Things to Consider While Hiring Temporary Staff for Your Next Big Event

When your business needs extra help from time to time, do you turn to temporary employees? If you do, you’re not alone.

Overall the number of businesses using temp workers has almost doubled in the past 5 years with millions of people around the world being employed this way. But you may never know – the next time you are considering purchasing event marketing and registration software, can you tell if the representative walking you through the process is a permanent or a temporary employee?

The temporary employment system is working for most businesses regardless of their size. If you are considering hiring additional staff for your next event, here are a few things to think about:

1. Cost
   How much is it going to cost for you to bring in a few temporary employees? Bear in mind that this estimate of cost should include training them, any certifications required to work in the environment they will be stationed in, etc. Know what similar positions are paying in your area (both full time and temp) and price your position accordingly. Some of what you pay will be going to the temp agency the person is working through, so be sure that is reflected in the rate you pay.
2. Convenience
   How convenient is it going to be for your business to hire a temporary worker? Again, most workers of this type will come through a temp agency so there is going to be the cost and hassle of dealing with such a service each time you hire a temp employee. If you really need someone right away, then this arrangement might be beneficial to you as the agency will handle payroll and paperwork and generally deal with all of the finer details.
3. Employees
   How do your regular employees feel about your company’s use of temp workers? Are they spending a lot of their time getting temps situated, started on their new projects, etc? Be careful that you’re not putting too much strain on your permanent employees by using temp workers.
4. Customers
   How are your customers affected? More hands-on or people-focused industries would do well to consider carefully before hiring a temp worker to fill a position where customer interaction is a requirement. A temp who doesn’t know any better can mishandle a single big-time customer or client and cost your business far more than hiring a full-time employee might.
5. Trust
   How much can you trust a temp employee? You’ll need to have a good relationship with the temp agency you work with and know their process of finding and hiring workers. You cannot afford to hire a worker only to have the person never come to work, or come to work inconsistently. When you have deadlines to meet this is not aggravation that you need.

It might sound as though temp employees aren’t worth the hassle, but this is far from the truth. When you’re looking at the increased demands that come from online ticketing and event registration for your next big event temp employees might be the answer that you need at the time. They can be very hard workers and can benefit your business in the long run. Just be sure that you’re ready to deal with any problems that might arise!