The benefits of growing a temp desk.

If you’re a recruitment agency that focuses entirely on perm, you may have thought about growing a temp / contract desk at various times. It may be that you’ve not placed temps before, or you’re kept busy with permanent placements. Many agencies show interest in hiring a contract consultant, but they are notoriously hard to hire (the old golden handcuffs!). Everyone knows that growing a temp desk is good for the business but why?

Reoccurring revenue

Every hour or day that a temporary candidate works you are generating margin. Depending on your set-up with finance, etc. you should be receiving this profit weekly or monthly. This is a huge benefit for a business to have this consistent revenue coming in and the more temps you place, the more you make. Providing a steady stream of income into your business.

Adaptability

The temporary market is known to be resilient, in times of economic uncertainty when the perm taps have been turned off, temporary worker demand can increase. This can get you through the tough times.

It can also help you ride the wave of economic prosperity, as in times of rapid growth, businesses may prefer flexible staffing options where there are contractors able to start immediately, rather than lengthy notice periods that are common with permanent placements.

Flexibility for clients

Placing temporary workers or contractors provides flexibility for clients who may have short-term projects, seasonal demands, or temporary staff shortages. Being able to offer your clients temporary services as well as permanent provides more value to your client whose staffing needs may vary.

Quick Turnaround

Temporary placements often have a quicker turnaround compared to permanent placements. This allows you to fill urgent staffing requirements promptly, giving your clients a wider range of options and improving their overall satisfaction with the service offered.

Turnover / value in the business

One of the great benefits of placing temporary workers is that the full invoice value goes through your business accounts as turnover. With perm it is just the recruiter fee, with temp it is the full pay rate and margin, the whole shebang! This is great for growing turnover and value in the business, which can help with a range of things, such as ability to work with larger clients, better finance options and potential acquisitions.

Looking to sell?

Further to the above, if you have ever thought about selling your recruitment business at some point, you better grow a contract desk. Perm only businesses can be hard to sell as they don’t have the assets that a contract business has, essentially the debtor book and the reoccurring profit. Temp to Perm Being able to support your clients with temp to perm opportunities reduces the risk to your clients. They can assess the temporary workers’ skills, work ethic, and cultural fit before making long-term commitments. This reduces the risk for clients, as they can evaluate the temporary employee’s performance before deciding on a permanent hire.

Reusable talent pool

Another great thing about placing temporary workers and contractors is that you can place the same great candidates over and over again. Once you know that they are good, the chances are they will be available again in a few months or years (depending on your market). Keep close to the good candidates, know the roles available in your market and it just becomes about putting the right people in the right places.

Not only that, but with remote working and the ability to hire worldwide, you can access more talent by looking overseas too.

QUBA Solutions provide a flexible invoice finance and back-office solution that allows new and established recruitment businesses to grow their own temporary division. If you would like to know more, please contact Peter O’Donnell on 07876 805 128 / peter.odonnell@quba.solutions / www.quba.solutions