One word quietly shapes the impact of your talent acquisition strategy: Temp.
It is comfortable language. Familiar. Like an old sweater that’s comfortable and there when you need it. It’s fraying a little at the edges, but that’s easy to overlook because it still does the job.
The Language We Reach For
Some of our language is also comfortable: Temp agency. Temp jobs. These words fit well enough, but they are also fraying at the edges. The language is shorthand – a production line has open positions, a supervisor is short on people, someone says “I need two temps!”
But comfortable language can preserve an older, and destructive, way of thinking.
When Familiar Language Becomes a Problem
When the goal is only to fill an open spot, the relationship becomes transactional. Which staffing agency can respond fastest? Who has people available? Who has the lowest markup? Those questions matter in some situations. But they miss the bigger point.
The larger question is what happens after the new talent arrives.
What “Temp” Communicates to Everyone in the Room
For the supervisor, “temp” carries an undercurrent of a consumable piece of the workflow. For the new employee, especially one who was recruited with the promise of a great new long-term job with benefits and a future, it says “this is not the job I signed up for”. Even when the role could become a long-term opportunity, the language subverts the success of both parties from the first day.
The words we use shape expectations. Expectations shape behaviors. Does “temp” mean “temporary”? A supervisor who thinks of the new person as temporary isn’t inclined to nurture the new talent into a superstar. A new employee who feels temporary finds it harder to imagine a future with the organization. Our clients are not looking for disposable labor. They are looking for people who can learn the work, fit the team, and become strong, long-term contributors. “Are you the new temp?” doesn’t set anybody up for success, and it lays waste to the very substantial initial payroll investment made by the company we are all serving.
Two Very Different Questions
A temp mindset asks: Can someone fill this spot?
A staffing strategy asks: How do we find and develop people who will stay, contribute, and become a long term part of our workgroup?
Shifting our language from “temp” to a warm welcome and a nurturing system changes the entire conversation away from speed, availability, and markup. Cost is based on whether new people become a temporary payroll expense or a piece of the organization’s profit-making machinery. Managing toward performance, fit, retention, and long term productivity is what drives down cost. Any other outcome is just an expense.
A Different Approach
At TalentTeam, we built our approach around new talent developing an ROI. Our Yield System focuses on what happens after placement. Supervisor engagement, early performance signals, and workgroup integration are measured and managed. That is where the real return on a staffing investment is won or lost. The system is easy to execute, creates a very light administrative burden, and TalentTeam does the data management. It makes a huge difference.
Protecting and enhancing the value of your workgroup is not the intent of a “staffing agency”. That suggests a transaction. The real value of a staffing partner goes beyond just filling positions. A partner helps new talent become long term, productive contributors.
Steve Pluim is the president of TalentTeam, a Salt Lake City based staffing and recruiting firm.
Steve can be reached by email at steve.pluim@talentteam.com
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