Author: Linda Davidson

Outsourcing: It’s touted as the business solution of the decade, a trend that was bound to find its way into the HR suite. But it’s also a concept that initially sent many HR professionals into instant anxiety over whether or not they’d ultimately be replaced by third-party vendors.

Now after the dust has settled from the initial outsourcing landslide, HR professionals are left wondering: Where exactly does HR stand? Are entire human resources departments being sent packing because management views this function as “noncore”—a department that’s more easily and efficiently managed by an outside supplier?

That was the projection of many outsourcing proponents who thought the HR function was one of the most logical areas to outsource, mainly because it couldn’t quantify the “value-added” benefit.

In fact, some prophetically suggested it would make perfect sense to encase the entire in-house HR function in cement and dump it into the proverbial black hole; the suggestion being that outside vendors could (with eyes closed no less) perform the same functions better, faster, and more cost-effectively.

The outcome of the outsourcing trend, as usual, is somewhere on middle turf. Outsourcing has neither totally replaced HR functions, nor has it left most HR departments untouched. In the end, it has become an HR tool that helps HR departments get rid of what’s not strategic to their role while keeping what is.

Outsourcing strategy supports HR’s role, but doesn’t replace it.
Few people would argue with the steam behind the outsourcing trend. After all, outsourcing revenue, in general, is skyrocketing. This was evidenced by the March 21, 1997, edition of the Staffing Industry Report published by Los Altos, California-based Staffing Industry Analysts Inc. It projected that annual outsourcing revenue would take a 35 percent jump over 1996 figures, exceeding $108 billion by the end of 1997, and there appears to be no end in sight to this record-breaking growth.

And although it’s true that organizations are increasing their outsourcing activity in the human resources area, the HR function is far from extinction. A recent survey conducted by the New York City-based American Management Association indicates that roughly 75 percent of the more than 600 respondent firms outsource at least one or more HR activities. But what’s being outsourced are segments of the HR function, such as benefits administration, payroll, EAP services, recruiting, temporary staffing and training—rarely the HR function in total—a fact that indicates the outsourcing phenomenon has hit a speed bump at HR’s door.

Outsource the entire HR function? Most find that thought absurd, especially in a business world where change is rampant, competition is ferocious and human assets are sacred. No, HR’s role today is more important than ever, and HR outsourcing rationale supports the fact that there’s a renewed, and perhaps unprecedented, appreciation for HR’s contributions.

Just look at the “why” behind most HR outsourcing decisions. Certainly some of the appeal this option offers is related to the cost-savings factor and the opportunity to buy external expertise. But one of the main reasons companies are outsourcing segments of the HR function is to allow human resources staff more time to focus on core activities that are strongly linked to key organizational goals.

And hand-in-hand with these core responsibilities comes a more meaningful role for HR professionals, one that positions them as tough but judicious keepers of organizations’ conscience and guardians of the corporate culture. Facilitating major change efforts such as mergers, acquisitions and restructuring, and shaping culture through effective communication and workforce development, are critical activities that are at the heart of HR today. Most experts agree these strategic activities shouldn’t be managed through a third-party relationship.

HR’s leadership role also has become increasingly more important because of the level of organizational change that’s running rampant in today’s work environment. Paul Simoneau, HR manager for The Gillette Co.’s North Atlantic Group, is one who agrees that HR outsourcing decisions should be made with careful forethought. Simoneau says his organization outsources relatively few HR functions (temporary staffing, matching-gifts programs and EAP services) because he believes HR’s role is too vital to the success of the company to outsource on a large scale.

Simoneau feels the level of change taking place in most organizations today calls for HR to provide an important and irreplaceable link between the workforce and management. Simoneau, based in Boston explains: “HR needs to be at the table when decisions are being made about major change initiatives, because for the workforce to support the change, it has to understand the ‘what’s in it for me?’ HR has to be there to give [employees] that answer and help them through the transition. [HR’s] no longer there just to plan the company picnic.”

