What is a Temp-to-Hire Employee?
A temp-to-hire employee is usually recruited for about a six-month period or more. During this time, the employee's status stays on the staffing agency's payroll so employers can evaluate the candidate's performance before committing to hiring them full-time or decide to seek a different individual.
Why do companies hire temporary workers?
Temp-to-hire jobs can be made available for a variety of reasons. Many companies need someone in between a temporary worker and a direct hire worker so they opt for temp-to-hire employees.
Life can get in the way easily from:
- Long vacations
- Maternity leave
- Disability leave
- Illnesses
- Current employees finding other jobs
Temp-to-hire employees can help fill this vacuum for a short amount of time until the job is not longer needed or another more qualified direct hire employee fills the spot.
Benefits of Temp-to-Hire Employees
Offers Flexibility and Reduces Risks
Using temp-to-hire placement allows you to ensure that your next hire is a perfect fit before you bring them on-board. If you find that the candidate is not working out, the temporary staffing agencies can help find you someone else who will meet your needs.
The main benefit of using temp-to-hire recruiting is that you have a better chance of making qualitative, smart decisions for the benefit of your organization. Employees define the productivity, performance, and brand identity of your business, and temp-to-hire placement gives companies the ability to make smart hiring decisions for long-term success.
Assess Skills and Performance
If you're hesitant to hire a potential employee because you're not sure how they will perform once hired, this is the perfect situation for a temp-to-hire placement! You have the time to assess their skills and performance on the job, then hire them if they are a great fit.
Temp-to-hire recruitment also provides an advantage for the candidates as well. If the candidate's résumé isn't as impressive at first glance, they can still woo over the recruiter with their performance and skills and bag a position they deserve.
Saves Time and Money
Staffing agencies can help you get in touch with temp-to-hire candidates and cut down on the time and hassle of recruiting yourself and then deciding everything from salary, incentives, benefits and much more. You can then focus on your business rather than spending your time recruiting.
Challenges of Temp-to-Hire
Lack of Teamwork
Sometimes temporary employees do not integrate with your full-time employees. Permanent employees can be hesitant to work with someone who might not be around long or become prickly around those they perceive to be interlopers.There's no easy solution to building a great team, so watch how temp-to-hire employees embrace your company's culture and established teams.
Contract Buyout Fees
If you find that you would like to hire the candidate permanently, you may have to pay a fee to the staffing agency to buyout the contract or wait until the end of the contract period in usually 60 to 90 days. If you wait too long, the employee might feel underappreciated and move on to take another offer.
Temp-to-Hire Employees vs Temp Employees
Temp-to-hire recruitment is great for when you find a potential employee who made a wonderful first impression, but does not have a lot of experience.
Temp-to-hire placement let you see a potential employee's performance without making a commitment and spending time and money headhunting.
Using a temporary employee can be a great idea if you have a short-term need to fill or do not currently have the resources for a new hire.
A temporary worker can be a good solution, especially for seasonal work or if you need to quickly fill an open position.
If you're interested in keeping a temporary employee with your company, you might want to consider a temp-to-hire placement.