News and Articles
A Trend Change in Recruitment
21st October 2008
In the current struggling economy it is not surprising that the business world is feeling the pinch, and recruitment of new employees is a risk that some organisations are nervous about taking.
There are many practical benefits of using a “Temp” over sourcing a new permanent member of staff.
The Working Interview
I have spoken with clients in the past who have spent a fortune on their recruitment, with little to no return because they can’t find the right staff. Those candidates who seem great in interviews just don’t cut the mustard in the office.
So perhaps its time to try before you buy…
One of the greatest advantages of employing a Temp would be the opportunity of using the temping period as a working interview. No matter how well you test and interview a candidate the only true way of assessing their ability to do the role is to observe them doing it.
How will they cope with the demands of the role?
How will they integrate with your team?
How will your clients react to them? e.c.t
If they meet your requirements and expectations within the first few months, you then have the reassurance to go ahead and employ them permanently. If they prove to be lacking in areas then you have no commitment to the candidate, and so can simply finish the Temp without any repercussion or difficult and time consuming processes.
Most Temp candidates are very open to ‘Temp to Perm’ opportunities and are often temping whilst in the process of looking to secure a permanent role.
So how does temping work, and how can it save you on hidden staff costs??
When you take on a Temp, they are employed through the recruitment agency, who not only pay their wages but also cover ACC costs and holiday pay. You are then invoiced weekly for only the hours the candidate works. You would always agree the rate in advance and would know exactly what you are paying for the candidate.
This process in itself provides benefits as you don’t have the added costs of:
- Holiday pay
- Sick pay
- Maternity pay
- ACC
- Taxes
- Training
- Kiwisaver contributions
Short Term Projects, Additional Skill Pool, Stress Relief…
Temps are a great resource to use when you have a particular project that you need additional staff to complete, enabling you to select particular skills purely for the duration of the project. You may not have the resources, or funds to train your current staff in time for that next major project, so you need to resource the skills from elsewhere.
You can use these staff seasonally to cover your busiest periods without the pressure of sustaining a salary in quieter times.
Another benefit of using a Temp is to alleviate work load for your permanent employees during particularly busy and stressful periods, which will in turn improve moral and reduce turnover.
So perhaps it’s obvious that practical thinking and common sense is what’s affected this switch in the current recruitment trend?
Prepared by Sarah Ali.