A new temp agency that has officially launched across Australia is promising to save employers up to 30% on temp costs and speed up the hiring process, while at the same time giving workers better pay conditions and greater flexibility.
To do this, Workfast will use on-demand technology to disrupt the $19 billion temp industry by cutting out the middleman – the traditional temp agency. Employers will now be able to search and find a qualified ‘temp’ as effortlessly as hiring an Uber car – without the big fees and clunky service. Temp workers will also benefit greatly as the on-demand technology means each employee will be paid daily, control where and when they work, and who they work for – all while earning competitive rates of pay.
“Australian-developed technology has allowed us to streamline the entire temp agency process; our margins are low and our efficiencies are very high,” said Tim Nieuwenhuis, CEO of Workfast. “Unlike the traditional temp agency, there are no extra costs that many employers resent; no listing fees, success fees or sign-up fees. And because the process is so quick and affordable, we believe a lot of business owners who previously thought hiring a temp would be a hassle and a luxury will be attracted to the industry.”
What exactly is Workfast looking to change?
“Consider this common scenario, if a star-employee called in sick at 7am, it could be 1pm before a worker from a traditional temp agency walked through the front door. That’s half a day’s worth of productivity lost, not to mention valuable time being wasted negotiating with the temp agency,” says Tim.
“With Workfast, you would post your job at 7.05am, and then choose a suitable worker from those that are available and negotiate a price based on experience and ratings. Yes ratings – each temp is rated by previous employers, so you’ll have confidence in your decision. The whole process could be done in less than 15 minutes and the person could be in your business by 9am!”
Employers will find two types of workers on Workfast: contractors (who are responsible for their own insurance and work standards) and those that are employed by Workfast (who are fully covered under Fair Work and NES standards). Contractors can negotiate their own rate of pay while Workfast workers work for the award rates.
“Whereas a traditional temp agency might hire out a worker at $50 per hour and add a management fee, Workfast would hire out the same employee for an all-inclusive hourly rate of $35 and not charge an additional management fee. That’s a saving of 30% right there,” argued Tim Nieuwenhuis.
Casual workers make up 23.9% of the Australia’s work force; with Workfast these people can take back control of their career and demand better working conditions. They will manage their own profiles and negotiate wages directly with employers.
How exactly does it work?
What’s more, workers will be paid immediately after a shift has been completed, they can choose when and where they want to work, and work with the employers they find most appealing. Each employer’s profile page will make the choosing so much easier.
Workfast will be especially useful for employers wishing to tap into the millennial workforce, with recent research indicating they wish for greater work/life balance, preference for using technology to communicate in preference to facetime, and the penchant for changing jobs and careers at a swift rate.
“Workfast contractors will now be able to negotiate a competitive hourly rate above their current Award,” said Tim. “And the best workers will be rewarded substantially more. After each job is completed, employers will be asked to give the worker a star rating as well as a personal review. Those with the highest average star rating will not only appear first in the search rankings, they’ll then be able to command a superior hourly rate. The cream really will rise to the top in every profession! ”
Workfast provides workers in the following fields, admin and office, promotion and events, hospitality, retail and sales, tech and online and general services. “All Workfast employees and contractors are guaranteed – if they’re not right for the job, you don’t pay – just cancel within two hours and it’s free. Our ultimate goal is to help you reduce costs and increase productivity,” concluded Tim Nieuwenhaus.
How is Workfast doing so far?
Workfast started placing workers about three months ago, with mainly warehousing, placing a few shifts here and there but now they’ve expanded into hospitality with cafes and restaurants, they’re moving into events for the festive season and retail heading into Christmas. Workfast is successful at placing 99% of job requests from employers; as soon as a job comes in, Workfast is getting bids from workers within minutes.
Tim Nieuwenhuis has been working in eCommerce since the 90’s, successfully selling products and building web stores online. “Through these ventures I have developed a very good understanding on on what is needed to make a digital product work.”
He revealed to Anthill that Workfast is internally funded and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. “We are however looking for strategic partners to grow other verticals or expand internationally,” Tim added.
“We are built Workfast to automate the temp hiring process with the short term goal is to have 100 jobs a day active through our system. We are growing fast in Australia’s major cities so we are looking at expanding nationwide by the end of November.”
