What's holding back your agency from growing? It’s probably not your sales team. More often than not, it’s the engine running behind the scenes: your back office.
In this newsletter, I’m shining a spotlight on this often-overlooked but critical component of success. From payroll and misclassification challenges to cash flow and compliance issues, a weak back office can quietly stunt growth. I also explore how our podcast sponsor,
Ascen
, provides a powerful solution to these operational headaches.
If you're looking to scale your agency, this episode is a must-listen:
Here are the key takeaways:
- Hiring and doing business in the US and Canada can feel like operating in 50 different countries, with laws varying significantly from state to state. What’s legal in California may be illegal in New York, so navigating this “chaos disguised as compliance” can be a major hurdle for growth.
- A recurring and costly risk for staffing agencies is worker misclassification. These mistakes, which can result in heavy fines, often happen simply because agency owners don't understand the complex and varied laws.
- Cash is king. Yet many agencies face difficulties managing cash flow because clients might operate on 45-day payment terms, while contractors and temps expect weekly or bi-weekly pay. Ascen addresses this challenge by managing payroll funding, which offers the cash flow flexibility needed to help agencies grow.
- Many agencies struggle because they use multiple systems (onboarding, payroll, invoicing, time sheets, and accounting software) that often do not communicate with each other. This lack of integration creates growth problems and administrative bottlenecks.
- Ascen offers an all-in-one platform that simplifies hiring across the US and Canada. They can manage onboarding, payroll, invoicing, timesheets, and compliance, allowing staffing agencies to grow with confidence and without getting buried in administrative duties. The system is also fully white-labeled, meaning clients and contractors continue to interact with your agency’s brand while Ascen handles the back-office operations behind the scenes.
- Depending on the talent engagement model, Ascen also handles the legal and financial responsibilities. For W2 contractors, they become the Employer of Record (EOR), managing payroll, benefits, and taxes. For independent contractors, they become the Agent of Record (AOR), taking on the classification and risk to prevent misclassification issues.
- By providing enterprise-level back office infrastructure without the need for an internal team, Ascen allows smaller agencies to compete effectively with large agencies. This capability helps remove limitations on the size of clients they can take on due to prior back-office restrictions.
For more insights, be sure to watch the full recording above.
Thank you again to
Ascen
for sponsoring the Talent Titans podcast. To learn more about their platform and how they can help your agency grow, visit www.ascen.com.
