Check out these 10 pros and cons of hiring temporary employees
Pros of hiring temporary employees
1. Reduce labor costs
One of the best purpose to hire a temp agency is to cut labor costs. These can range from putting help-wanted advertisements and background verifications, to training and additional time costs. When you use a temporary workforce, you can take out many of these expenses, and balance top production times with temp workers who are eager to give their hard work for as long as you need them.
2. Take out recruiting work
It takes a lot of time and effort in recruiting a single employee. When you choose to hire a temp agency, you basically shift these duties onto another capable team of recruiters and career professionals.
3. Reduce benefit requirements
The requirement to give benefits is on the minds of all employers, especially those that have a large number of full time, qualified employees, on staff. So as to balance the expenses of bringing more full-time employees on, think about the use of part-time temps to get the same amount of work done without benefits (which can be provided by the temporary staffing agencies at no expense to you).
4. Get rid of hiring mistakes
Every company has made a poor hiring decision, that may have cost the organization thousands in wages, advantages, and lost productivity. Rather than stressing that your next recruit might be a flop, consider how beneficial a temporary worker may be. Temps are pre-screened and their abilities are tested previously. Many temporary agencies also allow you to replace a temp with a 24-hour notice as well, in case the worker doesn’t fulfill your standards.
5. Maintain a strategic distance from joblessness claims
One of the bigger issues that organizations face today is that of unemployment claims, which can extend in the thousands of dollars for even one employee let go. To avoid this altogether, pick temp workers to do the job. If you decided to not keep a temp worker, for any reason, you can replace them or let the temporary agency deal with an unemployment claim since you are not legally responsible.
Cons of hiring temporary employees
1. High pay scale rates
When you use temporary workers, expect to pay between 15-20% more for their hourly salary. This is because you are not only paying the employee an honest wage, but the staffing agency includes their cost at this rate. While this may appear to be high, remember that the temp worker may only be on staff for a few days to a few months, and you will have the option to recruit the temp when this contract expires, reducing this hourly rate.
2. Contract buyout expenses
If you decide you have discovered an ideal fit with a temp and you need to keep the person in question on staff for permanently, you are generally entering what’s called a “contract buyout” phase. During this time, you can either wait out the time period of the contract or snag the employee now buy paying the difference in their salary for the rest of the agreed timeframe.
3. Inability to build an expert team
Unfortunately, many times permanent employees view temps as just that – a barrage of warm bodies who have no real value to the overall team. Temps may not be treated with much regard by others, and they may even be seen as a potential threat by long term employees who have grown to be less motivated.
4. Possible lack of commitment
An issue with few temps is that they may not seem as committed to the business objectives as permanent employees. This is really on a case-by-case basis and how the temp is treated on the job if there are opportunities offered for long term work, and if they have good overall work ethics.
5. Dependence on agency screening
Another concern of HR when using temps is the over-reliance on agency screening. However, the company may demand a copy of the background verification results and is allowed to direct an intensive background verification before perm business is offered, if so.