Job swap for National Temporary Workers Week

It’s over to one of our senior consultants Nel Woolcott for news on how we marked National Temporary Workers Week:

I deal with temps every day of my working life, talking to them, interviewing them, meeting them, advising them…. They’re great people. They contribute millions of pounds to the UK economy and provide a valuable service to thousands of workplaces up and down the country.

And believe me, after a day in the shoes of one of our temps, I have a renewed respect for them on a personal level too.

I agreed – or was I coerced? – into taking on the role of a temp for the day to mark National Temporary Workers’ Week. I was tasked with doing the job of Vivien Jean-Paul, a temp who signed up with us in February and who’s been working at Edith Cavell Hospital in Peterborough ever since, covering maternity leave for the chief operating officer and company secretary’s PA.

Vivien is a high level PA with an impressive skill set. They were big shoes I had to fill!

I’m not ashamed of saying I struggled to sleep the night before. While Vivien was dreaming of her day off at the seaside I was panicking about whether my typing was up to scratch.

Walking into an unfamiliar environment was nerve-wracking, yet some of our temps do that every week. I realised how vital it is for them to be able to think on their feet, adapt quickly and rise to a challenge.

Thankfully everyone was very nice and they gave me some fairly simple tasks which I think I coped with ok. It was obviously a very busy office and a challenging environment to work in. I was exhausted by the end of it! Yet it was an incredibly valuable experience, a real eye-opener and a very positive exercise. While I have always held all our temps in the highest regard at least now I can say, with complete conviction, “I know how you feel”!.

In her shoes

It’s sometimes forgotten just how vital the role is that temps play in the UK economy. Every single week there are around 1.2 million of them working at every level in every sector, private and public.

The temp market is worth an incredible £24 billion annually.
Big numbers aren’t they?

In an effort to highlight the importance of temporary, contract and interim workers, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) holds an annual National Temporary Workers’ Week. This is the ninth year it’s been held and we’re proud to say it’s an important date in our calendar (1st-5th June 2009).

This year, we’re marking the week by sending one of our most experienced consultants out – to do the job of a temp!

Nel Woolcott manages the temp team and, in her decade with the company, has overseen the placement of thousands of temps.

She’ll be going back to grass roots, doing the work of one of our temps for the day. Vivien Jean-Paul is currently working in the Management Suite at Edith Cavell Hospital covering maternity leave for the PA to the chief operating officer and company secretary.

So that’s where Nel will be working – typing, filing, answering phone enquiries, managing emails and organising diaries.

It should prove an interesting reminder for Nel – and the rest of us – just how hard our temps work and how valuable their contribution is to our clients.