3:43pm Wednesday 17th December 2008
BUSINESSES are being urged not to panic about the combined effects of slowing economic growth, inflationary forces and the global banking crisis, but there is no denying it – there are some tough months ahead.
Select Appointments, a Sunday Times Top 100 company and a national recruitment organisation, advocates that businesses adopt a policy of strategic temporary usage to safeguard the employment of a core permanent staff.
The UK, unlike several other EU countries, has long benefited from a skilled temporary labour pool that employers have been able to call upon to supplement their permanent workforce as and when required.
The use of temporaries enables an organisation to respond much more quickly to market conditions and to enjoy a higher degree of financial control over its personnel purse strings.
Figures show that unemployment has hit an 11-year high with 1.82 million people out of work and Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, warns unemployment could peak at around 2.8 million in 2010.
The upside to businesses of this gloomy picture is a greater availability of skilled staff with a breadth of experience, many of whom may consider temporary work or long-term contracts.
Companies can benefit from this talent pool in several ways. One of the most obvious is to hire temporary assistance to cover what could be potentially short-term business needs, taking a breath so to speak, before deciding whether to hire a permanent member of staff.
Productivity levels are maintained, orders met and staff morale kept intact through the avoidance of staff cuts.
Tracy Welch, manager of Select Appointments, says: “We are seeing candidates register with a wide range of skills and business acumen that can really add value in a temporary or contract capacity.
“They can come into their own for special projects where their outsider’s perception can sometimes help organisations find alternative solutions to business issues.
“We want to work with local organisations to help them find the most cost effective and appropriate staffing solutions for these testing times.”
Temporary staff provide employers with the flexibility to meet peaks in demand without incurring the statutory requirements of employment regulations and hidden costs incurred when engaging staff directly.
For more information, contact Select Appointments in Basingstoke at 75 Church Street, call 01256 334575 or visit www.select.co.uk
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