No business, of course, is in exactly the same position as another. One respect in which this is very much the case is when it comes to hiring and staffing.
If you’re a key decision-maker as far as your small to medium-sized business’s recruitment is concerned, you might be accustomed to the notion of short-term staff being an “emergency fix” for many aspects of your operations. At the same time, you may perceive long-term staffing to be largely chosen for reasons of stability, consistency, and continuity.
The reality for your organization, however, is likely to be somewhat more complex than this. Indeed, you might easily get the balance wrong between long-term and short-term staffing in terms of your business’s current needs.
So, in our position as leading providers of global employment solutions at Aspirock, we have below highlighted some of the things you need to consider when deciding between long-term and short-term hiring.
In what circumstances might you look to take on short-term staff?
Any business, in any sector and in any part of the world, needs to be adaptable. This is one of the most obvious reasons to take on short-term personnel. As workloads fluctuate and specific projects arise requiring skills that might not be in strong supply among your available permanent staff, short-term workers can “come to the rescue”.
Whether your organization’s latest engagement with short-term staff entails making use of temporary workers, contract workers, or freelancers, they can help keep your business agile and resource-efficient.
You might be especially likely to turn to short-term staff if a project has come up that has a tightly defined scope and timeline. Hiring short-term workers can also be an attractive solution during times of seasonal peaks in demand for your organization’s services, or to help cover gaps when permanent members of your team are on maternity leave or otherwise absent.
In what circumstances might you look to take on long-term staff?
As we referenced above, there is a tendency for organizations to treat long-term recruits as a source of stability and continuity for their operations. They have good reason to do so, as long as they select the right people for the right vacancies, in the right circumstances.
There are certain roles – such as those of particular importance for your business’s long-term strategic direction – for which only permanent and committed staff will suffice. It will also be much more difficult for your organization to cultivate and preserve a strong and distinctive culture, if there is a high turnover of staff.
Even looking away from the broader cultural and strategic dimension, certain roles have steady and consistent workloads and responsibilities over prolonged periods of time. In these situations, the hiring of longer-term employees tends to make a lot of sense.
Whatever your immediate or longer-term staffing needs, the right Employer of Record service can help
Ultimately, there are all manner of both external and internal factors that will shape your organization’s requirements for workers at any given time.
The matter of how you can most effectively manage and optimize your workforce is a complicated, multilayered, and nuanced one. Such aspects as current market conditions and your business goals are likely to feed into whatever decisions you make.
Amid the various scenarios that your business could face – encompassing expansion plans, seasonal fluctuations, time-limited projects, and times of economic uncertainty – an Employer of Record (EOR) service can be invaluable.
We are a renowned EOR ourselves here at Aspirock, giving businesses around the globe the ability to quickly and easily take on the workers they require, even beyond their own country’s borders. To learn more about how our global employment solutions can help your organization survive and thrive, please feel free to contact us.