For typical businesses, there are major advantages to hiring temporary workers. But for seasonal businesses—the ones that respond to peak seasons in business at specific times of the year—the benefits of using temporary staffing are even more significant.
Every company deals with some ebbs and flow in demand, but they are typically more manageable. Oftentimes they just require a few extra workers or some scheduling flexibility. But for seasonal businesses, the workload fluctuations are dramatic and it can be particularly difficult to ensure optimal staffing levels at all times. These employers risk being understaffed or overstaffed a lot of the times. Managing a workforce in a seasonal industry requires a delicate balance of having the right types of employees on board and the right number of employees at the same time.
That’s why temp workers are so critical to these types companies.
Here are the benefits of using temporary staffing in seasonal industries.
1. No Financial Commitment
When peak season hits, you need to hire more employees to ensure that you can keep up with demand. Being understaffed can result in poor customer service, unfilled orders, lost business opportunities, increased errors and accidents, as well as reduced customer loyalty.
But you know that you’re only going to need those new workers for a short while until business slows down again. Instead of hiring more permanent employees that you’ll need to pay continuously—even when there’s little work to be done—enjoy one of the greatest benefits of using temporary staffing: no financial commitment.
Hire temp workers when you need them, and send them back to the temp staffing agency when business slows down. You’ll significantly reduce your payroll costs by having the most optimal staffing levels at all times. You’ll be able to increase and decrease your workforce at any time, whenever demand dictates. It’s the easiest way to manage fluctuating staffing needs.
2. Happier Employees
If you were to decide not to hire additional permanent employees in order to avoid the financial commitment of keeping them on after business slows down, you’d be overworking your current workforce. Your employees would have to take on additional workloads and work overtime, which could lead to a stressed out, overburdened workforce. Morale would dip, productivity would be reduced, and customer service would suffer. Plus, overworked employees may start jumping ship.
Hiring temp workers for seasonal positions is the perfect way to avoid these consequences of burned out employees. They’ll be able to shoulder the extra loads, so your employees won’t have to. Your workforce will be happy and healthy and your business will benefit because of it.
3. Save Time and Money
Some of the biggest benefits of using temporary staff come from the cost and time savings you’ll enjoy. We already mentioned that your payroll costs will be reduced when you don’t have to continue paying full-time employees when business doesn’t warrant it, but you’ll save money by eliminating costly overtime pay.
And when you partner with a temporary staffing agency to fill seasonal positions, you won’t have to worry about the time required to post ads, review resumes, interview candidates, or train your new temp workers. The staffing agency will even take care of payroll, HR, and compliance for these workers, which means that you’ll save on administrative costs and time as well.
4. Reduce Hiring Risks
Hiring new employees comes with certain risks. Hire the wrong temporary workers and you’ll face reduced productivity and efficiency. By hiring your temp workers through a staffing agency, you can reduce these hiring risks. Your recruiters will have the expertise and experience required to hire top talent. And if things don’t work out, you can simply request a replacement.
5. Find Great New Permanent Workers
One of the unique benefits of using temporary staffing is the advantage of temp-to-perm hiring. You can hire temporary workers during your busy season without a financial commitment to keeping them on. You can test their skills for a few months. And if they’re great assets to your company, you can hire them on full time if you wish.
Liberty Staffing can fulfill your temp staffing needs. Contact us today.
