Temporary
Help Services
Most businesses need
extra help sometimes, and temporary shortages are especially difficult for
smaller businesses. A temporary personnel service hires employees and assigns
them to companies requesting help. The service is responsible for payroll,
bookkeeping, tax deductions, workers' compensation, fringe benefits, and all
other employee costs. Most national temporary personnel companies also offer performance
guarantees and fidelity bonding at no added cost.
Workers supplied by a
temporary service firm are quickly available. Usually they can start the day
after a request is made, and sometimes the same day. Although the rate paid to
a temporary service firm is higher than that paid to a permanent employee, the
costs of recruiting, record-keeping, training, overtime, and idle periods are
much less.
Evaluate temporary personnel services using these
factors:
Reliability: Is the service well established, with a
history of success and financial stability?
Recruiting: The firm with an aggressive recruiting
program is more likely to have the most skilled and reliable employees.
Testing and evaluation: How does it test and evaluate
personnel?
Training programs: Does the company train personnel in modern
office methods, word processing, records management, and other important
skills?
Quality control: Does the company check the quality of work
of its temporary employees?
A temporary service
will ask for information about the department the employee will be working in,
duration of the assignment, working hours, dress code, smoking rules, and other
important information. If possible, send samples of the work. Be sure to give
the exact location of your business, transportation available, parking
information, and the name and title of the person to whom the temporary
employee will report.
Temporary help
services are not appropriate for all needs. Businesses needing a temporary
worker for six months or longer should hire a full-time employee. For jobs that
require extensive supervision, it may be cheaper to pay overtime to a regular
employee than to use a temporary worker.
Employee Leasing
Employee leasing is
similar to employing temporary personnel, but involves permanent employees. An
employer transfers employees to the payroll of a leasing firm that, in turn,
leases them back to the employer. The leasing firm becomes the legal employer
and is responsible for payroll and leave; record-keeping; benefits and services;
and participation in hiring, evaluation, and firing.
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