Shop Talk
5 Steps to Ensure a Successful Temporary Employment Outcome
When you begin to look at utilizing temporary staffing services, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
Don’t treat your hiring process any differently – you won’t regret it
As you are able, don’t cut corners in your hiring process. If you intend to utilize temporary staffing from a temp-to-hire standpoint, treat the interview process as you would with a hire of your own. Get to know the person, consider them equally and make sure they align with your company. Being selective on the right people (especially if you are a small to mid-size business) will pay off in the long run. Including peer employees within your company has proven to be an effective technique, as 66% of candidates want to hear more from employees than managers, according to OfficeVibe.
Know that they’re evaluating you just as you are evaluating them…and that’s okay
When you are looking at hiring a new employee, don’t forget that they have just as much control in the process as you do. It is a candidate’s market right now! Making sure you’re presenting the most desirable traits of your company in order to offer a compelling value proposition for employment with your organization. This is a tight job market – while you pay the bills, you also need their skills!
Not only is the person that you’re interviewing a prospective candidate but they’re also a referral source (or warning beacon) for others that they know. According to a recent article in OfficeVibe, 64% of applicants would share negative application experiences with friends and family. Amongst them, 27% would actively discourage others from applying.
Be prepared to honor your commitment to the employee
When you are creating a temporary assignment and especially one under the expectation of temp-to-hire, the temporary employee is putting a lot of faith in you as an employer. Are you going to have them focused on the work that you’ve previously discussed? Will they be stretched into other areas? How will their work be evaluated and will it be on the same scale of their full-time peers?
What expectation did you set to hire them in as full time? If the timeline has changed, how have you communicated the reason and how soon have you given them notice? Will they be compensated for the change or are you comfortable with them leaving the position?
How are you communicating with the temporary employee about their performance? Are you having regular touchpoints to discuss their work and how they are trending? It is your obligation to keep the employee informed and give them the best possible chance of earning full-time employment with you.
Put yourself in their shoes and consider these scenarios as the ‘temp time clock’ is ticking.
Temporary employees should not be excluded from the company’s culture and should be treated just the same
Both your temporary and full-time employees notice when things are happening around the facility. How you treat them is important not just to your temps but also your full-time employees. By making the temporary staff a part of the happenings of the business, they are empowered to be a more productive and profitable part of the business, regardless of how long they’ll be with you.
Make sure you are aligned with the right partner
When you are determining your approach to staffing, consider what your agency partner brings to the table (think along the lines of industry expertise and the overall infrastructure relative to temporary staffing). The ability to select the right partner will pay dividends. They should have a track record of success in staffing with references to show for it.