Hiring during a pandemic – it’s not something that many employers thought they would ever be doing.

After the imposed slowdown of the U.K. economy, businesses are more aware than ever of how critical it is to have the right team in place.

But the pandemic has also created the challenge of business planning – many organisations aren’t sure of what lies in store for the next few months, perhaps even years.

Protecting jobs has been a central focus of the fallout of the pandemic from Rishi Sunak, our Chancellor to Managing Directors across multiple Corporate and SME organisations.

As we now emerge into the ‘recovery’ stage, employers who have opportunities for candidates must decide on their hiring process to avoid being swamped by candidates and making the ‘right’ decisions from the many candidates available.

If you’re currently in the process of hiring temporary workers for your organisation over the next few months, this guide is for you.

Temp Workers for Your Post-Pandemic Organisation

Hiring temporary employees might not have been on your business plan at the start of the year, but the pandemic has forced many businesses into doing so, to protect themselves as we find a new normal.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show that the number of temporary employees in the U.K. increased by 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the three months March-May 2020 compared to last year.

If you’re hiring temporary employees right now – you’re not alone. Delivery giant Hermes just announced they are to hire an additional 10,500 workers in the U.K. after the surge in new demand.

Temporary and contract workers are a smart choice for employers, as they offer more flexibility and less commitment during this business-critical time.

Let’s look first at applicant tracking systems and how these could be helping or hindering your temp hiring process.

Applicant Tracking Systems for Temp Workers

When hiring temp workers, speed is critical to the process – is it time you reviewed your applicant tracking system?

Many companies continue to use outdated tracking systems which could be harming your recruitment process. Now more than ever, you need to know that you can rely on your ATS and that it is helping, not damaging your recruiting efforts for temporary roles.

If your ATS is turning away more candidates than it is attracting, or if it is filtering out suitable candidates without your knowledge, you need to remedy this now.

Right now, there is likely to be an influx of applicants for roles, and you need to make sure your system isn’t missing the best applicants.

My top tips for evaluating your ATS are:

• Decide if the amount you are paying for the software is giving you a decent ROI.
• Consider if the features of your ATS are pulling in the temporary candidates you need right now.
• Are you able to accurately measure and track whether the ATS is providing you with quality candidates? If not, it might be time to consider a different recruiting method.

Next, let’s look at how current hiring practices are affecting the hiring of temporary employees.

Video Interviewing

Since the pandemic, hiring has gone digital, with many organisations and recruiters alike taking to video to interview candidates, at least for the first stages of the recruitment process.

The pandemic caused a spike of 67% more companies using video interviews to hire for critical roles, and this worked the other way too, with a 150% increase in candidates wanting to upgrade their digital CV with a video.

Video interviewing is a great – and safe – way to interview several candidates when you have multiple applicants for a temporary vacancy.

Set aside a day to conduct video interviews with your candidates, but with social distancing measures in place, safe face-to-face interviews can also now take place. Remember that an in-person interview is the best way to ascertain if a candidate is a good fit for your organisation, even if the role is only a temporary one.

Hiring Candidates with the Right Skills for Flexible Roles

Flexibility is going to be a key theme in businesses going forwards, and companies who fail to flex could find themselves in trouble.

When hiring temporary workers, you must think past the immediate role the candidate is applying for. Think about how much value your applicants can bring to the role – what other soft and hard skills do they have, and what experience do they have in different positions?

With an influx of candidates currently on the market, now is an excellent time to hire employees with great in-demand skills, think problem-solving, customer service, excellent communication skills, critical thinking, and creativity.

In a period of economic downturn, it can be easy for employers to forget about forward-planning, as they look to fill roles with the employees they need right now. When you hire with the future of your organisation in mind, you are protecting and strengthening your business for years to come.

This means hiring the very best from the available talent.

Finding the Best Talent for Your Temporary Roles

Before the pandemic, Clayton Recruitment specialised in finding the best available talent for temporary commercial roles, and that’s what we’re still doing today.

Our extensive network and connections can put you in touch with candidates, who can add value to your business now, in their temporary roles, and for when the time comes to make more permanent hiring decisions.

Remember, even though you are hiring for a temporary role, you should employ the same high standards in your hiring as you would for a permanent employee. As the current business environment is changing so quickly, you might need permanent employees faster than you think.

