In-house temp agencies

cthr

I am interested in hearing from companies that have in-house temp agencies or departments. We are interested in finding out who they report to, what types of work they do, etc.

Thanks,

Parabeagle

I worked for a law firm where we maintained an in-house secretarial relief staff. They were just experienced legal secretaries who didn't necessarily want to work full time and we would use them to staff the desks of secretaries who were out for vacation, illness, etc. They were paid for hours worked and received a pro rata share of vacation, etc. When they weren't assigned, we would have them doing overflow for secretaries whose workload was too heavy, or work with us in Administration. However, if there were no available assignments and they didn't want to work, they could just go home. They reported directly to the Secretarial Supervisor who, at review time, would obtain input from the attorneys for whom that temp had worked in order to write the performance appraisal. By and large the system worked pretty well. It was an ideal spot for really good secretarial candidates to "cool their heels" while looking around the firm for a regular assignment they really wanted, and an ideal way for attorneys to get to know a particular secretary's capabilities. Contrary to my worst fears, the department did not become a dumping ground for substandard performers.

hhaynal

I am approaching your query a little differently than parabeagle. Our mfg operation utilizes temporary employees and the agency has a full-time on-site person who "administrates" the temps on site. The on-site rep is located in HR and works with HR on matters of disciplinary action. The on-site rep handles all the paperwork (payroll, benefits, background checks, pre-employment physicals, etc.) for their folks and attends to fulfilling all our mfg staffing needs. The temps come on board as company employees around their 6-month anniversary. The temp agency arrangement has been in effect for a little over a year and seems to be working quite well.