5 Ways Temporary Workers Support Continued Growth
Temporary workers are a growing part of American business. In fact, 90% of Fortune 500 companies utilize temporary and contract staff to strategically support their organization
But many small businesses are much more hesitant to use temporary or contract staff. Compared to their larger counterparts, just 12% of small businesses (25-99 employees) utilize a contingent workforce.
A big reason for this imbalance is the concern of small business owners that temporary workers might be more trouble than they are worth. However, if you look at the long-term, temp workers can be a strategic tool to help your business successfully manage growth and expand into new markets. Here are five ways temporary and contract employees can help your business grow.
Get the Skills You Need – When You Need Them
Need a graphic designer, but maybe not full-time? Want to move your IT platform to the cloud, but don’t have the technological know-how to make it happen? Not a problem. Contingent workers can provide those special skillsets that do not exist within your current employee pool, allowing your business to grow at a continuous rate.
Eliminate the Hire/Fire Cycle
A catastrophic mistake of growing companies is hiring too many employees too quickly. We’ve all seen it happen – a company knocks their sales numbers out of the park one year and begins to hire in anticipation of continued growth only to fall flat the next year. Pink slips are passed out, morale plunges, and suddenly the company is shelling out money in unemployment claims. When you work with a staffing and recruiting firm, you can scale your workforce as needed over time.
Minimize Training Time
Many business owners and managers worry that it will about the time spent training a new employee, especially a temporary one. However, by working with a staffing agency, you can significantly minimize the amount of time spent training. A reputable staffing and recruiting firm will conduct skill testing for all candidates. Whether you need a forklift operator or an IT consultant, you can rest easy knowing that the candidate has been fully-vetted and is proven to be able to perform the job at hand. Additionally, a staffing agency can help with some training and onboarding of your temps before they even arrive for their first day.
Slash Hiring Costs
A recent survey found that average cost-per-hire is over $4,000, while the average time it takes to fill an open position is 42 days. By utilizing temporary employees and a reputable staffing firm, companies can outsource all costs involved in recruiting, screening, and interviewing job candidates.
Avoid Employee Replacement Costs
The cost of replacing a $10/hr employee is over $3,000, while the cost of replacing a mid-range salaried employee is about 20% of their annual salary. This is where the temp-to-hire option works wonders. The worker’s time on-site can serve as a “trial” period in which all parties can determine if there is a good fit. This way, the employer avoids sinking training and benefits costs into workers who won’t stay or aren’t a good match for the company.
Although temp and contract employees cannot solve every problem an expanding company faces, they can help with the growing pains. When you partner with Snelling, you enlist the help of an industry leader with more than 65 years of business acumen. In the same way that temporary workers allow your full-time employees to focus on core competencies, partnering with Snelling allows you to focus on growing your business – not on sourcing, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding.
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