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How to Choose a Temp Company

Introduction

Very often, choosing a temporary help service amounts to nothing more than a last-minute phone call to fill an absence or to get help in a crisis. However, taking a more strategic approach to choosing a temp service can actually be very valuable. Not only can you minimize costs, but you may be able to find temps who are far more productive for the tasks at hand.

This guide is designed to give you the facts you need to choose and evaluate a temporary help temp agencies for your business. The various sections are listed in the box above. You can choose to read this guide from beginning to end, or jump directly to a section of interest.

How Temps Are Used

Most commonly, temporary employees are used to address normal fluctuations in a company's work flow. In order to save money, companies keep staff levels low and use temps to handle the excess work. Examples of this include hiring temps for large mailings, unexpected orders, or time-sensitive projects.

A second major use of temps is as contingency workers to fill positions that are temporarily vacant. This helps a firm to avoid overworking permanent employees and can reduce the need to shuffle job responsibilities.

A third use of temps is as a source for permanent employees. Businesses will often hire temps to fill a new opening in the company. If the person is good at the job, the company arranges with the temp service to hire the person on a permanent basis.

Types of Positions

Temporary work has broadened since its inception to include a wide range of fields and industries. Clerical and office positions continue to be the largest segment of all temp jobs, comprising almost 40% of all temporary positions. These positions commonly include administrative assistants, general office clerks, filing clerks, receptionists, typists, word processing operators, data entry clerks, and cashiers.

The second largest category, with one-third of all placements, are those involving industrial work, such as shipping/receiving and assembly line work.

A third category, with just over 15% of all placements, consists of technical workers such as computer programmers, analysts, or engineers, and professional workers in the accounting, legal, sales and marketing, and management areas. This ranks among the fastest growing categories, with specially trained temps becoming an important resource for many firms.

Differences Between Firms

Most temp agencies use newspaper advertisements, job fairs, and word of mouth to recruit candidates. National firms may attract greater numbers of candidates due to the brand name, but large, local firms are often equally well known within their region.

There are much greater differences, however, in how firms screen candidates before hiring. Some firms use computer testing to evaluate candidates, while others supplement this with psychological evaluations or personal interviews to select temps for the right jobs. If you need a temp with specific skills, computer matches are usually adequate, but personal interviews can help ensure that workers are better suited for your needs.

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Best Staffing Agency

Hirewell -  Staffing Agency

With offices in Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas, Hirewell is a recruiting firm with dedicated practice areas in technology, digital marketing, human resources, sales, finance & accounting, real estate, executive retained search, IT & creative staffing. We offer a wide variety of services, including managed recruiting programs, retained search, staffing & contingent search, and on-demand recruiting.

Betts Recruiting

Since 2009 Betts has partnered with the biggest names across sectors offering a customized approach to each search. We’ve established a network of genuine relationships that allow us to source the highest-quality talent and execute quickly. With locations in San Francisco, New York, Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles, we work Nationwide, to help you build your organization, and to guide talent into an exciting career, faster and smarter. 

Vested

Put Your Recruiting on Autopilot You have limited time and resources to engage passive candidates. We convert passive candidates to active participants in your recruiting process. Our system identifies and enriches passive candidates, launches personalized outreach, engages talent with unique branding, and works candidates down the funnel for an introduction to your team. Learn more by contacting us at hello@getvested.io or 347-618-0752.

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How to Quit a Temp Position When You Get a Permanent Job

Temporary jobs are helpful when you need to fill in the gaps between regular jobs, or when you just want to work for a short period of time. But when your ultimate goal is to get employed full time without an end date, you may encounter a situation in which you have to leave one job to start the other. This is generally a good thing, since it means you have two jobs instead of none. That said, you'll need to handle the situation with tact and care.

Contract

First things first, check over any written materials you got from the temp agency. If you signed a contract, read over it carefully. Some temp agencies have policies about the amount of notice that you have to provide before you can leave the job. If you break the contract, you may be asked to pay a fee. If the materials give you a time frame, it can help you determine how long before you can start your new job.

Temp Firm

The contract may also outline the procedures in place for leaving the temp job before the agreed-upon date, such as how you're expected to alert the temp staff that you're leaving. Generally though, a phone call or email to your temp agency representative is enough to alert them to the situation. If you call the representative on the phone, also send over a note via email so that there's documentation of your effort. The temp agency representative will likely instruct you how to proceed with the current employer. The representative may want to alert the employer, since you technically work for the agency and not the company where you've been laboring. The representative will also help you confirm your final work day at the temp job.

The Employer

The new employer will also want to know when you're able to start the new job. While it may be inconvenient for the employer to wait a week or two for you to start, hopefully she'll be understanding when you explain that you want to give the temp employer the respect he deserves. The new employer may appreciate your loyalty and concern for doing the right thing.

Considerations

While this situation should be fairly cut-and-dried, you may encounter certain issues during the transition. If you quit the temp job and the permanent employer doesn't end up hiring you, you may be disqualified from receiving unemployment since you quit, reminds reporter Laura Bassett of the website Huffington Post. One possible way to avoid this is to ask for a pre-employment contract or hiring contract before you quit the temp job, which serves as some sort of guarantee that you'll actually start working with the employer. If you're concerned about the situation, speak with an attorney specializing in employment law.

