subject: Choosing a Staffing Services Agency [print this page] Temporary Employment Services are a particularly attractive option for small businesses, which often need help on a limited basis but lack the resources to recruit, screen, and pay new, full-time employees. A small business considering the services of a temporary employment agency should first consider several factors:
Gauge need. Business owners should examine production schedules, composition of employee benefits (number of sick days and vacation days, etc.), and seasonal workloads when weighing whether to pursue temporary staff. Shortcomings in specific areas of business knowledge should be factored in as well. Another key factor that should be weighed is less quantifiable but even more important: quality of customer service. "Check the quality of the work not just during the times when employees are covering for another worker, but on a regular basis," said Don Owens in Sacramento Business Journal. "Judge the way employees react when asked to do more from each other and from managers. Most importantly, look at how employees treat people outside the company-from the vendors and suppliers to the customers themselves. Are they harried, short and tense?" If so, temporary additions to the workforce may be in order.
Put an effective screening process in place. It is important to understand the temporary services firm's screening process for temporary employees. Though minimal screening is acceptable for low-level jobs, the process should include more sophisticated screening methods-such as personal interviews, computer testing, or psychological evaluations-for positions requiring specialized skills. Existing employee job descriptions can be used to determine temp staffers' suitability for jobs and to measure their performance once they have begun work.
Evaluate potential temporary staffing services. Experts urge business owners to seek out recommendations for temp services from other members of the business community. Once you have targeted specific services for consideration, conduct extensive interviews with management to explain your company's needs and determine their ability to meet those needs. "The natural inclination is to look for the lowest rate," observed Arkansas Business. "Yet quality of service is just as important. A firm that carefully screens and evaluates the skills of all its temporaries will provide you with workers who do the job right the first time."
Establish partnership with the temp service. The temporary services firm your company selects should be able to evaluate the client company's project requirements, time frame, budget, and working environment, and provide temporary employee who have the appropriate skills, availability, and personality to meet its client's needs. Ideally, the temp services firm should be flexible in accepting last-minute requests for temps or in changing temps in the middle of a project if the first one does not work out. Payment rates should be negotiable, based on the skill level required and the quantity of work.
Make your workplace one in which temporary workers can succeed. Companies should make sure that temporary workers are made to feel welcome upon arrival, and that they receive solid training. Do not abandon temporary workers to "sink or swim" on their own.
Monitor temporary staffing initiatives. Put programs in place to monitor and review temp staff performance and determine the impact of the temp service on bottom-line financial performance and customer service.
