Now Is the Ideal Time to Hire a Temp for Your Business – Here's Why

COVID-19 has changed the way businesses operate. Now, flexibility and agility are even more important than ever.

Every part of your company must be able to scale up or down as the market, and business environment changes. This includes your staff.

Using temps are an ideal way to give your business the flexibility it needs and still meet the demands of your customers.

Here are three reasons to hire a temp business during the current climate.

 

1. Manage Fluctuating Work

The multiple lockdowns have had an enormous effect on the operations of many businesses.

Some could largely continue with business as usual, while others couldn't work at all.

Those who couldn't operate, but still had a full pipeline of jobs suddenly had a significant backlog to work through once the country moved down the alert levels.

For some companies, particularly after the second lockdown in Auckland, the uncertainty led to a slow down in sales and clients putting projects on hold.

With no clear end in sight, it can be challenging for businesses to juggle having enough staff to do the work and enough work to keep your team employed.

Restructuring and laying off staff can be a costly and time-consuming process and, if the work increases again, it's not a simple process of hiring people back.

This is where hiring a temp (or temps) can have a real benefit. Able to be hired at a moment's notice (almost!), they can support your core team to manage increases in sales.

The last thing you want to do is turn away work because you don't have the capacity.

And, since they aren't permanent employees, you only have to hire them for as long as they are needed.

Also, if you've made an employee redundant because their role has been restructured, you can't legally hire a new permanent person to do that exact role. However, you can hire a temp.

 

2. Cover Staff Who Are Away

It has been a stressful year, so it's unsurprising if staff members are off sick or want to take the opportunity, now that we're out of lockdown, to take a holiday.

While people are on leave, the rest of your team can cover for them, right?

Yes, they probably can, but there is another option instead of giving your staff extra work.

A temp can be the perfect short term cover to keep everything running smoothly and not overload your team.

The flexible nature of their contract means you can hire them quickly and have them start as soon as they are required and if it's not clear when your staff member will be back, the temp can stay on as long as needed.

This is ideal if you have an employee away on maternity or paternity leave.

Temps are skilled at picking up roles quickly and are qualified and vetted by your recruitment company, so you can be confident that you're getting someone who will provide value to your business.

Additionally, the recruitment company handles the temp's payroll and HR-related admin, so there's no extra work on your side.

 

3. Derisk Your Hiring Process

Hiring for a role is not easy, and it can be costly if you get it wrong.

And, in a time of uncertainty, it's even more critical to get the right person for your role.

As it can take time to find the right person for your role, you can use a temp to fill in. With most candidates likely to have a four to six week notice period, it's a long time to have the role empty and your other staff trying to cover it.

A bonus is sometimes the temp can turn out to be the perfect candidate and move into the role fulltime!

Finding a permanent employee for a brand new role can be even more difficult. You have an idea what the role entails but without someone in it, it's hard to scope it out properly.

Temps have a vast amount of experience in working in a wide range of different companies and roles. So, they can help you figure out what your new position should entail. They also bring an unbiased view and an outside perspective.  

Overall, using a temp can give you time and help you minimise the risk that comes with hiring a new person for your business.

 

Give Your Business Flexibility and Agility

Temps can play an important role in helping your business navigate times of uncertainty. Helping you manage fluctuating work, covering staff on leave, and derisking the hiring process.

To see how a temp could benefit your business, contact us on begin@origintalent.co.nz or phone (09) 302 0647.