Your Guide to Hiring Temporary Employees
Everything You Need to Know About Temporary Hiring
Hiring temporary employees gives your organization the flexibility to hire when you need without committing to a permanent job offer. Whether you’re trying to fill a vacancy during your busy season or want to try out professionals before sending a permanent offer, temporary employees can benefit your business in many ways.
Whether you have a short-term need for staff, your demand fluctuates daily, you need to fill a gap while looking for a permanent employee, or you want to try out a working interview, temporary jobs can be the perfect solution.
Our complete guide to hiring temporary employees this answers all the big questions many organizations have, including types of staff and benefits, as well as how to hire, manage, and evaluate temp staff.
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What is a Temporary Employee?
A temporary employee (sometimes called a temp worker) is:
“A contracted professional that performs a job for a short period.”
Although temp-to-hire can be an option, temporary staff are initially employed with your organization for a limited period of time. Some companies use temporary jobs as a trial run or working interviews to see if a candidate is a good fit before sending a permanent job offer.
Is Hiring Temporary Employees Right for You?
Hiring temporary employees has its advantages, especially for certain organizations, like those who want to hire for their busiest times, want a roster of staff they can depend on, or want to test someone’s fit before hiring them permanently. Still, temporary staff may not be the solution in every situation.
Using temporary staff could be a great fit if any of the following describes you:
You need to fill temporary vacancies (such as vacation, maternity, and medical leave)
You experience seasonality
Your demands change day-by-day
You don’t need a full-time employee
You want to fill gaps while searching for permanent employees
You want to find a permanent employee through a working interview
Types of Temporary Employees
Before hiring, it’s important to understand the different types of temporary employees. Then, you can choose which type is best for your organization.
Independent Contractors vs. Payrolled Professionals
Most temporary employees fall under one of two categories, independent contractors or payrolled employees. There are many differences between hiring independent contractors and payrolled employees, especially when it comes to onboarding, managing, and paying these professionals. So, it’s important to understand which type you are hiring so you can claim the nature of employment to the CRA. This will prevent your company from being liable for unpaid taxes or other issues.
What is an Independent Contractor?
An independent contractor is:
“A professional who performs services for another person or business as a non-employee.”
Independent contractors can contract out projects or jobs to you or your business, but they are not your employees. They are recognized as self-employed and take on all associated employment expenses, including CPP, EI, holiday pay, and sick leave. As an employer, you are only responsible for paying their hourly rate.
Independent contractors provide benefits that other professionals can’t, including:
Ability to outsource non-central tasks
Gain access to specific skill sets your team does not have
Widen your talent pool
Save money on overhead costs
Independent contractors are a popular choice for organizations needing specialized expertise or help with short-term projects.
What is a Payrolled Professional?
A payrolled employee is:
“A professional who is on the payroll of your business, a staffing agency, or a professional employer organization (PEO).”
The employer of record for these professionals depends on the situation. Unless you use an agency or PEO, it will be your organization. The employer of record will cover all taxes, deductions, and workers’ compensation. In return, the employee will receive benefits and other perks associated with full-time employment.
The employer of record usually covers:
Liability Insurance & WSIB coverage
All Payroll Burdens, including 14-day credit, T4 and accounting
Scheduling and dispatching of Pros (AKA staff)
Site Safety Inspection and PPE provided (if applicable)
Injury investigation reporting and NEER
These responsibilities are a big reason why organizations turn to agencies or PEOs. When using a solution like AmbiMi, the platform takes on many of these responsibilities and administrative tasks, leaving you free to focus on building your business.
Payrolled professionals are a popular choice for organizations that need temporary employees with specialized skills or experience and want all the administrative tasks handled by someone else.
Other Types of Temporary Employees
Now that we covered independent contractors and payrolled employees, the following are the other four types of temporary employees that fall under either of those two larger umbrellas. When choosing which type to hire, think of the length of time you require a professional and the skills or expertise you need.
Gig Workers
Gig workers are typically independent contractors employed on short-term or project-based jobs. These professionals often take positions in various industries, from ride-sharing to data entry. Generally, gig workers take on multiple gigs on any given day or week. So, they take jobs that last a few hours or days but not much longer.
Gig workers are a popular choice for organizations that need to fill short-term staffing needs or require help with specific projects.
