Monitoring and maximizing usage of temporary staff

Citation

Brooks, D. (2012), "Monitoring and maximizing usage of temporary staff", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 11 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2012.37211baa.003

Monitoring and maximizing usage of temporary staff

Article Type: Metrics From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 11, Issue 2

The latest ideas on how to approach measurement and evaluation of HR

David BrooksBromak, UK.

Economic conditions have been tough for a couple of years now – right across the globe – but I think we are seeing the first signs of recovery as businesses are looking to recruit again. These firms need a strategic and structured approach to recruitment and working with recruitment agencies can help to get the best results. Unlike our clients, specialist recruitment agencies like Bromak are always recruiting, always interviewing and always advertising; thus ensuring that we have a steady and consistent flow of qualified and experienced candidates at our disposal. We are also able to tap into a database of candidates that might not be actively looking but might be interested in hearing about outstanding opportunities.

As well as clients beginning to recruit permanent staff again, the use of temporary agency workers is becoming far more common. Many of our clients are looking for a more flexible workforce and want to maintain greater control of their labor costs during periods of uncertainty. The main difficulty that many larger clients have when using multiple agencies across numerous regions is managing and monitoring the use of agencies and maintaining a consistent level of service. This is often due to the fact that many departments, sites or offices might be working with different agencies and paying different rates.

There are things that companies can do to help evaluate and measure how effective and how efficient their use of agencies is and this in turn can assist a client in reducing the number of agencies they are using. I have addressed these below:

1. 1.

   Create a dialogue and hold review meetings with temporary workers. The service they receive from their recruitment consultant, the regularity of the aftercare and the accuracy of their payroll is of paramount importance and is also key to how well temporary workers perform during assignments. The agency will be making a margin for every hour that the worker is on assignment so if the candidate feels like they are not getting support from the agency or are experiencing regular payroll problems then the agency is not doing its job.

2. 2.

   Ask the agency to prepare regular reports on who and where they are supplying. If you have many line managers requesting agency workers on a number of different sites it is imperative that you keep track of what is being supplied and to which locations. Equally important is to ensure that the pay and charge rates are consistent.

3. 3.

   Ensure that there is one person in your business reviewing agency usage regularly. If you are fully aware of who is getting your agency business and where your money is being spent you are more likely to be able to negotiate better rates and agree better terms. In the same way that you do not want equipment out on hire longer than is necessary, you do not want an agency worker on hire for a day longer than required. A single point of contact will enable you to be more in control and ensure that agency workers are not being used when you have permanently employed members of staff that may be under-utilized in the same areas.

4. 4.

   Do regular comparisons on direct employee costs versus agency costs. At present it is cheaper in many cases to employ agency workers than employ permanent staff. Even with the agency margin added on, it can still be cheaper taking into account national insurance, holiday pay, car allowances, mileage, subsistence and expenses, etc. that are associated with permanent staff. Keeping aware of rates and margins and how they compare to permanent salaries/packages will ensure you are not paying more than necessary for someone to do a particular job for you.

5. 5.

   Compare the performance of one agency over another. If you are receiving feedback on temporary workers, you have a single point of contact reviewing rates and usage. This should be the same for agencies – if you are regularly receiving reports on the agencies you use, you will easily be able to review their performance and ensure that you are able to put pressure on any agencies that underperform. This is vital and makes sure you give more of your work to the agencies that are performing and providing the best value for money.

About the author

David Brooks is Managing Director of UK-based built environment recruitment specialist, Bromak. After studying in aeronautical engineering, Brooks went straight into the recruitment sector, starting his career at Hays. With nearly ten years’ construction recruitment experience, he relocated to the North West of England and launched Bromak in 2003. He has developed the company into a £7 million turnover business in 2010/2011 that is set to record its most successful year ever in 2011/2012 of £8.5 million. David Brooks can be contacted at: david.brooks@bromak.com