There was a time in living memory when temporary staff were a necessary inconvenience. Temps were brought in to plug gaps caused by sickness, maternity leave and short-term projects. They were essential for the stability and consistency of a company’s operations but were never integrated into the permanent workforce. Their training and onboarding were different and limited. Their coming and going was low key.
All that has changed in recent years as the labour market has shifted away from the notion of jobs for life and linear career paths. Being a temp and hiring a temp are now much more positive choices. Companies still reeling from the crash of 2007 and coming to terms with seismic changes in working conditions are more cautious about taking on exclusively permanent staff. Many employees, too, have come to relish the freedoms, opportunities and variety that temporary work offer. The result is, metaphorically speaking, that instead of being bussed in by the back door, temps are now parachuted into the hottest seats.
The Key Components of a Good Temporary Recruitment Policy
It’s vital to identify your recruitment needs well in advance of the moments when you need extra people. One of the great benefits of temporary staffing is the way it enables flexible scaling. If you have projects planned in the coming year or two, then give yourself time to work out precisely which specialist skills you’re likely to need. Good preparation will benefit your whole team and the business itself.
There’s really no substitute for working with recruitment agencies. They offer the fastest, broadest access to all the available talent pools, with an understanding of different specialisms and an appreciation that a company expects reliable first-time solutions. Finding the right personnel who will see the job through to its successful conclusion is paramount. A recruitment agency can help at every step of the process, even advising on the specifics as to which tasks and skills need to be specified in the job description.
When it comes to the selection process it is always a good idea to move fast but within a temporary position, this is even more important for the simple reason that temporary staff exist from contract to contract. If they have competing prospects in front of them they are more likely to accept the first offer, even if the other options are just as attractive. For temps, getting into work is one of the key motivations.
We talked earlier about the way temps used to be treated as a separate class of workers. This is counter-productive, and your earliest opportunity to avoid this phenomenon is during the onboarding process. Train them as if they are staying for good. In order to give their best, they need as thorough a knowledge of the company’s working practices, aims and culture as any other employee.
Temporary Recruitment Agency Software: More Than Simply Hiring
Digital technology’s transformation of the workplace is remarkable, and that holds true of recruitment, where software solutions have revolutionised efficiency. There is a great deal more to temporary recruitment agency software than just the simplification and refinement of the hiring process. Certainly, it makes the processing of candidates much smoother because, from application through interview to selection and appointment, automation removes human error, CV fatigue and any other impairments of judgment.
But it also has a huge role to play once the temporary staff member is in position. It provides efficient check-in and check-out procedures, shifts management systems and a consistent chain of communication. All documentation is archived and easily accessed by all parties so that the employer-temp relationship is well-maintained from start to finish. Temporary recruitment agency software can even be used to process all payroll functions relating to temporary staff.
For a recruitment agency, choosing the right software is more than a matter of improving internal efficiency. It is one of the most important tools in the day to day maintenance of the service which the agency performs for the employer. For that reason, it becomes a major selling point for any agency. The ability to source the best temporary talent is half the service. The capacity to maintain a fruitful professional relationship is all of it.