Seasonal Employees
Seasonal employees fill seasonal staffing needs. These professionals may have jobs in retail, hospitality, landscaping, or other industries where staffing needs vary depending on the time of year. Seasonal staff may be full-time or part-time and are generally with your company for a season (about three months).
Seasonal employees are a popular choice for organizations with seasonal fluctuations.
Contractors
Contractors are temporary employees under contract with your organization for a specified time. These professionals may be hired to fill specific roles or complete specific projects and are typically paid hourly or on a project basis.
Contractors are a popular choice for organizations needing to hire for short-term staffing needs for particular projects or set periods of time.
Freelancers
Freelancers are independent contractors that perform high-level services for multiple organizations or individuals simultaneously. They typically have extensive knowledge in a specific area and are hired to complete small tasks in that field rather than perform an entire job.
Freelancers are a popular choice for organizations needing help with a small, high-level project or task.
Temp-to-Perm Employees
Another option is to hire for temp-to-perm jobs, also called temp-to-hire jobs. These are temporary roles that have the possibility to transition into a permanent position. Sometimes, the employee knows the role could become permanent when starting with the organization. Other times, the employer may decide to offer the employee the opportunity to stay on permanently at some point during the assignment.
Temp-to-perm jobs allow you to try an employee in a specific role and offer them a permanent position if they’re a good fit. You may only intend to hire temporary staff but will offer a permanent job to a candidate if they impress you. Using AmbiMi, you can schedule professionals based on your needs with no long-term commitments and send a permanent offer to a pro any time after their first shift with you.
Offering temp-to-perm jobs gives you the benefits of having both temporary and permanent employees.
Advantages of temp-to-perm employees include:
Increased flexibility by only making a permanent offer when you have a need
Speed up the hiring process with a roster of interested professionals you can schedule anytime
Seamless transition with little training needed
Evaluate the fit of candidates with a working interview
Reduce costs by reducing turnover
Outsource hiring with a third party (like AmbiMi!)
When do you know it’s time to take the next step? When you have the demand for a permanent hire, and you’ve found a good match!
Benefits of Temporary Employees
Foster a Blended Workforce
Hiring temporary professionals helps you foster a blended workforce. A blended workforce is when internal and external professionals are in the same workspace. It can include a mix of part-time, full-time, and seasonal staff, plus contractors and freelancers.
Some benefits blended workforces provide organizations with include:
Access specialized skill sets outside of your company
Tap into a scalable workforce that can adjust to demand
Fill jobs quicker and stay flexible with on-demand staffing
Improved morale by not overloading current employees
Trial Professionals with Working Interviews
A working interview is an interview method where candidates demonstrate their ability to perform tasks on the job. In other words, the professionals come to your organization to perform job tasks while you review their performance and, ultimately, make a hiring decision based on how well they complete the assigned tasks. They are similar to temp-to-perm jobs in which professionals start temporarily with the opportunity to become permanent. But unlike temp-to-perm, working interviews have the direct intent to make a permanent hire if the professional’s a good fit, and a temporary contract will likely end if you don’t see them becoming permanent.
Traditional interviews can help you get to know someone, but they don’t allow you to see how a professional would actually perform in the role. Sometimes this leads to multiple interviews and potentially wasted time for employers and candidates alike. To avoid this, have professionals come in for a short period of time (a couple of hours or days, depending on the role) so both parties can accurately assess the fit and make a mutual decision.
Benefits of working interviews include:
Try before you hire to ensure you find the right fit
Find your best match by evaluating as many professionals as you need
Stay on top of tasks with limited downtime
Save time by bringing professionals on the job right away
Reduce costs
There are three main reasons why working interviews save you money in the long run:
1. Reduced downtime: fill gaps while searching for the right hire
2. Reduced time-to-fill: get professionals in faster
3. Reduced turnover: organizations and professionals already know what to expect on the job
Save Money with Temporary Employees
Working interviews aren’t the only way to reduce costs with temporary professionals. Here are four ways hiring temporary employees can help your organization save money and boost your bottom line.
Lower Your Labour Costs
One of the most significant financial benefits of hiring temporary staff is lower labour costs. Temporary employees aren’t eligible for benefits such as health insurance or retirement plans, so you can save overhead costs for each employee. Plus, you save on the administrative costs of onboarding and managing full-time employees.
