This checklist will help you select an agency that can fill your request for temps with specific skills. It will also help in determining how often you need temporary help, under what conditions, and whether you want to deal with more than one agency or staffing company.
- What are your most common requirements for temporary workers?
- Do you want to deal with just one company, or would you like to have two or three to call on?
- Do you want an agency that specializes in one or two industries (such as home healthcare aides or accountants) or do you want an agency that can provide workers for all departments in your organization?
- In a multi-specialty agency, are there staff members who specialize in a particular field, such as technical, legal, secretarial or administrative?
- Is the person who will fill your orders willing to meet with you personally to become better acquainted with your needs?
- Will the agency representative visit your facility?
- Can you visit the agency’s offices? Looking around the offices will give you an idea of how professional and well established the agency is.
- What is the agency’s reputation in the community? Have any complaints been filed with the Better Business Bureau or any state agencies, such as the state department of labor?
- What are the agency’s rates for your most common requirements? (Markups—the amount the agency charges you above the amount it pays the temporary employee—can range from 25 percent to as high as 100 percent over base wage, depending on employment costs and the availability of skilled workers. A 50 percent markup is average.)
- Are the rates competitive for this area and for these particular skill requirements? (You could call several companies to determine an average rate for particular skill requirements.)
- What do they pay the temporary employees who will fill your assignments? (you want to be sure that the temps are being paid well in relation to the amount that you are charged. If they are underpaid, they won’t do the job as well as you expect them to. And while you want to keep costs down, you’d do well to remember the old adage that “you get what you pay for.”)
- What kind of training does the agency provide?
- Will the agency provide specialized training to meet your company’s needs? This will depend on the number of temporary workers that you expect to use regularly, how long the assignments will be, and whether you will obtain them from one agency or more than one. It may also depend on whether other companies in the area require employees with the same skills. The temporary agency will expect to recover its costs for training temps to meet your specific needs through long-term or high-volume contracts.
- What testing process does the agency use?
- Are employees tested for their proficiency with the most common computer software programs, such as word processing and spreadsheets?
- Does the agency test for production and manufacturing skills?
- Does the agency use personality profiles, and are the results available to potential clients?
- Does the agency do background checks on employees?
- Are employees tested for basic math and spelling aptitude?
- Can the agency meet your needs for special, customized testing?
- Will the agency provide an on-site manager or supervisor? This may depend on how many temporary employees you will need at your workplace and for how long. The agency may be willing to provide an on-site manager at no extra cost if the volume of business it will derive from your company, and the profit to be made, warrant it.
- What are the restrictions on hiring an employee from the temporary agency for your staff? Most companies require the employer to wait a certain number of weeks. Depending on the availability of workers with the required skill level, this waiting period can be as short as eight weeks or as long as 24.
- Who pays for any advertising if the agency doesn’t already have an employee on its roster who will fit your needs?
- How quickly can the agency get a qualified temporary worker to your office?
SOURCE: Excerpted with permission from “Managing a Flexible Workforce,” Copyright 1998 by the Bureau of Business Practice, a division of Aspen Publishers, Inc., Waterford, CT (800/243-0876, ext. 236).