No matter how prepared you are, it always happens, your busy season approaches fast and you need to help of a staffing agency. Your type of business is irrelevant, there will come a point when you need extra workers to cope with excess work. Temporary workers, or temps, are a great solution to get more staff quickly without having to commit to long-term contracts.
Temporary Workers versus Contracted Employees
It is important that we have a clear understanding of the two types of workers. A temporary worker is placed to work with you through an agency. They are normally hired to complete short-term projects ranging from a day to months. Your company contracts the agency and the agency is responsible for the temp’s salary, taxes, and all the necessary paperwork.
A contract worker or employee is someone who your company has hired directly. You have recruited them and agreed upon a contract period but this is normally longer than that of a temp. You are responsible for payments, taxes and the paperwork.
When to think about bringing in Temporary Workers
The job description of a temporary worker has changed since the concept first began. Originally, the idea of a temp was to cover administrative roles and general laborers and the pay was rather low for these positions. While these types of jobs are still among the most popular positions, nowadays you will find a huge variety of temp roles from accounting to high-level tasks.
The main advantage of using Temp Workers when necessary
One of the principal advantages of using a temp worker is the flexibility that comes with it. You can start and stop work as soon as the job starts and finishes. Benefits may be specific to each individual business but here are a few overall benefits:
- Takes some of the pressure and workload of existing staff
- Temps may have specific skills for a project that current staff does not have
- Allows you to meet deadlines you have set and take on more work, increasing your productivity
- You are increasing your productivity but not employing new staff as the agency is the employer
- There might be the opportunity to hire them on a long-term basis if you are happy with their work, this will depend on negotiations with the staffing agency
Making the most of the time with a temp
One area to really take advantage of a temp in your location is that they will probably have up to date training provided by the staffing agency. This extra knowledge should be shared with your current employees in order to maximize your productivity.
This being said, a temp worker will still need some basic onboarding. Your temp will need to know who is who, where things are and the office procedures. It is a good idea to assign a current employee to make sure the temp is comfortable and has all the resources available to do their job.
Appreciation is so valuable for your staff and your temporary workers. Showing your gratitude will add to the experience of their time with you. Happy workers are more likely to reach targets!
Although a temp won’t be around for long, they should still be treated as a member of the team and most importantly, with respect. Welcome them and encourage your staff to welcome them too. Don’t just assume that a temp will know exactly what to do, be there to offer support and answer any questions they may have.
