Temporary Worker Costs: Top Tips For Boosting Value For Money

This is a guest post from Jamie Eaton – Head of Marketing & Insight at Comensura.

It might come as a surprise to some, but the cost of temporary workers goes beyond their salary or hourly rate. From ensuring that you have acceptable pay rates and costs in place to standardising expenses, there are a number of steps that organisations can take to ensure they’re getting value for money and they’re not presented with any hidden surprises each month.

By implementing the following measures on pay rates and costs, organisations can minimise costs incurred by a temporary workforce:

Ensure transparency

Recruitment agencies inform you on the pay rate for each temporary worker, and it’s important that you make this information visible to managers within your organisation. Look at the pay rates for temporary workers across the organisation and ensure they are consistent with those of workers performing similar tasks, and align them with that of permanent workers. This will help reduce any anomalies that might exist, and standardise pay rates to prevent workers demanding a raise based on how others are paid.

Benchmark against local employers

Probe into the pay of temporary roles in the area. Local sources such as recruitment agencies, competitors or the Jobcentre Plus may give you access to how much people are typically paid in the types of temporary jobs that you provide. This will give you a better idea of suitable pay rates and prevent you from paying over the odds.

Align with your employer brand and strategy

Your organisation may look for specific traits in candidates to fill certain roles, which you should abide by when procuring temporary staff. Vacancies are then more likely to be filled by a type of worker that has previously performed well in a similar role. Ensure that you’re offering a pay rate that will attract this kind of person.

Implement authorisation processes for inflation

It’s inevitable that you’ll need to uplift pay rates from time to time, particularly as a response to changes in the job market. The most efficient way of doing this is by using an approval process that consults all the relevant people and ensures that the rise is reasonable.

Standardise expenses

Temporary worker expenses such as travelling costs and accommodation can sometimes be forgotten about, even though it collectively amounts to a considerable cost. Determine what constitutes acceptable expenses for your organisation and apply it as a standard rate for every temporary worker.

There are many benefits to reap from the use of temporary workers, such as flexibility and the ability to cover permanent worker absences. But without maintaining the overall costs, you risk it being a drain of resources. By putting processes into place that determine acceptable pay rates and costs, you can ensure that you’re getting value for money when procuring temporary staff and that you’re carrying out the process cost-effectively.