Benefits of recruiting temporary staff
posted 16 Nov 22
After navigating many travel restrictions amidst the pandemic, many of us are making up for lost time this summer by booking holidays for some much-needed escapism. A recent study revealed that 21 million brits plan to go on the trip of a lifetime in 2022, after the pandemic put a halt to many of our travel plans (Travel Daily Media).
For travellers, this is a time to be excited for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. For employers, however, this is a time to carefully consider how the rise in staff absences could impact the day to day running of businesses – and what options there are for combatting this.
If you’re considering hiring temporary staff but aren’t sure where to begin, you’ve come to the right place! In this article we delve a little deeper into the top 2022 travel trends and how recruiting summer temps could be invaluable for your organisation over the busy holiday season.
2022 travel trends
There are two main travel trends to be aware of, that have been surfacing this year:
Inspirational trips
Now that restrictions have been lifted, people can’t wait to travel again. Travellers are reportedly spending almost two-fifths more on once-in-a-lifetime holidays (DailyMail). Studies conclude that 70% of brits are eager to explore new corners of the globe, with 39% planning to visit places they’ve never been before (TripAdvisor). Travel trends reveal that there’s been a surge in long-haul bookings this year (The Guardian) – confirming initial predictions for a huge uplift in 2022 travel plans. As long-haul trips are further in distance and more expensive, people go away for longer periods during these trips.
Flex travel
Another popular travel trend for 2022 is ‘flex travel’ (GM), where travellers find the most flexible bookings in order to secure the cheapest deals. As the cost of living rises by a staggering 9% (Office for National Statistics), saving money on holidays has unsurprisingly become a top priority for people this year. As a result, flight searches to ‘Everywhere’ on Skyscanner is currently the most searched ‘destination’ for UK travellers (Today News Post). This tells us that rather focusing on a particular destination or dream holiday, people are willing to compromise on destination in order to bag themselves a cheaper getaway. Alongside this, package holidays are becoming even more popular as they offer holidaymakers the highest level of protection and peace of mind (ABTA).
What impact will this have on your business?
Naturally, the more annual leave that’s booked in the diary the more gaps employers will incur across their business. At peak times, this could leave organisations exposed to risks of targets not being met due to staff shortages.
“Employers need to be cautious when managing staff holidays, as without considering all parties it could affect the morale of staff leading to a lack of productivity within the workplace.” (Well Working Matters)
With this in mind, having a plan of action on how to manage annual leave and ensure sufficient cover across your teams, especially during peak periods, is a must.
How hiring temporary staff can help
There are countless ways that recruiting temp staff can have a positive impact on your organisation. One of the most obvious ways is providing staff cover during the busy holiday period so that projects, commitments and business as usual activity can continue. Figures show that by February this year, a third of brits had already made holiday bookings (Travel Daily Media). With such large uplift in travel plans, hiring temporary staff is vital in ensuring your teams are supported to keep the business running as efficiently as possible.
Aside from simply providing summer cover, temp staff can also support your company by:
Providing new insight on current ways of working -
This could be contributing with fresh perspectives, ideas and suggesting new tools and platforms.
Filling vital skills gaps -
While your existing workers may have strengths in certain areas, temp staff can support with additional skills and experience to encourage innovation and growth, boosting office morale during quieter periods in the office.
Providing a more cost-effective solution to office support (Zen Business) -
To assist you with your temp hiring strategy this summer, we caught up with Denise McGillivray, Business Director at Search. Denise has over eight years experience working in the recruitment sector. Here are Denise’s top tips:
When it comes to interviewing temp staff, it’s a good idea to keep it informal. You can get all the information you need by getting to know the candidate through casual conversation. Formal and lengthy competency based questions can be very off putting and when going into too much detail can sometimes affect the quality of answer and ability to get an accurate picture of a persons’ skillset. Employers can stand out by offering on the job training that can help candidates grow and secure long term opportunities. Having the right support to source top talent for your teams is key. At Search, we have expert consultants specialising in temp recruitment who can help you.
For advice on recruiting temporary skilled professionals speak to one of our dedicated consultants.
