Employers in the United States plan to hire more temporary workers in 2014 than they did in 2013, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. If you haven’t already taken time to plan for 2014 staffing needs, it’s not too late.
In the planning process, consider factors like:
Seasonal Demands
For tax preparers, business picks up significantly from January to April. Spring is when the action happens for food processors. And for retailers, the holiday season is likely the busiest time of year. Anticipating your need for seasonal workers will help to avoid crunch-time requests so that your focus can remain on operational issues. Utilizing temporary workers will also increase efficiency by ensuring that you’re not overstaffed during slower periods.
Employee Vacations/Leaves of Absence
Perhaps you have an employee who will has already scheduled time off for a lengthy vacation, or will be taking leave. Planning for these employee absences in advance can assure that the right temporary candidate is found. And your other employees won’t need to work excess overtime to provide coverage.
The Affordable Care Act (aka the ACA or Obamacare)
While the employer insurance mandate doesn’t take effect until 2015, employers are planning and preparing for its impact now. Your HR department is likely busy learning the ins and outs of this significant piece of legislation. Using a staffing agency will give your HR department a break from recruiting and hiring temporary employees. Plus, the staffing company is responsible for health insurance and other benefits for its associates. We’ll provide more information on preparing for the ACA’s employer insurance mandate in a future blog post.
Now is the perfect time to engage or reengage with a staffing agency to review your staffing needs. Staffing agency representatives are experts in the employment market, and have vast knowledge in areas like standard pay ranges, recruiting, workplace safety and much more. These reps serve as advisers to your organization. Enlisting their help before you have pressing needs allows them to get to know your business and help you develop a staffing plan for the year.
