Recruiting and Retention Strategies of Office Temporary Employees An in-depth analysis of the temporary office employee industry as it pertains to recruiting and retention of those employees.

This paper presents a detailed proposal for the recruiting and retention of temporary office workers. The writer is employed as a full time on site recruiter of temporary office workers at one of Wall Street's top financial firms. The majority of the temporary help the writer recruits are administrative assistants and other entry level finance positions. The positions range from a couple of days to several months in time. The writer is charged with recruiting and retaining temporary workers who have the necessary skill sets and experience to perform the jobs. The writer analyzes the industry, the company history regarding temporary employees and future trends to propose methods for the purpose of recruiting and retention of those workers.

FLOW OF INFORMATION

Abstract

Introduction

Statement of the problem

Company specific problems

Examination of other companies

Solutions for here

Introduction

Temporary employees provide valuable assets to this company by providing consistent short-term capable help in all departments as needed. Temporary office workers make up the bulk of the temporary staff here, therefore this proposal will concentrate on the recruiting and retention of them and other entry level financial positions.

Temporary employees are employees who are hired for a short-term to fill a need in a company. Temporary employees are contracted and hired by temporary agencies who are responsible for recruiting, checking backgrounds, testing skill sets and paying the worker. The worker then reports to and performs job duties at client companies of the temporary agency.

"According to Adecco, the largest temporary employment agency in the world, leveraging temporary jobs to permanent assignments does work. In a study conducted in the 1990s, during an economic period comparable to 2002, 85% of temporary workers desiring full-time permanent work found those jobs within six months. While most of these were conversions in the employing companies, others did find jobs outside their temp jobs. The overall statistic is meaningful, and we anticipate that we will again see this kind of transition (Temporary Hiring Picking Up http://www.americanrecycler.com/mayworkforce02.html)."

Temporary employees are usually well skilled as they are tested before being placed. They are trying hard to impress the company in the anticipation of finding full time work with it, so they are generally responsible, hard working and punctual. This causes employers to take them on full time which depletes the temporary agency's pool of workers available for the upcoming assignments. Because of this cycle the recruiting and retention of temporary employees is a mainstay of the industry.

A recent study looked at statistical information regarding temporary employees and found the following:

Four out of ten contract workers are happy with their non-permanent employee status

"We were somewhat surprised to find that such a large group of temporary or contract workers actually preferred their nonpermanent employment status over permanent employment," said George Milkovich, the Martin P. Catherwood Professor of Human Resource Studies at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. "There is this group of temporary workers who like the flexibility that goes with this sort of assignment (Forty percent of temporary workers prefer nonpermanent employment status, Cornell University study concludes http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct97/temp_study.dg.html)."

That still means that six out of ten, more than half of the temporary workers are leaving to work for someone permanently, leaving a depletion of workers to draw from in the temporary industry.

The temporary employee market has problems according to the study. Several factors were discovered that may play a part in the exodus that is commonly seen in the industry every few months.

"The lack of benefits for temporary workers continues to be a source of great frustration. The survey found that nearly eight in 10 workers reported receiving no benefits, and nearly seven in 10 said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their benefits situation (Forty percent of temporary workers prefer nonpermanent employment status, Cornell University study concludes http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct97/temp_study.dg.html).

"This great dissatisfaction over benefits is what makes people generally uncomfortable about temporary work," Milkovich said. "By making benefits portable, by that I mean benefits...

Only 3% of those who reported receiving benefits indicated they received partially paid health care, while 27% received either paid vacation or paid holidays. Nine percent indicated they were receiving benefits other than paid health care, vacation and holidays (Forty percent of temporary workers prefer nonpermanent employment status, Cornell University study concludes http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct97/temp_study.dg.html)."
Another concern according to the study is the lack of job security. One third of those in the study reported having no idea how long their current temporary position would last, or where they would be placed when it ended.

"Aside from benefits, job security was a major concern for the temporary workers surveyed. Almost one-third (32%) of those polled said they did not know how long their current job would last, while over 50% said that it is likely or very likely they would leave their current assignments within one year. This uncertainty means that temporary workers are often reading want ads, sending out resumes and talking with friends about other employment possibilities (Forty percent of temporary workers prefer nonpermanent employment status, Cornell University study concludes http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct97/temp_study.dg.html). "

Statement of the Problem

In this particular company there are several factors that play a part in the need for constant recruiting and retention efforts when it comes to our temporary employees. Because the company is located in the city, the cost of living is higher than other areas of the state. This means that workers have to be concerned not only with the weekly wage amount, but also that they will be able to continue working with a minimum of breaks.

In addition, this company is considered one of the top firms in the industry, which makes it a favorable resume booster. Temporary employees who can get on full time will work for a well respected company which can only help their career goals. Because of these factors there are company specific issues related to the recruiting and retention of temporary employees here.

The skill sets needed for these positions are very specific. We hire those who are proficient in Microsoft word, some spread sheets, word processing, and other things that can work well in administrative positions. In addition we have a problem with the turn around time for hiring. Managers give us very little time to find someone once they discover a need. This may be because we are an on site vendor and it is easy for them to communicate with short notice to us by stopping by or calling down the hall. This puts us in a difficult position because it takes time to do the necessary background and skill set checking before placing an employee in the position. The managers generally give us one or two days notice which puts us in a time trap. If we could recruit more employees, and more importantly retain more temporary employees we would have a larger pool of already tested and checked on employees to draw from for these positions.

The skill sets necessary for these positions are proficiency on MS Office, prior work experience as an administrative assistant in a corporate setting, and polished and professional presentation and demeanor. For entry level finance candidates, we look for undergraduates from top and reputable schools around the country whom have a good understanding of finance concepts, accounting, financial modeling, regression analysis and other analytical-type skills. Additionally, those placed at this company need to have a clear criminal background and for most positions a minimum of a Bachelors degree. Our pay rate is competitive even for this area. We generally pay a minimum of $21 an hour. We find that we lose our employees because they want a permanent position that offers benefits, or they want to work toward a specific career goal or pursue educational goals. It is not about pay, which actually would have an easier remedy. It is instead about other intangible issues that we must find a way to address if we hope to recruit and retain qualified dependable temporary employees for long-term relationships with our agency.

EXAMINING OTHER AGENCIES

"Recruiters need more than just a list of job skills to find quality candidates. They need to understand your culture and environment," says Tom Lucas, senior vice president of HR and employee relations at Adecco North America, an international employment firm headquartered in Melville, New York. Good recruiters research your work environment by asking questions and interviewing employees. Once the relationship has been established,…