For many companies, especially establishments with seasonal work, using temporary workers can be an integral part of overall business success. In particular, organizations in hospitality and construction routinely hire temporary maintenance workers to supplement their workforce when work levels fluctuate. This steady supply of skilled maintenance workers can often mean the difference between a profitable year and a year of losses.
The work that these temporary maintenance workers do helps to prevent physical asset deterioration and allows employers to save on costs for permanent staff. Again, some organizations simply want the flexibility to adjust the size of their staff according to need and budget.
As a recruiter tasked with finding skilled temporary maintenance workers for a client, you might be wondering how to proceed and where to find this category of workers quickly. If so, read on.
Know where to look. Working with a contingent workforce offers various advantages, and temporary work is steadily gaining popularity across several industries. According to Gartner, up to 32% of employers are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers as a cost-saving measure. The challenge is where to look for skilled workers.
Several websites specialize in providing temporary workers across different industries – for example, Simplyhired. On this site, you can further refine your search by typing “temporary maintenance” in the search area to get results like this.
The same applies to sites like PeopleReady or Minutemen, where recruiters can request different categories of tradespeople for their construction projects.
Vetted skills are a key requirement. Unlike in the case of hiring full-time staff, when hiring temporary maintenance for a project, your clients may not have sufficient time for a thorough onboarding process or extended training programs. Therefore, it’s vital that potential workers already have some background knowledge to begin work right away.
For example, let’s say you need to recruit temporary maintenance staff for a hotel. It’s advisable to focus on candidates who are already familiar with the hotel environment; they already know what to expect, and they can adhere to hotel standards for safety and security.
As a recruiter, it’s advisable to focus on candidates that have already acquired the necessary skills and training elsewhere. This way, they can begin work immediately. Also, it’s an added advantage if they already have certifications like the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) certification (for workers in the hospitality industry) or The National Association of Hotel & Lodging Engineers (NAHLE) Certified Chief Engineer training (for hotel engineers and maintenance workers covering subjects like maintenance management, operations, groundskeeping and building systems).
Leverage your network and use a staffing agency. Some often overlooked but effective ways to find temporary labor are through sources like asking your current employees and collaborating with staffing agencies that cover specific localities. These companies tend to have valuable insights into the local job market and where to find the best labor.
Conduct due diligence. Before making offers, check that the candidate is a good fit for your client’s company, ask for references and contact them to get an idea of what kind of worker they’ll likely be. Conduct background checks and drug screenings before connecting them with your clients.
Attract skilled maintenance workers with opportunities. Recruiters and their clients can create a win-win for all parties by offering fair pay and the opportunity to gain additional knowledge and credible work experience. In addition, like permanent workers, temporary workers would usually be interested in developing some additional skills. Also, the chances of a long-term working relationship can be a big bonus to temporary workers and serve as a great attraction to your client’s business. If your client is open to the possibility of a long-term relationship, mentioning this in your job posts can help attract the best temporary workers as well.
The fact is, work flexibility is here to stay in almost every business sector out there. Recruiters that haven’t yet done so can use the above tips to position themselves better in this market and be ready when they are in need of temporary skilled maintenance workers.