If you’ve ever leaned on temporary hires and achieved the results you wanted, you know that when it’s done right, it can save you both time and money.

Temporary workers can infuse your company with much-needed stability, if only for a short period of time. And temporary workers can bring new skills and fresh ideas to the table fostering efficiency, improving operations, and even boosting employee engagement.

On the other hand, when temporary staffing is done incorrectly, it can introduce under-qualified or otherwise incompatible people to your team. This puts you at risk of alienating your full-time staff and making your business challenges worse by spending money and not getting the return you need.  

Put plainly, how you approach temporary staffing can mean the difference between success and failure.  

Many companies like yours make common mistakes when looking for on-demand workers in the skilled trades.  

Ready to learn these lessons the easy way? Then read on to get the whole truth from the experts at Action Group Staffing.  

The Foundation of Effective Temporary Staffing

Your business’s dynamics fluctuate with the economy, seasons, and shifts in consumer demand for your products or services. 

Temporary staff plays a pivotal role in maintaining project continuity and adaptability, regardless of the market fluctuations. This approach not only ensures better equilibrium, but also leads to a more comfortable, consistent, and predictable workload and environment, benefiting both temporary and full-time employees. By learning from any missteps along the way—and then incorporating insights—you can develop a more robust, proactive, and sustainable workforce planning strategy. 

The Top 6 Mistakes Companies Make When Seeking Temporary Workers

Mistake #1: Not Starting With a Clear and Detailed Job Description

Temporary or not, a detailed job description can be the difference between contracting with qualified people who know how to get the job done right or paying a premium for under-qualified talent and subpar results. So, start strong and stay strong by clearly articulating exactly what’s needed for success in each role.  

In addition, vague job descriptions can deter qualified candidates from applying for your role. Just like you, they’re seeking the right fit, which comes first from understanding what the job entails. Unclear or subpar job descriptions are a red flag indicating disorganization and a lack of quality on your end—which will make top talent move on to the next opportunity without giving yours another thought.  

A concise but detailed and complete job description sets clear expectations for your staffing partner or temporary hire and serves as a needed reference to ensure they fulfill their role. Ambiguity, frustration, and decreased productivity result from an unclear job description. So, remember: Crafting a high-quality job description helps you gain clarity on your ideal candidate(s), and attract them with your job posting. This gives them a peek at the quality of the experience they can look forward to if they’re selected to work with your company.  

Mistake #2: Rushing the Recruitment Process

Faster isn’t always better when it comes to recruitment. It doesn’t take a master craftsperson to know that a bad hire can cost your company time and money. But in the trades, incompetence or poor judgment can lead to serious safety issues for everyone.  

Recruitment is a process for many good reasons:  

• It gives you a prompt to update the scope of role, redefine its requirements as needed, and write that killer job description we discussed above.  
• It gives you (and/or your staffing partner) time to review applications, vet, shortlist, and select the right candidate.  
• It gives your candidate(s) multiple opportunities to do their own “vetting” and ensure the opportunity is a good fit for them, too.  
• It works best when facilitated by a robust applicant tracking system (ATS) that helps you build and learn about your talent community, and screen qualifications accurately—all while ensuring alignment with company goals, retaining high performers, and boosting your team’s morale.  

It should be noted that proper vetting is key—even when the role is temporary. Vetting candidates simply means you thoroughly screen and validate the candidate’s background before you proceed. Don’t skip this critical step and regret it later like so many who’ve gone (and learned) before you.  

Mistake #3: Underestimating the Skills Assessment

As mentioned, when it comes to recruiting, shortcuts generally do not pay off.

Hiring the wrong person due to shortcuts can increase turnover, fuel frustration, and cause burnout among other employees—and all of that translates to significant financial losses for your company.  

Skill mismatches also limit career progression, increase stress levels, and reduce training opportunities. By employing a robust assessment strategy, organizations can make well-informed hiring decisions that align with their goals and values. 

Mistake #4: Being Lax About Temp Worker Safety and Training 

And speaking of training, safety training is not only a best practice when it comes to skilled trades temporary staffing—it’s the law.  

Employers must treat temporary workers like any other in terms of training and safety.

In addition, accidents cost you time and money, as they can lead to significant time off and loss in productivity, as well as your reputation.  

But what does this all have to do with hiring temporary skilled trades people? Attracting the right candidates likely includes having a formal safety and training process in place. Show that you care about them, and they’ll be more interested in you, your role, and your company.   

Mistake #5: Overlooking Communication

Clear communication between temporary staff and project managers makes good sense.   

Not spelling out your expectations or sharing information like process updates can mean the job is done incorrectly and needs to be redone, which means the outcome is delayed, which means—you guessed it: loss of time and money.  

Plus, disregarding communication means you’re not building trust or rapport, which is a huge miss on your part. You’re hosting these talented humans for just a short time in many cases, so it’s best for you, your reputation. and your employer brand to help them feel welcomed, valued, and supported by belong by including them in communication.  

Perhaps most importantly, communication can help your temporary staff avoid injuries and illnesses. Safety is enhanced if you clearly and articulately spell out safety protocols.  

Whether you communicate in person, via text, email, or other channels, talking to your temporary staff shows that you respect and appreciate them, and that you view them as valued partners in success rather than just interim workers.  

When you invest this care and effort, the care is often returned, and the outcome is always better.  

Mistake #6: Neglecting to Ensure Compatibility With Your Company Culture

The right skills are number one, but what if they don’t come with the right fit for your corporate culture? Don’t forget (even in temporary staffing) to gain and understanding of how the candidate’s personality and work style (conflict resolution, for instance) will resonate with your company vibe. Someone whose skills and personality are well matched means they’ll be happier and more productive as a result.  

Hiring for a cultural fit also minimizes recruiting and onboarding costs. When you hire someone who doesn’t fit in well with your company, they won’t succeed—even if they have all hard skills in the world. They’ll struggle to connect with coworkers to build trusted relationships.

Bottom line: Let the recruitment process validate not just the skills you need, but also reveal the work style and personality traits that will mesh well with the collective.  

Build Your Skilled Trades Temporary Staff with Action Group Staffing

Are you ready to ramp up hiring (or fill a spot or two) for a short amount of time? Then you’re ready for the expertise of Action Group Staffing.

We can help you avoid the all-too-common mistakes companies make of taking the recruitment and vetting of temporary skilled trades staff on yourself. Why rush and shortcut the process when you can let us handle it all?

Remember: Doing it right is ultimately more efficient than cutting corners and having to go back to the drawing board.

Let Action Group Staffing support your operation with top talent. We can be your competitive edge in delivering quality and value to your market, building your reputation, streamlining your processes, and deploying the next-level temporary people power you need to win.  

At Action Group, we’re about finding the right people for your needs, at the right time, so that you can enjoy the benefits of hand-selected temporary talent who confidently join your ranks and crush your goals.   

Trust the experts—contact us today for temporary workforce solutions tailored to your specific needs and goals.