Hiring the right candidate to fit a role is one of the most challenging aspects of being a manager or supervisor. It’s hard to get an accurate feel for what people can do, simply by looking at their resume, which is why accounting temps make a lot of sense. Through temporary employment, you can audition candidates for the role you’re filling.
Temporary to Permanent
One of the most popular ways to audition talent is to bring them on via a temporary-to-permanent contract. In this scenario, there is a designated period such as 90 days, where candidates are strictly temporary employees with the opportunity to gain full-time employment. If you like what you see and think the individual is a good fit, then you can convert the employee to a permanent status. This arrangement at least gives you a preview of what you’re getting.
Short-term Contract
If you’re unsure if you need a full-time employee, or even if there is enough work to warrant another staff member, you can create a short-term contract assignment. You can choose a time period, such as three or six months, where a temporary employee comes in to help improve your operations. During this time period, you can give the individual multiple assignments, or you can have them focus on a single aspect of your operations. The choice is yours. The contract time frame gives you the opportunity to audition the individual.
Open Assignment
Keeping a temporary employee on staff is an excellent way to fill gaps in monthly duties, when regular employees go on vacation, medical leave or when they advance their careers, and you need to find a replacement. Open assignments can end at anytime, which is important if your company is unsure about it financial resources and stability. If you keep an accounting temp on an assignment and you like their work ethic, then you can bring them on as a full-time employee, for a small conversion fee.
Project Accountant
If you need an accountant to complete tasks of varying complexity and difficulty, hiring a temporary project accountant can make your life easier. A person in this role is typically a seasoned professional with a wide variety of skills and experience. They can complete ad hoc tasks, difficult account reconciliations or book adjusting journal entries, in an effort to straighten up your books and keep you compliant with internal and external financial reporting standards.
Evaluation Tips
When assessing temps, give them a chance to learn your systems and procedures, before passing judgment on their abilities and fitness for the role. Once they’ve been through a cycle or two, it becomes easier to see their true skills and talents. There is no reason to rush to judgment. Also, it is prudent to practice patience with temps as they become acclimated to their new work environment. Companies vary greatly sometimes regarding their processes and procedures. So, it might take some time to learn your office norms.
It’s important to treat temporary employees with the same degree of respect and kindness that full-time employees receive. Otherwise, it might be hard to fully evaluate their effectiveness on the job. Isolating temps can cause unintended alienation, which is best avoided for practical reasons. Temps do their best when they feel like they’re valued and part of the team. While there is a distinction between full-time and temporary, you’ll get a temp’s best effort when you treat them well.
For additional information on hiring talent on a temporary or temp-to-perm basis, please contact us today. We have a wide variety of accounting and financial professionals capable of meeting your needs.
