Press Release
Variety and Flexibility - The Key Benefits of Temporary & Contracting Work
Wednesday December 19, 2007
People take up temporary and contracting work due to its variety and flexibility, according to a poll by listed recruitment company, Hamilton James & Bruce (HJB).
In the recent poll, 37% of respondents said that variety and flexibility was the main benefit of temporary and contracting work. This was followed by higher pay at 29% and the opportunity to build skill levels at 22%. Avoiding office politics was seen as the least important benefit at 12%.
As the nature of work changes and businesses require highly skilled and flexible resources, many companies are increasingly interested in taking on temporary and contracting employees. If your company is one of these and you are trying to attract temporary and contracting staff to join your organisation, what do you focus on?
According to Dean Unkles, General Manager of Hamilton James & Bruce’s Melbourne office, the solution is simple. “Focus on what’s important to the candidate. Our survey told us that variety and flexibility is seen as the main benefit of temporary and contracting work. When you advertise the position, highlight the breadth of opportunities that the project or role will bring, as well as the future roles that may be open to them.
“If the position will also allow the employee to work on a number of assignments or easily move within your organisation to work on other projects, be sure to mention this too,” he added.
Unkles was also surprised that 22% of respondents chose building skill levels as the most important benefit.
“Temporary and contracting employees tend to look at your project or role as a way to accumulate more varied skills. You, on the other hand, want them for their current skills and experience so they can hit the ground running and transfer their knowledge to your workplace.
“You need to balance these competing needs when trying to attract the right temporary and contracting candidates. While you can’t be responsible for their career development, you can point out the ways in which your project or role will enhance their current skill set and how the experience will be seen as valuable to future employers,” he said.
As the market changes and the available population for work diminishes, temporary and contracting staff will become an important way to stabilise or fluctuate workforces. Building good attraction strategies that focus on what motivates them and the benefits of temporary or contracting work within your organisation will help to ensure that you get the pick of the crop.
Established in 1979, Hamilton James & Bruce is an acknowledged leader in the Australian recruitment industry and has a proven track record in finding the right people for permanent, temporary and contracting roles. Hamilton James & Bruce has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Parramatta, Chatswood and the Gold Coast, and can build a national or local solution to meet any recruitment need.