29 Mar Hiring A Temporary Employee — 5 Great Reasons to Seriously Consider It
It’s no secret these days that companies in most industries are finding the value in hiring a temporary employee — or thousands — in the cases of brands like UPS and Target during the holidays. But while it’s certainly not new or unusual, hiring a temporary employee is sometimes undervalued.
Here are five great reasons for hiring a temporary employee.
Speed. If you have a gap in your talent pool – whether it’s a specific skill set that no one has, or a dire need for an extra pair of hands, a temporary employee can be a quick fix, without too much risk. The nice thing about hiring a temporary employee is that a staffing agency has done so much leg work for you.
You don’t have to post for a job, sift through resumes, or schedule interviews. The agency can present a handful of profiles and often get someone in the door within days.
If you’re in a rush to hire, you also are more likely to make choices under the pressure of necessity. Whether that means a less robust interview process, seeing fewer candidates, or doing less diligence these choice all carry the risk of a regrettable hiring decision.
Risk. Speaking of risk, with a temporary employee, you get someone fully vetted by the agency. Most agencies run robust credit and criminal background checks on their employees. In addition, they contractually protect you if they missed something. If things go wrong, you can usually pretty easily replace the temporary employee with another worker.
Cost. Think of costs of your employees beyond just their annual salary. If you aren’t responsible for health care, vacation days, paid federal holidays, subsidized commuter costs, and a host of other employee benefits, the hourly rate of a temporary employee might well be less.
Flexibility. Hiring a temporary employee means you can find someone that is the right fit, for right now. If your needs change, or the profile you wanted no longer works, the cost of a mistake is far less than a painful severance experience.
Simplicity. Hiring a temporary employee can avoid a lot of the complexities of a permanent hire. For example, a full time employee will expect regular performance reviews, a sense of a career path and other professional growth. That’s all great and completely reasonable.
But what if you’re an accounting firm and you need a receptionist? While it’s pretty easy to see how to give your accountants greater responsibilities and feedback on performance, your receptionist is a more utilitarian role. The skills they need are not key to your company’s growth. Trying to mentor that person doesn’t have a real benefit to the business.
There are a lot of advantages to consider when hiring a temporary employee.
Perhaps best of all, a temporary employee can be permanent. In most cases if you find a person that you brought on short-term, but they turn out to be a great fit, you can bring them on as a full member of the team. So not only is hiring a temporary employee a great short term solution, it might last a lot longer than you’d planned.