Simoneau adds: “Our role is to figure out how to leverage our HR talent and do an even better job supporting the business by adding value and playing a more significant role in meeting corporate objectives. In a way, we’re competing with outside suppliers, because if we’re not adding value, and we’re not providing extremely high levels of service and doing it cost effectively, the company may look to outside suppliers through an outsourcing plan to meet those goals.”

Simoneau says he feels strongly that HR also plays a major role in supporting and shaping the culture of his organization by serving as communicator and interpreter of the corporate message. He says, “Whether it’s good news or bad, it’s up to us as internal HR professionals to put the right spin on it and make sure the message is consistent across all divisions.”

Some HR skeptics still hold on to the idea that HR belongs in the background, maintaining that the primary responsibility of managing the human assets rests with line management and with human resources playing a limited role as facilitator. But people like Gillette’s Simoneau are seeing the opposite trend. As organizational structures have become leaner, leaving fewer managers to take care of the business, Simoneau finds management staff turning to HR more often to provide strategies for dealing with difficult issues like violence prevention, sexual harassment, and the legal issues related to corrective action and employment termination.

Simoneau recently conducted training sessions on workplace violence and sexual harassment himself, and felt the training was well received because it was delivered by an internal person who was visible within the organization. “We’re addressing issues that in the past have been unspeakable, and we’re making them speakable. We haven’t sent this training outside because these are difficult issues and we want the staff to hear first hand that we support awareness and education in these areas. Some of that might be lost by bringing in a third party that doesn’t already have internal credibility and an established level of trust.”

Simoneau admits, however, that the challenge is in figuring out how to continue to keep up with the changing training needs of the staff, particularly with a workforce that’s somewhat mobile and very diverse, keeping it cost effective at the same time.

Brenda McGhee, manager of employment services for Glaxo Wellcome Inc., knows firsthand what managing organizational change is all about from an HR standpoint. McGhee, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, was on board for the Glaxo Pharmaceutical/Burroughs Wellcome merger that took place last year. She believes HR played a critical role in the transition. “We’re still in the process of building the combined culture of two large, successful companies. As we went through this merger, we in HR were as closely involved as any other group across the country. Over the last year, we’ve become even stronger partners with the business. Our line managers really view the HR staff as true experts in the field.”

McGhee’s human resources department outsources it’s company’s relocation and EAP services, as well as its onsite wellness/fitness program and temporary staffing activities. Having these areas managed through a third-party relationship allows McGhee’s organization to save money and time. “[The outsourcing vendors are] experts in these areas. We aren’t, and don’t care to be. We’re HR experts, and we want to devote our time to core functions in this area.” McGhee says these core functions are critical to the firm and have bottom-line impact that can be measured by reducing turnover, maximizing dollars spent on training and improving processes that impact productivity.

Outsourcing isn’t always the best answer.
Both Simoneau and McGhee believe a lot would be lost in outsourcing what many believe are the more strategic functions of the human resources role. According to Simoneau: “When you start outsourcing things like succession planning, organizational design, recruiting and training in its entirety, you start losing your connection to the employees, and you lose consistency of policy application, particularly in a large organization.”

In fact, some human resources executives are thinking twice before jumping on the outsourcing bandwagon, even when it comes to some of the more commonly outsourced functions. Anthony Bonno, senior vice president of human resources for Pacific Mutual Life Insurance in Newport Beach, California, says he considered sending both benefits administration and payroll functions of his 1,800 employee organization to outside vendors, but abandoned the effort mid-stream. “On closer examination, we [in HR] found some of the alleged benefits of outsourcing these functions were misrepresented. Reporting information couldn’t be done on a timely basis, and we would have had to add more and more services to the initial agreement to meet current service levels, something that became more and more expensive. And there were requirements we had with our multiple locations that would’ve been left unmet.”

About a third of the way into the conversion, Bonno said it became clear he’d be sacrificing both service and cost levels, defeating his initial purpose and leaving his internal customers dissatisfied. His goal, Bonno explained, is always to maintain or improve service levels, and to have cost reduction, criteria that outsourcing arrangements sometimes have difficulty meeting.

