Misconceptions About The Temporary Industry

The temporary industry has exploded over the last two decades and the idea of what a Temporary employee is has changed over the years.

Temporary workers are used in virtually all industries, in both private and public sectors. Previously, we would think of the temporary worker as fill-ins for a front desk or warehouse person. Today, there is a temporary worker for every imaginable skill set---marketing, human resources, accounting, office support, and today, larger companies are establishing and maintaining (or employing) in-house temporary services on a permanent basis, as part of their human resources department. Many large Fortune 500 companies have in-house programs.

Mary Meunier, Branch Manager of Kimco Staffing Services, believes there are many misconceptions about the temporary industry. According to Meunier, many applicants do not perceive temporary work as "a real job." In fact, temporary work can be an excellent vehicle for transitioning or as an audition for a specific job or a specific company.

Why are temporary workers used?

The temporary workforce serves several purposes:
-As an extension of a busy human resources department
-As a way to internally groom and develop an employee
-As a means to recruit a large number of applicants at once
-To assist with overload or cyclical projects (many businesses have predictable growth periods – such as "tax season")

Who works for temporary agencies?

Working as a temporary can either be a smart job search strategy or a life style choice. If you are a career changer, re-entry worker, or someone wishing to get your foot in the door, or to supplement your income, temporary work might be a possibility.

How do you maximize working with temporary agencies?

First and foremost, find out how they operate. Who are their customers? Who do they primarily serve? What skill levels do they serve? Do they specialize in a certain sector of the job market? Remember: using temporary work is one of many tools you should use in your job search. However, it should not be the only tool.

How do you work with agencies?

A good agency will look for a good fit—both for the employer and the applicant. Do you have the right skill set? Will you fit with the other workers? An agency looking to place you quickly without knowing more about you probably is not the best fit. Ask yourself how you were treated? Did they take time to get to know you? Was the office professional in their customer service? Your intuition is important. How well you were treated is very important to the overall success of the experience.

What should you ask the agency?

Find out about their key clients and the industries they serve. Do they cater primarily to temporary work? What is their rate of temp conversion into permanent placements? Can you be considered for both temp, as well as permanent assignments? How long will this assignment last? Can you be exposed to a particular industry, such as biotech or high tech? In short, how they can help you? What company representative will be assigned to you and your point of contact?

What else is important?

Communication! Communication, communication, communication! It is important for both parties to keep in touch. Ask your company representative, how often should you be in touch? Once a week? Every two weeks?

Communication at all levels is important from getting insights into the company to receiving feedback about your resume and interviewing style. Also, if you are in the job search process with a company, the interviewer or placement specialist needs to discuss this with you. Have you been offered a job? Is it in line with your career goals? Do they call you on a regular basis for assignments? Or have you not been called at all? If that is the case, you need to know why.

A final word: don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!
Every temporary agency caters to different employers. Sometimes, employers will use a number of temporary agencies to fill their needs. They will have a primary and secondary source. Why not use 3-5 agencies in order to reach your career goals?

Higher wages and staffing competition has hit India's outsourcing centers

India has become the location of choice for offshore outsourcing, but that status may be fading as companies confront old realities and new problems that are cutting into hoped-for savings.

Higher wages and staffing competition has hit India's outsourcing centers. Those problems, added to the difficulties of moving vital business functions halfway around the globe, are making other locations around the world increasingly attractive.

The financial calculation for offshoring in India has changed, says Ukesh Chand, who has coordinated corporate outsourcing operations for many years.

"If you look back 10 years ago, the price was right. It looked very attractive," Chand said. "But as you go now as a new player, the prices are very competitive - they're higher now."

To be sure, India still has much to offer. The country's work force possesses technical skills, English language skills and other advantages that few countries can rival. Substantial investment in infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities in cities such as Hyderabad have attracted companies, as well. And the country's IT boom has brought it closer than ever to the United States.

Bangalore-based Infosys, one of India's leading technology services firms, boasts a client list that shows the scope of outsourcing in the country: Accenture Ltd., Andrews Air Force Base, Avis Rent a Car System LLC, Ernst & Young LLP, Hewlett Packard Co., IBM Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., the New York Board of Education, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy and the Women's Sports Foundation.

But companies considering outsourcing in India need to look hard at the special challenges and plan accordingly, experts say. Obstacles are created by distance, culture, and language, not to mention the far-reaching social and economic changes taking place in Bangalore and other parts of India, where the outsourcing trend has meant much more than just new jobs.

To begin at the bottom line, the savings from offshoring to India are generally far less than they would seem to be at first blush. Wages in India may be lower, but they are rising and many other factors are involved.

Cynthia Kroll, a senior economist at the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC-Berkeley's Haas School of Business, has studied the offshore outsourcing trend.
She says companies may see that Indian programmers, for instance, make only one-fifth of the wages of their Bay Area counterparts, but the ultimate savings may be only 30 percent, not 80 percent.

Companies sometimes base their initial cost assessments on wages at the offshore location at the time. But, Kroll says, those firms find that savings shrink as wages rise. And reports show that rising wages have become the norm in India's outsourcing centers.

Next, companies usually need more managers and programmers for IT operations for the same jobs in India because of the distance and training required, adding substantially to the cost.

Companies also need to think about the learning curve, Kroll says. There is more to the process than just giving the assignment to a talented individual. There are reasons why tech activities tend to congregate in one place, as they have in the Bay Area.

This has been echoed by IT workers. Development advances often come from informal conversations in the United States - quite differently from other countries. Are the best ideas carefully formulated through an official process and chain of command, or do they spring up in spontaneous discussions around the water cooler?