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Temporary Help
Traditionally, temporary help firms have been useful when you need
a replacement for a full-time employee who is away from work for
vacation, leave of absence, or illness. But temporary help may be
what you need to fill your more long-term needs.
Pros of using temps. The trend toward using
temporaries and other non-regular employees is growing, with good
reason. There are several advantages to using temporary employees
in your business, including:
- Cost. You may save on payroll administration
and fringe benefits costs.
- Time. The temp agency recruits the employees
and sends you people with the qualifications you specify. Some
agencies may even train workers; for example, they may teach
them to use common word-processing or spreadsheet programs.
- No long-term commitment. If you're not
sure whether you have enough work to keep a full-time employee
busy, try a temp and find out.
- Less dependency on contractors. You
may feel uncomfortable being dependent on non-employees if large
segments of your business are farmed out to independent contractors
and temps may cost less than contractors. With a temp, you do
have the power to directly supervise the employee's work.
- Possibility of hiring good temps, permanently.
If a particular temp worker seems to fit well into your business,
you can always offer to hire him or her as a permanent employee.
In this case, you avoid the risks of a probationary period you'd
normally have with a new hire.
The downside of temporary help. While temporary
employees do seem like a great option, they are not without their
disadvantages, including:
- Legal compliance issues. While some
businesses may think that hiring temporaries gets them out of
having to comply with employment laws, that's not always the
case. There have been instances where temporary help agencies
and the businesses where the temporary help worked were involved
in discrimination cases. In many cases, after a temp works for
you for one year, you'll have to offer him or her the same employee
benefits you offer your regular employees.
- Morale issues. Many businesses use what
they call temporary employees just as they would permanent employees,
except that the temps don't receive the normal fringe benefits
that permanent employees receive. When you have temps who work
40 hours per week, for months, alongside permanent employees
who are receiving the benefits associated with full-time employment,
it can create employee relations or morale problems.
- Compatibility. Not all jobs and businesses
lend themselves to using temporary workers, either because the
job requires a high or specialized level of skill, or, in some
rare cases, because of union constraints.
How do you go about getting temporary help?
Well, you can either hire temporary workers on your own, using
some standard recruiting methods such as advertising, or you can
use a temporary help agency. There can be problems with recruiting
people for less than full-time positions. Make sure to target
people who really want part-time work and not those who really
want full-time work but who take the part-time positions hoping
that they will develop into full-time employment.
If you do use a temporary help agency,
you must realize that you're going to pay more for the convenience
of having someone else do the legwork. For example, for a worker
who gets $5.00 per hour in pay from the agency, you may actually
pay $7.00 or $8.00 per hour for that employee. Nevertheless, for
short-term projects or situations where the worker will need a
lot of supervision (for example, receptionists, secretaries or
administrative assistants), temp agencies are a great alternative.
Consider other options (such as independent contractors or part-time
employees) for long-term projects — it may end up being cheaper.
When using temp agencies, be sure to structure
contracts, in such a way, that your liability is minimal. And,
be sure to choose a reputable agency!
There are many temporary agencies, not
all of who are truly interested in providing quality employees
to you. Some will send unqualified people and will charge you
a premium price for doing it. It helps if you gather a list of
questions and issues that you should address to the agencies that
you screen. Using this checklist should help you choose the agency
that will best serve your needs and provide you with the best
temporary employees.
Temporary Help Screening Checklist
Before you call the temporary help agency,
ask yourself what you need.
- Do you need a last-minute fill-in for
an absent employee?
- How long will you need the temporary?
If the need is long term, estimate the length of time.
- What hours will the temporary need to
work?
- What particular skills will your temporary
worker need to have? Consider:
- specific computer and software skills
- public contact skills (in person or
on the phone)
Once you know what you need, pick a few
agencies from the phone book and assess:
- responsiveness and professionalism
- how many times did the phone ring
before it was answered?
- was the person courteous and helpful?
- did the person ask meaningful questions,
give you clear answers to your questions, and make sure you
were fully informed?
- ability to meet your needs
- does the firm specialize in placing
the kinds of workers you need?
- does the firm have workers in your
geographic location?
- what customer service and satisfaction
features does the firm have?
- are the agency’s rates competitive
for the kind of worker you need?
After you’ve called a few agencies and
have narrowed your selection to a few possibilities, make an appointment
to visit those agencies to discuss more specifically what you
need. When you visit, be sure to cover the following points:
- How are temporary workers tested and
screened?
- What benefits are offered to workers
(better benefits attract better workers)?
- Pricing information:
- what are the billing rates?
- how long are billing rates effective?
- how are workers categorized into skill
levels and corresponding pay rates?
- Payment information
- what methods of payment are acceptable?
- when is payment due for the services
provided?
- what billing methods are used?
- If you want to permanently hire the
temp worker, how much you will have to pay the temporary agency?
- Does the agency carry workers’ comp,
liability insurance and errors and omission insurance?
- Are employees and workers bonded?
After you have collected this information,
you should be able to make a more informed decision about which
agency will be able to help you. In making your decision, be sure
to:
- check the agency’s references
- contact the Better Business Bureau and
Chamber of Commerce for information on the agencies
- check with other business owners and
colleagues
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