Determine the value-added benefit.
Bonno does agree, however, that the outsourcing option can play an important part in augmenting the HR function. According to Bonno, “If we don’t have the functional expertise in a certain area, like outplacement for example, we’ll go outside, but only if that service adds value to the organization and service levels are higher than what we can provide internally.”

Bonno believes a service adds value if it proves to be a better alternative to what’s available internally and offers expense control, expertise and knowledge when he needs it, especially if that need “comes and goes.” Bonno’s organization currently outsources outplacement and EAP services, some soft-skills training such as communication and project management, computer training, and 401(k) record keeping. He states: “It’s more cost effective for us to buy these services. They don’t fall within our core competencies, and in each case, we can meet our goals for high service levels and cost effectiveness.”

Outsourcing suppliers agree the intent behind outsourcing HR functions is, for the most part, based on efforts to buy external expertise and to free up HR professionals to spend more time on core activities that are bottom-line related, which means the company can quantitatively measure the return on investment of time or effort in dollars and cents. These efforts might involve improving a business process that results in increased productivity and ultimately more sales, or improving employee satisfaction through new programs and contributing to reduced turnover—things that can impact the financial performance of an organization.

Distinguishing core from noncore functions can be different for every organization.
Most HR professionals feel certain functions are more easily outsourced than others. But what’s considered “noncore” can be different for every company. Functions such as temporary staffing management, basic skills training, EAP programs, relocation services and benefits-related record keeping are areas that are frequently outsourced, but to some organizations, those areas may be so essential to the business, they should remain in house.

Joe Melanson, vice president of national outsourcing company Strategix, based in Peabody, Massachusetts, feels his organization serves as an important arm to the human resources function. “We’re brought in to support HR, not to replace it. I still see a lot of HR professionals bogged down with labor and time-intensive activities like background and reference checks, activities that are nonvalue-added in nature. The day-to-day work is still very reactionary, and it makes it difficult for the HR staff to focus on the strategic initiatives that are most pressing. Outsourcing those low-return activities can go a long way in helping HR get to the more critical functions like long-term planning.”

Melanson says he believes one of the core functions of HR professionals today is determining how to recruit and retain qualified staff. “An organization is only as strong as the talent it can recruit and hold on to,” he says. “Some of that work can be outsourced, but when you’re talking about high-level recruiting and managing sensitive employee relations, those things should be managed in house, because the internal staff has a unique understanding of the people involved and the organizational culture.”

Bonno echoes this philosophy and explains: “Whatever the bottom-line issues are, they always include an employee group. The internal HR staff must have an eye toward employees to make sure their issues are on the table.” Bonno also feels the internal staff can suffer when a third party is brought in to manage high-impact issues like employment termination and performance management. “Outside suppliers don’t have the same tie to the organization. The internal [HR representative] always has a stronger relationship which allows [him or her] to operate at a different level. A third-party supplier can’t operate at the same level.”

Susan Casey, senior vice president of HR for Fidelity Investments in Boston, feels the outsourcing solution makes sense when organizations want to buy knowledge and competencies they don’t want to invest in internally. Casey’s HR department has established partnerships with outsourcing vendors to manage relocation services, and benefits and 401(k) administration. She’s considering expanding her use of outside consultants to other areas, such as compensation.

Casey says her outsourcing philosophy is to maximize time and cost-effectiveness, and to also “access the best thinking available in the areas that are critical to the business.” However, Casey points out that although she supports the third-party strategy, she also agrees organizations should keep the core functions of human resources in house. Casey says “HR is a viable operational process. It’s important that those processes be integrated into the business strategy, someone from HR has got to be part of the management team to make sure that happens.”

Outsourcing can help build internal competencies.
David Burleigh, director of marketing for Arthur Andersen Contract Services in Chicago, sees little evidence of companies outsourcing entire human resources functions. “We certainly are seeing an upsurge in outsourcing trends in the HR area, but relatively few companies are sending the entire function out to be managed by a third party, with the exception of very small companies.” Burleigh indicated these smaller organizations tend to gravitate toward a PEO arrangement (professional employer organization), or staff leasing arrangement, a form of outsourcing in which the supplier provides a variety of HR functions, usually offsite.

