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Most business leaders appreciate the advantages of using a comprehensive approach to staffing, but it’s challenging for any company to actually develop versatile, big picture staffing plans. 

Developing a flexible staffing strategy is one tactic every business needs to do. It might seem obvious to adjust staffing based on workload and business opportunities. However, if a staffing strategy isn’t flexibility enough, it can result in a highly disruptive cycle of layoffs and hiring processes. A better approach is a staffing plan that includes using a dynamic blend of full-time employees and temporary staff members. This allows for a company to quickly increase or decrease staff according to needs. 

Not having a flexible staffing approach means having to be highly reactive. Whenever a key staff member quits or a new project pop up, there is intense pressure to quickly bring on one or more full-time employees. A flexible staffing strategy is more proactive, and it buffers company leaders from potentially damaging uncertainty. 

Flexibility Increases Agility

In addition to greater certainty, flexible staffing also translates to a number of other business benefits. 

Setting up a blend of full-time and contract employees converts some of a company’s fixed personnel costs into variable expenses by only paying for supplemental talent when it’s absolutely needed. Furthermore, this approach reduces the high costs of hiring and training new employees, while at the same time minimizing overtime pay. 

Flexible staffing provides companies with greater control over their workforce. That ability to quickly adapt can result in a competitive edge on competitors with inflexible staffing structures, which are more susceptible to market forces. 

When a company leverages a temporary staffing solution during busier times, it also means providing a buffer for core staff members during leaner times. When full-time staff members see they are being protected by their employer in this way, it translates to higher satisfaction and engagement. When you add in support from temporary staff members, it leads to high retention rates.  

The use of temporary employees for daily, low-priority tasks also lets core staff spend time on complicated tasks, and potential innovations. It also gives full-time staff members more time to recharge and refresh their perspective. 

During the typical hiring process, which costs significant time and money, there’s a lot of pressure to make the right decisions. When a company uses a temp-to-hire approach, it can try out new employees with much less investment than if they had hired them. A temp-to-hire arrangement involves bringing folk in on a temporary basis, at first. The host company can observe and asses these workers and figure out they fit with the position and the organization. 

We Can Help You Leverage a Flexible Staffing Approach 

At Cornerstone, we can help you find both top temporary professionals along with new full-time employees In addition to having years of experience screening and placing employees, we can also can address the many facets of the staffing process, including skills assessments, resume reviews and assessing a candidate’s fit with the company culture. 

Please contact us today to find out how we can make you staffing strategy even more flexible. 


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