One rule for any business to keep in mind is to expect the unexpected. For your company the unexpected could include a temporary staffing requirement. In those situations a temp staffing agency can help.

Along with helping you with your temporary staffing needs, a temp staffing agency has extensive industry experience and knowledge. That experience and knowledge can be a valuable resource to tap into.

Let’s quickly look at just 5 benefits that come from using temp staff agencies:

1. Great Source of Market Intelligence

Because of their industry experience your temp staffing agency is a tremendous source of information. For example, they can provide you with the following types of market intelligence:

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• Industry trends
• Competitive wages
• Availability of candidates

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You can use their insights in these areas to adapt your company’s strategies. In this way your temp staffing agency can help give you an edge over your competitors.

2. Avoid Legal Issues

Your temp staffing agency will make sure that the following are looked after:

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• Your temp workers are in compliance with the Ministry of Labour (MOL)
• Will properly pay all Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s (WSIB) premiums
• Will properly perform background checks to catch any other possible issues

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By properly following all legal procedures your temp staffing agency will make sure that if you ever get audited by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) you will not take a costly hit because of any non-compliance issues.

3. Save Time and Money on Advertising, Recruiting and Interviewing

When looking for workers there is a considerable investment of time and money involved with advertising, recruiting and interviewing. Your temp staffing agency will save you time and money in these areas.

Apart from the issue of time and money there is the fact that it is not really feasible to go through the process of placing ads and interviewing for finding someone to cover just a few shifts. A temp staffing agency is uniquely qualified to help you in these kinds of short-term situations.

4. Save Time and Money on Training

There is a considerable investment of time and money connected with training new employees. When a worker is just covering a few shifts you really need someone that can quickly step in and hit the ground running.

This is one of the key benefits of partnering with a temp staffing agency. Through their screening and sourcing efforts they have accumulated a large database of qualified job candidates. Because they already have the required skills that you are looking for, they are able to fill a temporary position with little training and little disruption.

5. Reduces the Costs of Being Understaffed

There are a number of situations where a company can find itself understaffed for a period/season. These include:

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• Illness/injury
• Maternity leave
• Family/personal situations
• Fluctuations in workload
• Short-term projects

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When faced with these situations your company now potentially has to face the costs of being understaffed. These costs include:

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• Paying overtime
• Certain tasks may get overlooked
• Because of the increased workload your workers are more inclined to make mistakes
• Can have a negative impact on employee morale
• Overworked employees can become over tired and irritable, and potentially more proned to injury

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All of the above factors can impact your bottom line. By partnering with a temp staffing agency these costs are considerably lowered. Through their flexible staffing options you will be able to adapt to any short-term issues without negatively affecting your productivity. These many benefits will make your temp staffing agency a key partner in your success.