What’s more common, Burleigh explained, is organizations turning to their outsourcing providers to give them access to competencies they might not otherwise want to cultivate internally. Establishing an international HR function is one trend Burleigh sees emerging as more businesses expand globally. According to Burleigh, few companies have experience in this area, and she says it can make sense to buy this competency initially, rather than trying to develop it in house. “Expertise is usually the key to the outsourcing decision. If you haven’t got it and you need it, go to someone who can put you in touch with the best practices out there.”

Organizations increasingly turn to third-party vendors to gain exposure to an area of expertise they don’t currently have internally, but eventually might want to build. The outsourcing partner can offer exposure to that area, preparing the organization to eventually build that competency in house, if desired.

Most experts agree the outsourcing option for human resources continues to be a viable long-term business solution. The key is figuring out what human resources activities are core, and which are noncore. If HR professionals focus their outsourcing strategy from a strategic-partner perspective, their plans won’t conflict with efforts to support high-performance HR systems, but will in fact, support those efforts by leaving human resources to do what’s most important, managing and supporting the organization’s most valuable capital—its human assets.

Workforce, January 1998, Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 40-45.

Wasn’t it just yesterday when one call to your local staffing service would yield a half-dozen qualified candidates for your customer-service center and five software engineers for your new-product division on short notice? Whatever happened to all those workers who were just dying to get a foot in your door for a little temporary shelter? Was it something you said? Oh, if only it were that simple.

No, the temporary staffing shortage isn’t a personal thing, it’s a problem shared by companies from Boston to the Bay area and everywhere in between. The national staffing crisis, brought on by a robust economy and drastically low unemployment (5.4 percent in January, the most current figure available at press time), is dealing HR professionals a one-two staffing punch that’s leaving them winded, weary and woeful—with an anemic base of candidates to fill regular positions and now a temp pool that’s beginning to look pallid as well.

Adding to the national low-unemployment problem is the fact that companies are relying more heavily on temporary workers to support a flexible staffing strategy. The National Association of Temporary and Staffing Services (NATSS), based in Alexandria, Virginia, reports U.S. companies currently are spending more than $40 billion annually on temporary staffing services, supporting the industry’s impressive growth rate of 13 percent to 15 percent per year, sending more than 200,000 temporary employees to work daily.

And the staffing industry itself is in a state of flux. In the ’70s and ’80s, staffing suppliers often were called in at the last minute to fill short-term needs for low-skilled positions. The typical scenario was that an agency filled positions for situations such as a secretary out for a week on vacation or the receptionist home sick for a day. But the staffing supplier of today has become much more integral to its clients’ organizational structures, strategically positioning its services as “one-stop-shopping” business solutions and partnerships.

Companies not only look to staffing suppliers to provide traditional temporary workers, but now turn to them to meet a multitude of HR needs such as temp-to-hire, payrolling, outsourcing, vendor-on-premises, skills training and general HR consulting.

It seems companies have rolled out the welcome mat and invited the staffing industry inside for a nice, long stay. Unfortunately, many of these companies that place lots of orders for temp workers are feeling like disappointed hosts whose guests have shown up without the promised side dish—namely, the temporary workers they said they’d bring.

How to make sure that you have enough temporary workers to fill your short-term and longer-term staffing needs has reached nearly desperate proportions. It’s going to take an even stronger partnership between you and your staffing vendors to get the people you need-when you need them.

Low Supply stifles high-growth companies.
Requests for temporary workers, increasingly coming in multiples of 10, 20 or 50 at a time, often are met with modest enthusiasm as staffing suppliers lament the challenges of low unemployment and the shortage of qualified help. Particularly hard hit are the high-growth industries with high-volume needs. Financial services, health care, telecommunications and software companies are growing impatient waiting for workers to become available so they can keep up with project deadlines and customer needs.

