It’s no secret that the labour market has been challenging over the last year or so, with many organisations opting to freeze hiring or reduce permanent headcounts. While growth is still paramount, many businesses have had to find other methods of sustaining it while permanent hiring has remained stagnant. For some organisations in this economic climate, opting to hire employees on a temporary basis has proved a more suitable option.
So, what are the trends for temporary recruitment, and how are they expected to change as we look forward to 2025?
What is temporary recruitment?
When hiring a new permanent employee isn’t necessary or possible, an organisation may opt to hire an employee on a non-permanent basis. There are different types of non-permanent work; temporary, interim and contract. While these terms are often used interchangeably there are key differences in their purposes, fundamentally, the operational level of the roles.
Interim roles tend to focus on executive and managerial positions, contracts or FTCs are for professionals with niche skillsets, and temporary work can range from junior assistant to manager level.
While focusing on all forms of non-permanent recruitment, for the purpose of this blog we’re going to refer to it as ‘temporary’.
What are the benefits of temporary recruitment?
Benefits for employees:
Flexibility: Temporary work allows for employees to have more flexibility, letting them take on work that fits their personal schedule. According to our latest Inside Insight research, 35% of interim communications professionals deemed this flexibility and work-life balance their favourite part of being a temporary employee.
Broadening Skillset & Experience: Temporary work gives individuals the opportunity to work across many different industries and disciplines. This exposure gives them a diverse skillset and bodes well for them when applying to future positions.
Benefits for employers:
Speed to Market: The nature of temporary support means candidates are either immediately available or have a short notice period. When seeking support on an urgent basis, temporary recruitment can be ideal.
Highly Skilled Professionals: Due to their diverse exposure to different industries, temporary employees often have an abundance of skills and experience. This makes them well placed to come into an organisation and support, without having to be trained as new. They often also have fresh perspectives and can offer new approaches and solutions to problems.
Read more about the benefits of hiring an interim for your organisation.
What’s the future looking like?
Appeal of security
Though temporary work can have a reputation of being more unstable than permanent roles, 76% of communications interims stated that they have previously had their contracts extended. When looking at statistics like this, we expect to see more professionals attracted to the prospect of a temporary position as they begin to see more security in the roles, as well as the aforementioned benefits.
Industry specialisation
The advantages for businesses also are likely to foster even more growth in temporary recruitment.
Some stats predict that as many as 90% of new jobs are expected to be project based or involve flexible working arrangements, only bolstering the need for temporary employees. As industries are becoming even more specialised, those workers with specific skillsets are more highly demanded. This is where interims and contractors can come in. Hiring talent with specialist knowledge and skillsets to come in on a temporary basis and complete a project can be very appealing to organisations. Without having the commitments of hiring a permanent employee and adding to overall headcount, they can swiftly bring a qualified temp in with all the expertise they need for the project all ready to be implemented.
Economic uncertainty
In periods of economic uncertainty and low economic growth, like in 2024, temporary recruitment has seemed like the more suitable option for employers. Where market conditions have been unstable and unpredictable, being able to hire talent on a flexible basis has proved valuable to organisations.
With growth forecasted to remain low even as we move into 2025, we expect temporary recruitment to continue to grow in popularity. The ability to remain agile and quickly adapt to changing market conditions and project demands, will continue to be important to organisations.
“As more and more people decide to enter the interim market, most likely brought on post Covid and the flexibility of working in a hybrid environment, it’s clear to see that organisations are benefitting from this type of resource model.”
Samira Ashraf, Interim Director of Internal Communications – Inside Insight 2024
