Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Temporary, Temp to hire, or Direct Hire: What's the difference?

When you need to fill a position at your company, you must decide whether you want to hire a permanent employee directly or if you want to use temporary staffing. Making a choice between these options depends specifically on your business’s needs. J & J Staffing is experienced with providing employees for temporary positions, temp to hire positions, and direct hire positions. In this post, we review the differences between these types of employees and when bringing each type to your company is appropriate.

Temporary employees: When you have short-term or fluctuating needs

A temporary employee is defined by the Department of Labor as an employee whose appointment lasts only about a year or less. Hiring a temporary employee gets you the help your business needs quickly without the cost and effort of hiring staff and adding them to your payroll. Temporary employees can work onsite and under your supervision, but they officially remain employees of the staffing agency. That means there are a lot of costs you don’t have to deal with—no hiring cost, no firing cost, no unemployment cost, no workers’ compensation cost, and no benefits cost.

A temporary employee may be brought on for any amount of time. J & J Staffing’s temporary employees are available for assignments as short as one day or as long as they are needed. Using a temporary is a good idea when you have a short-term need to fill or are not ready to spend the resources on a new hire. If you’re interested in keeping a temporary employee with your company if they do work out, you might want to consider a temp to hire.

Temp to hire: When you plan to hire permanently but need a trial period

Sometimes, you do need to hire someone permanently, but you’re hesitant because a potential employee might look good on paper or perform well in an interview, but it’s hard to tell if they are a fit for your company until they start working. In this situation, you might want to look into bringing on a temp to hire. This is the halfway option between a temporary position and a direct hire.

Using temp to hire allows you to ensure that your next hire is a perfect fit before you bring them onboard. As with an ordinary temporary, the candidate you select stays on the payroll of the temporary staffing agency while working for you. At the end of their temporary appointment, they can become a permanent member of your staff. If during their appointment, you find that the candidate is not working out, the temporary staffing agency can find you someone else who will meet your needs.

Direct hire: When you’re ready to fill a permanent position

A direct hire is an employee who is brought on as staff of your company and is not paid by a temporary staffing agency. This is the best option if you have a long-term need to fill and plan on keeping a new staff member permanently. A direct hire is also the best option when you are filling a highly skilled, top performer position. Most top performers are continually employed. They move from one position to the next. Rarely will a candidate leave a permanent position for a temporary or temp to hire position. A direct hire position can attract the top talent in your area.

However, it is not necessary to do all the work of hiring even if you’re looking for permanent staff rather than temporary staff. With the help of an agency, finding a direct hire can be just as simple and cost-effective as hiring a temporary. Staffing agencies like J & J Staffing recruit, test, screen, and then present only the most qualified candidates for your consideration.

The staffing agency can follow the hiring process for your company every step of the way, including the offer and acceptance process. At the end of the process, a good staffing agency will follow up with both you and your employee to make sure everything is going well.

Still not sure whether you need a temporary, temp to hire, or direct hire? Consult with your J & J representative to decide the best solution to meet your next staffing challenge.