Gretchen McAuliffe, human resources manager for Lycos Inc., a start-up Internet exploration company in Marlboro, Massachusetts, says the staffing shortage has been particularly difficult for her high-growth organization. “I sometimes have to wait several weeks for workers with the right technical-skills mix. It makes it difficult for the internal staff who have to pick up the extra load. It just adds to the stress in an already intense environment.”

Tim Doherty, president of NATSS, reports that finding enough qualified candidates to meet client demand is currently one of the industry’s biggest challenges. But Doherty says he feels this isn’t the worst problem the industry could have. “Demand is up significantly because clients feel more confident turning over entire departments and call centers to their staffing suppliers. Clients also are using their temporary workers for longer periods of time and often are hiring them for regular positions, so you don’t have as much movement from one assignment to another.”

Doherty admits, however, that the staffing shortage is causing real problems for many companies, particularly those like Lycos with high-skill needs in the information technology area. “Many of these companies [that rely on temporary staff] are having to delay upgrades or ask employees to put in extra hours to handle excess work, all of which can create a lot of internal stress.”

Technology-driven organizations aren’t alone in their frustration, however. Two more of the hardest-hit areas by the staffing shortage are customer-service departments and call centers, both of which can serve as a company’s mainline to customer satisfaction. Sandra Buford, customer-service supervisor for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Denver feels the “temp crunch” has a definite impact on business. “We have regular staff we want to move to other departments, but we can’t release them until we can get more temp help in the door; waiting for these workers slows down our systems, brings down our service levels and forces us to spend more money on overtime,” says Buford.

Applicant quality drops.
Nancy Watts, vice president of national recruiting for Office Specialists Inc., a temporary staffing company based in Peabody, Massachusetts, says meeting the increased demand for many of the new-age skills will only get more difficult. “You can’t turn on the TV without seeing a flashing 800 number. Someone’s got to be on the other end of the line taking those calls, and it’s often a temporary worker,” she says. Watts, who has worked in the staffing industry for 15 years, says the staffing shortage is reminiscent of the ’80s, but this time, it’s even more challenging because of industry and business trends. “Orders for temporary workers are coming in multiples of 10 to 50 for skills that didn’t even exist in the ’80s. We have to work a lot harder today to meet the demand for both the skill [level] and the volume [needed],” she says.

The quality of candidates applying for temporary work also has surfaced as an issue, Watts says. “With a tighter market we’re seeing a significant drop in overall usability,” which refers to the applicant meeting the required standards to be considered “qualified” for temporary work through the agency. Qualifications could refer to skill level, work experience or satisfactory references. “A high percentage of applicants don’t even make it through the initial screening process because they don’t meet our requirements.” In addition, Watts says customers are experiencing the same challenges in recruiting their regular staffs and therefore understand that sometimes a partial solution is better than no solution at all. “The honesty factor is what’s important. Maybe we can’t fill all 20 orders with the exact skill mix [the client] desires, but if we’re up front about what we can do, there aren’t any surprises, and our clients are willing to be a little more flexible and that helps.”

Flexibility may be one way for companies to manage their way through the staffing crisis. HR departments should be flexible, not only with the skills their companies require, but also with level of experience, work schedules and sometimes the most sensitive of all, the hourly bill rate paid for staffing services, which will be an increasingly negotiable point.

Bill rates are rising because of the shortage.
HR managers shouldn’t be surprised to receive a call from their staffing service that brings them back to the negotiation table. Demand is up, supply is down, and the backlash effect is likely to kick in, sending bill rates on the increase, say industry experts. In fact, if HR has done a great job of negotiating low hourly bill rates with the staffing service, then the company could be headed for trouble.

“The staffing industry has experienced an erosion of profit margins over the last few years,” NATSS’ Doherty says. “Now that the economy has recovered, and supply and demand issues are at work, we have to go through an educational process with our customers so they understand the need for bill rate increases.” Doherty expressed concern for customers who have held their staffing suppliers to below-market rates, indicating they may become “second-choice clients” who won’t have access to the volume or quality of workers they desire.

