Deciding whether to use flexible staffing (Temporary workers) Advantages and disadvantages of flexible staffing

Workers are necessary -- and during busy times having adequate staffing is especially critical to ensure the company can leverage a 'busy season' and generate more assets. On the other hand, workers are also expensive, not only in terms of wages but also in terms of pensions and benefits. It is especially wasteful to have more workers than one needs year 'round, to staff the company at fullest capacity when such numbers are only necessary for relatively short intervals of the year. The ability to engage in minute adjustments to the employee rosters is one of the great advantages of flexible staffing. Flexible staffing reduces waste and makes the company adaptable to moment-by-moment changes in circumstances.

This results in lower labor costs: as employers are required to pay more and more benefits to employees, keeping labor costs low is especially vital. Since temporary employees are not technically part of the company, there are fewer legal obligations employers owe to non-permanent members of the staff. Also, if an outside firm is used to engage in recruitment and review of prospective temporary employees, this results in less of a drain of time and money upon the organization in terms of HR costs. "Without the added burden of managing your own workforce, you'll have additional free time to be more productive. You'll also have less to worry about, so not only will you have more time to be productive, you'll have more mental energy to contribute to your productivity" (Key benefits of temporary staffing, 2014, Link Staffing).

Permanent employees may give temporary workers a 'cold shoulder' because they know they will not be around very long. They may also fear being replaced by temporary workers and regard these employees as interlopers. Temporary employees may resent permanent workers who have more benefits and protections than themselves. Having a unified workforce is essential for success and creating a divide between two different classes of employees generates an unpleasant and unharmonious environment.
Additionally, some employers do not regard the loss of control over employees as a boon, but as a bane. Being able to tailor one's employee selection is crucial in the eyes of some employers and flexible staffing means that more often than not a company is in control of the process. Furthermore, the constant influx of new people means that employers cannot have the same level of trust invested in their employees that they might under most other circumstances. In a manufacturing organization, employees may be less familiar with rote procedures and equipment, which can lead to errors.

Temporary employees must also still be trained and there is an inevitable lag period as they grow more familiar with the organization and its standard operating procedures. A temporary employee will not necessarily be as productive as a permanent employee and by the time he or she is comfortable with the workplace, the 'busy season' will have ended and it will already be time to terminate the period of employment.

Advantages of Using FFS

Using…