Terry Porter, Director of Engineering Division, Rubicon Recruitment Group, answers your questions.

Q: Amazon have just announced that they’ll be taking on about 100,000 extra Temp workers to help with the lead-up to Christmas and you posted recently on LinkedIn that research is showing that UK businesses are about to significantly increase their reliance on a more flexible workforce. Do many UK businesses use Temps?

Yes they do.  About 15 per cent of businesses currently rely on Temps and this is set to almost double, rapidly, to nearer 30 per cent. The UK currently engages more than 1.5 million Temps. At the beginning of this year this represented about 4.5 per cent of the UK’s total workforce but since lockdown eased all the signs are that the overall number of Temps is likely to increase significantly at exactly the same time that unemployment numbers go through the roof.

Q: So why are Temps a good thing for business?

When the economic landscape is uncertain and/or weak, as it is now and is likely to be for some time, businesses like the flexibility that having a proportion of their workforce made up of Temp workers offers. Letting full time employees go from a business is never easy but with Temps it’s expected. Temps can fit in, often at very short notice and for short periods of time. There are often “quiet periods” when full time employees are just less effective – with a more flexible workforce the cost of having a proportion of a business’ workforce unproductive disappears.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list – additional advantages include:

• Trialling someone in a role is a great predictor for how they would perform/fit in.
• There’s more “red tape” involved with a permanent hire.
• Temps are a great way to get new blood into an organisation.
• Workload fluctuations can be eased for existing staff.
• New skill sets/experience can be trialled.….

More and more businesses are waking up to the numerous benefits to having Temps integrated into their workforces.

Q: So how does a good business ensure that the Temps being sent to them are suitable, honest, capable etc?

Use a reputable agency that is a member of the REC, that has been around, locally, for a long time, has a good reputation, has experienced and qualified recruiters and that works with similar businesses to your own within the geographical area you’re in. Don’t let me turn this Q&A into a “sales pitch” for Rubicon but as we only work with good people and with good employers – I’m bound to recommend engaging us!  Also, we currently have a 4.9* rating from nearly 1,000 reviews and there aren’t many businesses in the country that can match that sort of 3^rd party referral rating!

• Rubicon continue to support a wide range of businesses with their immediate recruitment needs as well as providing permanent staff, Contractors and Temps to a wide range of business in and around Dorset and Hampshire. If you need help, as an employer, a Temp worker, a Contractor and/or as a potential applicant for a permanent job, then please get in touch by calling 01202 680311 or emailing [email protected]