The contingent workforce is rapidly expanding, and more and more businesses are taking advantage of the savings and efficiencies these workers can bring. But, like any trend, it’s important businesses understand their own use case, and know when and how temporary workers would be most effective in their specific organisation.
What Are Temporary Workers?
For businesses to fully understand where temporary workers can enhance their operations, they should first get a handle on what temporary workers actually are. Temporary or contingent workers are those who seek temporary or short-term engagements with a variety of businesses. They select the shifts when and where they wish to work, usually via an online platform that connects them with available work.
These arrangements give workers the flexibility to manage other responsibilities or interests, like study, family or starting a business themselves. Meanwhile, businesses gain the flexibility that lends solutions to a variety of staffing issues.
When Do Businesses Benefit From Temporary Workers?
So, how do you know if your business has the right use case to start benefiting from contingent workers? If any one of the following scenarios exists in your business, it’s worth looking into bringing in workers temporarily.
1 -Workers Are Hard To Hold On To
When businesses rely on a large base of hourly workers, there are often issues with churn and availability. Casual staff get permanent roles, their uni schedules change or they find another role that offers them their ideal number of shifts. With temporary workers, there is no need to worry about keeping them engaged with a certain number of shifts or fitting in with their availability. You simply post the shifts you need taken care of and the available staffers apply.
2- Work Is Seasonal
Hospitality, entertainment and retail businesses see this all the time. The right number of staff at one time of the year is far too few for your peak periods. Trying to maintain a large base of casual bartenders, or retail assistants for months, just to manage an expected rush, can be far more costly than it needs to be. By bringing in temporary workers when the rust begins to hit, you can quickly and easily scale your team to meet your need.
3-The Right Talent Is Hard To Come By
Chefs are a prime example. With working visa regulations tightening and fewer and fewer homegrown chefs being trained, it can be almost impossible to find a qualified chef when you need one. Permanent chefs are snapped up quickly- but more and more of them are picking up an extra shift a week casually. By using a contingent chef, you can quickly and easily access quality and experience you probably wouldn’t be able to find if you were hiring permanently.
4-You’re Testing The Market
Your business is growing, or you’re trialling a new product or market. You don’t know if this gamble will pay off or be a spectacular failure – so why would you want to add more annual salaries to your overheads, when you might need to pay redundancies down the track? Casual sales staff, promo marketers or pickers and packers could help you scale up without increasing your risk.
5-HR Are Stretched
Managing the availabilities and engagements of a large casual base can often require more hours in the week than your HR department has. Undertaking this mammoth task often means their other duties can be neglected and other staffing issues may surface. By using technology to source staff temporarily, your HR team can reclaim time spent on rostering, absences, resignations and casual admin.
6-You Need A Plan B
Maybe you have an annual event that falls in flu season, or you struggle with routine absences during uni holidays. Business has to go on even if staff can’t. It’s always good to have a plan B and with many casual shifts filled within the hour, contingent workers are the ultimate back-up option.