6 benefits to hiring temp employees

So you’ve identified a need to recruit a temporary member of staff for your team, and you’re thinking about the skills that this temp will need in the role. Perhaps you have a big project coming up for which you’ll require an extra pair of hands, or maybe a key member of your team has gone on maternity or paternity leave.

The employee approaching leave may have many years in the industry and a niche skillset, making them hard to replace. If recruiting for a like-for-like permanent replacement then you’re right to want someone with the same skills, personality and career ambitions, however when recruiting temp employees in some markets it can be unrealistic to expect this.

Temp employees can provide many benefits – some of which I’ll outline below – and it’s not just in name that they differ from permanent employees. Temps are a useful solution for employers looking to successfully navigate periods of transition or steer a business in a new direction. Understanding this, and then consolidating your job spec around your revised requirements and expectations, is key to getting the most out of temp employees.

Revise your requirements

I’ve noticed a real trend of some customers with different expectations of a temp’s role and what they bring to a business. For example, my team is often asked to locate temporary part-qualified finance candidates, with recruitment criteria that is more appropriate for permanent employees. Hiring temps and hiring perms are two completely different processes, for which you should craft completely different person specs, if not job specs.

Hiring temps and hiring perms are two completely different processes

My challenge in this particular scenario would be why, if you are looking for short- to medium-term cover during a critical project or period of change, would you hire an individual requesting time off for studies and exam days? It would be far more advisable to re-think the short term need and see whether you could recruit someone qualified by experience or fully qualified with no study commitments who can give full focus to the job you need doing, while recruiting your part-qualified individual on a permanent basis to bring longer-term skills into your department.

When hiring for long-term permanent employees you may wish to prioritise personality, a pledged loyalty to your business and a five-year plan for the organisation. When hiring for the short-term, most of this is unnecessary.

The most recent Hays Global Skills Index revealed that there are significant skills shortages in a number of the world’s largest economies, particularly with regard to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) jobs. Countries ranging from the United Kingdom to Spain to the United States are struggling to locate the skills they need in order to fill the high-skilled jobs that are available. This shortage of qualified professional personnel is driving up wages in many areas, and leading to increased competition for candidates. Therefore you need to make sure that – more than ever – you’re getting your hires right the first time.

Understanding the benefits to your business

Build the job specification about what you actually need delivered, and centre the responsibilities of the job around them. From a person specification basis, it’s not necessary that the candidate has a detailed five-year career plan or a tangible yearning to acquire extensive qualifications and accreditations, and therefore be actively studying while trying to get an important project or task done for you. Prioritise your business needs and you’ll receive a far better match from your consultant and have a greater choice of qualified and relevant candidates to choose from.

If you have a short-term opening you need filling then there are many other positive things a temp can bring to your business. To help better understand the role of a temp, and what they can bring to your business, here are six principal benefits:

1. Reduced long-term labour cost

Temp employees are by their very name a temporary solution, and do not require an annual salary, eating away into your salaries budget. Neither will you need to accrue money to spend on paid learning and development for them in most instances, as they will only benefit your business for a limited period.

2. Shorter hiring process

The process for hiring temp employees is traditionally a lot quicker – and it certainly should be! This is both because you should be hiring for technical skills to deliver something specific rather than long-term cultural fit.

3. Instant impact

Temp employees are used to joining organisations for a short period of time, and should know that they need to make an instant impact. Be courteous but also know that you won’t have to spend weeks familiarising them with the work environment, introducing them to every member of staff and training them with a whole multitude of systems; they should of course be given a soft landing but they are not your forever people!

4. Fresh perspectives

Sometimes it just takes one outsider to completely change – for the better – the way a business operates. Often we get so used to our jobs that we can’t see the wood for the trees. The more temps you hire, the more unique perspectives you’re going to get.

5. Highly skilled, niche experience

Temps usually have a very specific skillset and are accustomed to performing on very niche projects. Having a highly specialised individual in your team can really help to drive your business forward.

6. Flexibility

Perhaps the most widely acknowledged benefit of temps is that they are flexible. Temps allow you to respond to market needs and demands, as they happen. They are often used to working in different locations, for different personalities, for varied periods of time. Also, hiring a temp gives you the option of evaluating whether you have a long-term job requirement in a function, and then whether you want to take that particular individual on full time or not, assuming they are interested!

It’s not about settling for second best

I’m absolutely not saying that you should settle for whatever you can get when recruiting candidates for a temporary position. At Hays we pride ourselves in offering up candidates with the requisite experience and abilities for the role, and that’s how globally we fill over 1,000 jobs every working day. What I am saying however is to be clear with your needs, and realistic with your expectations.

A final thought

The question I would recommend asking yourself at any stage in this process is – how long can you afford to wait? We all know that the adverse impacts on a business from not having the right people and skills to help drive it forward and achieve its business goals is sometimes not even scalable in terms of the cost.

Remember the next time you insist on having a temp candidate tick every box you’d ask of a perm candidate that this is crucial time lost; time lost when the job could be getting done by a very capable and expert trusted pair of hands. Temps have many unique qualities to offer your business, such as determination, flexibility and a willingness to and familiarity with compromise. Understanding all of this, and building your person and job spec accordingly, will help you get the most out of them when they join your business.

If you’d like any help in recruiting temporary staff or permanent employees then you can get in touch with your local Hays office here.

I hope you have found the above advice useful. Here are some other Viewpoint blogs to help you manage your workforce and progress your career:

• Your complete guide to shaping a special job spec
• How to create an engaged workforce
• Is your business doing too much typing and not enough talking?
• 6 leadership styles you need to succeed
• To promote internally or to hire externally?
• So your top performer is leaving – now what?