¶ … senior manager at a growing business and you're ready to add employees. Your HR manager has recommended a temp-to-perm policy. You know the advantages of this approach, but what might be some of the disadvantages? One of the disadvantages of hiring temporary workers as permanent hires (as illustrated in the case study) is that the personal qualities that might make a candidate good for a single, discrete job, do not necessarily make him or her a good candidate for a permanent position. Temporary workers value the independence their working life gives them and they may be less inclined to accept or excel in a job that requires them to be beholden to a larger entity and to work well as part of a team. Also, temporary workers are often hired because they have specific skills (such as a translator) which are well-suited to a specific job. They may not have the multifaceted qualifications an employer is seeking in a permanent hire. Or, in some instances, they may have few qualifications at all and may simply have been hired to sub-for a permanent employee initially, who then became sick or indisposed. A permanent worker must have the necessary, complete skills for the 'long haul.'

Temporary workers may not feel the same kind of loyalty to the larger organization because of their personality type, actual career, or phase in life. The temporary worker may like the excitement a succession of 'new' gigs gives to him or her rather than the bonds of a daily working relationship with the same people. Or he or she may see him or herself as an artist, not a career professional or may have small children. All of these can be potential distractions for the employee and interfere with the commitment of pursuing a fully-fledged, consistent working relationship with managers, other employees, and customers.

Q2. Assume that you're a prospective job seeker (which you may very well be). What do you personally see as the advantages and disadvantages of taking a temp-to-perm position? Under what circumstances are you most likely to take a temp-to-perm position?

The great advantage of taking a temp-to-perm position is that it...

The worker can become oriented to the tasks, get to know the people at the office, and get the 'inside scoop' on working for the company. The great disadvantage is that the company may not hire the worker after the trial, leaving the worker without a position and having 'lost' the time he or she could have been looking for full-time work (although technically, he or she could still continue the job search while employed, the average employee will be less motivated to do so with the prospect of a job dangling in front of him or her). However, even if the job offer is not extended, it at least gives the employee valuable to exposure to new skills and people and a source of reasonably steady income.
Taking a temp-to-perm position is most advantageous if the worker likes the job and it provides potentially valuable permanent benefits if hired. The worker must also want to work permanently and not just be 'filling time' between his or her real 'gigs' (such as acting or other artistic work). A contract worker who regards him or herself as self-employed is unlikely to take a temp-to-perm position, given that permanent employment is not the goal -- he or she would like a better-paid 'terminal' job than what is usually a less well-paid job with the option of becoming permanent. Temp-to-perm jobs are thus more suitable for new graduates, mothers re-entering the workforce after taking time to raise a family, or career-switchers, all of whom are likely to be seeking permanent employment in the long run, versus a 'creative type.'

Q3. What sorts of challenges are likely to confront a manager who supervises a mix of temporary and permanent employees? In what ways might these challenges differ if the temporary workers have been hired on a temp-to-perm basis rather than on a strictly temporary basis?

The greatest challenge the manager faces is creating a cohesive workplace. Temporary employees are likely to feel less loyalty to the company, given that they are likely to be the first to be let go, have no job security, and…