Staffing Services Specializing in Internships, Business Proposal Example

Introduction

Starting up a new business venture has always been a passion for me and when the opportunity for displaying my entrepreneurship was provided by the Delphi group, this golden chance is being utilized to put forward a few business ideas. Taking in to consideration the everlasting need for staffing services in the diverse markets, the business has been conceptualized in to creating proper linkages between the potential work forces and business organizations that require both temporary and permanent work forces. Though there appear lots of fluctuations in the job markets depending on the economic situations there is always need for efficient man power  and if the proposed staffing solutions company is able to source and manage the resources effectively, it could reap profits at all times. From the assessment of the staffing services markets as well as on the target segments it was seen that the most vital demand is for orienting the fresh graduates or fresh professionals in to the right organizations and careers. This demand would be capitalized by the new staffing services venture, which has been conceptualized with the aim to provide all types of staffing services with specialization in internships.

As the business venture would be in the services sector there might not be need for any major renovations to the facility and the business could be run within limited space. So the initial investment for the venture would only come to around $ 20000 – $ 30000 (£ 13000 – £ 20000) and would like to borrow around $ 10000 – $ 15000 (£ 6500 – £ 10000). The details of the proposal for the new business that include a detailed market analysis, details of the business format, product and services, details of the site requirements, marketing plan, staffing, schedule, budget and associated aspects would be discussed in detail.

Market analysis

Analysing the niche markets and the opportunities that are available in the different market segments forms the most important task prior to conceptualizing the business ideas to practice (Gonroos 56). This is for rightly placing the products and services in line with the market demands and expectations as well as to venture in to areas that have greater potential to grow. Even an old concept or idea could be rejuvenated when properly linked to the market and customer needs, priorities and demands. Market analysis always facilitates in strategizing business ideas and plans with greater focus on the market and customer potential as well as for nullifying the impact of weaknesses and threats (Aspers 379). Despite lot of fluctuations in the jobs market, the demand can be rightly identified and maintained if the company is focussed on effective sourcing and delivery of the services. Slump in growth in one area would be followed by opportunity in another area or sector and there is need for greater levels of focus and dedication to keeps the business going by taking right steps. Value additions and innovations can always make companies successful at all times. So there is greater need for analyzing the external and internal environment in order to understand the market in detail and the strategic marketing model (figure 1) clearly indicates this need. PEST (Political Economical Social Technological) analysis and SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis appear to be the most basic and at the same time relevant to the context and hence has been done for understanding the internal and external environment for the proposed business.

Figure 1. Strategic marketing management model (Source: Wysocki and Wirth 3).

SWOT analysis for the proposed business

SWOT analysis of the proposed business was done in order to identify the internal and external environmental factors that influence the proposed business (table 1).

Table 1. SWOT analysis for the proposed business

SWOT analysis revealed that the strengths of the proposed businesses are the high demand, specialized services, value addition, efficient team, etc and there appear lots of opportunities for growth if the strengths of the company is rightly capitalised to capture the opportunities. The company need to work on to strengthen the weaknesses like the weak brand power, lack of trust, etc through effective and focussed performances. There is always need to identify the possible threats to the business and try to strategize efforts to overcome at the right time.

PEST analysis for the proposed business

Political factors

Government policies and restrictions in national and international recruitments.

No proper regulations in the sector especially with regard to online recruitment.

Economic factors

Global recession and reduction in demand

Freezing recruitment in companies

Requires only low investments for starting up business and hence lot of player in the sector.

Social Factors

People looking for established firms.

Lack of trust among the clients.

Invasion of social networking sites in to providing staffing related services

Technological Factors

Use of technology has become a need of the hour and there is need to upgrade the facilities in order to create and maintain good customer base.

As the business is highly dependent on technological application any break down in the technology might create a huge negative impact.

Assessment on the internal and external environment showed that there appear lot of opportunities for the business to establish and stabilize in the market if the proposed business endeavour could adapt to required levels through innovative practices and solutions based on the market and customer needs and expectations. The analysis in fact revealed that there appear lot of stiff competition in the staffing services industry particularly due to the lack of proper regulations, low entry barrier, the invasion of internet based staffing solutions and exploitation of social networking sites. According to Clemons, Nunes and Reilly, the capabilities of companies to “stake out unique market sweet spots that resonate so strongly with target consumers” and strategizing the marketing efforts accordingly could earn them leading edge even in competitive markets (1). In order to remain competitive the proposed business would take initiatives to study the exact requirements and demands of the industry with regard to the skill sets, capabilities and other specific man power characteristics. This knowledge would be utilized for orienting and adapting the potential work forces in view to develop the right linkages between industry demand and human resource supply.

Proposed business

The idea is to provide all types of staffing services with specialization in internships. The proposed business endeavour is expected to develop strategic association with the different business establishments in diverse markets in view to develop trust and faith among the clients. For understanding the demand patterns as well as the nature of the supply capabilities special sessions would be organized. For e.g. in order to develop a good data base of prospective candidates, special orientation camps would be organized for understanding the customer preferences, interests and capabilities. As we would be specializing in providing staffing solutions in internships, there is need for multi level screening and orientation program both at collective and individual levels in order to place them in the right industry based on their skills and capabilities. The aim of the proposed staffing services business is not to merely supply the work forces but to allocate the resources in the most befitting manner and to make it beneficial to both the client and the customer. The proposed business would develop its own web portal and linkages would be made with social networking sites and other web portals in order to expand the database, reach and capabilities of the firm.

