cost-of-turnover-climbs-but-hiring-plans-stay-strong
- “Integrating contingent workers: The key to a high-performance extended workforce.” Dayforce, 6 Sep. 2023, https://www.dayforce.com/blog/integrating-contingent-workers