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What to expect when you sign up with a temp agency

As more and more corporations struggle to fill roles, they are turning to temp agencies to find qualified candidates. Sometimes it’s to alleviate some of the strain of an overworked staff; other times it might be to cover a worker who is on leave. Regardless, temp jobs could be a great opportunity for you to test the waters of a job or career without committing to a full-time position. That said, if you happen to have a positive experience temping for a company, it may wind up turning into something more permanent when the circumstances allow.

Another upside: Temp jobs exist in plenty of industries and roles. “Staffing companies have a wide-ranging list of clients and can be your foot in the door for an interview at a company you haven’t had luck with on your own,” says Elaine M. Damm, CEO of ACCU Staffing Services, which specializes in temporary and temp-to-perm placements.

If you’re thinking of pursuing temporary work, it’s important to understand how the process works and how to maximize temp jobs. Start with this guide.

What is a temp?

You’ve probably heard the term “gig economy” for a while now, but temp work is something totally different. Gig work refers to freelancing, for which you’re an independent contractor. When you get work through a temp agency, however, you’re technically an employee who gets a W-2 form.

“When you’re working with an temp agency, you don’t have to go out and find next positions, and you don’t have to invoice or worry about taxes,” says Zach Woodruff, director of interim services for The Roman Healthcare Group, a Sanford Rose company.

How it works: Companies hire a temp agency to find them people who can fill roles for a short, set period of time. In the meantime, the temp agency interviews job candidates and tries to match them with the appropriate clients.

The interview is designed to determine your top skills and work preferences so that the agency places you accordingly. At that point, you’ll usually get a work assignment agreement or contract to get started. “It will state the pay rate, the per diem rate, travel expenses, and anything along those lines,” says Woodruff.

You do want to watch the fine print, however. “A lot of firms and contract agencies require the candidate to sign a contract that states they’ll only work with that agency,” says Woodruff. And some agencies may try to charge you a placement fee, which is generally a red flag. Do some research to find out what is typical for your field, and to make sure that you’re working with a reputable temp agency. (The American Staffing Association is a great resource.)

The other thing to keep in mind with temp work is that the length of your work assignment will vary. For Woodruff, the majority of his temp workers fill 13-week roles.

Advantages of temp agency work

“Temporary work assignments can be a great way to gain experience in different industries and work environments,” says Damm. For recent graduates especially, it can help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses as you evaluate your next career move, she adds.

Here are some other benefits of temp work:

It can be a resume builder. Temp work might give you the opportunity to build skills you wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to if you were just taking on a permanent position, says Woodruff.

It allows you some flexibility. For certain types of temp work, especially in fields like health care, you can choose to work for a certain period of time and then take a break before starting another assignment.

You might discover a new passion. “I had a candidate take a summer position in Cape Cod who said she definitely didn’t want to be there in the winter,” says Woodruff. But she ended up loving it so much that she not only accepted an extension, but it turned into a permanent position.

You won’t have to deal with the politics of a full-time role. Sometimes in permanent positions, there are a lot of internal factors at play that prevent you from advancing, says Woodruff. With contract work, you’re just there to do a job and get it done as best as possible, drama free.

How to be a successful temp

For starters, be open to the positions that are available. “The more flexible a candidate is to work, the more available assignments there are,” Woodruff says. Even if you’re at a higher level, sometimes candidates enjoy getting back to the basics of doing the work they haven’t done in years, he adds.

And once you start a temp job, there’s no time to be shy. “You are only there for a limited amount of time so you need to make the most of it,” Woodruff says. In order to make an immediate impact, you need to be able to communicate and relate to all types of people.

How to go from temp to permanent

Many temp agency positions can become permanent, says Damm. In fact, some companies purposely use temp agencies so they can do a trial run with candidates before offering them full-time work. “Temporary associates should always be mindful of this and show the company they are an asset that should be considered for permanent employment,” she adds.

It’s also important to communicate regularly with your agency so they understand your short- and long-term goals. That way, if your aim is to come away with a permanent job, they can place you in jobs that have the most permanent potential.

Keep in mind that should a company become interested in hiring you full-time, they will have to do it through the agency. Typically, they must pay the agency a fee to release you so you can start working directly for the company.

One important thing worth noting, however, is that when you go from temp to perm, you might actually take a pay cut, says Woodruff. “Contractors should be getting paid more on contract positions than they would get paid for permanent. That’s the case across all niches,” he says.

However, the other benefits and opportunities that only full timers get (like longer-term job security, more comprehensive health insurance, a pension plan, and paid time off) can make up the difference.

Job search next steps

If your traditional job search is lagging, or if you’re ready to try something now, pursuing temp agency work could be a good move. Not only can it help fill your income gap, but you can get a chance to test out different types of work with fewer strings attached. Want some help getting started? Join Monster for free today. As a member, you can upload up to five versions of your resume—each tailored to the types of temp jobs that interest you. Recruiters search Monster every day looking to fill top jobs with qualified candidates, just like you. So roll up your sleeves and get let Monster help you get started on the temp trail today!