Temp to Perm Works for Clients and Candidates: Observations from Scottish Pacific

Recently at a breakfast, with Rob Lamers, State GM – Scottish Pacific, Rob mentioned how well the ‘temp to perm’ model had worked for them and couldn’t understand why more companies weren’t doing this. 

With this in mind, Martin and Karen from TTG sat down with Rob and two recently placed candidates, Marcelle and Kirsty, to discuss their experiences.

Scottish Pacific is a major debtor financing company who place a high value on skills, fit and culture. Recently, they have followed a talent acquisition process where temporary staff transition into permanent roles. Rob stated that he hadn’t “foreseen this as being something that was going to work as well as it has, with great results”.  

 One of the major benefits is the extended opportunity for both parties to get to know each other before committing longer-term. Rob credited this as a major contributing factor in the improved ‘strike rates’, as cultural compatibility cannot always be gained during one interview. This awareness also assists in the negotiation of contracts as the ‘value added’ has been quantifiably assessed.

When hiring employees through an organisation such as ttg Recruitment, a full candidate screen is conducted prior to placement; allowing for an easier transition from ‘temp to perm’.

Marcelle is a senior manager from a property background and was seeking to return to the financial services sector. She was looking for her next career step and wouldn’t have necessarily considered this type of role. After hearing about the opportunity from Karen, she went into the role with her eyes open. A role became available within Scottish Pacific and they recognised the value and broader experience with Marcelle.

She spoke about her experiences as a job seeker and stated: “I honestly would not have applied for the role, but it was the best decision I have made. When you start a role you might not know too much about it and the organisation, you definitely don’t know anybody that you’re going to be working with. Your colleagues can make or break your experience and I think it is a fantastic concept, that really does change the whole mindset of temping.”

Kirsty had recently relocated from Canberra back to Brisbane and was finding it difficult to re-join the industry, she registered with Karen, who after placing a number of temporary staff with Scottish Pacific, very quickly recognised Kirsty’s potential for Scottish Pacific and had her in mind for the next available assignment.

“Quite simply it’s been great. It is my first role coming back to Queensland, I had the banking and finance background but was pretty open to considering anything. I didn’t know much about debtor finance but this experience has really opened the door to that”

Karen commented that clients always have to “watch what they spend their money on, hiring temporary staff is not to be taken lightly, you want to make sure that you get staff who will not just fill a gap but provide you with genuine value. I was thrilled to be a part of this process and seeing how all parties have benefitted”.  

Rob closed by saying that “the try before you buy has worked really well for everyone”.

This profile is part of a series which focuses on sharing stories from the TTG community.  If you feel like you have a story or perspective which you would like to share, please email us  mturner@theturnergroup.com.au