Looking for the best indicator of good economic times? Forget the real estate market, the Dow Jones or even Alan Greenspan's personal investment strategy. Just talk to temporary employment agencies.
"It’s definitely harder for us to recruit and find new people," says Bill Drennan, district manager of the six-office franchise of Manpower in San Diego. "It’s a highly competitive market now."
The jobless rate is the lowest it has been in a decade (5.6 percent in California and 3.8 percent in San Diego County in July) which means there are fewer people looking for temporary work. And with employers growing ever-more dependent on temps — the National Association of Temporary and Staffing Services estimates that 90 percent of all businesses today hire temporary employees — demand has effectively outstripped supply.
Eve Nasby, AppleOne area manager, cites
non-threatening mall locations as benefit.
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In San Diego, that supply is even more of a problem. While the need is there — the NATSS reports that 14,620 San Diegans worked as temporaries in 1996 — the pool of skilled labor has shrunk, partially because many people who were laid off this decade from recession-hit industries like defense have by now obtained full-time jobs or moved on. "People hung around San Diego for a while, but then they left to go where the jobs were," says Drennan. "So now there aren’t as many people out there looking for work."
As a result, many temporary service agencies have changed their way of attracting and retaining employees. First, they've doubled their efforts in the usual places — advertisements, job fairs, colleges and ROP programs. AppleOne Employment Services, with six locations in San Diego, is placing its offices in malls. "Many people are intimidated by high rises and marble floors," says Eve Nasby, area manager for AppleOne. "We’re conveniently located so that people can drive up, park and walk in."
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But today’s employment services can’t wait for people to come to them. They've all learned to be more aggressive in their recruiting. Manpower, for example, rewards its employees with bonuses for referring new clients.
Permanent Extras
In the old days, temporary employees vacationed on their own time. Not any longer. Today's temps can receive paid vacations, holiday pay, 401(k)s, access to credit unions, health insurance (including visual and dental) and direct deposit. Along with that comes a pay level that’s usually reserved for permanent employees.
"One of the things we can provide for our employees is competitive pay," says Michael Ford, director of operations for Re:sources Connection, a subsidiary of Deloitte & Touche. "We can guarantee people that they won’t have to take a cut in pay to come work for us, but that they will make the same or better."
About gone are the days when temporary meant only a few days work. While that kind of position still exists, many temporary positions can last up to several years. The fastest-growing segment is the temp-to-permanent, where the employee and the employer get to try out the match for a while before deciding it’s a fit.
"A long-term assignment is especially important to the person who would like to make a career change, but doesn’t want to leave the comfort of a full-time job without assurance of a secure position," says Debbie Dunn, regional manager of Eastridge Group, the largest independently owned temporary staffing firm in San Diego. "Our temp-to-permanent department is busier than ever."
Many temporary agencies have made it easier to make a career move or change by providing free training or education. Employees can expect help with everything from interviewing skills and résumé writing to computer and software instruction.
It was just that kind of assistance that attracted Stephen Tallent to Manpower. Software classes provided by the temp firm, including a primer on Windows 95, made up for his lack of experience in computers and helped land him the kind of job he earlier was unable to secure. "That training put me in the position to be able to do the kind of job I wanted to do," says Tallent, a support technician with Time Warner's cable modem RoadRunner division. "It got me rolling in the right direction and put my career on track."
Once employees get on track, agencies continue to reward them — just like other companies reward their permanent employees. Employees who work at an assignment for a long time or receive a glowing report may receive either a cash or gift bonus.
Where The Jobs Are
Money isn’t the only lure temp firms use to attract quality employees. Many agencies also have exclusive partnerships or contracts with major companies. That means, if you want to work there, you have to go through one particular agency. "They will even tell applicants that they first have to go through us," says Dunn. "So it’s really the only way to work for them."
Other agencies specialize in certain niches, such as bioscience, accounting or computers. Because they are so highly specialized, these agencies know the job market intimately. They also are acutely aware of the ebb and flow of a company’s need for temps. "I know the hidden job market," says Lisa DeBenedittis, president of Elite Staffing Services Inc., a 2-year-old employment service based in Sorrento Valley. "I know everyone who is pregnant."
Many temp firms also have branches in other cities and states, which allows employees to stay with an agency even if they relocate.
"That's especially important in today’s mobile society and believe me, we are mobile," says Manpower's Drennan. "If one of our employees moves, at the new agency they're treated as preferred applicants, which means there's no break in benefits."
Working as a temporary also can give employees something to put on their résumés that helps in landing future employment. "Name recognition is something we can give our employees," points out Ford. "Having the Deloitte & Touche name on a resume can make them feel good."
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Personal Choice
Despite all these benefits, financial and otherwise, many employees choose and stay with a temporary service for something less tangible — the human touch. Sometimes it’s the friendly face, the birthday cards or an agency that staffs bilingual employees. Often it’s just being treated with respect.
"I wanted someone who would really listen to me, who would understand my qualifications and be aggressive in finding me a job," says Del Mar Heights resident Richard Ellis who chose AppleOne. "They made it clear that I was their customer, not that they were doing me a favor." Ellis now works with First American Credco as the manager of customer services. "It’s the best job I ever had."
Perhaps that’s the greatest shift of all in the temporary staffing field. Where once some agencies treated employees as a commodity, today they can ill afford to make that mistake.
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Richard Ellis found his permanent job
through an AppleOne assignment.
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"I tell people our business is like a three-legged stool," says Drennan. "The legs are the customer, the employee and us. If one is out of balance, we run the risk of the stool toppling over. That's why our employees are as important to us as our customers."
In a post-recession market, the tide has turned in favor of the temporary employee. Staffing services know it, so they are working harder then ever at recruiting and retaining employees. "We start out asking what can we do to make this person a temporary for life," says AppleOne's Nasby. "We treat them like gold, because they are valuable." |
