Career Column: How to Effectively Hire Temporary Employees

Hiring temporary help can often make a lot of business sense for a number of reasons. This can allow a company to evaluate how well a person does on the job before hiring them or fill in for staffing shortages during peak times of the year.

Interviewing Temp Workers

Businesses often interview temporary workers from an agency, and this is a great way to choose workers if a company has a human resources team in place. With this approach, businesses interview candidates from a temp agency and choose the individuals who seem to be the best fit for the organization. This is very helpful in weeding out people who may do great in the interview but turn out to be less than ideal on the job. It also allows companies to be more efficient in the interview process as workers have already been screened by the temp service. This can be a great way to hire temporary workers as it basically allows companies to test people out and release them back to the temp agency without penalty if they are found to be a bad fit.

Employers of Record

An employer of record is a company that acts as a temporary worker's official employer. With this, the agency is responsible for paying the workers and providing benefits while they work for other companies. Businesses pay the employer of record who is ultimately responsible for the temporary workers. This type of situation can be particularly beneficial for smaller companies that do not have a dedicated accounting or payroll department as the penalties for not complying with payroll regulations can be significant. In addition, it is common for companies to incorrectly classify temporary workers as independent contractors, and doing so will mean having to pay for back wages. All of this can be avoided by using an employer of record.

An Ideal Combination

It is often a good idea for companies to keep managers and senior level workers as full time employees and staff other positions with temporary employees. It is important for individuals who hold more senior positions to feel that they have opportunities for growth, and full time employment can help to foster loyalty. At the same time, letting temporary workers know that they will eventually be eligible for full time positions can help a company significantly. This will inspire people to be more productive in order to gain a permanent job, and the company can benefit from the employees' hard work.

Laws and Regulations

Business owners should be aware that the vast majority of labor laws still apply when hiring temporary help. They will need to comply with regulations regarding overtime, minimum wage, discrimination, harassment and workplace safety. Businesses in Ohio will need to pay for Medicare, Social Security and worker's compensation, and companies will need to follow all laws that deal with withholding federal taxes. However, companies that choose to utilize an employer of record will not have to deal with any of the accounting or payroll implications.