Within the workplace there are a number of situations where employees may take a temporary leave of absence. These include:

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• Injury and sickness
• Maternity leave
• Personal and family issues

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Whether it is just one or two shifts, or a number of months, a leave of absence can greatly impact your company. The flexible options provided by a temp staffing agency can minimize that impact.

Here are seven reasons companies choose to use temp agencies.

1. Help Avoid Legal Issues

Temp agencies must keep up with any changes in employment laws. Because your temp staffing agency follows all legal procedures, they will make sure that in the event of an audit by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Ministry of Labour or Workers’ Comp, you will not take a hit because of non-compliance issues.

2. Help with Advertising, Recruiting and Interviewing

Advertising, recruiting and interviewing take a considerable amount of time and money. Also, when you are only looking to cover a few shifts it is not a feasible process. Because a temp staffing agency already has a pool of qualified workers at their disposal they can greatly assist you in this area.

3. Help with Training

When hiring someone to just cover a few shifts, you need someone who can seamlessly fill the desired position with little training. This is one of the main reasons why it is wise to use a temp staff agency. Through screening and sourcing they have access to a large database of qualified temporary workers that can step in with limited training and limited disruption.

4. Provide You with Insider Information

A temp staffing agency has industry experience which can make a great source of insider info. Some areas where temp agencies can be a valuable source of market intelligence include:

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• Industry trends
• Competitive wages
• Availability of candidates

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This insider info can help you adapt your company’s strategies and can give you an edge over your competition.

5. Help You Build Connections

Through the market intelligence and industry experience of your temp staffing agency, this can help you build important network connections. These connections could lead to potential cross-promotion and business development opportunities.

6. Reduce the Cost of Overtime

One way to deal with the issue of being understaffed is to pay employees overtime. Besides the increased cost of paying overtime wages, there are other less direct costs as well. These can include:

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• Employees that are overworked are more likely to make mistakes
• Employees that are overtired are also more likely to become more irritable and prone to injury
• Negative impact on employee morale

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Using a temp staffing agency can cut down on the need of regularly having to pay overtime.

7. Help Reduce Other Costs Associated With Being Understaffed

To avoid paying overtime, a company may have their current staff to take on increased workloads to make up for the temporary staffing shortage. On paper that may seem to save money. But such a view is short sighted. Just as with working excessive overtime, being understaffed can have a negative impact on employee morale and productivity. Also, when you are overstaffed certain key tasks are more likely to get overlooked. Using a temp staffing agency will alleviate these issues.

This lists just some of the reasons companies use temp staffing agencies. Through their industry experience, insider knowledge and flexible staffing options, a temp agency can help increase your productivity and save you money.