Demand for temp workers has gone up 15% since Covid-19, and experts are predicting that temp, contract and interim recruitment is what will pull the industry through this crisis.
If you’re a recruiter who normally recruits for permanent roles and you’re just starting out in the temp world, prepare yourself for a completely different ball game.
To help you get to grips with this new recruiting environment, we thought we’d share some things worth knowing about temp recruitment that we bet no one’s told you yet.
1. Most temp top billers can fill a role with one phone call
It’s worth knowing what you’ll be up against in this new sector – and that’s recruiters who can fill a role in a matter of minutes, not days.
Clients who are hiring temps aren’t interested in spending time going through candidate shortlists with you. They want you to fill the role for them – and fill it quick.
Any clients you work with on temps will be looking to you for your expertise. They’ll choose to work with you based on the assumption that you’ve understood the job profile and know your candidate network inside out.
The tough side of this is that you’re only as good as your last placement. Recruit a sub-par temp candidate and the client won’t want to work with you again.
2. Communication is everything
Good communication is always important in recruitment, but when you’re working with temps, it’s absolutely necessary to keeping your desk moving.
You need to be speaking to your candidates and clients constantly to ensure your placements are running smoothly. Situations can change quickly in the temp industry, and the only way to stay in control of your desk is to be in touch regularly so you know exactly what’s going on at all time.
Which takes me to my next point…
3. You’ll need to tough but approachable with candidates
To really stay on top of your desk, you need to build relationships with your temp candidates that ensure they will always come to you the minute something changes.
Essentially, you need to be assertive enough that your candidates respect you but approachable and likeable enough that they won’t hide from you if something goes wrong.
For example, if one of your temps is sick or decides they don’t want to go back to a job, you need to have the kind of relationship that they will come and tell you this immediately. You can’t stop them flaking out of a job but what you can do is ensure you always know what’s happening before your client does.
If your client has to come and tell you that one of your temps hasn’t shown up, this looks like you have no control of your desk.
4. It’s all about staying two steps ahead of yourself
Every time you have a conversation with a candidate or client, you should be thinking about the next opportunity and how you can create leads for your next placement. This is key to running a top-billing temp desk.
So dig for insights, ask all the right questions and encourage your candidates to refer other good temps they know. Referrals are gold in temping as candidates will only refer people who they think will make them look good to agencies and referred temps will be more reliable out of loyalty to the person who referred them.
Always keep tabs of all your favourite temps – especially the ones not working through your agency right now. Set triggers in your recruitment software to remind you when their current contract is ending so you can make plans to scoop them up next.
Covering your finishers every week is also something you’ll need to get used to. If your temp’s contract is ending, have you got their new job lined up for them? Drop the ball with any candidates and you’ll have less fees coming in, so you need to be thinking weeks ahead of yourself all the time.
5. There’s a lot of admin involved
The admin burden is heavier with temp recruitment because the liability for screening candidates and ensuring compliance lies with the recruiter rather than the employer.
However, any good recruitment software that supports temp recruitment should allow you to automate a lot of the admin involved and help ensure all your candidates are compliant when they’re out on the job.
If you’re using paper timesheets with your temps, that’s a huge administrative burden that’s no fun for you or the candidate. There is time and expense software out there that will make the process a whole lot easier and more efficient for you both.
To find out more about the tricks that will help you run a top-billing recruitment desk, download the eBook below.
