4 Benefits of Temporary Staffing for Small Businesses

Temporary staffing agencies, or temp agencies, provide businesses with temporary workers to help them meet their staffing needs.

These agencies recruit, screen, and place workers in various industries, including manufacturing, administrative support, and healthcare.

Client companies need short-term help in increasing numbers. While only about 2% of employees in the United States are temporary employees, the growth of temporary jobs in the market has recently started to outpace employment growth (aka permanent employees needed).

Interested in acquiring temporary staff members? This guide will overview how to collaborate with agencies specializing in temporary employment and the overwhelming benefits of doing so.

4 Benefits of Temporary Staffing

Temporary staffing can be a valuable resource for small businesses that need to manage workload fluctuations or unexpected absences.

Here are the biggest benefits of integrating temporary work into your company:

1. Flexible resources
2. Cost-effective staffing solution
3. Wide talent pool
4. Minimized hiring risk

With trusted temporary aid, companies can bring new skills into their operations and fulfill mission-critical efforts during busy seasons.

1. Flexible Resources

One of the most significant benefits of temporary staffing is flexibility. This is a huge perk for small businesses, especially — growing companies are likelier to have inconsistent workloads and demand. These inconsistencies can be a challenge to forecast, so flexibility becomes essential.

Temporary workers are one very reliable solution to this issue. Hiring temporarily allows businesses to quickly adjust their staffing levels to meet these changing needs without hiring additional full-time employees.

This flexibility means companies can remain competitive and responsive to their customers’ needs.

2. Cost-Effective Staffing Solution

Another benefit of temporary staffing is cost-effectiveness.
Hiring full-time employees can be a significant expense, including recruitment, training, and employee benefits.

Temporary workers demand fewer expenses to bring onto a team. They’re typically employed by a staffing agency, which handles the lift of sourcing, screening, and onboarding. This is a huge help to small businesses without extensive recruitment resources.

By partnering with a staffing agency, hiring managers can reduce the internal demand of the hiring process and redirect much-needed hours back to tasks such as human resources, and onboarding.

3. Wide Talent Pool

In addition to these financial benefits, temporary staffing can provide access to a wider talent pool. Staffing agencies typically have a database of pre-screened, qualified candidates, including those with specialized skills or experience.

This can be particularly valuable for small businesses that may not have the time or resources to conduct an extensive search for candidates. By partnering with a staffing agency, small businesses can tap into a diverse pool of talent and find the right fit for their temporary staffing needs.

4. Low Hiring Risk

Temporary staffing can also offer small businesses a low-risk way to evaluate potential employees. By bringing in temporary workers on trial, businesses can assess their skills, work ethic, and fit with the company culture before committing to a full-time role. This can help reduce the risk of a bad hire and ensure the business uses its resources best.

Companies won’t experience this amount of reduced risk and flexibility when hiring permanent workers. Filling a permanent position will likely take longer, require more hours, and leave companies less certain about their success as compared to temporary staffing options.

When Should Businesses Consider Temporary Staffing Solutions?

Temp staffing solutions will help some companies more than others.

Here are some indicators that the benefits of temporary positions will move the needle at your organization:

Fluctuating Workload

If a business experiences fluctuations in workload, it may be beneficial to hire temporary workers to meet increased demand.

One common way to identify fluctuations includes identifying whether your company is impacted by a “busy season.” If the average employee’s workload tends to scale up extremely during a certain time of year, it may be best to consider hiring temporary employees to fill those gaps.

This can help avoid overburdening full-time employees and ensure the business can meet its production or service needs during peak periods.

Unexpected Absences

No business leader enjoys frantically filling a last-minute employee no-show. This concept can be extended to long-term leaves of absence too.

Take maternity leave, for instance. The employee taking the leave won’t be away forever — just a set amount of weeks. In this case, temporarily backfilling this role may be helpful while the permanent employee is on leave.

This will ensure that the business can continue to operate smoothly and meet its obligations to customers.

Temporary Upskill

Hiring temporary workers with the necessary expertise may be beneficial if a business requires specialized skills that are unavailable in-house.

For instance, a certain technical project may require establishing capabilities that won’t be required after the project is complete. In this case, companies may choose to either outsource or use temporary staffing services.

Tight Budget

Hiring temporary workers can be a cost-effective solution for businesses that need to manage workload fluctuations or special projects.

Overhead costs related to hiring and onboarding alone can add up. Rather than focusing solely on hiring full-time employees, in this case, it may help to consider temp roles as well to nimbly scale.

Interest in Temp-to-Hire Staffing

Hiring temporary workers allows businesses to evaluate potential employees before committing long-term. Hiring a new employee on a temp-to-hire basis gives new hires a chance to operate in the company environment before hiring managers deem whether or not they’re a good fit for the company culture.

How Temp Agencies Work

Temporary staffing agencies are dedicated to placing workers with the right skill sets into temporary client assignments.

Collaborating with an agency on this level requires five main steps:

1. Recruitment and Sourcing: Temp agencies recruit workers through various means, such as online job boards, referrals, partnership programs, or social media.
2. Screening: Once candidates apply for a job, the temp agency will screen them to determine whether they fit the role well.
3. Placements: If the candidate meets the agency's qualifications, they will be placed in a temporary position with a business. The agency will handle all administrative tasks related to the placement, such as payroll, taxes, and benefits.
4. Supervision: While the temporary worker is on assignment, the temp agency will oversee their performance and handle issues. The agency will also be responsible for terminating the worker's position.
5. Billing: Temp agencies will charge for the temporary worker's services, often hourly. The agency take care of paying temp workers.

Overall, temp agencies provide a convenient and cost-effective solution for businesses needing temporary workers, and the effort required to work with an agency is minimal.

Hiring on a Temporary Basis Benefits Businesses

With the constantly changing and evolving job market, the staffing industry and its professionals are essential in developing strong teams.

We’ve established the many benefits of working with experts to fill temporary roles, but truly there is a place for recruiting assistance for all types of jobs. Whether you’re looking to fill a permanent job, temp-to-hire role, or temp position, working with a staffing agency may be key to connecting with new employees.