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.

Everyone has their own definition of success. To some it means money, to some power, while to others it means influence. It doesn’t matter what your definition is, in order to reach what you consider success, it’s crucial you follow these steps.

1. Decide what your goal is. Whether it’s to run a marathon or to make a million dollars, write down the goal and put it in a prominent location so you can see it every day and reinforce it in your mind.
2. Make a plan. A goal can never be achieved without a plan. A plan is a step-by-step path that you can execute in order to reach the goal. Set milestones and dates for each step, so you can track your progress.
3. Make it happen! There’s no plan without action. Take the first step, then the next, then the next, and before you know it, you have reached that first milestone. Sometimes it might be painful but if you power through, you will get there eventually.
4. Don’t be afraid of risks and failures. There are no worthwhile goals without taking a risk. But it’s up to you how you face the challenge. It’s easy to call it quits, but you will kick yourself later. Danzel Washington said it best, “Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks”.
5. Tell everyone your goals. It helps to have those who love and support you to know and to cheer on what you’re trying to achieve. Don’t labour in secrecy. It’s possible that someone who wants to help you is just around the corner. Be proud of what you’re trying to do, and if there are naysayers, just smile and walk on. You will reach your goal while their negativity will keep them standing still.
6. Be patient. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Jeff Bezos didn’t grow Amazon to a multi-billion dollar behemoth it is today without years of blood, sweat and tears. Success takes time, but be assured that every step you take in the right direction, whether you fall or stumble, keep going, and when the day of success comes, you will be ready for the next challenge!

Having worked in both corporate and tech worlds, I have come across countless admin tasks on a daily basis, which although boring and redundant, can take up a good chunk of my time. Whether you’re a lawyer, a sales director or a people manager, there always seems to be an endless stream of admin work waiting for you no matter what role you have.

While it’s important to maintain core competency in-house, oftentimes it’s more efficient and cost-effective to outsource the following tasks.

1. Customer Service (Inbound/Outbound): CSR’s are needed to field inbound calls, and to make the necessary outreach to potential new clients.
2. Social Media Coordinators: The importance of social media in business is growing at warp speed. Whether it is about brand awareness or boosting sales, social media has an important role to play.  Most studies say that there needs to be a minimum one post per day for improved customer engagement.
3. Finance Admin: A perfect fit for financial services companies and accounting firms where someone can quickly step in and provide support in basic financial procedures and checklists, handle bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivables.
4. Marketing Admin: Do you need to keep an eye on what the competition is doing, prepare marketing material or perform market research? Seasoned marketing pros can be the best fit to offload these tasks.
5. Sales Admin: While your sales team is focused on developing new markets, the Sales Admin can help enter leads in CRM tools, follow up with potential clients, answer any product related questions, and overall provide support to your sales team so they can focus on getting more sales.
6. Office Admin: This role is often overlooked. However, Office Admins are often the lifelines of a growing business, who ensures smooth day-to-day running of the company’s activities, and contributes greatly to driving growth and operational efficiency. This role requires excellent organizational and leadership skills.
7. HR Admin: HR Admin can help to provide support in both hiring and general HR requirements, including benefits, pension, and workplace safety.
8. Law Clerk/Paralegal: Those who have worked in law firms understand the mountainous quantity of admin tasks required to run a law office. The paperwork alone is staggering. It takes a skilled Law Clerk or Paralegal to take care of these tenuous admin tasks, and they are an absolutely invaluable part of the team.

Workholler has the technology platform to help your business find great candidates for your next support staff.

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.