When most people think of temporary employees, they imagine either secretaries and call-center staff. As a culture, we have a conception of what “Temping” is but this idea of temporary employees couldn’t be further from the truth. Many skilled professionals choose to take temporary positions for their own reasons. Some are college students who take temporary work between semesters. Some are parents who take temporary work while the kids are in school. Some have traveled with a spouse and need to find work until that spouse is transferred somewhere else.
There are many reasons why an employee might choose to work a temp position. And there are just as many reasons why an employer might want a temporary team member, someone who is skilled and efficient but is not a permanent member of your staff.
1) Your Business Experiences a Seasonal Busy Season
Many businesses from construction to retail experience a seriously hot and cold cycle throughout the year. Retail temporary employees are in high demand around the holiday season. While accounting temporary employees are in high demand between January and April, also known as tax season. Maybe you have clients that ask for their services loaded into a single season because they have a natural busy season that influences your workflow.
Whatever the root cause, if you need your workforce to swell temporarily and then contract back down to the core team during the off-season, temporary employees can make that happen without over-taxing your year-round team.
2) One or More Key Employees are On Leave
Another serious concern is that one of your key employees (or more) might be on a special leave that could take months before they are back. Maternity leave, in particular, can leave a business shorthanded with no way to permanently refill the missing chair because the position must remain open while a key team member takes their family leave.
But during that time, you can hire someone temporarily to help pick up some of the slack left behind. Your regular team member may still be contributing remotely, but it really helps to have someone in the office ready to lend their expertise to the work at hand and to others who need it.
3) You Are Trying a Temporary-to-Permanent Hiring Style
You may also be experimenting with a new hiring plan, one where you see a temporary employee “in action” before you decide to reach out and invite them to become long-term members of the team. This can be a great way to give a new candidate a trial-run in the office environment and with your current core team. It is even more immersive than an interview and all the paperwork is in order for them to work for you right now, and maybe later.
Just let your temporary staffing agency know what you’re up to if you plan to hire from the temp experts. This way, your staffing agency will know not to recommend anyone who can only work during a designated short period of time.
4) Slow Permanent-Staff Hiring Has Left You Short-Handed
Alternately, you may have open roles that you are looking to fill through your permanent hiring process. But that process is slow and while you’re sourcing, interviewing, background-checking, and selecting a candidate your current team is still desperately short-staffed. A temporary hire or a few temporary hires can hold you over until the permanent hiring process can be completed so that your team doesn’t have to struggle with too much work on too few shoulders.
5) To Handle a Temporary High-Demand Project
Finally, you may be dealing with a one-time situation where a project has completely blown your team out of the water. Sometimes, a business will have the chance to work on something superbly large and important, whether or not you had the team support needed to finish every aspect on time. If your team is overwhelmed with the amount of work needed to complete a single project, temporary hires can make a world of difference in bolstering your team for this short time.
Boutique Recruiting
If your business is looking into temporary staffing for one of these situations or your own unique business needs for short-term employees, contact us today!
