Temporary staff can help supercharge your business during busy seasons. Here are some temporary staffing tips help you pick the right agency.

Is your company in need of temporary staff for an upcoming event or project? Maybe your busy season is coming up. Or maybe you need some workers who can help with an upcoming trade show or event. Regardless of the reason, you know that working with a staffing agency is the way to go. It is scalable and cost efficient compared to hiring on to your existing permanent work force.

Of course, this is not as simple as hiring a few people and hoping for the best. Just like any worker, you want to make sure the person is a fit for the position for which you are hiring. That is where an agency steps in to help.

Here are five temporary staffing tips for business owners

1. Work with a Reputable Staffing Agency. You’d think this would be a given, but it’s not. Many an agency simply take a resume and photo but never meet the staff out there representing them and their clients. These are agencies you DON’T want to be working with. Do your homework, look up reviews and ask for recommendations from past clients. By doing your due diligence, you can be rest assured that you will only be connected with high quality workers who truly care about helping your organization.

2. Don’t be in a Rush. Despite the fact that you may be in a hurry to get your temporary staff in place, you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself. Be patient as you compare your options, ensuring that you hire the right number of workers for an upcoming project or event. We don’t recommend waiting until 1-2 days before your event… staffing is not like walking into a store and picking what you want off the shelf. Agencies need to collect availability from their roster for each and every event – which does take time.

3. Have a Long-Term Plan.While it may not be the first priority, hiring with the prospect of advancing them full-time may be an option. Just make sure this is transparent with the agency you’re working with so they don’t think you’re trying to steal their talent. Even if you have no intentions of moving a worker from temporary to full-time status, you never know what the future could hold. Somebody may “knock your socks off” to the point of you wanting to bring them on board full-time.

4. Know Your Numbers. One of the primary benefits of hiring temporary events staff is the ability to save money. They may cost a little more hourly, but they will save you on payroll related costs, benefits and vacation pay. You also don’t need to bring them on whether it is permanent part-time or full-time. Subsequently, you are going to save money. Now, you just need to answer this question: how much will this allow you to save?

5. Be Ready to Train Them! When you work with a highly regarded staffing agency, you know that you will get workers who are well trained and ready to hit the ground running. However, you may have to do a little bit of training upfront, providing information, product knowledge, key messaging etc. After all, you want to make sure your workers are in position to succeed.

As a business owner, there may come a time when adding a temporary worker would be the best decision for your company. If you find yourself in this position, the five temporary staffing tips above will move you down the right path.

If nothing else, contact a temporary staffing firm to discuss your needs and determine how,why and if this may be a good idea for your company.