On-Demand Staffing
July 7, 2022

On-Demand Staffing vs. Traditional Staffing: What's the Difference?

Businesses can choose from many types of staffing solutions, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Bacon Inc

On-Demand Staffing vs. Traditional Staffing In A Nutshell

On-demand staffing is a type of staffing that enables businesses to find temporary workers when they are needed without committing to hiring them full-time. Therefore, on-demand staffing can be an excellent option for companies with seasonal or fluctuating needs.

On-demand staffing can also be a good option for businesses that are just starting and don't want to commit to long-term contracts with employees or don't have the resources to train and onboard them.

On the other hand, traditional staffing is a type of staffing arrangement where employees are hired regularly and full-time. That can be beneficial for businesses because it allows them to have a consistent workforce.

Therefore, traditional staffing may be more beneficial for companies with a constant need for workers in a specific function.

So Which Is Better - On-Demand Staffing Or Traditional Staffing?

The answer to that question really depends on the needs of the business. So let's dive deeper into the question, look into the key elements of staffing, and see how they compare.

Flexibility

With on-demand staffing, you can quickly and easily adjust the number of employees you have, giving you much more flexibility. If you need to fill a position on short notice or to make last-minute changes to your staffing schedule, for example, - with on-demand staffing, you can request staff on short notice, and they will be available to work within a few hours.

Therefore, temporary labor or on-demand staffing can benefit companies by allowing them to staff employees without committing to a long-term contract.

On-demand staffing can also benefit employees as it offers more flexibility and can be used to find work that fits their schedule.

Traditional staffing is less flexible, as it requires companies to commit to certain hours or days per week. This can be a problem if the business is seasonal or if there is a sudden increase or decrease in business.

In addition, traditional workers are usually trained for just a specific part of their job. But if the demand shifts toward another area, it can be hard to fill that need immediately, even if the required manpower is available.

Reliability

One of the most important advantages of on-demand staffing is that it is a very dependable method of finding qualified workers. An on-demand staffing agency can access a large pool of potential employees, and companies can be confident that employees are available to begin work immediately.

Therefore, on-demand staffing can also be an excellent option for companies that have positions that are hard to fill.

With on-demand staffing, companies can also find employees willing to work on short notice. If you are working on a last-minute project or event, this can, of course, be very beneficial. You can easily find employees who are willing to work odd hours.

That is in contrast to traditional staffing, where businesses may have to wait weeks or months to find suitable candidates for a specific position.

Saving Time

In 2020, the average employment tenure of workers was 9.6 weeks. Such rapid turnover means that companies relying on temporary labor to fill complex positions are consistently repeating the same training cycle for multiple employees. With an average of 63.9 training hours spent per new employee, this can add up to 346 hours spent per year to train five different people to fill only one position. That’s about two weeks worth of labor! 

While traditional staffing is often perceived as the best long-term staffing solution, one cannot forget the considerable amount of time companies spend to train its employees. On-demand staffing can help companies avoid wasting countless hours on training traditional temporary labor.

So how do you efficiently train temporary labor? Companies can avoid wasting time training temporary labor by breaking down complex positions into simple individual tasks. This will open up their work demands to the on-demand workforce, thus allowing on-demand workers to become productive within minutes of arriving on the worksite.

Quality

On-demand staffing leads to a higher quality workforce by opening your roles up to a more flexible workforce. So you can choose highly qualified workers available for your specific needs immediately. This flexible yet higher quality workforce is made up of millions of gig workers that prefer gig-based work over traditional full-time positions. Understanding the traits and trends of the gig workforce are key when it comes to utilizing on-demand staffing solutions.

As on-demand staffing companies typically have a larger pool of potential employees to choose from, they're more likely to find someone who's a good fit for the job.

On-demand staffing companies also typically have better screening and vetting processes in place, so you can be confident that the person they send you is qualified and capable of handling their work assignment.

On the other hand, traditional staffing is excellent for companies with consistent labor without any seasonal or other fluctuations. Traditional staffing allows you to train your workforce for a specific task, leading to a high-quality workforce in the long run.

But as we have seen, it has limitations if workforce demands change or you need qualified workers on short notice.

Cost

At first glance, on-demand staffing may look more expensive than traditional staffing if you just look at the hourly rate.

However, on-demand staffing can save you money in the long run, as you're not paying for someone to sit idle when you don't need them. You only pay for the hours you use, saving you a lot of money if you don't need someone full-time.

Also, the entire onboarding process is obsolete. That saves time, resources, and, in the end, money. All that is needed is to find a reliable staffing agency such as baconwork.com, install their on-demand staffing app, and select a qualified worker for your job. The staffing agency already did all the vetting and screening for a potential candidate.

A staffing agency can help you find someone who is already trained and qualified for the job. So, you don't have to pay for ads or interviews, and you don't have to waste time training someone.

On the other hand, traditional staffing requires businesses to pay for staff even when they are not needed. Traditional staffing can also be more expensive because companies often have to pay for benefits, vacation days, and other costs associated with full-time employees.

And to find new employees, traditional staffing requires you to pay for the ads, the interviews, the background checks, and the training. Finding the right and qualified person for the job can also take a long time.

Conclusion

In summary, we can say that on-demand staffing may be more beneficial for businesses with irregular or fluctuating labor needs. In contrast, traditional staffing may be more beneficial for companies that constantly need workers for a specific function.

As we have seen, there are a few key differences between on-demand and traditional staffing. For one, on-demand staffing is often more flexible and can be tailored to your specific needs. Additionally, on-demand staffing can be more cost-effective since you only pay for the staff you need when you need them.

Finally, on-demand staffing can be a great option if you're looking for highly-skilled workers or need staff on short notice.

So if you're looking for more flexibility, cost-effectiveness, or skilled workers, then on-demand staffing may be the right choice for you. For more information and to see if on-demand staffing is a good fit for your business, check out baconwork.com

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