The cost of a wrong hire can be in the thousands; it can be costly in terms of time and effort too.

For peace of mind that you are hiring the very best temporary employees from the current pool, work with a recruiter with extensive experience in this field.

Clayton Recruitment offer a tailored recruitment service for each of your roles; we have the insight, network and market credibility to supply you with the temporary candidates you need right now – get in touch with us here to find out how.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989, and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, Industrial and Engineering appointments, on both a permanent and temporary basis. If you are looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The hiring market is changing.

With employment at an all-time high, many companies are finding it hard to locate the right kind of staff they need to help them reach their business goals.

As recruiters in the North West, we have seen an increase in the number of candidates enquiring about temporary work and this is echoed in the UK as a whole, with temp work being one of the fastest areas of recruitment.

However, many organisations are still reluctant to take on temporary staff, and quite often view it as a ‘last resort’. In doing this, many companies are missing out on a vast array of talented employees who are looking for less-permanent positions.

If you are not fully utilising temporary workers in your business yet, and are unsure as to why you should start, here are the five reasons that employers should take on more temporary workers this year.

1. A Clever Staffing Solution

We work with organisations of many different sizes, serving a range of sectors. And what we find more and more often is that they cannot locate the talent they need to help them achieve their business goals.

Many companies will persist with and repeat their recruitment process with the view to finding a permanent member of staff to fill a position. Many organisations would not consider a temporary employee: because the role is permanent, they want a permanent member of staff.

But in doing this, they struggle on with a vacant position, or worse; they employ the ‘wrong’ permanent employee in haste. The cost of rehiring for permanent employees can become very costly indeed.

This is the perfect opportunity to utilise an employee on a temporary contract – to solve an ongoing recruitment issue.

2. For Flexibility

In an ever-changing economy, and especially during the Brexit transition period, many employers are finding that their staffing needs are fluctuating.

Sometimes it is not feasible for employers to take on staff with permanent contracts when they know that they cannot predict how long they will be needed.

Temp workers are perfect for the changing demands of your business. Many employees are looking for short-term and temporary work. You can work with a recruiter to outline your businesses needs, and they can find you staff who fit into exactly what you’re looking for, skills and contract-wise.

3. When Your Team Needs a Lift

On the flip-side, there are times when businesses are booming, and they need all the help they can get. It’s great when you see an increase in custom, but this can have negative repercussions on your team.

Continuing with the same size of team and expecting them to take on extra duties when you need them to can cause stress and anxiety among your employees, and will eventually lead to a drop in productivity.

If your team needs a morale boost in the form of some extra help to see them through unexpected busy times, bringing in some fresh faces for a limited period is a smart solution.

4. Access to Untapped Talent

Is your organisation going through a period of change? Are you changing your services or processes? Are you expanding?

You might already have an excellent team in place, but sometimes you need access to new talent to help you through a transition period.

In the past, there was a stereotype of temp work being associated with low-skilled talent looking for very casual contracts, but this is not the case anymore.

There is a wealth of talent considering temporary work for a variety of reasons, such as alongside part-time studying, new parents looking for employment to fit around raising their family, and those looking to change sectors. All of these employees can add real value to your business in the time you need them most.

5. With a View to a Permanent Hire

Finally, probably the most significant benefit that employers can get out of temporary hires is temp-to-perm positions.

Organisations can work with recruiters to find employees looking for temp-to-perm contracts to ‘try before they buy’. This is a great way to find out if the employee fits into your organisation – if they are the ‘right’ person for the job before you sign on the dotted line.

And it’s a two-way street, too. Many temp workers prefer these type of contracts (when they are looking for permanent work eventually) as they can see if they like the role and the company without being tied down.

Finally

Do you currently employ temporary workers in your organisation? Perhaps you have used them in the past, or only use them at specific points in the year, such as over the Christmas period. Consider taking on temporary workers in your organisation at different times to enjoy the benefits that I have outlined here.

There are plenty of candidates looking for temporary contracts who are waiting to hear from your organisation right now – get in touch with us to find out more.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989 and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, Industrial, Nursing, and Engineering appointments, on both a permanent and temporary basis. If you are looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to download our latest interview checklist, you can do so here.