As we’ve posted before, growth in the temporary services sector usually leads recovery in the permanent jobs market.  All told, about 379,000 temporary jobs have been added to the rolls since September of 2010, and growth in that area will probably continue — especially since employers are still hesitant about the recovery, and because there’s evidence that temporary and contingent staffing will be a larger and more permanent trend in employment going forward.

That said, there are still myths, half-truths and outright falsehoods out there that every temp candidate may have heard — and that should be dispelled with the facts.

Temp jobs are bottom-of-the-barrel: The truth is, many temp jobs are for specialized or general positions at middle and upper level of organizations, from legal to IT and beyond.  Temp hires aren’t always the “seat fillers” of the employment world, somehow comparable to migrant labor…nearly every job on the corporate org chart could be filled by a temporary hire.  Interestingly, one example is Ed Whitacre, the recent chairman of General Motors — he was strictly transitional in the job, coming on to get the company from Point A to Point B in its restructuring.  An extreme example?  Sure.  But it’s a honest example of the nature of a lot of temporary positions, as companies look for quality people to help them in specific situations.

Temp jobs aren’t challenging: See above.  Often, they’re among the most challenging in the organization, because they deal with circumstances that are unusual, and require skillsets that are lacking in the current staff, but are sorely needed — often in a hurry — to tackle the job at hand.

Temp jobs pay poorly: Quite commonly they pay better, at least on a cash-per-hour basis, than salaried jobs, because of the need for highly-qualified people to come in and immediately deal with significant challenges.   And employers often allow temporary and contingency employees to access the same benefits as their permanent staffers, which can even include skills training programs.

Don’t put them on the resume: On the contrary, a jobseeker should definitely include temporary positions on their credentials, if only for the sake of honesty.  And if they worked in a skilled or specialty position where you attacked special challenges, there’s absolutely no reason you should exclude that experience!

Temp job seekers pay fees to work with a staffing firm: Respectable staffing firms never charge candidates, because fees are covered by their client companies.

Temp work will get in the way of finding permanent work: It’s almost the opposite — not only does temp work provide flexibility, in many cases, that lets you devote time to pursuing a permanent job, but many employers use temporary positions as a way to audit candidates for full-time roles.

It’s unfortunate if any of these assumptions keeps even one good prospect out of the candidate pool.  So part of  the job of a good recruitment professional is to help dispel these kinds of assumptions about temporary employment, and make sure a truer picture is shown.

If you’re an employer – or a staffing consultant – who’s considering placing a temp or contingent employee of any kind, there are a few simple “to-dos” that will make the experience run more smoothly – and rewardingly – for employer and employee alike!

Tip #1: Ask the existing team. They’ll have the best possible information on where and how temporary workers should fit in, and for how long.  And by doing this, you lead into the next tip…

Tip #2: Keep up a dialogue with existing workers about temp hires; employers need to make sure they know who’s being brought on, why, for how long, etc.  Even a secure staffer can be intimidated by the presence of a temp.

Tip #4: Lay it out clearly. Make sure the temp plainly knows what the job is, what the firm’s policies and rules are, and what you expect of them from the get-go.

Tip #4: Who’s in charge here? Be absolutely clear about who they’re reporting to, where their job occurs in a department or company’s org scheme, who they should ask for help or guidance, and so on.  Have their supervisor meet them and help walk them through their job from the minute they arrive at your door!

Tip #5: Ready, set, work! Don’t get caught unprepared on day one of a temp hire’s tenure – have their space, phone, computer, office supplies and everything they need to do their job ready and waiting for them, so they can hit the ground running – and you can get your money’s worth out of them ASAP.

Tip #6: Feedback matters, both to the temp and to the firm you may have used in acquiring that employee.  Look in on the temp regularly, talk about their performance, give them input.  And make sure the staffing company that brought him or her to you is apprised of how they’re doing, too.  If they’re competent and reputable, they want every ounce of feedback they can get from their clients!

There’s every chance that more members of the post-recession workforce will be temps, it appears; the difficulties of the recession have made employers cautious, not just in the near term but probably over the long haul as well.  That will mean more temporary positions versus full-time hires, even after the economy improves for many businesses.

This Business Week cover story cites figures from the Iowa Policy Project, a nonpartisan think tank, has estimated that 26% of the U.S. workforce had jobs in 2005 that were in one way or another “nonstandard.”    The trend is, apparently, for that number to grow, because of economic pressures and because more and more businesses are becoming comfortable and experienced with utilizing contingent labor resources versus permanent.

This makes it more important than ever for staffing firms that specialize in temp and temp-to-hire services to stay on the hunt for the best-qualified personnel possible.  With a greater pool of prospective temps out there, it might seem simpler to find a solid candidate, but the cream still rises to the top in any market.  Staffing firms and their clients are still best served by thorough screening of prospects.  Regardless of the state of the overall market, firms are always better off bringing on the highest-caliber contributors available.

Daniel Indiviglio at The Atlantic has been a proponent for some time of the idea that temp hiring is a good indicator for growth in the general economy, and now has a chart he’s discovered that helps prove his point. His capsule summary of what it shows (and very plainly, too — make sure you hit the link!) is, “as this chart demonstrates, temp jobs lead permanent job growth. It’s rare to see such a clear correlation between two variables.”

This is a graphical demonstration of the plain and simple predence and logic we see every day from our clients: in periods like this, qualified temps or temp-to-hire staffers are the safest bet, until any improvement really takes hold in time. Then those temporary positions turn into permanent hires.

The real concern comes in making sure the people you bring in, especially on a temp or transitional basis, have the skills and focus that let them jump right in, and seamlessly serve the client’s business. That’s obviously a sober and serious responsibility for staffing firms like North Bridge.