How Ad Hoc Works

Ad hoc is a term synonymous with temporary or "one-off" occasions, in the sense that creating something Ad hoc means you have no plans of a long-term application or sustainability. It is common for government or businesses to form ad hoc committees or hire ad hoc staff when a sudden need arises. This means that after an ad hoc staff or committee meets the specific need, the job ends, and the services are no longer needed.

A company can hire you as an ad hoc staff to help do a job or solve a problem that permanent staff can't handle. The primary difference between the ad hoc staff and the permanent staff is their contract's duration and the service's purpose.

Taking ad hoc actions offers you two main benefits. Assembling a non-permanent team to address a specific emergency or circumstance that has arisen can help your organization respond more swiftly and, therefore, more efficiently than when you assign extra work for existing employees. Dealing with occurrences on a non-permanent basis is often more cost-effective. For example, suppose the government hires a specialist on a one-off basis to address a specific issue and pays them as an independent consultant. In that case, it's a more innovative and cheaper option than getting a new full-time employee to solve a temporary problem.

Example of Ad Hoc

An example of Ad Hoc is when you decide to hire additional personnel temporarily to handle a new project. Let's say you own Bluewaters LTD, and you wish to develop a mobile application to enable customers to access your services faster. You can seek a mobile app developer's one-off assistance to design the app and pay for the service once and for all. You can get your mobile app without paying the developer monthly as a staff member since you will not need his services every day or for a long time.

Another example is setting up a committee to oversee an electoral process scheduled to last for one week. A body picks the committee members randomly for fairness and well-compensated for their time and services. This means that after the elections are over, the ad hoc committee ends, and the members no longer need to offer their services.

As an Ad hoc staff, you often don't get the same pay as permanent staff and may not be offered any bonuses as you are on a temporary contract basis. This means you can earn your work's worth during your service but will not enjoy additional perks like housing allowance, HMO, or any other benefits that permanent staff is entitled to. Almost anybody can be part of an ad hoc committee or get hired as an ad hoc staff, depending on what skill you have or service you can render. Much like freelancing, an ad hoc staff can work remotely or on-site; this also depends on the job.