There is a new kind of temp entering the workforce. Known as the "supertemps," this is a person not worried about holding onto the corporate ladder, but instead decides to jump off it so that they can advance their careers.
These temps are viewed as "top-level managers" who have grasped the idea that they are better off, financially and emotionally, taking on work for various companies on a contract or temporary basis.
Jody Miller, co-founder and CEO of Business Talent Group (BTG) says that "The number-one reason these high achievers decide to leave their corporate careers behind is for career satisfaction." She added that these temps "want to choose what type of work they do and for whom. Ultimately they want to be in control of their own life."
A recent survey by the Institute of Interim Management revealed that 22% of prospective temps cite the conclusion of a job as a motive to make a move, while 70% mentioned their professional and lifestyle choices as the main reason.
This is not surprising to Miller who disclosed that many of her clients believe a better work-life balance is one of the primary reasons why they decided to change from permanent to temp work.
Research conducted by McKinsey & Company discovered that 58% of U.S. companies are planning to use more temporary arrangements on all levels. However, Miller still believes that a certain stigma is still attached to temp work at the executive level, one which she is looking to get rid of.
She explains that "The idea that a person who works on a project basis is not as successful or as ambitious as someone who sticks to the corporate culture is not true, but it is still something that is part of U.S. conventional business thinking." She reveals that her "clients could stay in the corporate world if they wanted to, they just choose not to."
However, the appearance of the "supertemp" is not just an American trend. In Europe, temporary work is more common because businesses are hesitant about hiring permanent employees. Miller believes that although the majority of this work is in the middle tier or below, but is now going on to the high end levels.
According to Booz Allen Hamilton, the UK market for interim managers is one of the best, making up about $1.8 billion in revenue in 2009.
That's where agencies such as Milller's BTG have created their niche, pairing up companies in need of talent with independents who looking for the next assignment.
"These people like to go in and make an impact quickly," describes Miller. "They have specific skills and they like variety and a challenge. They can work as an outsider as well as being able to gain people's confidence quickly and they are natural self-starters who are able to network easily. Companies will start realizing that it is more cost effective and more productive to hire the best possible team for a specific phase, and understand that such a team might not be the team which will manage the next phase," reveals Miller. "I think the corporations that embrace that will be the ones that will do best in the future."
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