How Merry is Your Temporary Staffing Situation?

December 12, 2014 | Staffing Blog

If your business gets busy during the holiday season, then there’s no doubt you are in the thick of it right now. Retailers – whether online or storefronts – are working around the clock to stock shelves, fill orders and manage customer service requests.

There’s a good chance you hired extra help to get you through this time of year, probably everyone from customer service reps to cashiers. As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working out for you?”

Are your temporary employees reliable? Do they show up for work on time and are they trained in the work you need them to do? The best way to truly gauge the success of your temporary hires is with this simple question: How many would you hire as full-time workers?

If the answer is low or zero, then you have the wrong employees working for you during your busiest (and probably most lucrative) time of the year. Does that make sense?

Let’s think back to the summertime when you were assessing your seasonal hiring needs and evaluating a staffing agency. If you focused solely on the bottom line cost of hiring temporary workers that’s why you’ve ended up with less-than-stellar staffers.

If you could hire fewer people at a slightly higher rate but with the guarantee they would be high-quality workers who would perform efficiently and effectively, wouldn’t you do it? The perceived savings of a lower hourly rate doesn’t make any difference if employees are chronically late, poorly trained or simply don’t show up, turning your workplace into a revolving door of workers.

At Allegiance Staffing, one of the ways we help companies cut costs is by thoroughly screening temporary staffers. Each candidate goes through our 3-Day Hiring Process. Everyone must come to one of the Allegiance offices three times to be tested, screened, interviewed and vetted. If those people don’t come back or show up late for their interview, it’s telling of their commitment to the job and they don’t get hired.

We also conduct background checks and ensure workers have the skills you need, reducing your liability and risk. These extra steps mean you have reliable workers during your busy season. And, if you’re not worried about your workers you can focus on your customers, making them happy and generating repeat business for years to come – and that’s a holiday gift any business would want.