Temporary or permanent staff placement ?

Recruiting and managing a company's salaried staff requires a great deal of organization on the part of HR, but not all companies have the resources to allocate to this service for reasons of structural size or cash flow. Many therefore opt to delegate this task to recruitment agencies, if they don't use outsourcing companies directly (the outsourcing market as a whole is worth almost two billion Swiss francs in Switzerland).

Getting back to human resources, what are the real reasons why a company should outsource part of its personnel recruitment? And finally, which recruitment method should be chosen?

Temporary placement, flexibility and peace of mind

Temporary placement is a solution chosen by companies at very specific times. The list of events that give rise to temporary recruitment is well known :

  • Employee sick leave or maternity leave
  • Seasonal work overload
  • Need to fill an expertise gap within the company, in particular by recruiting an expert consultant on an assignment basis
  • Need to extend working hours (night work, etc.).

This recruitment method is widely used in French-speaking Switzerland for all the reasons mentioned above. It enables the company to treat the new recruit as a member of its staff, and to organize his or her tasks and work (unlike outsourcing, which gives complete freedom to a third-party service provider). Nevertheless, interim or temporary work is a process handled by an employment agency to accomplish a precise, time-limited task. This solution improves production and productivity for the customer, who does not have to worry about the administrative management of staff hired in this way (public holidays, sickness, paid leave, etc.) and can concentrate on his core business.

The benefits of temporary work are immediately perceptible, with lower costs for personnel search (HR department), reduced absenteeism and overtime, and a contribution of external expertise that is often beneficial to the company.

All types of business and companies are concerned by temporary work. DCS offers resources with varying degrees of expertise to its customers in Switzerland and Geneva, particularly in the fields of IT (support at all levels, helpdesk, IT maintenance, etc.) and administration (digitization operators, secretaries, etc.).

How much does it cost? 

The employment agency pays the employee directly and covers various benefits (public holidays, paid leave, compulsory 13th month for temporary workers and AVS, family allowances, unemployment, maternity, occupational accident, loss-of-earnings insurance for sickness, LPP). In fact, the agency invoices a service subject to VAT, remunerated by the actual hour worked. The bill is clear, budgeted and without surprises. No administrative or management tasks are involved. That's the strength of temporary work. Finally, if the employee is not suitable, he or she can be replaced.

Permanent placement

Fixed or permanent placement is preferable when your company needs to take on a sure and certain increase in business, or simply when you need to replace a member of staff. Recruiting a new employee cannot be done lightly. Unless you have an efficient HR department accustomed to dealing with in-house recruitment, the support of a recruitment agency is obviously recommended.

In addition to finding a profile that corresponds to the position and skills required, it is imperative to find a person who fits in with your corporate culture. DCS conducts a profile search within its network (using company networks, social networks, etc.), in a CV bank and by publishing relevant advertisements on recognized sites.

What are the accepted rates in this field?

Each agency charges its own rates. Some are paid to search for a candidate and then apply a percentage of the annual salary cost at the time of hiring. This is the norm, but rates vary from agency to agency.

Need flexibility when recruiting permanent staff? Try and hire !

The Try and Hire solution is designed to offer the company every guarantee when choosing a profile. The candidate presented to you as a temporary employee completes 520 hours of work, and at the end of this period can be hired at no extra cost.

The key role of the placement agency

A recruitment agency like Data Conversion Service SA (based in Geneva and ISO 9001 version 2015 certified) offers comprehensive guarantees during the complex phase of hiring an employee, whether on a temporary or permanent basis.

DCS is a full-service agency, capable of carrying out your assignments directly, thanks to its outsourcing service, or by recruiting the right person(s). An agency must adhere to a very strict recruitment process, from comparing several profiles, to checking the candidate's experience and recommendations, right through to presentation to the customer. DCS can even go one step further by taking over the HR management of your salaries (payrolling service).

The recruitment of your staff should not be taken lightly : entrust it to professionals!