Document text
Business Q&A -- The role of temporary employment Russ Jones, 37, has owned the Medford Express Personnel office with his wife since 1996. He has lived in Medford since 1979 and she has been here since 1970. They also own the Grants Pass franchise. Q: According to the state consumer and business services department the temporary staffing industry has tripled since 1999. What has brought the recent boom in this area? More and more companies are realizing the value in what our industry calls flexible staffing - reducing the number of a company's core work force and utilizing contingent or "just-in-time" staffers on an as-needed basis. It affords them the opportunity to pay for production as they need it without incurring payroll costs during down time. In the past, many companies would keep a higher number of core workers in place throughout the year. This becomes quite expensive when an employee is being paid for an eight-hour day when he or she only has four hours worth of work to do. In short, our industry has assisted many companies in improving their bottom line. Q: How do companies such as Express Personnel Services and Labor Ready differ from traditional temporary and employment agencies? We see Express Personnel Services as different in many areas. Because we are part of a franchise system, we have the support of a very large corporate structure while being a small business in our community with on-site, working owners. Express Personnel Services is also an ISO 9002 registered company. That is a quality stamp that has been placed on our screening processes that insures our clients a quality temporary associate to work in their businesses. We are quite proud of that accomplishment. It is a very expensive, time-consuming and meticulous process to go through in order to achieve the registration. We are audited annually in order to maintain our status. Express Personnel also offers a complete benefits package to our temporary associates. That means that those people that are accepting those "just-in-time" jobs as mentioned before can remain on temporary status but still have some of the same benefits as their core staff co-workers. It is just as important to us to have strong, lasting relationships with our associates as it is with our clients. Q: Do you screen clients as well as workers and are there minefields you choose to avoid? This industry is so much more about helping people succeed than it is about making a lot of money. We only consider ourselves successful when we have helped associates find good jobs and clients find good people. We have the luxury of turning away business that we feel is not suitable for our associates. We consider safety first, then the financial stability of the company, then the amount of business potential for our office. If it is not a win-win for everyone, we don't do it and we recommend they call someone else. There are definitely industries that we choose to stay away from altogether, such as construction where you're working on a roof or painting - the higher-risk heavy industrial jobs. Q: What sector creates the greatest demand for your workers? Manufacturing of all types has typically been the highest-volume user for temporary staffing. In recent years, especially with many of our local manufacturers downsizing or closing, we have turned our attention to other industries. Other service industries are utilizing our services more than ever before. An ever-increasing medical community here in our valley is definitely driving the need for additional workers in that area. Because we operate a temporary and a professional staffing business out of our location, we did not feel as many "recession pains" as others may have. Q: Compare the impact of Oregon's regulations on your industry to other states. Because there are so many regulations on our industry at a federal level, we can only concern ourselves with those and with our own state regulations. We can't speak to what other states have regulated for staffing services. When Express Personnel franchisees come together for regional and national conferences, we talk about new regulation changes. We do talk about state-to-state differences but the ones we have to address here in Oregon are enough to keep up with. Q: What are the most pressing issues in labor relations in our area? The quality of our entry-level work force has been questionable. Lack of work ethics and basic skills, the inability to pass a drug screen, and the lack of desire to work has left many companies in the area short-handed. If we did not have these issues to deal with while going through our selection process, we would never have an unfilled order. We are trying to address these problem areas and provide training where we can in an effort to make this population more employable. We believe our industry is a natural place for companies to turn when short-term training could be the solution to their problems. To suggest a subject for this column, please contact business reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.