Staffing Flexibility

By Larry Hannappel

At this moment in time, roughly one in every 50 employed Americans is in a temporary or contingent staffing position, according to the American Staffing Association.

Many companies look at temporary and contingent work as a risk-management strategy to keep costs under control and determine their business cycles in the evolving economy.

Human resource professionals say working with staffing agencies is more efficient than the traditional approach -- advertising a position, wading through stacks of resumes, running background checks, and then waiting two weeks or more for new hires to start.

It’s especially challenging to staff up for short-term projects or find temporary replacements for employees who are sick or on vacation.

Temp firms have unique access to a wide range of workers with general and more specific skill sets that they can provide quickly. HR can call the agency and respond to changing business needs without burdening their company with excessive head-count year round.

 “Being flexible in inventory and workforce is going to be more important than ever during the next several years,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and CEOof the ASA. “Employers should look for a staffing firm that can be their partner in helping drive efficiency and productivity when they source new talent.”

Companies have a lot of options when they bring in temp employees. There are three main types of job placements in the staffing industry:  “temporary,” or hiring on an interim basis; “temp-to-perm or temp-to-hire,” or hiring an employee on a trial basis to determine if it’s a good, permanent match; and, “direct hire or permanent,” whereby workers are recruited by the staffing firm and then hired by its customers.

The reality is that America’s workforce is changing. Employers and workers are both looking for staffing flexibility without all of the red tape often involved in the hiring process.