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If your business is seasonal in nature or experiencing a large influx of production, the management team will have to decide if having the existing staff work overtime or hiring on temporary help is the way to go.

Both routes have advantages and disadvantages. A company’s decision should be based on its own needs and attributes. Small companies may be overwhelmed and need to bring on extra staff. Or, a small company with an experienced staff may be better off leveraging its collective knowledge and having its grizzled veterans tough out the busy period.

How much can your workers take?

Studies have shown that after putting about 50 hours of work into a week, the typical individual’s productivity falls off dramatically. The question is: Is your staff filled with typical individuals? You should know your staff well enough to determine how well they can handle the volume of business staring your company in the face.

Rather than risk burnout of your permanent staff, you may want to take on temporary workers – who want the hours, work and experience. Temporary workers are also motivated to work hard by the prospect of landing a permanent position once the busy period is over.

Look at the timeline of your busy period and figure out how long you permanent staff can sustain a weekly overtime schedule.

Consider all the costs

The cost of hiring temporary employees is often less than what it might cost to pay a permanent worker’s overtime. In the short term, it’s usually more cost-efficient to employ a temp. With temporary workers, not only is pay usually less, if the employees are part time, benefits may not be a part of the compensation package, which further lowers costs.

In addition to the direct costs, your organization should also consider costs and lost productivity associated with training temporary employees. Small companies may be particularly poor positioned to take on a raft of new, untrained employees.

An infusion of fresh ideas

Temporary employees can do more than just support an organization during busy times; they can also bring fresh perspectives and infuse new ideas.

The typical temporary employee is employed in just about any industry. Temporary employees are also often highly skilled people with an array of educational backgrounds and work experience. These people can undertake essential one-time projects that are restricted in time and scope. Hiring temporary employees permits new minds to help come up with fresh ideas and solutions, so there isn’t a deficit of creativity during peak season.

If a company decides to go with overtime-paid employees, they will be missing out on such creativity and new ideas as their employees will likely adhere to the same work routine they regularly carry out.

If your company is weighing the costs and benefits of a temporary staffing solution, feel free to give Cornerstone a call and we can discuss how a custom talent acquisition solution might work for your organization.


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