How to attract temporary staff to your business

Temporary staff are an important addition to any company’s workforce. Hiring temporary workers can help you meet short-term demands in staffing and cover seasonal peaks such as summer work and Christmas periods. But how do you attract temporary staff that have the right skills and who are reliable and committed? And once you’ve found them, how do you get the best out of them? We’ll show you how in our blog.

How to attract temporary staff

Recruiting for temporary staff should not be too different to recruiting for permanent staff. Be clear about what the job entails, what is expected of the employee and what the package looks like. Here’s are some key strategies to help you attract good temporary staff through your doors:

Give a clear job description

To get the best out of people, you need to be clear about what’s expected of them. This means having a detailed job description outlining the main duties and responsibilities of the role. This should also clearly explain what exactly is on offer – what are the working hours, holiday and sick pay, what is the start and end date and is there any flexibility in that?

Offer a competitive compensation

If you want to attract the best temporary staff you need to be willing to pay for it. This might mean offering a good pay package or including other perks such as bonuses, flexible working options (if applicable), free drinks or lunches, transport incentives, gym memberships and invitations to company socials.

Create opportunities for self-development

The more you invest in your temporary staff the more you’re going to get out of them. Paying for temporary staff to go on training courses shows your staff members that you value them and the additional skills acquired will only benefit your company. Highlight any openings that may arise to develop the role into a full-time post (if that is applicable), and keep staff informed about any career progression opportunities.

What are the advantages of hiring temporary staff

Hiring temporary staff can help to fill an immediate gap in your workforce, but there are other benefits, which we’ve summarised below. You can also discover all the key advantages and disadvantages of hiring temporary staff in our recent blog. 

Advantages of hiring temporary staff:

• Immediate solution for sudden vacancies
• Can meet seasonal demand such as Christmas and summer work
• Flexibility to adjust workload to meet changing company requirements 
• Opportunity to bring new skills to your teams
• Chance to evaluate potential staff before hiring permanently
• No pressure to commit 
• Cost-and time-effective if using recruitment agencies that specialise in placing  temporary staff 

What is the cost of attracting temporary staff?

Hiring temporary staff doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if you use a specialist recruitment agency. To save you money and time searching for temporary employees, RE Recruitment has a dedicated team who specialise in hiring, interviewing and qualifying candidates to match businesses with qualified temporary staff who meet requirements.

If you need to fill seasonal vacancies, hiring seasonal workers from overseas represents good value for money, especially if you outsource your recruitment. Our blog on How to Solve Labour Shortage Problems with the Help of Seasonal Workers offers a detailed look at the benefits seasonal workers can bring to your company at busy times. At RE recruitment, we have a pool of trusted seasonal temporary workers who have worked with us for many years. This means we can provide good temporary workers who we know and who we can match with the right company. And we will take care of all necessary legal paperwork and documentation.

Advertising for students can also be a cost-effective way of hiring temporary workers. Many students come with their own set of skills which could prove useful to your company and most students are keen to learn new skills. If you offer training and development, you could find yourself with a fully-trained up member of staff on your books!

What’s the best way to attract temporary staff?

One of the easiest ways to attract temporary staff to your business is to use a specialist recruitment company who has experience in placing temporary staff. RE Recruitment has a specialist service for finding temporary staff for teams who require an immediate hire or flexibility for busy periods. To find out more about how we can find temporary staff to suit your business needs, speak to one of our specialist advisers.