If your company has adopted a workforce strategy that involves using contingent workers like temporary employees, independent contractors, or freelance workers — you are not alone. Today, five years after the great recession, leaders feel an ever lingering sense of uncertainty about a full recovery. This doubt leads us to look to alternative strategies to get work done in our businesses. There is still work to do and productivity matters. But buyer beware, if your leaders or human resources department are not well versed in managing temps there are many challenges and pitfalls to overcome!
These are the three big woes of managing temps:
- A temporary worker needs orientation, training, on-the-job feedback, and direction. Yes, they are an employee of the temp firm, however, all of these things necessary to help the employee succeed! If you employ more then a handful of contractors, a good staffing company should be able to offer contingent workforce strategies that address these HR needs!
- Your company is not the employer of record for Human Resources purposes. Your staffing firm can provide education and resources to help understand the nature of your relationship with a temporary worker or co-employment. Your managers direct the work with the temporary, however, the temporary firm must provide the feedback to the worker!
- The hidden costs of using temps! If you choose to use a lot of temporaries, say more then 20, then there are alot of challenges (or opportunities) to address. Have you ever had to keep track of 50 time cards, approving time and making sure you’re avoiding over-time? Who addresses your time off and lateness policies? When is there time to reconcile hours worked against your operational budget and all the invoices for your temporary labor?
Luckily today’s staffing firms provide contingent workforce solutions that provide online time keeping, procurement solutions, and even workforce strategies that help manage temps and aid the productivity of your contingent workforce!