Should You Hire Your Temp Employees?

Have you found a temporary employee who is too good to let go?

The flexibility and comparatively lower cost of hiring temporary workers can be a real boon to small businesses. But what happens if hiring temps brings you a worker who is a great fit for your team and excellent at their job?

According to the American Staffing Association, up to 70% of temporary jobs become permanent, so should you turn that temp into a long term employee?

Before making that all-important decision, read on for the pros and cons of hiring your temp workers.

An Employee Who Already Knows the Job

One of the most stressful and time consuming parts of hiring a new employee is surely training them.

A temp who has been with your company for a while will already have some training, along with plenty of time to learn on the job.

You may need to do some top up training, but for the most part your temp knows the role and is good at it - or you wouldn't be considering hiring them permanently.

You Already Know Your Employee

It's easy to envision how a temp will fit into your company permanently:

You've worked with them, and seen first-hand how they fit into your business. Your other staff will already be familiar with them, you know their strengths and weaknesses, and you won't have the worries about potential personality clashes that you might have with a new hire.

Equal Benefits and Increased Moral

It can be easy for temp workers to feel undervalued, seeing permanent staff members get better pay and benefits for performing a similar role.

Taking your temp on permanently can boost their moral and increase productivity by offering better benefits and the chance to be an equal team member.

 It's clear that if a temp employee is right; taking them on permanently has compelling advantages. However, there are some cons too, which you'll need to be aware of.

Changing Role Can Be Hard On the Whole Team

The familiarity of a temp can be a real advantage, but it can cause some difficulties too.

Your existing staff might have trouble adjusting to treating the temp as a permanent team member, and may even resent their change in circumstances.

Your temp will certainly go through an adjustment period from being a contract worker to being more involved with the company - and the politics.

Financial Costs of Permanent Hires

You will need to weigh the costs of making the transition carefully.

There's no doubt that making your temp permanent will cost you in terms of the benefit package, and possibly increased wages. If you found them through an employment agency, the chances are you will owe that agency a fee.

For the right person, the costs can be worth it - but consider them carefully before deciding.

Last in, Last out Syndrome

Joining your company as a temp may leave your employee feeling that they found the job accidentally rather than going through the full recruitment process.

This can lead to a level of mild insecurity and a concern that as they started as a temp, they will be the first to go if trouble looms. This can have a knock-on effect on motivation and security in their role.

The decision to make a temporary worker permanent is a big one, and there are no easy answers.

Your eventual decision will depend largely on the personality and work ethic of your temp, their fitness for the role, and how well they fit into your existing team.

Your best bet is to weigh the pros and cons carefully and decide if, in the end, they have the potential to be a stellar employee who is worth the effort.