A temporary worker is hired when a business requires a seasonal or part-time employee to keep up with business demands. Generally, temporary employees are only necessary if the business is growing quickly, under-resourced, or has an urgent vacancy that needs to be filled.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the steps employers and recruiters need to follow in order to hire the right temporary workers for the job.
How to Hire Temporary Workers Effectively
Back then in the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic era, businesses like banks, liquor, grocery, and hardware stores were experiencing a spike in customer demand. This increased demand was mostly found in online grocery and hardware stores, with businesses seeing a 25% increase in foot traffic.
As a result, many grocery and hardware stores or shippers are under-resourced and are unable to keep up with the large influx of customers. In addition, the risk of current employees falling ill has increased, further affecting the quality of service provided. To help remedy the growing demand, more and more businesses are looking to hire temporary employees.Â
Not only in the COVID-19 era, the need of temporary workers will still be needed by a lot of businesses that might need to suppress their operation costs.
Pros and Cons of Hiring Temporary Workers
Hiring temporary workers have a pro and cons. Before considering hiring temporary workers, you should consider the pros and cons below.
Pros:
- Reduced benefit requirements
- Reduced short-term labor costs
- Ability to assess potential employees before permanently hiring them
- Temporary workers help with business efficiently
Cons:
- Training time and costs
- Potential contract buyout fees
- Possible lack of commitment from temporary employees
What to Avoid When Hiring Temporary Employees
Hiring temporary workers is very crucial to your business. It’s very important you do the hiring process right and avoid the conditions below:
- Not thinking long-term. Work to build long-lasting relationships with temporary employees, as you never know when you may need to fill a full-time position.
- Not vetting job candidates as if they will be there permanently. Conduct background checks, ask for two forms of identification, ensure all employees sign a contract, and keep copies of all important information.
- Slow hiring process. Temporary workers are generally hired when businesses need to fill an urgent vacancy. Therefore, businesses should move quickly but ensure the candidate meets the immediate job requirements.
- Not making job responsibilities clear. Inform temporary workers on what time they need to be at work, the duration of their lunch, whether mobile devices are allowed, and any other job expectations.
However, many businesses are still struggling to find and hire temporary workers that meet their business objectives. Here are the steps to follow in hiring temporary workers.
1. Evaluate your business’s needs
What is the role of a temporary employee in your business? Will they be required to fill multiple job roles? Before starting your hiring process, make sure you’re clear about the specific responsibilities you need a temporary employee to complete. Start by creating a detailed outline of the job requirements, how long their employment will last, and what training may be required.
Identify the skills a temporary employee would already need. Generally, temporary employees need to fill a position immediately, which means businesses won’t have sufficient time to train potential candidates. Instead, look for candidates that already possess the appropriate soft skills and expertise, such as excellent communication and adaptability skills, and previous experience working with customers.
Determine the type of temporary employee your business needs. There are three categories of temporary employees: part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers.
- A part-time employee is paid an hourly wage and is not entitled to regular employee benefits like healthcare. However, employers are still required to adhere to all business regulations.
- A temporary employee is typically employed to fill a gap in employment needs at businesses that are either under-resourced or have a temporary vacancy available because of a worker on leave. Also referred to as temps, these employees can also cover a position until a full-time hire is made.
- A seasonal employee is hired during peak traffic periods to help businesses cope with the higher demand. For instance, seasonal employees are generally hired during the holiday season, with most jobs stemming from retail stores or entertainment venues like theme parks, movie theatres, and restaurants.
2. Create a well-written job description
Now that you’ve established your business’s needs and outlined the specifics of the job, you can start drafting a job description. Your job description should list all job requirements and responsibilities, including details about the skills, qualifications, and experience required, as well as any physical demands of the job and the timeline.
A job description typically has four sections:
- Job title: Make use of a job title that everyone can understand, even if your business uses a different label for a position.
- Business information: Include a brief summary of your business, including your history and business values.
