With Coronavirus shutting down most major cities in the world, and social distancing more and more becoming the norm. Many companies have implemented working from home policies in light of the virus. Once life returns to normal (soon, fingers crossed), would we all go back to the way things were or would work-from-home become the norm going forward?

After all, working from home allows the worker to avoid time-consuming commute to and from work, thus saving time (as many as 3-4 hours a day), which can either be used to increase work productivity, or to enjoy some work-life balance with activities such as working out, yoga, or just getting some R&R.

In 2013, then Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer made the decision to cancel Yahoo’s generous Work-From-Home policy. She was initially vilified for her unpopular decision, however, some touted her decision as being ahead of the curve, as working from home proved unproductive for other organizations. However, as this CNBC article points out, what works for Silicon Valley tech companies might not work for Government organizations and vise versa. If in the long run Yahoo becomes more productive overall, Mayer may yet be proven right.

Sadly that wasn’t the case. After rising to the top role at Yahoo amidst much fanfare, her 5-year tenure was mired with slow growth and employee dissatisfaction. She was eventually ousted as Yahoo’s chief officer in 2017.

For all the talk about improved productivity, her decision ultimately proved to be the wrong one. She underestimated the significant value of allowing work from home in improving employee satisfaction and engagement.

Consider if a Work From Home Policy is Right For Your Business

Work from home doesn’t work for all organizations. It’s obvious that it’s not possible (yet) for retail stores, restaurants, and other customer facing businesses. We expect to be served by a real person, not a phone or computer.

Other positions such as telephone customer support can easily accommodate a work from home policy, with easy-to-track targets and records to maintain productivity.

And then there’s everything in between. The rule of thumb is, if the role requires very standard operating procedures and involves a lot of individual work, it can generally be done at home. If a role requires a lot of collaboration, with lots of fluid discussions and team meetings, working from home could be challenging.

Challenging, but Not Impossible

With the advance of collaborating tools such as Slack, and video conferencing software such as Zoom, working from home can be made easy for many roles that didn’t have such options before.

At the end of the day, as long as the organization is comfortable with result-driven productivity measures, and not time-driven productivity, and management is not worried about tracking where someone is at all times (impossible with work from home, short of giving everyone a GPS chip, and George Orwell would turn over in his grave if we went there), working from home will become more prevalent in the future as more and more workers demand it, and more and more companies embrace it.

Oftentimes businesses use temp workers to fill an immediate and temporary need. This could be for a project or to cover an immediate staffing gap.

Once the temporary staff are on-site and hitting the ground running, this is when you should consider whether or not to convert them to full-time.

Determine the Need

Oftentimes you might think a full-time role is required, but is it really? Consider Susan, her design company needs someone to take care of the company’s social media content and to follow up with potential clients. She has posted the job but hasn’t had the time to go through the hiring process, resulting in a glaring gap in her company’s day to day operations.

Through Workholler, the next generation hiring platform, she was able to source a pre-vetted temporary worker Joyce. Joyce joined Susan’s company under Workholler’s Try’n’Hire program, where a business can “trial” a candidate on a temporary basis typically between 1 to 3 months, in order to fill an immediate need, while providing management with time to decide on a permanent solution.

Within a week of the job posting, Joyce joined Susan’s company, and immediately started to update its social media presence, and clearing the backlog of follow-ups.

Susan is now considering to make Joyce a permanent member of her small team. She considers the following.

1. Her company needs a social media expert.
2. Client follow-ups used to be done by the sales team but they are too busy getting more sales, and Susan doesn’t want to disrupt the flow.
3. Joyce is doing a good job with the social media. However, while she is doing her best to follow up with clients, she just doesn’t have the design knowledge or training required to answer detailed questions.

Is the Candidate a Right Fit?

Susan sees Joyce’s performance and positive attitude and thinks she is a good fit for the company. She makes the following decision.

1. Susan offers Joyce a part-time job working 2 days a week with the company’s social media content. Joyce is able to work from home one day and participate in the company’s activities the other.
2. Susan decides to create a new Sales Support role, which requires a candidate with a design background and customer service experience.
3. Susan posts the Sales Support job on Workholler, and was connected with David, who has been pre-vetted by Workholler and has the necessary design experience. David started his 2 months trial period right away.

Revisit After the Trial Period

While Joyce preferred a full-time job, she was able to accept Susan’s offer of a part-time job, while Workholler found Joyce another part-time job as a social media expert within a different company. She works 3 days a week there and 2 days with Susan, providing her with a full-time income.

