The Power of Temporary Labour Services

Global organizations are adapting to changing employment trends, increasingly relying on temporary labour services. These services provide short-term or casual employment opportunities in the general labour market. The growing demand for flexible workforce solutions arises from both employers' needs to be cost-efficient and employees seeking non-traditional schedules. This blog explores various temporary labour services, highlighting benefits and best practices for businesses.

 

 

Understanding your specific temporary labour needs is crucial before selecting a provider. Start with a workforce analysis to identify your labour gaps, and then begin exploring the labour solutions available to you.

 

Here is a short overview of some different types of temporary labour services:

• Traditional temporary labour

  In traditional temp labour, there is typically a physical office where hopeful labourers arrive early in the morning to wait. Employers contact the labour director during office hours and let them know where, when, and how many workers they need. The director then dispatches them, occasionally providing transportation to the job site. Because they're limited by whoever shows up in the morning, traditional providers often cannot fulfil large job requests. 

• Digital or on-demand temporary labour

  Tech-based temporary labour providers, like Grizzly Force, are relative newcomers to the labour market. Using a digital approach, employers can post jobs on the app at any time, which instantly notifies labourers. This digital solution offers ultimate scalability, functioning seamlessly whether you need one labourer or a hundred. Such an arrangement is ideal for businesses requiring occasional or last-minute labour, or a sudden surge in workforce needs throughout the year.

• Specialized temporary labour services

  Organizations occasionally seek temporary labourers with specific skills, experience, or specialized certificates/licenses, such as forklift operators. To fill such positions, employers can opt for a traditional temp agency or a digital temp agency with a broader reach. Alternatively, they can choose a full-blown recruiter, which requires a longer window for fulfilment (and usually incurs higher costs).

• Short-term or multi-day temporary contracts

  Employers often require temporary labour for a few weeks or months, desiring consistent workers to minimize training. In this regard, traditional agencies often face challenges as they’re limited to daily walk-ins. Digital providers like Grizzly Force excel by prioritizing workers who have already been trained on the job site and have a proven track record of excellence.

• Temp-to-perm labour 

  Hiring for full-time or part-time roles can be stressful. There is often a lot of uncertainty about the candidates’ fit and performance. Temp-to-perm contracts address this by live-trialling candidates on the job. Initially employed by the agency, candidates’ contracts can be easily renewed or they can be directly hired by the employer after the contract ends (often after 3 months).

 

 

Benefits for Employers 

Temporary labour services offer a range of benefits for employers. The major advantage is flexibility. Employers bring in extra labour as needed, paying only for required hours. This flexibility is beneficial for managing anticipated and unforeseen orders or production demands without the usual lead time for new hires. In most cases, the labour provider acts as the employer of record, handling paperwork, payroll, insurance, and more. This dramatically reduces (if not eliminates) HR’s involvement and lowers the overhead costs significantly. 

 

Benefits for Workers

On the flip side, labourers get to choose their schedule and work around other jobs, family commitments, school, and more. Workers are also able to gain a wide range of job experiences and often learn new skills at different locations. This makes the workers much more employable – especially if they’re new to Canada. Finally, temporary work also brings constant opportunities for permanent full-time or part-time employment with different employers. 

 

 

Temporary Labour Services Best Practices

When hiring temporary labour and collaborating with service providers, it's essential to consider a couple of key strategies. Following these strategies will ensure that you are maximizing your labour budget and keeping unnecessary headaches to a minimum.

 

Clearly outline your needs

Understanding your labour needs is crucial for confident partner selection. Conducting a workforce analysis establishes expectations internally by aiding with buy-in from stakeholders, as well as with service providers. The analysis boosts cost efficiency, identifying crucial times for additional labour and exploring the cost of not hiring during those periods. If you have questions, we recommend scheduling a call our expert team to guide you through the workforce analysis process.

 

Think of your labour agency as a partner 

A good partnership requires listening on both sides of the conversation. To make the most out of your partnerships, we highly recommend leaning on the expertise of your labour partners. Ask about their approach to resolving quality or fulfilment issues, inquire about their discipline policy, and establish communication protocols with their support team. Discuss posting jobs and be receptive to their suggestions for success with your temporary labour. Both you and your labour partner are experts in your respective fields, providing a valuable opportunity to learn from each other.

 

Take advantage of time-saving tech

Opting for a digital labour partner, such as Grizzly Force, allows you to maximize the benefits of our technology. One of the biggest advantages is the ability to post jobs from anywhere, anytime. Post jobs on holidays or at 2am and still fill positions without depending on your account manager's office hours. This is especially helpful in the case of machine breakdowns or sudden last-minute illnesses. Our all-in-one solution reduces paperwork and allows precise control over who views your job postings and when.

 

Don’t limit yourself to only one labour provider or HR solution 

The one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work anywhere, let alone in labour solutions. We encourage all our partners to have at least two providers, each excelling in different areas. For instance, an agency that excels at sourcing a Director of Operations may not be great at quickly securing 50 general labourers. Having a go-to provider is great, but having a backup, like a digital provider, is essential for weekend coverage or handling large jobs. Although many agencies, including Grizzly Force, can fill a variety of roles and contract lengths, every team is specialized. Engage with all your potential options to understand their strengths so you can make informed decisions when specific needs arise.

 

 

 

Takeaway

Embrace cost-effective employment practices, including the concept of temporary labour, as it remains crucial and continues to grow in importance globally. Remember that staying competitive requires adapting to the evolving landscape of work. Various temporary labour arrangements exist, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses – maximize benefits by conducting a workforce analysis and employing key best practices when choosing and communicating with your temporary labour service provider(s).

 

As always, if you have any questions or would like to chat with our team about your unique labour challenges, please book a call with us!