With one of the main trends of 2023 being the focus shift towards temp and contract recruitment, it’s no secret that those who haven’t already been doing it will try to expand (as they should!). Whilst running a successful temp desk comes with it challenges (think heavy compliance and admin!), it can be beneficial when it comes to staying afloat during challenging times and market instability.
Knowing that 37% of recruitment agency owners are planning on increasing temp roles in 2023, we decided to give you some insight into how temporary recruitment can help your agency this year!
Additional revenue streams
As fast-paced as temp recruitment can be, it also provides your agency a steadier revenue stream when things get drier on the perm side. How?
A lot of companies in tough times will put a freeze on permanent recruitment or cut back on staff - but they still need to operate and jobs need to get done! This is where hiring a contractor to complete a specific project comes into play. You could be missing out on a lot of placements with your clients (and on working with new clients, too!) if your agency only offers perm recruitment.
If you’re a start-up agency looking to scale up quickly, then temp and contract recruitment is a way to get money coming into the business faster. If you think about it, permanent recruitment is slower moving and once the role is placed often you will have longer payment terms agreed with your clients. This leaves you waiting for the payment to come through and with a tough market, this wait time can make or break a new business. You also have to deal with the rebates if the candidate doesn’t work out and have to start the recruitment process from scratch.
With temp recruitment, you will be on shorter payment terms (usually weekly) so you can start getting that stream of payment in a lot quicker. Your consultants’ temp desks will grow and roll over each month instead of having to start from scratch each month as you do on perm.
Mass redundancies
With the recession on everyone’s minds and mass redundancies happening within some of the biggest businesses, the market is getting flooded with highly skilled candidates – candidates that will often be immediately available and keen to get work as soon as possible - making them ideal for temp and contract work.
What’s even better, after redundancy, some candidates may like the idea of taking on some short-term roles in different businesses to get a feel for their next permanent move – and we all know that some temp roles can transform into perm ones!
Providing full services to your clients
If you’re a perm-only agency, another disadvantage may be that you will have to turn down a request to fill temp roles for your clients. Sure, you may be able to provide some temps here and there, but if you bring on a client that wants you to fill a volume of temp and contract roles, you may lose the client completely to an agency that provides them with both services. No matter how good your relationship with a client is, they can be fickle!
By providing temp, contract, and perm you can ensure that you won’t have to say no to your clients and risk them ditching you completely for another agency.
Holiday season
It’s no secret that with summer holiday season luring hiring managers and candidates away to sunny beaches for a well-deserved break, permanent recruitment can slow down in summer. In these times, providing temp holiday cover can be key to keeping that money coming in!
Strong relationships with clients
With temp and contract recruitment you tend to have more constant communication with your clients - allowing you to build deeper relationships. Permanent positions with clients can be less frequent, forcing you to miss out on that! Providing temp and contract, you will be in touch with them to extend bookings, ask if they need any more cover, and usually will be their go-to agency! This means that when they do need a permanent role filled you will be at the forefront of their mind. And then, you can use that to your advantage, asking for exclusivity.
Of course, if you are really against the idea of taking on temp recruitment within your business, there are other ways you can scale your agency – and don’t worry, Firefish has got you covered on that front, too!
