More and more organizations at all levels are taking advantage of this flexibility. These positions can range from a receptionist to cover for vacation or maternity leave, or a programmer with very specific experience that is needed for just a few days or weeks to automate a process saving the company thousands of dollars.

Reliability, flexibility and applicable experience to complete the work that they need to have done in a timely and cost-effective manner are the key things that most employers are seeking in a temporary staff member. This usually falls into two categories. Either the hiring authority is looking for consistent performance that can free up or supplement their permanent staff; or they are looking to hire a skill set that doesn’t exist within their current staff, and in many situations does not make sense to employ on a full-time basis.

Often a company needs a specific skill set for a very limited time or needs additional people resources to cover an unexpected work load increase. By hiring a temporary employee, the company can secure the appropriate skill set to be used just for the duration of the need. Employees like to utilize all of the skills that they can offer in the workplace and be paid accordingly – temporary employment allows this for client companies and temporaries alike.

Bringing in a temporary worker provides you with a longer time to evaluate a candidate. You have the opportunity to observe the applicant’s skills, personality and performance so that you can determine if they are the right fit in your organization, possibly full-time. 

This trend toward using temporaries is growing and for good reason. There are several advantages to using temporary employees in your business:

·         Cost – You may save on payroll administration and fringe benefits. You will also save on cost-per-hire and the costs associated with a bad hiring decision.

·         Time – You reduce the amount of time spent recruiting and hiring dramatically because you can avoid the headaches of resume searching, lengthy interviews and reference checking.

·         No Long-Term Commitment – “Try before you buy” is a great way to see if the candidate is the right fit for your culture. 

·         Possibility of a Permanent Hire – If you like the temporary worker, you can offer to hire them on a permanent basis. In this way, you avoid the risks of a probationary period that you would normally have with a new hire.

·         Fill Vacancies – When your full-time employees are vacationing, taking maternity leave, or out sick, you can fill that void with a temporary worker to relieve the strain placed on your staff. In this way your company stays on track and you experience no lost productivity.

Respected researchers agree, saying companies that embrace workforce flexibility and engage staffing firms tend to do better economically. “Increased reliance on contingent labor is associated with superior subsequent performance and no increase in systematic risk,” concluded a study published in the journal Decision Sciences. A report published by the U.S. Department of Labor found that “employers that have flexibility in adjusting labor requirements to meet product and service demands have a competitive edge over those with less flexible human resources policies.”

Flexibility – workers want it, businesses need it and staffing firms provide it every day to over 2 million people in the United States.