Let’s face it: Predicting a candidate’s success is tough. Even people with great skills might not fit in with a company’s culture. Giving someone a test drive as a temp might make things easier.
A common misconception is that temp workers are under-qualified and can’t hold down steady jobs. But that’s just not true – even high-skill technical positions can be filled by qualified temporary employees.
In fact, a lot of those taking temp jobs are trying to get offers for permanent positions. In a survey by the American Staffing Association, 59% of temp workers said their primary goal in accepting temp work was to find something that will lead to a full-time, permanent job.
The advantages
Of course, companies won’t want to use the “hire a temp and see how it goes” strategy for every open job, since they’ll miss out on good candidates who aren’t looking for temp work. But there are several advantages to temp-to-permanent hiring. For example:
- Time: Transitioning a temp worker to a full-time employee is a lot faster than the normal recruiting process. Also, even if the temp you’ve got isn’t a good fit for the job, you’ve at least got someone doing the work while you recruit someone else.
- Money: Hiring the wrong employee is expensive. Going through a temp agency has its fair share of costs, but those are small compared to what companies lose when a “permanent” hire leaves right away.
Even if a temp simply does the job and leaves, it can make future recruitment efforts easier – you’ve now got someone you know you can contact when you are looking for a permanent hire. (Competition could be stiff, though – odds are, other companies the temp has worked for are doing the same thing.)