Companies should also beware of staffing services that are offering unrealistically low bill rates and everything under the sun. Over-promising on capacity and under-delivering on commitment aren’t uncommon strategies for temp suppliers in a highly competitive market. “Don’t be too quick to drop your current supplier,” Doherty cautions. “But, if someone is offering something that looks too good to be true, it probably is.” Communicate with the agency and let the principals know where the performance gaps are before moving on too quickly, advise many experts in the staffing field.

Do rate increases and quality issues mean the temp strategy is losing its appeal? Definitely not, says Doherty. “Companies recognize the value of a flexible workforce. Although rates may increase, companies still come out ahead because their internal costs are lowered.” Doherty’s referring to the overtime costs brought on by having regular staff increase their workload, and training and benefit costs incurred when adding new staff. Many agree the appeal of building temps into the workforce is the ability this strategy creates to increase or decrease staffing levels to match fluctuations in business activity.

Temp firms are using creative solutions to fill staffing needs.
Although competition within the staffing industry is high, particularly in a tight recruiting market, most staffing companies will be up-front about the availability of candidates. In fact, it’s not unusual for staffing companies to form strategic alliances with their competitors, something that rarely occurred in past years. These cooperative relationships, for which one service will give a difficult-to-fill order to a competitor, may not provide revenue to the service outsourcing the order, but will prevent the customer from being left without the temporary help he or she needs, something everyone in the staffing loop tries to avoid.

Furthermore, forward-thinking staffing companies also maximize every opportunity to upgrade the skills of their temporary workforces. Most are stepping up training efforts, offering the latest in software and technology-based training. Many are going one step further and setting up dedicated training facilities and conducting workshops on interviewing skills, customer service, telemarketing and basic communication skills.

Staffing companies also are boosting their recruiting campaigns. They’re casting a wider net to capture a larger and more diverse applicant pool. Standard recruiting techniques now include temp-referral programs with financial incentives, and Web page advertising and newsgroup postings on the Internet. Innovative marketing programs also are being used to attract nontraditional “niche” employees such as college students, retired workers and part-time temps.

As an added feature to benefit their clients, staffing companies are setting up camp at the clients’ work sites in record numbers, establishing full-service offices so the temporary staffing function can be completely outsourced, leaving HR departments free to focus on other core duties.

Steffanie Sasano, HR director for Ross Stores in Newark, California is one employer who has said yes to this creative approach to temporary staffing. Sasano brought her temp service onsite in December 1994 to fully manage the temporary staffing function. “We’ve found the onsite program really works: The temps have someone available to them at all times who can answer questions and resolve issues, and the department managers have someone close by they can turn to.” She says having a strong service under her roof significantly shortens the turnaround time on orders and leaves her department free to work on other essential functions.

The onsite coordinator becomes intimately familiar with the organization and its core values and requirements, something Jim Collins, author of the book “Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,” (Harper Business, 1994) says he feels is vitally important. Collins says companies should always look for the right fit for the organization, even in “noncore” employees. The goal, he says, should be to attract and retain the noncore employee for a long period of time and to train him or her to handle multiple responsibilities, emphasizing that “one well-trained person is better than five new people.”

HR may have to get more involved in finding temps.
But what about the companies who’ve really come to rely on temporary workers to keep their business going? Is there anything they can do to improve their chances of getting the first shot at top temporary talent? Experienced users and suppliers of temp staffing think so.

Take Jeff Hinkle, team consultant for First Union Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hinkle often has more than 100 temporary employees working in his firm’s call center answering customer inquiries. He says he has reduced the number of problems he had in the past with temp quality and availability. Hinkle attributes overall improvements to better communication with his staffing services and a supportive environment for temporary workers. “We were having the same quality problems everyone else was having—services were rushing to fill our orders and skipping important steps in the screening process, like background checks and references,” he says.

Hinkle says he has eliminated many of his problems by reducing the number of temp services firms he was using. “We went from [using more than] six services to three. We spelled out our requirements to all of them and agreed to wait a little longer for quality applicants. And it has paid off.” Hinkle says he conducts a 30-day evaluation at the start of every new assignment regardless of whether or not he has used the service before, and provides regular feedback to the temp services he works with. “We also try to be more flexible. I try to put myself in the position of the temporary employee—for the case in which someone is lacking slightly [in a skill], we’ll provide coaching to bring him or her along.” Hinkle says he makes a point of providing plenty of positive feedback for good performance and high productivity and he uses “huddle sessions,” (employees and managers get together for quick, impromptu coaching and performance briefings) and frequent communication to create the kind of environment workers will want to return to.

