A “working interview” is the next step for recruitment managers to evaluate potential hires and decide if they need to be absorbed within the company.

According to a recent Accountemps survey, more than one-third of CFOs said hiring a candidate on temporary basis initially provides greater insights into whether he or she will be a good fit with the company culture.

CFOs further cite open-ended interview questions (30 percent) and checking references (27 percent) as effective ways to gauge someone’s potential fit with the work environment.

“Bringing in professionals on a temporary basis while you evaluate them for full-time roles can prevent costly hiring mistakes. Once candidates have performed on the job and interacted with the team and management, employers can make better-informed decisions as to whether they will make good permanent additions. Applicants can also get a better sense of whether the work environment is right for them,” said Bill Driscoll, a district president of Accountemps.

Here are five key important tips for companies considering temporary hire positions to evaluate candidate potentials before recruiting them as permanent employees. You can now test potential new hires through temporary work:

1. Partner with a staffing firm. Let your recruiter know immediately if an assignment has the potential to become a permanent position, and clearly outline the responsibilities of the job and key aspects of your workplace culture. That way, your staffing firm can search for appropriate candidates who will be able to commit to a permanent position, if offered.

See: Recruitment Trend: Hiring Boomerang Employees Gains Acceptance

2. Let them know what success looks like. You can’t make a fair assessment of a temporary professional’s performance if he or she doesn’t understand what is expected. Give adequate direction, including project details and deadlines as well as company norms, like employee communication preferences.
3. Give challenging assignments. Provide interim employees with projects of varying degrees of difficulty. Pair them with key members of your team and seek staff feedback on how the temporary workers performed and collaborated with others.
4. Bring them into the fold. Invite temporary professionals to the same meetings, team lunches and events everyone else attends. Make sure they receive emails and other communication about company news. Remember, they’re evaluating your firm as much as you’re evaluating them.
5. Keep in touch. Regularly check in with temporary employees to answer questions, seek feedback and gauge how things are going with the assignment. If you want to make a full-time employment offer, alert your staffing firm to coordinate details.

“How well a new employee will blend with a company’s existing culture is difficult to assess in an interview alone,” said Dianne Hunnam-Jones, Canadian president of Accountemps. “Allowing time to evaluate fit before hiring for a full-time position can prevent quick turnover and costly hiring mistakes down the line.”

“Having applicants come in on a temporary basis allows organizations the opportunity to assess a potential employee’s collaborative work style and overall fit before making the decision to bring them on permanently,” added Hunnam-Jones. “It also gives professionals the chance to decide whether the company culture and working environment is one in which they’d be comfortable long-term.”

Image credit: smallbusiness.chron.com

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