Not all businesses need a full, permanent staff of computer and networking technicians. A small group to handle daily issues may be necessary, but a network designed well from the start will not need a huge staff unless your business makes money from information technology (IT) innovation. To figure out how to keep a temporary IT staff on call by retaining talent without paying for lots of downtime, here are a few IT areas that can benefit well from a temporary team.

Help Desk Department

When new accounts must be made for logging into computers, or if a computer breaks down, the IT help desk department is the place to go. Help desks should be be lead by an IT professional who has a handle on all aspects of your business IT infrastructure--including software troubleshooting and some contact with your programmers if software design is part of your business. 

A few permanent help desk professionals should be around to handle daily tickets of repairs and changes. There are times when more personnel are necessary, such as major installs, major downtime, or a restack operation that involves moving out all old computers and bringing in new computers.

There's a fine line to balance here, since some parts of short-term, high-demand IT work require intimate knowledge of your business network. You'll want regulars, but you don't want those regulars to just sit around or even find busy work that doesn't generate income. 

Balancing Your Team And Keeping Them Fed

A temp agency that has a decent stock of IT professionals can give you the flexibility needed. Skilled IT professionals aren't likely to just wait around until you call, but a temp agency can keep you on the rotation of temporary, contracted work that a mostly static team of technicians can count on. They can come in, know the network, and when you're not in need, they'll still have a job. Ethical and economical!

During off time, your permanent staff should be working on orientation and training documentation. This can help with new hires and make it easier for returning technicians to get a refresher. In addition to documentation, a survey of certifications that would help technicians in your business can give temporary technicians a way to increase their own income while being a better part of your business.

Contact a temp agency like BIRK Staffing & Technical Services to discuss temporary employees for your IT department and other technical parts of your business.