The Top 7 Benefits of Hiring Temporary Employees

If you’re considering utilizing temporary employees in your company, you might be curious about what benefits you’ll gain. When integrated properly, temporary and contract workers can significantly boost your business in many ways.
 
Some of the significant benefits of hiring temporary employees include reducing staffing costs, getting help for short-term or one-off projects and covering temporary absences. Many businesses partner with staffing agencies to simplify the process of hiring temporary workers.
 
Our article below covers seven of the most valuable benefits you can gain from hiring temporary employees. We also touch on important details you need to be mindful of to ensure you avoid common hiring mistakes.
 

1. Reduce Overall Staffing Costs

 
Saving money while putting your business in a better position to achieve strategic goals is always a win-win. However, when you hire new employees to join your company, you’re typically responsible for covering some standard costs.
 
These include:

• Onboarding (background check, drug screening, etc.)
• Benefits administration
• Payroll processing
• Workers’ compensation
• Unemployment

 
If you’re hiring temporary employees from a staffing agency, you’re not on the hook for covering these costs. Since temporary workers are employees of the staffing agency, the agencies manage the associated costs and time. While you will be responsible for paying a fee to the agency that you work with, this fee is usually less than what you would have spent in hiring an employee directly.
 
Keeping health insurance costs low can often result in significant cost savings. To learn more ways to reduce these costs, check out our guide on How to Reduce Small Business Health Insurance Costs.
 

2. Increase Your Staff Without Adding Permanent Headcount

 
Along the same lines of reducing costs, maintaining a low headcount or reducing the current headcount is a top priority for many businesses. As noted above, every new employee added to a business comes with numerous costs, which also work against the company’s profits.
 
Adding temporary employees provides a needed boost for productivity while also keeping permanent headcount low. Since the costs associated with temporary workers aren’t permanent, they can be flexibly adjusted as needed based on the company’s financial needs.

   

3. Faster Hiring Times

 
The recruiting and hiring process can take up a hefty chunk of time, ultimately increasing cost and reducing productivity. This is especially true if you don’t have dedicated recruiters and this task is left to department managers or supervisors.
 
Working with an experienced staffing agency means you’ll save time by not having to recruit, screen, or interview potential employees.

 

4. Fill in Temporary Gaps

 
Nearly every business will experience an interim gap within its workforce at some point. Ensuring your team is prepared for these temporary absences can help productivity remain stable. Temporary employees can cover extended absences such as maternity leave, disability, vacations and more.
 
Of course, you can choose to reallocate the work of an absent employee to other team members instead of hiring a temporary worker.
 
However, this approach has the potential to create issues including:

• Excess stress and anxiety
• Workplace burnout
• Increased desire for raises due to additional workload
• Resentment towards absent employee
• Reduced performance

While it may be cheaper to not hire temporary employees in this situation, the consequences may cost more in the long run.
 

5. Decreased Risks

 
Many business leaders and hiring managers devote considerable thought and research to choosing who to hire and add to their companies. Despite these best efforts, mistakes can be made, and new hires sometimes don’t work out. When this occurs, the company not only loses the employee and now needs to replace them, but they’ve also taken a loss on the time and money required to onboard and train.
 
When you utilize a staffing agency’s employees, there’s a proven track record that the agency can refer to that ensures their workers are the right fit for your company. Instead of having to contact multiple references during the interview process, your contact at the staffing agency serves as an all-in-one reference.
 
To further reduce risks, some staffing agencies will cover the costs needed to replace and hire a temporary employee if the arrangement doesn’t work out. Typically, there are specific rules around this guarantee including the time frame in which the staffing agency will cover the costs.
 
At the end of a temporary worker’s contract, you should have the information and work record you need to decide if you want to permanently add the person to your team. When permanently hiring a temporary employee, you may be required to pay the agency a fee as most temporary workers are under contract with the staffing agency that employs them.
 
Our Temp to Hire program eliminates the standard fee after an employee has worked a specific number of hours for the employer. This program enables you to utilize temporary employees while also benefitting from low costs when adding permanent employees.

   

6. Access to Highly Qualified, Pre-screened Candidates

 
One of the most impactful aspects of adding new employees is the time spent recruiting and interviewing potential candidates. While countless online job boards have risen over the past couple of decades, they don’t eliminate your role in hiring new employees. You’ll still need to schedule and conduct interviews and conduct employment screening such as background, drug and credit checks.
 
When you partner with a staffing agency to hire temporary employees, you’re already accessing prescreened, highly qualified candidates.
 
Advantages of accessing these candidates include:

• Reduced recruiting and interviewing time
• Cost savings on pre-employment screenings
• Decreased chance of a chosen candidate failing a pre-employment screening
• Direct feedback from the staffing agency regarding candidate experience and skills
• Being matched with candidates that align with your corporate culture

 
Ultimately, having direct, immediate access to pre-screened and highly qualified candidates will make your job easier and improve your overall efficiency.
 

7. Extra Support for Special Projects

 
The size and scope of certain projects that your company needs to complete can require additional resources. At the same time, once the project is complete, the added resources are no longer necessary. It’s not cost or time-effective to hire a permanent employee for a short-term need, making temporary workers an excellent fit in this situation.
 
Temporary employees can quickly and effectively fill the gaps needed to complete special projects. Some temporary workers specialize in project work and can provide unique value and support for certain projects. For last-minute project needs, temporary employees can be beneficial since they can be hired quickly and get to work.
 

Are There Any Disadvantages to Hiring Temporary Workers?

 
While temporary employees can provide a significant boost in a variety of ways, including the ones discussed above, it’s possible to encounter some negative trade-offs. Potential disadvantages can include negative attitudes from permanent employees and miscommunication with the staffing agency. However, proper planning and communication can alleviate any potential issues before they occur.
 
Most issues can be avoided as long as you provide advance notice and effectively communicate the purpose and intent of adding temporary employees to your company. For example, notifying your staff of how many temporary workers you plan to add, why they’re being added, and how long they’ll work will go a long way in easing their fears and worries.
 
Likewise, being upfront and transparent with the staffing agency you choose to work with helps avoid miscommunications. Having a clear understanding and open lines of communication with your staffing partner ensures your company receives the right employees every time.
 

Hire Temporary Employees the Right Way With LandrumHR

 
Adding and utilizing temporary employees can provide a massive boost to your business when you partner with LandrumHR. We’ve supported businesses with their HR and staffing needs for over 50 years. We deliver for our clients by putting the right employees in the right place at the right time.
 
Unlike some staffing companies, we don’t just provide staffing services. Our full suite of HR and staffing services makes it possible for you to get everything you need in one place.
 
Our services include:

• Payroll processing
• Employment law compliance
• HR consulting
• Employee benefits management & administration
• Risk management
• And more

 
Have questions, or ready to get started? Contact our team today. We’re ready to work with you and help you meet your staffing needs so that you can achieve your top-priority business goals.