Benefits January 24, 2003

Poll: NY Employers Embrace Skilled Temps

January 24, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - New York-area employers are increasingly filling temporary jobs with experienced professionals rather than clerical workers, according to a new poll.
Reported by

The New York Times Job Market survey found that 68% of employers in the New York region say hiring a highly skilled temp is more important than the costs involved. Just over half of the hiring managers say they need technical professionals, while 49% are looking for skills in other fields from the temp workforce.

There shouldn’t be any shortage of such skilled professionals willing to be a temp with layoffs continuing throughout corporate America and the job market still largely moribund.

According to the Times survey, the managers say that benefits of bringing on skilled temps include:

  • providing instant staff,   47%
  • providing staffing flexibility, 43%
  • allowing access to skills otherwise unavailable, 25%
  • increasing company productivity, 25%
  • providing a high degree of value,16%

Managers: Temps Work Hard Too

Employers say the work quality of temporary staff is just as good as permanent employees (67%) and believe that temporary hires properly understand their assignments (80%) and are well suited for their positions (79%).

While companies mostly recruit temporary employees for special projects (43%), they also need them as interim substitutes for permanent employees (30%), during peak work periods (22%), and for positions that do not warrant a permanent hire (6%), the survey found.

To identify candidates for temporary work assignments, hiring managers use:

  • staffing agencies, 40%
  • referrals from current employees, 30%
  • independent contractors, 27%.

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