Nowadays, there are many modes businesses can use to hire employees: temporary, contractual, or permanent. Of these, permanent recruitment is often the most popular and common mode of recruitment. Also known as permanent staffing, it has stood the test of time and proven to be the best method for a number of job profiles.
Permanent recruitment benefits both prospective employers and employees. While the employers manage to hold on to their employees, effectively reduce worker turnover rates and reduce HR training and development costs, the employees can expect greater job and financial security, more benefits and a greater certainty in income.
Permanent recruitment thus avails a number of valuable benefits in most cases. That is, however, not always the case. How can one know whether permanent staffing is the right mode for a particular vacancy or enterprise?
The answer to this question is determined by several considerations, including:
Nature of the need
First and foremost, one must consider whether the need for the job to be done is consistent and will be there for a long period. If that is the case, one should probably go for permanent staffing.
Workload Predictability
It is crucial to assess the predictability of workload and ensure the continuity of workload. If that is not the case, employees might not find enough work to do. However, the workload is regular, persistent and large enough; recruiting permanent employees makes sense.
Retention of staff
One must begin by asking oneself how important it is to retain an employee in the enterprise. If the answer to that question is that it is crucial to retain the employee, one must hire them permanently. Otherwise, if one believes they are not valuable enough to hold, one can easily go for other methods of recruitment. However, permanent staffing is not enough to ensure retention; one must also offer enough compensation and benefits to ensure that employees feel motivated.
Suitable for core operations
Needless to say, core operations are the most valuable operations for any enterprise, and thus, it makes sense to hire and hold on to the best talent. Permanent staffing for one’s core operations helps one do just that. Hiring permanent staff for the core operations shall also help ensure that they aren’t hampered by the frequent need for recruiting new employees as long as employees can be retained well.
Specialised skills
The industry in which one’s business operates requires highly specialised and specific skills on a consistent basis. Such highly skilled talent can be really rare, and it makes sense to hold on to the same by going for permanent staffing.
Stability of one’s business and operations
While there is always an element of risk involved, some enterprises deal with more risk than others. That is especially the case, for example, with startups. Such enterprises may desire flexibility in their financial undertakings and thus wish to avoid permanent staffing except for their core positions.
Training and development costs
One of the most influential factors when it comes to choosing between permanent staffing and its alternatives is training and development costs. These costs, wherever applicable, have to be freshly incurred every time an enterprise hires new employees. That means the enterprise is invested in the employee, and thus, it makes sense to hold on to an employee the cost of whose training and orientation has already been worn by the enterprise. Permanent recruitment can help reduce these training and development costs.
Industry norms
While every business must look for a USP (Unique Selling Proposition), it is also a good strategy to keep an eye on the general practices and norms in one’s industry. If, for example, permanent staffing has been the popular solution among one’s competitors for a particular vacancy, then it is sensible to go for that only.
Time available for recruitment
Another consideration is the amount of time available to fill the vacancy. Permanent staffing is a long-term commitment and thus should be done after thorough screening. It should thus be voided where the vacancy has to be filled quickly. However, one must observe that it is possible to cut the time required for hiring new employees by using outsourcing agencies like Tasc Outsourcing.
Plans
If one intends to downsize one’s enterprise, then it hardly makes sense to hire permanent employees. On the other hand, permanent recruitment makes sense when one intends to expand one’s enterprise in the coming years.
The financial health of the enterprise
The recruitment of permanent staff involves both a short-term expense for the process of recruitment and a long-term commitment. As such, it is crucial to check both the short-term and long-term financial health of the enterprise before hiring permanent employees. However, it must be noted that there are some ways of reducing the cost of recruitment, especially by outsourcing the same to specialised agencies like Task Outsourcing. Such outsourcing can reduce the financial costs of recruiting significantly.
Replacing existing permanent employees
If some of the existing permanent employees are nearing the age of their retirement, then it makes sense to hire and recruit new employees who may replace them one day to ensure a smooth transition in the enterprise.
The culture of the enterprise
Another factor that determines whether permanent recruitment is right for one’s enterprise is its culture and values. The enterprises that tend to value their employees like to hire permanent recruitments and thus offer them security and valuable benefits. That, in turn, fosters loyalty and makes them commit to the betterment of the enterprise.
The bottom line
To conclude, permanent staffing offers valuable advantages to employers and employees and is the best option in most situations; yet it is not always the case. One should only hire permanent staff when the above conditions are met. Further, one should develop a careful recruitment strategy, preferably with the help of a permanent recruitment consultant, in such a case and use the assistance of services such as Tasc Outsourcing to make the process faster and more cost-effective.