Increase Your Flexibility
Temporary employees provide greater flexibility for businesses with fluctuating staffing needs. They can help meet your hiring needs without committing to long-term employment contracts. This can help you avoid the costs associated with overstaffing or understaffing, such as lost productivity and low morale.
Reduced Your Risk
Hiring temporary staff can also help you reduce risk in your organization. If you need to hire for a permanent position, hiring temp staff first allows you to evaluate skill sets and cultural fit before making a permanent job offer.
Reduced Overtime Costs
Finally, hiring temporary staff can help you decrease overtime costs. When you have temporary employees to cover shifts or handle peak workload periods, you avoid paying overtime to full-time employees.
AmbiMi’s Pricing
AmbiMi is a cost-effective hiring solution to help you hire professionals quickly. We can save you money compared to temp agencies, recruitment agencies, and job boards. Our pricing is 100% transparent. All you need to do is post a job for free with no enrollment or subscription fees, and you only pay after you hire someone. Here’s an example for a permanent hire:
Let’s say you are looking to hire a permanent Bookkeeper at $25 per hour ($52,000 a year). You post three gigs with AmbiMi as working interviews to find the right fit, versus a traditional interview process through a recruitment agency.
AmbiMi
Markup (5%): $2,600.00
Working Interview: $710.85*
TOTAL $3,310.85
Recruitment Agencies
Markup (15%): $7,800.00
Working Interview: $0.00
TOTAL $7,800.00
*The cost of a working interview is in exchange for actual labour – a value-add you don’t receive with traditional agencies.
AmbiMi undercuts traditional recruitment agencies by 57.6% for a permanent hire. Not only that, you have the opportunity to try multiple professionals through working interviews before making a permanent job offer so that you can be certain of the right fit.
Learn more about AmbiMi’s pricing and see more ways we can help you save here.
How to Find and Attract Temporary Employees
How to Hire Temporary Employees
Temporary employees are a great way to quickly get professionals in the door so you don’t fall behind or overload current staff. When it comes to hiring, there are a few key steps that differ from a traditional candidate search.
When you have an urgent staffing need, it’s easy to jump right into trying to hire. However, before you start hiring, you should take a step back to figure out exactly what your needs are and create a plan to fill these position(s). This will help you get the right professionals for your temporary roles.
Follow our five easy steps to hire temporary employees to get started:
Create a clear job description with specific responsibilities and requirements
Identify your ideal professional with a focus on hard, measurable skills
Determine the type of temporary employee you need (see above)
Choose a hiring method that supports your needs
Hire a professional that best matches your ideal pro based on the criteria outlined in steps one and two
How to Hire Gig Workers
The gig economy gives you yet another option when it comes to hiring. You can hire experienced industry professionals to provide insight into an area your business is missing, or you can hire entry-level professionals to help save time on tasks.
The steps you’ll take are similar to hiring any other temporary employee, with a key focus on tasks rather than job titles. Instead of looking for an Administrative Assistant to cover many areas of a job, you’ll likely hire someone specifically for a task such as data entry. Then, you can establish clear goals for who you need and what you need them to do.
Once you start hiring, choose a platform that aligns with your goals (like AmbiMi). On-demand staffing allows you to find giggers easily. Gigs give you flexibility in your hiring. You can plan ahead by booking shifts weeks in advance, or if an urgent need arises, you can hire in as little as a few hours.
Interested in learning more about hiring gig workers? Check out our guide, How to Use the Gig Economy in Your Business.
How to Hire Summer Employees
Summer is often a busy time for organizations like those in construction, landscaping, restoration, or hospitality. With seasonal fluctuations comes a lot of hiring, so you want to start early to prepare yourself. When hiring for summer staff, look for people specifically seeking a seasonal job to increase your chances of finding someone who will stay with you all summer. When your busiest times are only for a few months out of the year, you know how important it is to retain staff the entire time to reduce turnover, downtime, and burnout.
Follow our top six tips to set your business up for success this summer:
Start early (at least a month before the position start date)
Train employees before you get busy
Define who you’re looking for with a clear job description
Try hiring students on summer break
Offer rewards and perks and highlight them in your job posting
Outsource your hiring to improve efficiency
How to Hire with Working Interviews
The great thing about working interviews is that you can include them in your daily operations. Instead of taking an hour for a phone or video call, you can have the interviewee perform key tasks alongside your team.
