How a Hiring Manager Can Ensure Great Temp Staff

Great temp staff can make a challenge into a success. When skilled people step up to fill temporary openings, your business can continue to fire on all cylinders. A hiring manager may not work with temps day to day, but they can ensure that only the best are brought on board.

Communicate needs with a staffing agency

A staffing agency is the best way to find workers in your area. You don’t have to worry about maintaining your own records or calling around until you find someone who’s free. You can put your staffing emergencies into the hands of dedicated staffers and get great temp staff without the hassle. That’s a win-win.

Have a clear idea of their role

When a hiring manager is interviewing the temps or, for less permanent roles, informing the staffing agency of what they need, a hiring manager must have a clear idea of the role. The job description is helpful, but not entirely accurate. If you have a key accountant recovering from an injury for two weeks, you don’t need a temp who can do absolutely everything that accountant does. You need a temp who can keep your place running, handling the everyday numbers, with the big-picture stuff shifted to someone else or awaiting the visionary’s return. On the other hand, a temporary receptionist should be able to command everything that your typical receptionist can do.

Set a clear expectation for their end of service

One of the troubles that temps run into is not knowing what the end of their time with the company will look like. Hiring managers can make this easier on everyone by being very clear right away. If you’re dealing with a temp to perm situation, detail what success will look like on their end. If they’re not getting the right signals, they can prepare to end employment and don’t suffer a big shock.

A hiring manager has control over the most vital aspect of the workplace: who is brought on board. Even when using a staffing agency to find great temp staff, a hiring manager’s specificity and foresight can make all the difference. Focus on what you really need from the hire, and great staff will appear.