Unfortunately, for Hinkle and others like him, the staffing shortage isn’t just a flash-in-the-pan problem expected to disappear any time soon. However, staffing companies and their customers agree that overall, client/vendor communication has improved, allowing the two parties to work together more effectively than ever before in true partnership fashion. New and interesting staffing approaches are definitely the outcome of these increased efforts, and although they probably won’t provide the ultimate staffing solution everyone’s searching for, they seem to be helping. And that’s a step in the right direction.

Workforce, April 1997, Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 72-80.

Here’s how you can help generate more temporary workers for your company and staffing suppliers:

• Set up an internal temporary referral program with your regular staff for temporary candidates. Share the list with your supplier of choice.
• Contact qualified excess candidates who’ve submitted resumes and ask if they want their names passed on to your staffing supplier for temporary work.
• Establish an intern program with local colleges and training centers. Work with your staffing supplier to groom individuals for future temporary work-the service can provide software training and your company can provide experience through a mentoring or shadowing program.
• Use your Web site and Internet capabilities to post both regular and temporary opportunities. Pass qualified temp candidates on to your preferred supplier.

How to forge a successful working relationship.

1. Make sure the staffing company has the resources to meet your needs.
   Ask about its recruiting program. Does it have a staff or department dedicated to bringing qualified applicants through the door, or does it rely solely on the newspaper and phone directories to recruit new candidates? (This could represent a very limited pool of candidates.) Does it have multiple branches in locations close to your company? If not, temporary workers may have long commutes, increasing the likelihood of absenteeism and broken commitments.
2. How large is the firm’s applicant pool in your required skill area?
   How many applicants are currently available? How does the company maintain its files? (Make sure it has a computerized system to keep track of its temporary workers.)
3. What is the company’s screening-and-testing process for applicants?
   It should at least conduct an in-person interview, check references and have applicants complete computer or paper-based tests depending on their skill sets. (Some services use behavioral type testing to uncover attitudes related to work ethic and productivity.) If your service uses backup suppliers to fill difficult orders, does the subcontractor adhere to the same testing-and-screening standards?
4. How does the staffing service treat its temporary workers?
   Does it have employee-oriented programs that reward and recognize good performance? How often does it actually meet with its temporary employees? Research indicates temporary workers want to feel like they’re more than “just a commodity.” More contact generally leads to stronger loyalty, positive morale and ultimately better on-the-job performance.
5. Does the staffing company have an internal service-quality program or special certification (ISO 9000, for example)?
   This would indicate a commitment to making ongoing improvements in both its internal and external systems.
6. Ask to meet not only with the sales person handling your account, but also with the individual who is actually making the match on your assignments.
   It’s important the person assigning temporary workers has a good understanding of both your skill requirements and your organization’s climate and culture.
7. How is the turnover within the staffing company itself?
   Is it a revolving door with new sales and placement contacts moving in and out every few months? Or is there a level of stability that supports a high-quality service-delivery system?
8. Does the staffing service offer its temporary workers a competitive pay and benefits package?
   Where does it place its pay rates in comparison with the market (low, mid-level, high)? Does it offer health-insurance options and paid time-off benefits? Most services pay temporary workers 7.5 hours of vacation pay for every 300 to 500 hours they work, which can cover vacation days or be taken as bonus pay.
9. Does the staffing service have a backup system in place for last-minute sick calls or broken commitments?
   Many services have evening and weekend staff in place to respond quickly to assignment glitches. If yours is a particularly important assignment, let the service know and request the firm have someone on call if possible, to fill in if any last-minute problems arise.
10. Ask temporary workers which service they prefer.
    Word travels fast within the local workforce about how different staffing services treat their employees.