New research has shown that Australian employers are making use of temporary and part-time workers in the face of the uncertain economy and staffing challenges.

Research released by recruitment company Right Management has shown that 26% of HR managers intend to increase the use of project and temporary staff over the next five years, with a further 17% expecting to boost their permanent part-time workforce.

Right Management regional general manager Bridget Beattie said while the trend is representative of a changing workforce and the pursuit of increased flexibility, she warned that “a contingent workforce comes with its own challenges, as employers need to work that much harder to maximise productivity and employee engagement”.

The survey also shined light on expected changes to traditional recruitment methods. For example, it was found that while face-to-face interviews remain the industry standard in the recruitment process, they will increasingly be supplemented by remote video interviews.
While only 15% of employers currently use video interviewing, that figure is expected to double in the near future. Beattie said reasons for greater technology take-up arise from the “limited time and resources available for recruitment, and as increasingly mobile workforce means candidates are often based interstate or even overseas”.

Beattie added that they do not expect face-to-face interviews to die out, but widespread survey feedback has suggested that video interviewing is a beneficial element in the pre-screening process, and will influence decisions on whether to pursue the candidate further.

In the current highly competitive job market, the Right Management research suggests that employers have the opportunity to set themselves apart through their use of technology.

While one in five employers report using social and professional networking sites to source talent and build their candidate networks, Right Management found the top five most popular sourcing methods to be:

  1. Job advertisements in the print and online media (63% use this method)
  2. Referrals from other company employees (45%)
  3. Face-to-face networking/informational interviews (42%)
  4. Recruiters or staffing agencies (40%)
  5. Job postings on company website (39%)