Temporary staffing can be an ideal solution for companies and workers who value flexibility.
Working at an advertising agency is a great way to learn about the remarkably diverse world of American business. During one five-year stint as a copywriter at a major New Orleans agency, I was obliged to master reams of research material devoted to canned goods, soft drinks, coffee, banking and other financial institutions, restaurants and tourist attractions, department stores and supermarkets, clothing manufacturers, and much more. One of my more interesting projects involved the introduction of what was then an innovative approach to temporary staffing. A new firm called Peoplease promised to relieve local businesses of all the legal and regulatory hassles of hiring temporary help by leasing out employees on its own payroll.
It was the first I'd heard of such a thing, but the more I studied the idea the more I liked it. Everyone came out ahead. Employers could avoid making a long-term commitment to a prospective employee until they were certain that a particular position was necessary and a particular person was right for it; temporary staffers could enjoy fulltime salaries and benefits as Peoplease employees while sampling the diverse career opportunities and office environments available in the city. When, as often happened, temporary staffers found their perfect niche and proved themselves indispensable, they were free to make the transition from the Peoplease payroll to that of the new fulltime employer.
Brad Lips of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation argues that "the for-profit staffing industry would disappear if it weren't providing value to the temps themselves. It functions as an intermediary in the labor market," he explains, "matching employers and employees just like buyers and sellers are matched on the trading floor." Writing in the current issue of Regulation magazine, published by the Cato Institute, Lips points out that "staffing firms also must compete vigorously against one another to attract and maintain workers. That is one of the factors," he maintains, "that has led to an increase in the average hourly wage of temps and to more temp companies offering health benefits and even 401(k) plans."
Lips reports that "temps often are entrants to the labor market looking to learn new skills, gain job references, and earn some cash in the interim. Often," he continues, "temporary staffing firms sponsor free optional training sessions on computer software applications, knowing that companies will pay more for higher-skilled workers."
Boss and staffer both benefit from this arrangement. "Employers have work to get done, but they want to avoid a tedious hiring process, keep their organization lean with low fixed costs, and pay only the going market rate for each hour of labor," Lips observes. "Workers want to quickly procure a job, increase their future value in the labor market, and earn as high a wage as possible. Staffing companies earn their profits," says Lips, "by creating a clearing-house where both parties can feel assured that they are getting a fair deal."