Follow our eight steps to use working interviews in your organization:
Create a job description as you would with any other open job
Plan what to measure and structure all working interviews the same to eliminate bias
Post jobs (we recommend scheduling at least three candidates to increase your chances of finding a perfect match)
Prepare for their arrival by having tasks ready
Set clear expectations by telling professionals what they’ll be doing and what you’ll measure
Ask for their feedback at the end of the shift
Ask your team for feedback about the professional
Don’t take too long to make a decision, or they might find another job
How to Simplify Hiring Temporary Employees
Hiring temporary employees can be stressful and time-consuming. Generally, sorting through resumes (sometimes hundreds) can be the most time-consuming task. Luckily there are steps you can take to simplify the hiring process.
Start by setting clear goals and creating detailed job descriptions. This will help you better target the job posting and decrease the number of unqualified applicants.
It’s good practice to have a process that allows candidates to apply easily. We live in a digital age where most candidates expect to be able to apply to roles quickly.
Choosing an easy-to-use platform that allows easy application and filtering processes, like AmbiMi, will help streamline your hiring further. AmbiMi’s skills-based job matching eases the burden of hiring by matching you only to professionals that meet your preferences.
When it comes to making a hiring decision for temporary positions, you’ll want to minimize the time spent interviewing and vetting applicants. Getting temp professionals on the job right away is usually the best way to see if they’re a good fit (and with a platform like AmbiMi at your disposal, the candidate-matching process becomes quick and easy).
How AmbiMi Helps
Using an on-demand staffing platform, like AmbiMi, is a great way to save time and money. Here are some of the top ways AmbiMi helps you simplify temporary hiring:
Hire when and where you want by posting jobs immediately
Post a job quickly in 60 seconds
Automatic job matching based on skills reduces the filtering of unqualified candidates
Verified resume shows professionals’ past jobs, skills, and ratings
Automated check-in and check-out eliminates time sheets
Build a talent roster to bring in pros as needed
Seven Tips to Find the Perfect Candidate
If you’re feeling stuck or aren’t getting the candidates you want, consider refreshing your temporary hiring process. It’s possible you are focusing on the wrong things and missing out on great professionals in the process.
Follow our seven tips to find your perfect candidate:
Look at talent, skills, AND cultural fit
Avoid the standard job interview and opt for a working interview instead
Give professionals relevant tasks to see how they perform
Look past their resumes and into other experiences, skills, and fit
Pay attention to their questions to see how interested and knowledgeable they are
Focus on the future to align professionals’ career goals with your organization’s needs
Try something new, like on-demand staffing
How to Manage Temporary Employees
Now that you know how to attract temporary employees, it’s time to manage and retain them. As an employer, it’s important to consider the unique needs and goals of temporary professionals so you can engage with them effectively. The needs of temporary staff will be different from your permanent employees, and this should be taken into consideration. Doing so will help create an environment where temporary employees can be productive, engaged and ultimately, successful.
How to Build a Talent Roster
Imagine a list of qualified, temporary professionals you can schedule any time you need. Well, that’s possible with talent rosters! A talent roster is a shortlist of employees who have been on a temporary assignment with your company, are a good fit, and want to return for more shifts. Building a talent roster allows you to book staff when you need them. Some of the many benefits include:
Improve the quality of hires since they’ve already done the job
Quicker time-to-fill since professionals are readily available
Saves you time by eliminating traditional hiring methods that can take weeks
Reduces recruitment costs with no need to advertise new jobs
Limits downtime you’d otherwise have with a vacant position
Hire a temporary employee as you normally would
Express your interest to them directly and set expectations with them
Offer perks to incentivize them to come back (casual schedules, bonuses, training opportunities)
Re-engage with professionals if it’s been a while since you last spoke
Ask for referrals (they’re one of the best ways to find qualified talent)
From there, curate your talent roster with your favourite professionals. Schedule them temporarily if you need short-term coverage, or if you need a permanent hire – you have a list of professionals ready to choose from.
