IT Temporary Staffing: An Optimal Decision

Yulia Khristova
Head of IT Staffing Department
Ventra Employment

Today the service of providing temporary staff isn't new to most people. In this respect, the IT sphere is no exception. Still, while cooperating with the recruiting agency, the client company has questions that require special attention and thorough discussion. Among such questions, we've picked out the most frequently asked ones.

1. Many client companies associate the phrase "temporary IT employee" with the function of a Service Desk. This, of course, is a misconception. If a recruiting agency has experience, any IT position can be closed, whether it's a position of a programmer, tester, analyst, or any other professional. Another issue is whether the client company agrees with the fact that temporary employees are more expensive than those who work for the company on a permanent basis.

2. Some clients who want to use temporary IT staff services are afraid of risks of information security incidents. This question is particularly pointed in the banking sector.

In this situation, the main recommendation is to create a list of specialists whose rights are limited so there will be no need to worry.

3. Are there any options? This is a popular question asked by the clients when it comes to hiring a temporary employee. Temporary IT staff service in the classic sense doesn't provide an opportunity for the client to select an employee from among various candidates. There are a few reasons for that. First of all, the recruitment agency will replace the temporary employee if he/she can't cope with his/her duties. As for the IT sphere, taking into account its specificity, R?? most of the time meets the clients wishes, and when receiving a request for temporary staff, propose a few different options.

4. Engaging a temporary employee for a longer period, such as six months, a year or more, clients often ask, "What shall we do when the employee goes on vacation or gets sick?" The answer to this situation is to provide another temporary employee, but only during the absence of the "key" employee.

5. For corporate clients who want to use the temporary IT staff service for the first time, the main issue is often the division of responsibility, namely, where the provider's responsibility ends and the client's responsibility begins. In this situation it is necessary to understand what exactly the company needs. Temporary staff providing services are often confused with outsourcing, while, if we pay attention to the contractual component, the differences are obvious, first of all, in terms of responsibility.

Outsourcing means that the provider himself tracks the employee's performance, if the company is a temp-service, it receives a qualified employee for the outcome of which it takes responsibility. The company has the opportunity to ask for the replacement of existing staff indefinitely.

6. Often the clients ask: "How can we be sure that the skill level of the employees provided will meet our requirements before meeting them?" The answer to this question usually is a customized individual solution for each corporate client. The ultimate solution often is a test made by the client for knowledge evaluation of the candidate. Of course, the provider may also develop such a test, but no one better than the client knows and understands better what kind of employee recruited on a temporary basis they need. Sometimes the solution provider-client team-work, where the first one is designing the testing, and the second, in turn, evaluates it and, if necessary, adjusts it, by highlighting the key-points of professional skills required for the employee.

Of course, during the IT staff services discussions the clients bring up may other questions, but in most cases they are connected with the specifics of each concrete client. So the RA's main task is to find out what the specifics are and offer an ultimate solution in consistence with the client's expectations.