After David’s trial period, Susan decided not to extend a permanent offer. David was very good technically but Susan felt he was not a good fit for the company’s culture. Workholler then sent another candidate, Amit to Susan under the same Try’n’Hire program, and this time it was a home run. Amit was excellent in both design and customer support, as well as fitting into the company’s culture. After only one month, Susan quickly extended a full-time offer which Amit gladly accepted.

The Answer

There’s no right or wrong answer to the question of when to convert a temporary worker to a permanent hire. It’s entirely up to a company’s needs, which can differ drastically from one to another. Whatever your staffing needs are, be it temporary or permanent, Workholler is here to help. We aim to make the hiring process as quick and as seamless as possible, so your business won’t be interrupted by staffing shortages, and can go on running smoothly.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of temporary workers in Canada increased by 50 percent in the last 20 years, compared to a 33% increase in permanent employees. This trend is showing no signs of slowing as businesses and workers both seek flexibility with regards to finding work and staff. Temporary work serves a useful purpose in the following scenarios.

• Students looking for work and income while attending school.
• Seniors nearing or in retirement looking for reduced work hours while remaining active in the workplace.
• People with constrained work hours such as parents of young children or caretakers of family members.
• Those with stable jobs but are looking to supplement their income with side hustles.
• People who are investigating a new industry during career changes.

On the other hand, there are also a multitude of reasons why a business should consider hiring temporary workers.

1. Limited Resources

Small businesses or start-ups that do not have resources to hire and retain full-time staff.

2. Seasonal Demands

Seasonal Businesses or a sudden spike in demand where the staff is needed only for a short period of time. For example, after a promotional event, there is a sudden spike in inbound calls

3. Immediate Need

To cover for immediate needs such as sick leave, maternity leave, vacations, and other short-term staffing gaps.

4. No dedicated HR

Small & Medium Enterprises including Start-ups that do not necessarily have a dedicated HR department can trial new staff on a temporary basis to test for skill and fit, as well as to see if a full-time position is necessary or if the gap can be filled by part-time or temporary staff.

Workholler’s technology platform allows businesses to connect with qualified, available, and pre-vetted local talent, who can be invited to apply for open positions. Since candidates have already passed Workholler’s 6-step validation process, the hiring process for employers is drastically shortened, and staffing gaps significantly reduced.

The world of temp jobs is a tricky one to navigate. There definitely are demand for skilled temp workers to fill a sudden and short-term need within any organization.

Temp jobs generally pay higher than a regular job, to compensate for the instability of hours. Most temp workers are signed up with multiple temp agencies, some as many as double digits. However, temp agencies by nature cannot guarantee a full-time income, leaving most temp workers scrambling to make ends meet financially.

The benefits to being a temp worker are:

1. Flexibility. You work when you want to, and you can easily remove yourself should you choose not to work.
2. Per hour pay is generally higher.
3. Meeting new people and getting new challenges is always exciting.
4. Learning about different companies and what they do.
5. Making multiple connections that could lead to a permanent position.

However, there are several drawbacks.

1. Most temp workers only get 1 to 2 shifts a week.
2. Work tend to be entry-level types (e.g. administration, marketing, data entry etc), without ability to move ahead.
3. Typically no or very few benefits.
4. You have to make yourself available for potential work, leaving your schedule highly unpredictable.

The likes of Uber and Lyft have made temp work accessible to anyone with a vehicle. But if you don’t have a car, or prefer a different line of work, the options are more limited.

Most workers temp until they can find something more stable. Even part-time work is more preferential to temp work, as it guarantees a stable income.

On the other hand, temp agencies face the issue of high turnover and low reliability, as most workers will leave as soon as they find a more permanent position. This leaves the industry in the dire straight that we see today, with agencies and workers mistrusting each other, since workers do not trust agencies to represent their best interest, while agencies are constantly faced with no-shows from workers (and typically without any consequence).

There is no simple solution. To break the mistrust and rebuild the bond we have to satisfactorily address the concerns of both sides. Here are some suggestions we’ve heard from talking to both sides.

1. Temp agencies should make sure each worker gets the maximum number of weekly hours before signing on another worker.
2. Agencies can try to engage more with workers that already have a stable job, and is looking for additional income through a side hustle.
3. Agencies can help to provide a path forward with training, scholarships, and providing connections. Perhaps even a path to full-time employment. People tend to try harder when there is something to aspire to.
4. Workers help bridge the trust gap by committing to every job they sign up for, reducing no shows, and are guided by standard operating policies. A rating/review platform will also help add transparency and promote actions with consequence.