Staffing agencies in Colorado Springs: a small market of 82 locations and how to vet one

This page is for Colorado Springs employers looking for an agency, job seekers, and B2B sellers sizing the local staffing market.

The market in Census figures

The US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 counts staffing establishments in the Colorado Springs, CO Metro Area (CBSA 17820), which is El Paso and Teller counties, under NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services).

The 26 placement and search offices split into 11 placement agencies and 15 executive search offices in the Census Bureau's metro file. Temp help has 95% of the employees because temp agencies employ the people they place: Census defines temporary help services as supplying workers to clients, with those workers being "employees of the temporary help services establishment." Placement and search firms count only their own staff, about four per office here.

For the two codes combined, the Census Bureau publishes only the two smallest classes, 42 locations with 1 to 4 employees and 13 with 5 to 9, which leaves 27 with 10 or more. The temp help classes above are published in full and account for all 56 temp locations: 15 branches with 50 or more employees, and the rest small offices. El Paso County has 79 of the 82 locations and 1,864 of the employees.

Limits. These are establishments with paid employees, not companies. A national agency with two Colorado Springs branches counts twice, and independent recruiters with no payroll aren't counted. Professional employer organizations (NAICS 561330, 7 more locations) aren't included, and the employment count is one week in March 2023. For the state's largest market, see the Denver report, which has 686 locations.

What kind of agency to call

• Light industrial and warehouse temp for production, distribution and seasonal shifts.
• Office and administrative temp for front desk, accounting and customer service cover.
• Healthcare staffing for nurses, aides and allied staff.
• Technical and cleared contract firms for engineering, IT and defense work. The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC says the region has five military bases and runs a veterans and cleared talent program, so ask an agency whether it already places people with the clearance level your work needs.
• Temp-to-hire when you want a trial period before hiring.
• Direct hire and executive search for permanent and senior roles, mostly from small offices here.
• PEOs if you want payroll and HR run for staff you already employ.

Vetting an agency without a state registry

Colorado doesn't register staffing agencies. SB20-192, which would have required agencies to register annually and employers to verify registration, was postponed indefinitely by the Senate Judiciary Committee, 5 to 0, on 26 May 2020. So:

1. Look up the business on the Colorado Secretary of State's database, by name or ID. The office notes it's a filing registry and can't certify that a business operates legally, so treat it as one check, not the only one.
2. Ask for certificates of workers' compensation and general liability insurance naming your company.
3. Check the pay rate against the floor. The US Department of Labor lists Colorado's minimum wage at $15.16 an hour, with premium pay after 12 hours a day or 40 a week. At a 40% markup, a minimum-wage temp bills at $21.22 an hour; a quote much below that for entry-level work should prompt questions about how the agency covers payroll taxes and insurance.
4. Get the conversion terms in writing if you might hire the temp.
5. Call two references with similar roles.

For some hiring you may not need an agency. The Pikes Peak Workforce Center offers employers recruiting help and job fairs, and job seekers can use it to find work directly.

Selling to Colorado Springs staffing agencies

The list is short: 15 temp branches with 50 or more employees, 41 small temp offices and 26 placement and search offices. The larger branches buy screening, safety training, timekeeping and workers' compensation; the small offices and search firms buy job advertising, applicant tracking and candidate data, and the owner decides. With a market this size, research each agency before you write: its open jobs show which employers it serves and which roles it fills. Bebop does that research for each agency in a list. For method, see sales prospecting techniques.

Subject: Veteran applicants for [agency]'s open roles

Hi [first name],

I saw [agency] has [number] open [role] positions in Colorado Springs. Some people leaving military service have exactly the skills on your job ads but don't search the usual boards.

We post your openings where transitioning service members and veterans look, and screen replies against your requirements.

Would it help to try it on two of your current openings?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: see the employers who hire through these agencies in construction companies in Colorado Springs.