Direct or Temporary Hire -- Which Should You Choose?

Posted January 16, 2015

When managing the staffing load at your company, many times you are faced with a decision between making a permanent hire or bringing on a worker on a temporary basis. The right answer to this question ultimately depends on the scenario at hand.

Optimizing your staffing level plays a large role in the overall efficiency and profitability of your organization. What follows is an analysis on deciding when to use temporary workers versus adding a permanent hire to your staff.

Situations Where a Temp Worker Is the Right Call

If your company just won a bid on a project that requires some skills your current workers don't currently hold in abundance, bringing on a temporary worker with those abilities is a great solution. The temp helps you complete the project successfully, while helping to close a skills gap at your organization. Make sure the temp trains your permanent staff as well.

In short, temporary workers give your company the staffing flexibility it needs to get through the boom times as well as those lean periods. If you are considering upsizing your staff on a permanent basis, consider the temp to be on a trial period so you can see how they perform before extending a permanent job offer.

Permanent Hires Help Your Company Grow

Transitioning a temporary worker into a permanent hire is the best of both worlds. You get the added flexibility of a temp worker who proved their worth while on the job, and bringing them on as a permanent employee helps your organization to grow. Leveraging the opportunity of testing out a temp worker before potentially hiring them on permanently is a smart, flexible staffing strategy.

Many of the best workers are only interested in the security of a permanent position, so keep this in mind when formulating your organization's hiring strategy.

If you need any additional insight on deciding between permanent or temporary workers or your staffing strategy in general, talk to the experts at Ambassador Personnel. As one of the top staffing agencies, our recruiters can work with you and help your career. Make it a point to meet with us today!