“What’s been the backbone of social stability has changed as the number of part-time and temporary workers goes up.” – Jiro Yamaguchi
The rise in the demand for temporary workers is an established trend that will continue in the long run. It had been on a steady ascent since late December 2018 but the sudden furloughs and lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak have led to the sudden jump in the need for the temp workers. When it comes to temporary staff recruitment, we are witnessing more organisations turn to casual staffing in an effort to handle their rising layoffs and cost cuttings for the business to work with the sudden economic fall due to the pandemic.
The central idea of temporary agency employment is to provide increased flexibility to the user firm that is ―leasing the worker. By falling back on temps, firms are able to adapt the size of their workforce to fluctuations in product demand. The superiority of temporary help employment derives from the agencies’ role as matching intermediaries, improving matching quality and enabling quick personnel adjustments.
This trend of hiring temp workers has brought some changes for firms in the United Kingdom in terms of their business models and structure, thanks to cultural transformations, digital advancement and period of layoffs and furloughs due to drastic decrease in the global economy. The cultural shift amongst employees of rejecting the traditional 9 to 5 working day, especially during this lockdown and work from home phase, opting for a job that offers them freedom, flexibility and that accommodating their work-life balance and some normalcy while still having a job, presents a lucrative opportunity for employers to propel cost-savings, enhance their market adaptability and keep their business afloat.
By tapping into these desperate calls of employment for staff and by hiring them on a temporary basis, people still manage to continue earning their livelihood during this period of uncertainty and also enjoy the career flexibility from job-hopping. Organisations can decrease their costs and adapt more easily to the fast-changing and highly competitive market like experiencing a sudden peak in business, such as the health care sector, taking on temporary workers, for the time being, is the extra support that can help get through this pandemic.
In addition to the obvious benefit of the quick acquisition of personnel and therefore spending less time on the hiring procedure, hiring temps can undoubtedly bring some fresh perspectives to the company, i.e. by offering new ideas to tired-out projects and helping with carrying out specific tasks within budget. Moreover, firms who hire temporary staff can reduce their overhead costs at the same time allowing an opportunity for fresh workers new to the field, to take their first step towards a bright future.
The most severe falls in demand for staff were seen for permanent and temporary workers in the private sector due to the sudden hit taken by the economy as a result of the COVD-19 pandemic. The public sector also saw record declines in vacancies for both permanent and short-term staff. Substantial falls in demand for permanent workers were seen across all monitored job categories except for nursing, medical or health care in recent times. Other than that, the nine sectors posting descent, all saw record rates of decline, led by Hotels and Catering, tourism, hospitality and the aviation sector.
Whether the recruitment of staff is driven by seasonal demand, employee absence, a skills gap or any other reason, the common solution nowadays is to find talent who can dive immediately into the work with little or no training required. After all, a temporary ‘working arrangement’ is always better than a pragmatic ‘no solution’.
We know that this pandemic cannot be controlled until there is a vaccine or a drug to finally fight it off. As the research shows the strong probability that we will have to live with this, we are here for you. ABL sees such value in temporary workers and has seen a recent increase in demand for temps that we have a dedicated team who specialise in temp work placements.
Please feel free to contact us at info@ablrecruitment.com.
ABL Recruitment team
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