Top Picks

Every year, the staffing services industry outdoes itself by achieving record-setting sales. Consider its history, reported by Staffing Industry Report newsletter: Industry revenues in 1991 totaled just $31.4 million. By 1996, that figure had more than doubled to $74.4 million, and this year's revenues are projected to pass the $85 million mark.

Staffing services have made themselves indispensable by bringing highly skilled individuals to a variety of businesses. In the past, specialized skills were limited to a few areas, such as clerical support. Today, employees run the gamut from information technology experts to chief executive officers. "The concept of [staffing] services has proved itself," says Bruce Steinberg of the National Association of Temporary and Staffing Services. "It enables businesses to immediately adjust their staffing levels to meet demand."

Ensuring their workers are properly skilled stems from one of any successful staffing company's top priorities: training. Every year, the industry spends an average of $350 million to upgrade its employees' skills. And just as there's a trend toward broadening skills, there's also an inclination to expand the types of arrangements available. Temp-to-full-time services and outsourcing services, in which the staffing company hires and manages an entire function within an organization (such as marketing), are also on the upswing.

Will all this activity leave any room for newcomers? "It is a highly competitive industry," Steinberg confirms, "but there's still room for new people."

This article was originally published in the December 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Top Picks.