Understanding Temp Terms: Contract, Temporary, and Temp to Hire

Hiring new employees can feel like a whirlwind of considerations. Whoever you hire will impact your business, and the terms you hire them on, matter. If the terms temporary, temp to hire and contract, leave you a little unsure, read on!

Luckily, trusted temp agencies readily provide a host of hiring services and information! Even so, you should understand the terms they offer to help hire your temporary employees on.

How Do Temp Agencies Work?

Staffing agencies help employers quickly hire pre-screened, qualified people to fill their openings and they help job seeker quickly fill the positions that best fit their profile.

The temp agency benefits the employer by serving as the middleman for payroll as well. This means that you simply pay the agency at a small markup and they take care of the employment taxes.

This means that you do not need to offer benefits or worry about unemployment claims! Read through the legal resources for more information on this aspect and other important staffing laws.

Breaking everything down to make sure you get exactly what you want is their ultimate goal, so they ask important questions and offer you a variety of hiring options. Let's look at 3 three hiring options that can easily confuse an employer new to this service.

What Is a Temporary position?

If you run a business that sees seasonal peaks, like a department store or construction company, hiring temporary talent may work for you. Hiring a temp offers flexibility for you to use them when you need them, within a certain time frame.

For instance, If you manage a department store and bring on a temporary employee for a one year period, both parties understand that you will call when something comes up. You will use them much more at Christmas time than you will in October.

Many college students and retirees work as temps because of the flexible nature, and sometimes, especially with the college students, you may want to consider hiring them for the long term, like when they finish school and can offer more hours. In this case, consider temp to hire.

What Is Temp to Hire?

Temp to hire jobs allow you to essentially interview the employee for the entire temporary term. You can consider the following:

• Are they available every time you call them in?
• Do they always work hard?
• Do they have the potential to help grow your business?

At the completion of the temporary terms, you can take all of this into consideration and either welcome them to the team or offer them suggestions for impressing future employers.

What Is a Contract job?

To cover an employees temporary leave or to bring in a extra help for a project, you might want to hire a contractor. Note, this differs from a temp in that they come in regularly, like any full employee.

Contacts offer very specific terms of employment with a set end date. Often you will see people with highly specialized skills working on contract.

If you're in this position but want to expand your workforce even after the absent employee returns or at the completion of the project, consider contract to hire.

What Is Contract to Hire?

Consider it a test run, similar to temp to hire. You still lay out a contract, but there is mutual understanding that the contractor wants permanent work and you need to see how things go.

If you choose this option, set clear expectations for the talent so you both understand what you need out of an employee long term. At the end of the contract, you can choose to offer a permanent position or wish them the best.

You're Ready to Go!

Now that you understand all of your terms for hire options, you can go into the process with confidence and the help of a temp agency. Whether you need a temp to hire or a contractor, call us to assist you!