Key Takeaways
- You can use temp workers as a strategic resource. Contrary to some pervasive myths, temp workers aren’t lower quality or limited to entry-level roles. In fact, we place skilled, experienced temp workers all the time.
- Temp workers aren’t your most expensive option. Pushing your current team into extended overtime will cost you more than any agency markup will.
- When you use a staffing agency partner, you can mitigate most (if not all) of the risks of a temp workforce. We pre-vet candidates, understand the local market and industry, and leverage our extensive network of talent to place quickly without sacrificing quality.
It’s a familiar situation, particularly during high-demand periods: you’ve landed a new client, and you need to ramp up productivity, but you’re not sure whether you need to bring in new hires. Or maybe a longtime client decides they need you to handle a 2X or 3X increase to their contract.
Either way, you have three options: rely on your team to take on the extra workload, invest in a new full-time hire, or scale with a temporary workforce.
As we’ve discussed before, pushing your current staff into extended periods of overtime comes with hidden costs. Permanent hires, likewise, are also expensive, since you’re on the hook for training, onboarding, and benefits. Plus, if demand ramps down, you’ve committed to keeping them on the payroll.
Temporary staffing presents a third option, one that enables you to scale without commitment. Let’s weigh the pros and cons to determine whether it’s a good fit for your specific business needs.
Common Myths About Temp Staffing
Too often, temporary staffing gets a bad rap. Part of the reason for that is that the big-box, national staffing firms have a reputation for churning through candidates, pulling from the bottom of the barrel, and sacrificing quality for speed.
Some firms deserve this reputation. For others, especially local firms that have decades of experience within your community (like Ethan Allen), these stereotypes don’t reflect reality. Here are some of the biggest myths we’ve encountered.
Myth #1: Temporary workers are less capable than full-time staff
Not true. Temporary workers are often highly skilled and have worked in multiple jobs across different industries. We staff temp candidates with advanced healthcare degrees, extensive managerial experience, bilingual skills, machining certifications, and more.
Myth #2: Temporary workers only work for the short term
Again, not true. This assumption depends on the goals and needs of the organization as much as the temp. If an organization has a long-term strategy to hire outstanding temp workers, that will attract committed, long-term temps.
Myth #3: Temp roles are only suited for entry-level jobs
On the contrary, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that some of the highest demand for temp staffing happens in highly skilled positions, like registered nurses, machine operators, and bookkeepers.
Myth #4: Temporary staffing is always too expensive
This perception is often based on raw wage statistics, but it fails to account for the costs of burnout, lost productivity, lower product quality, and other considerations. Paying excessive overtime can cost up to 2.5 times an employee’s hourly wage.
Pros and cons of scaling with temp staffing
Pros
Speed to scale
Job searches can be costly both in terms of dollars and the amount of time your team spends vetting candidates and conducting interviews. A temp staffing agency can match you with pre-vetted candidates who are already experienced in your industry.
Workforce flexibility
Long-term engagements with staffing agencies allow you to bolster your team as demand grows and reduce headcount when you need to save on labor costs.
Fewer long-term financial commitments
You’re not on the hook for healthcare, vacation pay, paid leave, or other benefits. This allows you to benefit from additional productivity without incurring added costs.
Reduced overtime pressure
You can lower the risk of excessive overtime by adding new team members when teams need extra help. This not only saves you money but prevents your teams from burning out.
Reduced hiring risk
Some statistics show that the cost of replacing a full-time team member can range from 50% to 200% of their annual salary, which gives you a sense of how costly a misjudgment during the hiring process can be. Using temporary hires helps alleviate that risk, as an agency can quickly swap in a vetted replacement if a temp doesn’t work out.
Cons
Onboarding/training time
Temps will need time and training to learn about your systems, which is why reputable agencies will help you find temporary hires who have already worked in a similar capacity and on similar equipment.
Variability in work quality
Temps who lack direct experience or aren’t given adequate training may not produce at the level of fully trained staff. You can work with the agency to identify temps who have strong track records producing quality work in similar roles.
Limited company knowledge
Initially, temps will not have the familiarity and understanding of your company’s culture and processes. Some agencies will help you build pre-vetted lists of temps who know your industry and have worked in similar companies, which makes it that much easier to acclimate to your business.
Morale issues with core staff
If temps are used without ample communication with full-time staff about their strategic value, this can fuel resentment and create difficulties between full-time and temporary workers. Clarifying why temps are helpful to stave off burnout and maintain sustainability can help alleviate staff concerns.
Why it’s important to build your temp workforce through an agency
A successful temporary hire strategy requires a reputable and knowledgeable staffing agency, one with deep local knowledge and strong relationships with many top performing temp workers. Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions handles the hard work up front so you don’t have to worry about it, recruiting, vetting, and training new talent and ensuring they have adequate safety training.
We also handle compliance, including payroll, employment paperwork, background checks, and benefits. Our team of expert recruiters and managers can help you develop a temp hiring strategy suited to your unique needs, matching you with a pool of quality candidates that you can draw from to spin up your capacity as needed.
Final Thoughts on Scaling with a Temp Workforce
Temp hiring isn’t a solution to every staffing problem, but a well-crafted temp strategy can help save you money while granting you the flexibility to meet increased demand. Using temps effectively means working with a reputable agency to craft a strategy matched to key goals, and working to ensure your full-time team is bought in and understands why this approach benefits them as well.
Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions has been helping organizations in the Hudson Valley staff up for 50+ years. If you’d like to learn more about how our team of experts can help you, please get in touch.
FAQs on Scaling with a Temporary Workforce
What is scaling with a temporary workforce?
Scaling with a temporary workforce is when you supplement your existing core of full-time staff with temporary hires to scale your productive capacity in line with demand.
What are the advantages of using temp workers to scale?
There are several advantages to using temps to scale, including flexibility, cost savings, and sustainability. Having a pool of temps to draw from allows you to take on new contracts and produce more without committing to a larger full-time headcount. You can also support existing staff and prevent them from taking on more work than they can handle.
Are there any challenges to using temp workers?
Relying on unvetted or unqualified temps can cause productivity issues, and a poorly-crafted scaling strategy can create morale issues in your team, as workers may resent the idea that they are being replaced by temps. This is why it’s critical to work with a reputable staffing agency and to ensure your team understands how your temp strategy helps them too.