What Is A Temp Agency?

Often times businesses require employees only for a short duration either to handle their current project or seasonal workload or to just cover a busy phase. However, they are well aware that these extra sets of hands will only be required for a specific duration. Hiring permanent workers for such positions is not ideal since it increases the expenditure of the company. 

On the other hand, employees are looking for short-term opportunities for reasons like upskilling themselves, attaining experience, getting exposure of a different kind, working part-time while in college, building their resume to gain leverage for permanent positions in the future, etc. 

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In both cases, the business as well as the employee, have no means to reach out to each other simply because both are unaware of their mutual requirements. That’s where a temp agency steps in.

What is a temp agency? 

A temp agency, also known as a temporary agency or temp staffing agency, provides employees to the business for their short-term goals through temporary or contract employment. 

A temp staffing agency thus works as a bridge between businesses and candidates and charges the businesses for fulfilling their temporary talent requirements relieving the business from the hassle of hiring and firing employees. Temp agencies have a wide pool of candidates especially interested in working temporarily or on contract. These candidates are employed by the temp staffing agency on your behalf and they fulfill the role of the HR department outside the company.

When should you opt for a temp agency? 

Frequent Short-term Hiring: 

Many businesses see an increased need for employees during a particular period. For example, the retail and food industry requires extra manpower during the festive seasons, or an IT company may need an extra set of IT professionals for a particular project. If your business needs employees for short-term positions frequently then a temp agency is the way to simplify the talent fulfillment process.

Unburden the in-house HR team: 

Let’s get this straight: hiring a temporary workforce is a lot of effort. Drawing up job responsibilities, posting on job boards, scrutinizing responses, scheduling interviews, making offers, and handling exit procedures, are all of these for someone who is only going to work for your business for the short term. That’s a lot for an in-house HR team to handle, especially if it is on a frequent basis. If you don’t want to overburden your HR team with the constant hiring and firing of temporary staffing, then it’s time to take the temp agency route. 

Test-run a candidate:

Some positions are extremely technical and job-specific. Finding the talent that matches your requirement for such positions is a task in itself. And even if you do, you are not sure they will justify the role they have been given. For all such positions, businesses nowadays are opting to test-run a candidate before they hire them permanently.

How does the temp agency function? What are the responsibilities of a temp staffing agency? 

1: Businesses hire temp agencies:

A temp agency is your partner in finding, recruiting, and managing a candidate that works for your business. The temp agency handles the entire process for you so that you do not have to handle the hassle of temporary engagement. Once you have identified the roles, responsibilities, and basic requirements of the candidate you want to hire, you get in touch with a temp agency like buzzworks and signup with them.

2: Temp agency finds the correct match for your requirement:

After understanding your need, the agency then gets down to finding the right match for your requirement. The agency handles the entire process of advertising on various mediums, posting on job boards, inviting resumes, scrutinizing the resumes, screening candidates, arranging interviews, etc.

3: Businesses get to choose the candidates:

Once a bunch of candidates has been shortlisted by the temp agency, you can pick the ones that best suit your job profile and work culture. You get to interview these candidates for determining whom to hire or you can ask the temp agency to conduct the interviews for you. This saves a lot of your time since the entire process is handled by the temp agency. The best part is that you, as the employer, have the final decision-making power. 

4: Temp Agency handles all the documentation: 

The zeroed-down candidates are then offered contracts to sign. The temp agency handles the documentation process of giving out offer letters, drawing-up contracts, taxes and other payroll-related paperwork. After the completion of the employment duration, the temp agency handles the exit process as well. 

5: Candidates start working for you:

The selected candidates now start working on their new roles. These candidates are on the payrolls of the temp agency you hired and therefore you are free from the hassles of PF, ESIC, etc. The temp agency charges you their wages plus an additional fee to cover the services provided to you. 

What kind of roles do temp agencies offer?

A few decades ago, temp jobs predominantly focused on seasonal requirements like accountants, front desk managers, data entry executives, retail sales officers, etc. 

Now, they are prevalent in almost all industries. From web developers to data entry operators, from teachers to warehouse managers, from production engineers to administrative jobs, temp jobs are preferred by businesses and candidates alike.

What are the benefits of temporary staffing agencies?

Apart from access to temporary candidates, temporary staffing agencies offer a multitude of other benefits like: 

1: Faster Hiring: Temp agencies have a practiced hand and a large pool of candidates. They are responsible for handling such requirements daily. As such they have ready access to those candidates that match your requirements. This makes the search faster and more efficient than your internal HR Team. 

2: Wider Database: Over the years, temp agencies have gathered and maintained a pool of new and specialized candidates that are specifically looking for temp jobs. While your in-house HR team may have access to a select few, temp agencies can provide access to a larger database giving you more options to choose from without compromising on the required skills and talent. 

3: Customized Solutions: With so many models of hiring, it has become a complex affair. Temp agencies offer you bespoke solutions that suit your requirement, simplifying the hiring process per your convenience. 

4: Staffing Specialists: Since the temp agencies are into the business of hiring manpower for their clients, they have specialists in place that have years of experience and are technology-backed with enhanced hiring methodology with proven metrics. Hiring temp agencies gives you access to such expertise which otherwise may not be available to you.

5: Growth: With the wide spectrum of services provided by the temp agencies, from hiring to firing, you get the time and space to focus on your core business. You can focus on your growth instead of diverting yourself to other functions that can easily be handled by experts like temp agencies.

How to find the right staffing partner?

A staffing partner, in this case – a Temp Agency, will work as an extended arm of your business. Therefore, it is imperative to check whether the temp agency is a good fit for you. Asking yourself the following question will lead you to your ideal staffing partner:

• What is their recruitment process?

• Do they specialize in the kind of services and talent you need?

• What is their time frame for closing a requirement?

• What is their reputation in the market?

• If their service fees fall into your budget?

• What are their USPS?

Bottom Line: 

To propel your business to greater heights and meet your goals, you need to have access to the right talent. And to gain access to the right talent you need to partner with an efficient and expert staffing partner and a temp agency. So before zeroing in on a temporary staffing agency research the market and analyze which temp agency is fit to be your partner.