Products and services

The analysis revealed that there is always demand in the staffing services industry if the company is able to source effectively and are able to place their products and services appropriately in line with the industry standards and requirements. The opportunities or demand available in different market segments would be utilized for designing and placing the products and services of the company. The proposed business venture would be specifically targeting the fresh graduates or fresh professionals; both temporary and permanent staffing solutions would also be provided. In the job market the specific functional requirements changes continuously and so adapting the potential resources in line with the changing needs and requirements appear as a must. Taking in to considerations the requirements of the job market

The main services provided by the proposed business would be,

Staffing services for internships – Providing career counselling and orientation of the fresh graduates and professionals as well as in placing them in the right companies for apprenticeship.

Temporary staffing solutions – Provide services to organizations that require human resources for the temporary position.

Permanent staffing services – Understand the specific requirements of the client with regard to permanent employment opportunity. Initial orientation and screening would be done prior to supplying the potential candidates.

Business site

The office space would be compact and each human resource manager has separate table, laptop and other accessories and would have separate seating options for the client or the customer. There would be small open space for arranging small meetings. Special efforts would be made for making the office space to be compact and simple and the floor plan for the proposed business is given in the figure (2).

Figure 2. Floor plan for the staffing solutions office (Source: Smart Draw, 10)

Marketing plan

Important consideration for preparing successful and functional marketing plan is to base all the activities in accordance with the customer and market needs and expectations (Gilligan, Richard and Wilson 25). Identifying the target segment and markets rightly as well as devising appropriate marketing plan appears to be the key in the success of any business endeavours. So the market segments were selected based on extensive market analysis and demand. The target market would be fresh graduates or professionals who are seeking for internships; qualified or multi skilled permanent job seekers at middle and senior management positions and temporary job seekers. The clients would be big and small business establishments or employers that have man power requirements. Greater focus would be given for the first category where the current demand is high and the other market segments are considered as the potential markets that can be developed through focussed marketing. It is seen that establishing possible linkages with the fresh graduates and the industry is the most demanding and challenging tasks. There appear lot of scope for expansions in this regard.

Pricing – As we would be specializing in internships a very nominal fee would be incurred from the customer and relatively lesser price from the client as well. The pricing of the services vary with the type and quality of the resources and their requirements. The price charged for the client and the customer would be different and the client would be charged higher than the customer. As the company establishes, the pricing would be restructured in such a way as to meet the industry standards. Efforts for initiating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities would also be considered as the firm establishes. Special initiatives for providing free orientation camps and staffing solutions for the deserved from developing nations would be considered.

Staffing and management

Regarding the staffing, initially there would be four employees in addition to myself who will manage the overall operations of the firm. Staffing requirements would be verified after a few months of operations and would consider revamping if required. The employees would be given opportunity to take addition part time courses to acquire the needed skill sets and capabilities so as to become well versed in their tasks and responsibilities once the company starts functioning. The details of the employees and their functions and qualification are presented in the table (2).

Table 2. Staffing and management details

Schedule

Tentative schedule for the proposed business is given in the table (3).

Table 3. Tentative schedule for the proposed business

Based on the tentative timeline we would be able to start the new venture within six to ten months from the time the loan is approved and we will be in a position to repay the loan with the speculated one year time.

Qualifications

I have completed Masters in business management from a prestigious institute and have working experience in the human resource management. I have knowledge about accountancy practices as I have done short term course in business accounting. I have taken addition courses in HRM and client servicing. I am planning to take a course in career counselling and technology based demand forecasting.

Budget

Proper and balanced budgeting is key to the success of any business ventures and these factors need to be considered prior to entering in business. The initial cost occurred for starting the proposed business as well as the operating costs is given in the table (4).

Table 4. Initial costs and operating costs for the proposed business

Based on the assessment it is seen that that the initial costs for starting up the staffing services business comes to about 30000 USD and the projected operating costs comes to approximately 15000 USD. So the company is expected to get average sales of about 25000 – 30000 Dollars with a profit of about 10000 to 15000 Dollars after the repayment of loan.

Conclusion

The proposal is about providing different types of staffing services with specializations in internships. Basic concept is to establish proper linkages between the industry demand and the human resources supply. This particular business idea has been floated based on in depth market research and it was found that there is need for facilitating the supply in relation to the market demand. So the prospective candidates would be screened, oriented and groomed prior to being placed in the most befitting industry. This is not just another staffing services company but a company with greater focus on providing to the specific needs based on skills sets, talent, qualities and capabilities. Special efforts are made to develop the trust and faith of both the client and the customer. Use of technology would help the business to better the services as well as for extending the services beyond the borders. Such a venture could be possible only through the support of the Delphi group and are looking forward to associate with you. With your support and cooperation we can make this new business venture a great success and achieve greater heights in years ahead.

References

Aspers, Patrick. “Theory, reality, and performativity in markets”. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 66. 2 (2007): 379 – 398. [Online], Web. 25 April 2013.

Clemons, K. Eric., Nunes, F. Paul. and Reilly, Matt. “Six Strategies for Successful Niche Marketing”. The Wall Street Journal, (2010): n. pag. [Online], Web. 26 April 2013.

Gilligan, C., Richard, M. S. and Wilson, M. S. Strategic marketing planning. Burlington: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Gonroos, Christian. “Defining marketing: A market oriented approach”. European Journal of Marketing, 23. 1 (1989): 52 – 60. [Online], Web. 26 April 2013.

Smart Draw. “Office layout” (2011). N. pag. Online], Questia database. Web. 27 April 2013.

Wysocki, F. Allen. and Wirth, F. Ferdinand. (2001) “Strategic Marketing Management: Building a Foundation for Your Future.” Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. (2001) [Online], Web. 25 April 2013.