We are desperate for extra resources at year-end, and when special projects are running. How do I convince my boss to spend her budget on a temp?
Managers often see temps as an extravagance. Your job is to demonstrate that she can’t afford not to call the agency.
Don’t always talk about the strain you and your colleagues are under. Managers won’t want to hear about the stress their staff are suffering – partly because it will make them feel guilty and partly because your problems may be nothing compared to theirs.
Think about the tangible difference an extra pair of hands could make. Draw up a list of instances where having an experienced temp around would have prevented mistakes, lateness, or poor service to other departments. If monthly accounts packs were inaccurate, or the payroll wasn’t processed on time, your manager will have been on the receiving end of noisy complaints from operations or sales managers or, worse, the board.
List the jobs that a temp could do that would free others to focus on core activities. However, don’t treat this as an opportunity for everyone to jettison less enjoyable duties from their job specifications. Choose tasks that require the minimum of learning curves, and where productivity can be easily measured by, for example, the volume of invoices processed or the backlog of queries answered.
Equally important is the ‘payback list’ – the accomplishments that are currently a distant dream but which you are confident can be achieved once a temp is on board. These might include a team restructure, or completion of long overdue, one-off projects. Seeing these in black and white will present a convincing argument.
Finally, say how you (or a more senior colleague) will help. Have a plan ready to brief the agency, screen CVs, and oversee an induction, followed by close supervision. Your boss will find it difficult to say no.