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Temporary
Services Industry Growing At Pace With Iowa's Economy
Even with Golden Circle employment levels at record lows,
the temporary services industry is keeping pace with the increasing demands
of client companies for workers. Doug Duke, Iowa Market Manager for Pro
Staff, with offices in both West Des Moines and Des Moines, said a commitment
to quality and service to both the client company and temporary employee
are keys to the industry's success.
"The strong economy has provided diversified opportunities for employment
along with a growing need by both employers and employees for flexible schedules,
good wages, and solid benefit packages. That all attracts quality temporaries,"
He said the strong economy actually benefits firms such as Pro Staff because
client companies have a greater challenge in hiring qualified employees.
For example, in 1999, Pro Staff processed more than 80,000 W2s for its organization.
He also said Pro Staff has increased at or above the national average for
the last 17 years.
"While Des Moines is one of the hubs for the insurance industry, the increase
in call centers has been the most visible changes impacting our industry
in Des Moines," Duke said. "These call centers
include insurance, credit card, products services, dot.coms, etc."
Pro Staff is a broad-based agency that provides employees for areas such
as light industrial, office and administrative, customer service, accounting,
finance, mortgage services, IT, and engineering.
"Due to low unemployment and a high demand for
employees, candidates have raised their employment expectations beyond that
of just solid pay for performance," Duke said. "Work
environment, dress code, flex schedules, and other value-added incentives
have become increasingly important in determining their employment choices."
The emergence of strong benefits packages is another draw for the industry,
he said, adding that Pro Staff was the very first staffing service to offer
it's contingent (temporary) workforce benefits.
"Vacation pay, holiday pay, medical insurance, 401K
plans, scholarship programs and referral bonuses have all become common. With the exception of health
insurance, most of those benefits become eligible, for their employees,
when they reach 1000 - 1200 hours. A variety of health insurance options
are available immediately upon placement."
Duke said his firm also provides "instructor lead training" -- a program
that assists candidates in improving their skills in an effort to place
them on a desired career path.
With a corporate emphasis on temporary-to-hire for Pro Staff, Duke said
the average temporary employment for his firm is 60 - 120 days before they
are hired permanently by the client.
"The trend is moving away from simply short-term contingents,
although this is still a service we provide, into temporary-to-hire and
project staffing," he said. "The trend is growing
from providing general labor and clerical
positions to highly specialized professional fields, such as accounting."
Any business may find itself in need of a temporary services firm, Duke
said, especially in this robust economy. "Many industries
will need support with placing the right people with the right job. It
is ever evolving. We work with small operations to major corporations. As
the staffing industry has improved it's own standards and employment offerings,
the acceptance and usage by major corporations has increased tremendously."
Duke said Pro Staff never charges the employees they put to work. The client
company pays fees ."Rates to business clients
vary based on many factors such as type of work - temporary, temporary-to-hire
or permanent placement, skills/education requirements, years of experience/expertise
desired, the
number of employees required, and the length of assignments, etc."
Entry
level pay levels for many jobs listed with Pro Staff pay from $8 to $9 per
hour, he said. However, he said pay levels can grow into six figures for
professional and/or management personnel.
Duke said the entire industry has taken large steps beyond
its early reputation when the contingent workforces experienced a high turnover
rate due to substandard pay, the types of employment opportunities offered,
the uncertainty of continued employment, and client acceptance of temporaries
in the workplace. "Now, the contingent (temporary)
workforce can represent up to 35-percent of the pool of people getting a
business' work done," he said. "The industry
provides clients with several alternatives and opportunities that didn't
exist years ago."
Another trend is the growth in the retired workforce using the temporary
services industry for employment. Advantages to client companies to use
temporaries include: solid skill matching, large pool of candidates, trial
period before hiring, and, with his firm, a risk free guarantee. To the
employees, temporary employment helps to define career paths and to find
a good company fit. Pro Staff provides training, resume assistance and career
guidance where possible.
"We make every effort to assist anyone who requests our services. However,
our recruiting efforts have focused on the under-employed segment in the
past 24 months."