The Rise of the Temporary Worker
Career Advice ...
We're living in a time of uncertainty. Whether you are a job seeker or a business owner, it’s tough out there. As recruiters, we’re at the front-line of the employment market and have seen a number of trends begin to crop up from these recent months.
One key insight we’ve noticed is an uplift in temporary work as businesses look for immediately available team members to help on specific projects as they react to Covid-19. In some cases, it seems that the temp worker is being brought to the forefront of the employment 'battle-ground' to help businesses recover and return to where they were before this pandemic hit.
At Yolk alone, we have seen a number of clients coming to us with new temp requirements. We’ve most recently been working with Careers Wales, Kingspan, Eversheds & Orbis Education and Care across a range of Office Support temporary roles.
And while these businesses are hiring temp employees to bridge the gaps in their teams, there are also companies who need specific skilled workers as they’ve been involved in the fight against Covid-19. One example was seen with EKF Diagnostics who came to Yolk Engineering for a team of temporary lab workers to help with the manufacturing of a sample collection device called PrimeStore® MTM to be supplied to the NHS laboratory testing service provider.
REC reported recently that businesses ‘intentions’ to hire temporary workers has risen during the pandemic as they look to future proof their company and their budgets while also managing to create new jobs.
But what does this mean for you, as a job seeker or an employer?
The Benefits for Job Seekers
Switching your job search to include temporary opportunities can mean the process of securing work is a much faster and leaner process. Temporary work will usually mean an immediate start and a quicker interview process.
On this note, temporary jobs can also result in faster pay, coming in either daily or weekly.
You will find temporary roles are more likely to offer flexible hours as well as the chance to work over-time and during weekends, and get paid for these additional hours.
Many also use temporary work as a stepping stone and progress into permanent positions – two in three (68%) of those who have done temporary work in the past are now in a permanent role.*
The Benefits for the Employer
It can allow the employer quick access to skilled workers for a key project. It gives you short term access to key skills.
As an employer you are able to create jobs sooner.
It can offer quick fix solutions during a period where you might be unable to finalise budgets and department growth.
A robust recruitment process that can have the new team members on-boarded immediately and temporary agencies such as Yolk can facilitate all related admin and payroll processes saving your internal teams time.
REC (Recruitment & Employment Federation) recently released their September Job Outlook Report which included some interesting insights.
Across June–August 2020, 56% of employers who have been hiring temporary agency workers highlighted their importance in helping to manage fast-changing organisational requirements. This was up from 45% a year earlier. Similarly, at 42%, the proportion stating that agency workers are helping them manage uncertainty was notably higher than last year (32%).*
They reported that the three most popular reasons for an uplift in employing temporary workers were:
Meeting peaks in demand
Covering leave or absence
Providing short-term access to key strategic skills
In August, temp billings expanded at the quickest rate for 20 months, according to the latest Report on Jobs survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG. *
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said, “A return to growth on permanent placements and temporary billings is good news, though it is also expected, given we are comparing activity now with the lockdown. Temporary work is critical in any recovery - businesses turn to temps to help them ramp up and meet demand while the future looks uncertain. At the same time, it enables people to find work quickly.”
“Past recessions show that temporary work bounces back more quickly – it is one of our jobs market’s biggest strengths and that’s really showing now.” *
Yolk’s own findings reflect REC's as our Office Support & HR temporary recruiters have found numerous roles coming in across the public sector, charities, educational companies and manufacturing.
While it’s a tough market out there, if you’re a job seeker we recommend opening yourself up to temp opportunities, and the same for employers. If your teams are struggling with peaks in demand and not enough hands on deck, while also lacking budgets for permanent jobs, the best recruitment options for you could lie with the temporary worker.
If you’d like more information on this topic, or would like to speak directly to our temporary recruitment experts, please get in touch with:
Emma Harries, Office Support Divisional Head: eharries@yolkrecruitment.com or 02921 673734
Emma Harries, Head of Office Support: eharries@yolkrecruitment.com or 02921 673 734
Bethan Evans, Recruitment Consultant: bevans@yolkrecruitment.com or 02921 673 743
Bethan Evans, Recruitment Consultant: bevans@yolkrecruitment.com or 02921 673 743
*Statistics & quote from REC Press Release and REC Jobs Outlook September Report