- Description of job responsibilities: List the daily job responsibilities expected as well as any other job functions they’d need to complete over the period of employment.
- Explanation of job requirements: Carefully list all of the requirements you have for your candidates, including qualifications, timeline, skills, and characteristics.
3. Start the hiring process
A large part of the hiring process will be spent on advertising the job listing and recruiting potential candidates. Simply posting your job description on any job board may not bring in the results your business needs, especially in a time-consuming situation.
Start by asking current employees for recommendations. Your current employees are a great source of referrals. Employees may already have personal recommendations or be able to attract temporary workers faster using their connections and social media platforms. This option is great if you want to save money on recruiting firms or software.
Check local colleges and universities. If your business requires temporary or seasonal workers, career services departments at local colleges are a great source for recruiting candidates. Many colleges also have job boards available to help students find easy work.
Approach employees who have already worked for your business. If your business frequently hires seasonal or part-time workers, consider approaching these candidates with a job offer. This is a great way to shorten your recruitment process as candidates will already be familiar with the job requirements and responsibilities.
Make use of social media. If your business already has an active online presence, you may want to consider advertising your job description on them as most of your followers will be familiar with your brand and services.
Consider investing in a job posting platform. This can help you get your temporary job out to many job boards really quickly, and track the applications coming in from them. One of the job posting platforms that focuses on temporary jobs is Staffinc. With more than 1 million active talents that have various skill sets, finding temporary workers is very easy. On average our clients are able to fulfill their temporary workers’ needs in less than one week after they place the job in Staffinc. Â
4. Screen Potential Candidates
Your recruitment process will likely bring in a reasonable amount of job applicants. Review all applications and shortlist between 10 and 20 candidates that meet most of your job requirements. Only send an official interview confirmation email to candidates who possess the appropriate skills needed to complete the job.
Start the interview process. Once you’ve chosen your top candidates, the interview process can officially start. Each interview should last at least 30 minutes and include questions that focus on the candidates’ characteristics and skills.
Perform a background check on potential employees. Even though temporary employees will only work at your business for a certain time period, it’s vital that you conduct standard background checks like criminal records, social security validation, and address history. If you consider being overwhelmed by doing all this process, you don’t need to worry about it. Using Staffinc you’ll have prequalified candidates we have sorted out. With the help of our system, we will ensure only the best candidates are delivered with a replacement warranty.
5. Hire your ideal candidate
Once you’ve completed your screening process, you will most likely have one or more candidates that suit all requirements. If you have multiple candidates shortlisted, consider conducting second interviews or asking candidates to complete assessments. This option will help highlight candidates that stand out and showcase their practical skills.
Make an official job offer. Consider making use of a job offer letter, which should include the start date, compensation, work hours, and job title. This process may be followed by a negotiation period. Once both employer and employee are satisfied, you can officially start legalizing the agreement.
6. Start the onboarding process
Even though temporary employees will only work at your business for a certain time period, new employees should still go through the official employee onboarding process. This allows the temporary employee time to integrate into the business and helps them acquire the necessary knowledge and skills needed to successfully perform the job.
Provide training. It’s important that you provide temporary employees with sufficient training. This part of the hiring process helps temporary employees deliver the level of work that the business expects from its full-time employees. Start by training all temporary employees on safety measures and workplace rules and regulations.
Consult Your Business Needs with Staffinc
Many businesses opt to make use of staffing software when hiring temporary workers. While this option may cost your business more money, you will be able to streamline the entire hiring process as the staffing software will complete it for you.
Benefits of staffing solutions from Staffinc:
- Quick hiring process
- Applicants are pre-screened to ensure they meet job requirements
- Applicants undergo an assessment process
- Training is provided
Staffinc can guarantee that our staffing solutions offers the best services. Having more than 1 million active talents and great customer service, it is very easy to find the best temporary workers for your business. On average, our clients are able to fulfill their temporary workers just within 7 days after placing the jobs in the system.
