· Insights

Why it’s time for temp recruitment to embrace the 21st century

The world of temporary work has changed. It’s now time for the way we recruit temporary employees to change with it.

Flexibility. It’s one reason why more and more would-be employees are choosing not to be employed full-time by one organisation, but looking to work as and when they want instead.

There are varied social and economic changes behind this switch, but for many employees, and employers, it offers a range of advantages – and flexibility is just one of them.

But as with all changes in the way we work, it’s not without its challenges. If you need 20 employees to work on a production line by next Monday there is a traditional route to going out to find them.

That would usually involve in a ‘High Street’ agency, which will then advertise those roles and look to screen and recruit the people you need to fill those roles. It’s a model however which is now no longer fit for purpose. It’s time consuming, and driven more by the needs of the business model than the needs either of the candidates or the would-be employers.

So what’s the alternative? How about one which is driven by tried and tested technology?

Which allows the temporary worker to set up an account easily and in their own time, with no need to visit an office, making it between 15 and 20% cheaper than the ‘traditional’ model. One which is fully compliant, and completes all the checks necessary, including face to face interviews, so you know those temporary employees are good to go the moment you employ them.

That alternative now exists. It exists because it really is time, for the sake of both employee and employer, to change the system, and put both sides in the driving seat. One which uses technology which the temporary worker is familiar with as a consumer. One which ensures that when HR needs temporary employees they can find exactly the right people, with exactly the right soft and hard skills, at just the right time, and that they’ll be there when you need them for as long as you need them.

Flexibility. That magic word again. But until now it’s been missing from the world of temporary work. Well, not any longer. There is now a real alternative for both employee and employer.

One which is easier to use for both sides, and ensures that whatever the need there is a solution which is both faster, more efficient, and which really takes care of the employee. For example, our research suggests that at some point 60 per cent of temporary workers are unable to take up a role because they can’t afford the travel costs. We’ve broken that catch 22 by ensuring that from the first day onwards they can apply to be paid the same day. No surprise then that our ‘no shows’ are less than one per cent.  

Complaint, cost effective, swift. Because temporary working is here to stay, and therefore deserves a new way of operating which reflects the new situations which both employer and employee face, and which meets those needs in a new and mould-breaking way. So next time you need a helping hand with temporary staff, do something different. Do something better. Do something which really takes the hard work out of finding temporary workers. To find out more click here now. 

Steven Kirkpatrick is CEO UK & Ireland of Gojob