While many business owners consider using temporary service workers
for primarily traditional support functions — such as receptionists, secretaries and assistants — a new breed of temporary services firms has emerged that can
help businesses overcome worker shortages
in a variety of specialties and higher-function
roles.
“Temporary firms are now highly specialized,” says Rob Wilson, president of The
Employco Group, an Illinois-based human
resource firm. “This opens up a whole world
of time and money savings opportunities for
a business.”
Smart Business spoke with Wilson about
how businesses can best use temporary
employees to help improve their bottom
line.
Could you give an example of the types of
specialized temporary firms that are available today?
There are temporary firms that specialize
in placing workers with experience in manufacturing, accounting, nursing, IT, engineering, marketing and even executive roles,
such as CEOs or CFOs. The places in which
these workers are placed also range widely
from offices to hospitals to industrial and
construction sites.
Why is there a demand for such a wide range
of temporary workers?
Typical reasons why businesses need temporary workers include the short-term
vacancy of a full-time employee for vacation,
maternity leave or medical leave. There has
also traditionally been high demand for temporary workers in industries that are cyclical, such as retail or assembly work.
But with the uncertainty of the economy,
the high cost of health care for employees
and the current talent shortage, the reasons
for hiring temporary workers have changed.
Temporary workers are now hired for long-term staffing solutions. This can save a business money because the onus is on the
staffing firm for the employee’s taxes, health
care, hiring and firing.
Where are you seeing the biggest growth in
temporary service placements?
Businesses are demanding more accountants, IT workers and engineers, and hospitals have an increased need for nurses. We’re
also seeing a high demand for companies
that need workers to help them start up or
shut down a division or help a business
make the transition to relocate to another
part of the country. In these cases, these temporary executives can stay at a business for
two months or two years.
Generally, what kind of worker or executive
decides to only take on temporary assignments?
We see individuals with a lot of experience
who have retired after 20 or 30 years of service. These people are usually collecting
retirement benefits or pensions. What they
want is to supplement their retirement
income — but they don’t want to commit to
a part- or full-time job.
Other younger temporary workers consider themselves more like consultants than
‘temp’ workers. They do not want the constraints of a full-time job and consider themselves sole proprietors.
What, then, is the difference between hiring
a temporary executive and a consultant?
Bigger companies usually have a stable of
consultants that they can contact whenever
it is needed. However, the small-to-mediumsized company often does not. It is very time-consuming to find the right consultant for a
particular job, particularly if a company does
not have a human resources department.
Using a specialized temporary staffing firm
gives a company the benefits of tapping into
talent that is available immediately. And, if
the person is not the right fit, there is no firing involved; the temporary agency can
replace that person with a better fit.
What questions should a business owner ask
a firm when trying to make a selection?
- Does the firm have a specialty or specialties? Do these specialties match up with
your needs? - Can the firm provide personnel who are
familiar with your type of industry or the
specialties you are looking for? - How well can the firm source these people for you?
- Does the firm have multiple candidates it
can send? - How well-documented are these
employees from an immigration standpoint? - What are the costs — are they competitive with other staffing firms?
How can using a temporary service firm help
a business save money?
Typically, a business will pay a staffing
company within 30 to 60 days. So, instead of
paying an employee each week the business
has the benefit of keeping cash longer —
thus improving its cash flow. The business is
also not responsible for paying the temporary employee vacation, sick time, disability,
health care, 401(k) or other benefits.
ROB WILSON is president of The Employco Group
(www.employco.com), a division of The Wilson Companies.
Employco handles human resource operations for 400 small and
medium-sized Midwest companies. Contact Wilson at (630) 286-7345 or by e-mail at [email protected].
