When Temp is the Word: 5 points for a positive experience

Temp.

I often hear the word uttered in a mildly objectionable tone – and I get it, there’s some horror stories out there… I’ve heard plenty about snaky recruiters slithering their way through businesses, tarnishing the profession one careless placement at a time. They’ve done a great job of making the temporary contracting process completely exasperating for businesses and candidates alike.

Hiring a temporary resource should never be a case of simply finding someone with a pulse to fill a chair and hoping for the best. Thankfully, most of us aren’t like that. As a recruiter who cares about the talented people and the organisations I represent, let me tell you our Temps can save your butt in times of need.

Here are five things to look for when it comes to temporary recruitment to ensure it’s a positive and productive experience:

1. Find a fantastic recruitment business partner. It’s like any relationship, if your significant other/life partner/hairdresser doesn’t take the time to get to know you, understand you and respond to your needs, you wouldn’t stick around, right? (Hair flick and walk away). Your relationship with your recruiter should be no different. So do your homework, find a provider who actually listens to you, asks the relevant questions, and understands your business and your people.
2. Trust is everything, so be honest with your recruiter. Talk about your company culture (the real and ideal). Be upfront about your management style. Let them know the reasons behind recent staff turnover or changes to the team. A major dislike of PowerPoint? We understand, the more information the better! With this knowledge we can find a candidate with the relevant skills and experience required for the job, as well as someone who shares your company values.
3. Go steady. Once you find a great recruiter, don’t be a commitment-phobe. Partnering with a single agency will streamline your recruitment process. Repeating your brief to multiple providers is time consuming. It’s also inefficient when you receive duplicate candidate resumes. So, put your time into making your business relationship work with someone who works well with you. Not only will you receive a more tailored approach from your recruiter, you will enable them to focus on your organisation.
4. Keep it real. Sometimes we just have to face the facts and as much as we would all love to find the perfect unicorn/human hybrid temporary resource, available to commence tomorrow on a part time basis with relevant industry experience, with the ability to play the ukulele and work their way around Adobe Photoshop at an advanced level, unfortunately this may not always be possible. So, be open to options, let your recruiter come up with short-term and long term solutions to help fill your current gaps.
5. Temps are people We take pride in our flexible, adaptable and switched-on temporary and contract talent. Please remember to treat them with the same respect as your permanent employees; we want them to feel comfortable in your work environment. And you never know, we often place permanent employees through a temp assignment!

There is no greater feeling in this role than matching a temporary candidate with a workplace, finding out that they are absolutely nailing it and sitting back like a proud parent, and watching their working relationship blossom.

Find a recruitment partner that you trust and communicate with them. Be straight with them and don’t be afraid to work together to achieve a resourcing solution that really works for you – not just a person with a pulse!