Does it make sense to use professional temps, interim, contracts or consultants?

The debate regarding temporary help has been around a long time and will probably continue.  For purposes of this article we are not talking about temporary laborers here but instead we are referring to experienced professionals such as: engineers, managers, quality, materials or supply chain professionals who are brought in for a period of time and then released when the job is completed.

There are many benefits to this approach that many companies have failed to recognize and have failed to take advantage of.  Whether they are called Temporary/Interim/Contractor or Consultant the purpose is the same and the value is very clear.

• 1.     These are temporary workers who have a start date and an end date and no expectation for anything more.  There are no hard feelings if the job is cut short or extended.
• 2.     No fear of making a hiring mistake which can be a real problem when hiring someone full time.  Many times HR or managers are under high pressure to "fill a position".  When rushed, short cuts are taken in reference checks or second interviews which can get someone hired who turns out to less than satisfactory and which makes it very hard to get rid of that person without following normal channels which turns into time and expense.  Using an interim professional takes the pressure off allowing careful screening of candidates.
• 3.     No relocation fees are required which can be thousands of dollars in temporary housing, living expenses and moving expenses for new employees recruited from out of the area.2.     No fear of making a hiring mistake which can be a real problem when hiring someone full time.  Many times HR or managers are under high pressure to "fill a position".  When rushed, short cuts are taken in reference checks or second interviews which can get someone hired who turns out to less than satisfactory and which makes it very hard to get rid of that person without following normal channels which turns into time and expense.  Using an interim professional takes the pressure off allowing careful screening of candidates.
• 4.     There are no employee benefits to pay at all such as:  health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, holiday pay and the like.
• 5.     Temporary professionals are highly skilled with years of experience that requires very little to no time required to "get up to speed".  Most professionals provide immediate value and cost savings impact from their first day on the job.
• 6.     Use them only when needed.  Frequently in business there are positions left vacant requiring an urgent need; there are special projects that someone needs to take on; there are spikes in volume requiring additional planning, floor space or capacity that someone needs to manage and many other day to day scenarios requiring personnel or expertise that current employees do not have the time or expertise to take on.

Temporary / Contract / Consultant

The temp or contract employee is gaining more and more popularity and is probably the one most of us are familiar with.  Most companies use or have used temporary laborers during production spikes or other times of temporary need.  The same theory applies to the PROFESSIONAL TEMP or CONTRACTOR.  These folks are highly trained with years of professional work experience under their belt who make a living being hired out to companies  who have a temporary need for additional skilled and ready to go manpower who can step in at a moment's notice and take on complex assignments, projects or simply needed tasks.  Typical contractors include:

• Industrial Engineers
• Manufacturing Engineers
• Mechanical Engineers
• Quality Engineers
• I.T. or computer experts
• Purchasing, Materials or Supply Chain Managers
• Supervisors, Superintendants
• Plant Managers and higher level executives.

They can also include technical people such as time study technicians, PLC programmers, plant layout designers, office designers and the like.

Most companies these days operate so lean that their employees don't have time to take on any more projects or responsibilities, so it makes sense to go outside and bring in a professional temp to fill in the gap.  When the project is completed the temp goes away.  Reasons to use professional temps include:  voids left by exiting employees, new product launches, plant expansions, production increases/capacity increases, new machinery installations, computer programming or software upgrade programs and a host of similar reasons.  Seems like the perfect solution.

INTERIM

This approach makes a lot of sense to some employers.  This is the situation where a company has a permanent position to fill, (either due to expansions, promotions or separations), but due to the experience level required, the job market or the salary level high or low, it makes it difficult or impossible to quickly fill the position.  For these reasons they are unable to find anyone they feel can do the job within any kind of a reasonable time frame.  Instead of rushing to collect resumes and conduct interviews, it makes more sense many times to simply use an INTERIM PROFESSIONAL.  This interim can even assist in the resume screening and interview process as a part of the job.  Also, the interim professional is in the perfect position to quickly accelerate the indoctrination and start up of the new employee that will be replacing him without any hidden agenda or bad feelings during the transition.  Seems like the perfect solution.