How to Engage and Motivate Gig Workers
Temporary staff’s motivations are often different than permanent employees. Usually, their main motivation is flexibility, but they may also be concerned about job security. Temp staff are giving up security and structure, which can lead to less belonging or commitment from an employer’s perspective. This is especially true if the organization doesn’t meet their needs. Remember, giggers aren’t committed to your company and are more likely to leave for a job with higher pay. To prevent this, give them a reason to stay:
Understand their motivators by asking what’s important to them
Explain the meaning of your organization’s mission or purpose and how the professional contributes to this to give them a sense of belonging
Be transparent about the role and your expectations
Offer flexible rewards linked to performance to incentivize professionals (bonuses, pay raises, promotion opportunities)
Build a community between gig workers and permanent staff to foster the social aspect
Stay in touch after the assignment is complete
How to Improve Your Company Culture
Fostering a strong company culture is essential for a healthy environment. A strong culture leads to satisfied employees. In turn, this improves retention, heightens performance, and makes recruiting staff easier, saving your business time and money in the future.
Culture = Values + Behaviour
Your organization’s values and behaviour make up your company culture. First, choose values that are important to you, then create incentives and rewards that motivate people to follow them. Make sure you don’t just incentivize performance but also consider behaviour. Once these are in place, follow our five tips for building a strong company culture:
Hiring the right people is easier than motivating employees with differing values from your company
Connecting your people to a purpose is key so they believe they are contributing to a bigger picture
Embracing strong communication and transparency with internal employees and external customers
Using positive reinforcement to reward your values through peer-to-peer recognition
Giving and requesting feedback to create a collaborative environment
How to Evaluate Temporary Employees
The short-term nature of temporary positions usually means a traditional performance review process is overlooked. Generally, there aren’t standardized procedures in place like there would be for permanent employees, which can make assessing temporary employees more difficult. However, there are several advantages to implementing an evaluation process for your temporary staff.
How to Evaluate Temporary Employees
Evaluating your temporary employees optimizes your team by ensuring effective and efficient progress. With proper evaluation, employees will know how to improve and where they’re doing well.
Follow our ten steps to evaluate temporary staff effectively:
Set clear expectations so professionals understand what is required of them
Provide proper training specific to their position or tasks
Monitor their performance to identify issues early on
Provide feedback so professionals know what they are doing well and where they can improve
Evaluate their performance at the end of their assignment
Consider their fit with the organization to see how well they interact and communicate with your team.
Evaluate their reliability which is ever-so-important with temporary employees
Get feedback from permanent staff to see if they have any valuable insights
Document their progress to ensure projects are on schedule and see how quickly they complete tasks
Consider their potential for future employment if they are interested in a permanent job
How to Improve Employee Productivity with Flexible Staffing
Offering flexible schedules is not only one of the key drivers of employee engagement but also helps you attract and retain staff. There are different ways that you can offer professionals a flexible work schedule. The main purpose is to create a plan that allows them to schedule their day as they want while balancing the needs of your business. Common schedule types are part-time, temporary, seasonal, gig, casual, and compressed work weeks.
The benefits of flexible scheduling include:
Attract top talent
Improve employee retention
Improve employee engagement (fewer sick days, less turnover, and employee longevity)
Increase productivity
Integrate a blended workforce
Save money by reducing the number of full-time employees
Each type of flexible scheduling method will look different. Follow our tips to start integrating flexible schedules for your organization.
Choose what you’re comfortable with and where you want to start
Don’t start all at once, instead offer flexible schedules to a small group of staff that you trust or bring in a couple of temporary employees
Ask professionals what they want since everyone prefers different working styles
Communicate hours by having professionals set when they will be available
Check-in with professionals through periodic check-ins to catch challenges early
AmbiMi Client Success Story
Our manufacturing client was having difficulty finding and retaining entry-level temporary staff. After exhausting countless job boards, they knew they needed a better solution.
The Team Lead has varying staffing needs, some days requiring five professionals and the next none. Often, he doesn’t have much notice and needs to find temporary staff for the next day. His main goal is to hire ambitious professionals on short notice, so he started using AmbiMi.
Key results from using AmbiMi:
98% decrease in the time it takes to recruit for a role
Ability to post a job and hire professionals in under 24 hours
75% of the professionals hired on a working interview were extended.
With AmbiMi, our client can quickly hire professionals for next-day shifts. Instead of spending hours and hours interviewing candidates, they schedule professionals right away through working interviews. Working interviews help them to find the right fit, then send professionals permanent offers, ultimately saving time and money.
Read more about our real-life example of a manufacturing organization’s experience with AmbiMi.
Take the first step…
Now that you know the ins and outs of temporary staffing, it’s time to give it a go! Try hiring temporary employees for a day or two to see if this is the right hiring strategy for your organization.
Get in touch with our team to start hiring temporary employees today!