In the staffing and recruiting world, the middle office is the crucial link between client-facing activities and operational support. It’s where strategy meets execution, ensuring promises made by sales teams are delivered efficiently. For agencies looking to scale and sustain growth, a high-performance middle office is essential.
- Recruit and Retain Top Talent: Building a strong middle office starts with assembling a talented team. Talent with a blend of analytical skills, process expertise, and the ability to collaborate across departments should be high-value targets for hire. And while retention is key for any organization, it is particularly important for staffing firms to retain talent in this area, given the uniqueness of this skillset, limited talent pool and lead time before a new hire is truly effective. In low margin verticals (aka Light Industrial) where compensation can be a challenge, agencies should have a benefits strategy place as an offset in order to retain talent!
- Standardize Processes: Efficiency in the middle office hinges on standardized processes. Map out key operations like contract management and compliance, time capture and interpretation, payroll
and billing, and other shared services operations. Implement tools that automate tasks and streamline workflows. This not only reduces errors but also improves capacity to help focus on higher-value activities. A word of caution is don’t get blinded by shiny objects. Evaluate the functional value of the technology and develop a business or value realization model so you can measure the expected benefits. - Embrace Continuous Improvement: Even with standardized processes, continuous improvement should be a core principle. Encourage your team to regularly review workflows, identify bottlenecks, and propose enhancements. This mindset ensures your middle office evolves with changing client needs and market demands.
- Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration: The middle office is the bridge between the front and back offices. Regular communication and cross-functional teams can break down silos, ensuring everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals. Ensure there is a proper partnership and
alignment with the business. Ensure proposed changes are a collective benefit across the value chain. Identify exception processes to help the business avoid selling something that will be
difficult to manage. - Leverage Data for Decision-Making: A data-driven approach is key to a high-performance middle office. Track KPIs that will help drive strategic decision making and to help focus your continuous improvement efforts. Advanced analytics tools are everywhere now! Work with a solution or firm who can help you consolidate your data so it can be used to provide deeper insights, helping your team optimize operations and contribute to growth.
A high-performance middle office isn’t just a support function—it’s a strategic asset. By focusing on talent, process standardization, continuous improvement, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making, your middle office can propel your agency’s success and set you apart in a competitive market.
Sean currently serves as the Vice President of PMO and Middle Office Consulting at Newbury Partners. In his role, Sean oversees delivery and execution of large-scale transformation programs which includes Newbury Partners Bullhorn One project portfolio.
With over 15 years of experience in staffing pay bill operations and shared services, Sean’s professional journey has been marked by a commitment to operational excellence and strategic leadership. Sean led the creation of Adecco’s Finance Transformation PMO, overseeing the group’s strategic initiatives related to the Shared Service Centers across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. In that same region, Sean oversaw value realization for Adecco’s global transformation program, ‘Grow Together’. A program that contributed millions, helping the Group exceed the programs financial expectations.
We invite you to learn more about Sean.
About Newbury Partners
Newbury Partners brings years of experience as technology advisors to the Staffing Industry. We specialize in providing tried and true best practice methodologies through every consulting, implementation, reporting and analytics, development, and strategy engagement. Our commitment to our clients is to provide honest and transparent communication to create lifelong partnerships.
For more information, visit www.newburypartners.com.
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