During the run up to Lunar New Year, many businesses will start preparing processes and systems early to ensure deadlines are met and achieved in time.
When headcount is low during the seasonal period and year-end projects start to fill out time and capacity, interim year-end hires can assist help your business hit key deadlines. Here we review how interim year-end hires can help you stay ahead of schedule.
Early hires
Recruiting early can ensure a smooth closing process at the end of year. Ideally, the time to start interviewing for interim year-end cover is a month or two ahead of the year-end period, providing enough time to introduce them to the team and settle into the work culture. Short-term hires at this time of year can help finance teams stay ahead of deadlines and maintain a steady workflow during the busy seasonal period.
“It’s smart to start planning for additional resources well in advance to year-end. Hiring managers that delay this process can often miss out on the best quality candidates available. Short-term candidates are looking to start work immediately, especially around this time of year, so managers have to act quick to avoid losing out to competitors who start the process early” said June Tam, Senior Manager, Contract - IT & Procurement, Robert Walters Hong Kong.
Companies face much larger workloads when approaching year-end and preparing for this early enough can help address heavy workflows and see the new year off to a smooth start.
Positive work environment
No matter the size of the business, hiring interim professionals can have huge advantages to both the overall year-end performance and team motivation. Year-end can be a very stressful time and by taking on a short-term interim hire can relieve pressure and stress to encourage a more positive working environment.
Besides managing the preparations for the new year, an interim professional can also run daily accounting tasks while permanent staff can put more focus on finishing annual year-end closing processes and necessary reporting. This can also encourage staff to remain motivated and less deflated when returning to work after the hectic year-end period.
Upskilling teams
Businesses often use year-end as an opportunity to upskill certain technology teams. Taking on junior temporary hires to support year-end processes is a good opportunity to test the contractor’s ability and performance during this time. Often, these temporary hires stay on longer with the business than first anticipated and can be a good route to a permanent position.
This cost-effective approach is a ‘win-win’ for all parties. Businesses can ‘try before they buy’ before committing to a permanent hire, helping to grow the business with the best quality candidates in the market. Recruiting early can ensure a smooth closing process at the end of year.
Ideally, the time to start interviewing for interim year-end cover is a month or two ahead of the year-end period, providing enough time to introduce them to the team and settle into the work culture.
The positives hugely outweigh the negatives when considering a temp hire during year-end. Preparing early for year-end means taking on a short-term hire to maintain good work flow and motivate staff during a very stressful period. This helps to avoid permanent staff working long hours and being overloaded with work.
Robert Walters specialist recruitment consultants represent the best interim professionals immediately available to help you at this time. If you are looking to make short-term hire during this period or if you’re interested in expanding your team contact us today.
