The summer can be a challenging time for many businesses. A high proportion of staff taking annual leave in August often means long, busy days for those left in the office, and an urgent need for more pairs of hands.
Hiring temporary staff can be an efficient way to keep on top of things. A far cry from the ‘clerical dogsbody’ image of the past, temps can be some of the most specialist and skilled members of a team.
There are unexpected benefits, too: a change in energy around the office can invigorate your permanent staff, and the valuable outsider perspective that temps bring can shed fresh light on your organisation.
How can your organisation maximise the opportunities offered by temporary staff?
#1 Use an agency to reduce the admin headache
Hiring temporary staff involves a tangle of beaurocracy. A professional recruitment agency will take a lot of this paperwork off your hands. Agencies should be up to date with employment law, and will take responsibility for things like sick pay, tax and pensions. All of this will spare you considerable legwork, when time is at a premium.
#2 Save on overtime costs and safeguard morale
If your staff are working all hours to meet demand during a seasonal peak, then a temp can be a great solution. Not only do temporary workers take the pressure off your overworked team, they are often a more cost-effective option than paying existing staff overtime, even when agency fees are taken into account.
#3 Focus on time-saving measures
Recruitment from scratch takes a while, and during an overloaded period you may not have the luxury of time. Temps can usually start within a few days, and a good agency will have a stable of workers with different skills, ready to hit the ground running. Investing in a relationship with an agency will really speed things up down the line, saving you from embarking on a lengthy recruitment process whenever things get busy.
#4 Invest in the future
Finding a temp through a reputable agency is just the first step in a long-term strategy. Once the agency knows your organisation’s needs and seasonal patterns, future placements will be even faster and more finely tuned. Plus, with one third of managers starting out as temps, you may find your best seasonal staff eventually turn into a permanent fixture.
#5 Plan to grow expertise and confidence
Using specialist temporary staff can be a great way to boost the overall knowledge base of your company. For example, deploy a temporary IT hire with great communication skills, and you could well enjoy the long-term benefit of improved tech confidence across your permanent team.
#6 Experiment during quiet times
Many organisations change their offer to suit the season, and temporary staff can provide a useful low-pressure testbed for new ideas and strategies. If you’re curious to try a new marketing initiative, for example, but don’t have capacity within your existing team, a specialist temp could take on the project and feed their learnings back to your staff.
How we can help
Hiring a temp is a viable option for many businesses and can really help if you are left with a sudden vacancy or require a specialised skill set in the short term. Taking on temporary staff can keep business productivity up when faced with employee issues and challenges.
At TN Recruits, we specialise in placing temporary staff within businesses at all levels and are always happy to talk through the possibilities available to your business. Why not give us a call now to speak to one our Recruitment Specialists on 01892 571105.
