How To Start And Operate A Temporary Help Service

This is a service business with excellent growth potential,

indications of strong stability, a nationwide market with a

growing demand and a risk factor that's rated average or less than

most new business ideas.  Temporary Help Services are well suited

to absentee ownership situations; require no experience or

technical knowledge on the part of the entrepreneur; and have only

minimal equipment needs.  Net profits before taxes for some

established temporary help services, have been reported as high as

œ500,000 per year.

There's a difference between regular, private employment agencies

and a temporary help service.  The employment agency is a

"brokerage" office that matches unemployed people with available

jobs.  The temporary help service hires people onto its own

payroll, sends them out on contract jobs, and pays them

accordingly.

Temporary help services make money "off the top".  They send out

temporary workers on one or two days only jobs paying œ5 an hour

to the worker, and collecting œ15 an hour for the time the worker

spends on the assignment.  More and more businesses are willing to

pay the premium costs for a trained person for just a few days at

a time, than to adopt the burden of a 40 hour week payroll

obligation and the task of finding enough work to keep such a

person busy enough to justify a full time salary and the support

costs.  Businesses everywhere are finding it easier to pay more

for "temporaries" than hired 40 hours per week "permanents". 

That's the secret of success with this kind of business, and the

point to keep in mind when selling your services.

The successful temporary help service recruits as many skilled and

qualified workers as possible.  These workers differ from the

regular jobseekers in that they're looking for "temporary" work

only.  For any number of reasons, they're only willing to work on

jobs lasting from one to five days, or perhaps two to three weeks,

on any one job assignment.

These people are ideal for the employers needing help, but not

wanting to hire and train full time employees.  Your task will be

to find and attract top people and to maintain complete files on

them.  What kind of jobs they specialise in, their attitudes about

work, and when or how often they're willing to work would be

essential information to have.

Each person should be tested in your office, sent out on a few

assignments to build up a favourable reputation as a good worker,

then offered a permanent listing on your roster of available

specialists.

Work hard to build your roster of available workers.  Within

ninety days of start-up you want to be able to send someone out to

fill any employer's needs, regardless of the job requirements. 

Job assignments will range from loading dock and light clerical

work to word processing.

Depending on the size of your market, you could conceivably

specialise in temporary help for data processing, the medical or

legal professions, or perhaps the retail trade; and you'd still

make a lot of money.  Generally, though, we are going to show you

here how to start a "full service" temporary agency.

You'll need a good mix of employers in your area for best chances

of real success.  Your area can be one of high unemployment or one

with relatively few unemployed.  Whichever the case, the thinking

of the business community and the work force available should be

non-traditional; there should be an undercurrent of thought

towards the idea of calling in specialists to handle a job

quicker, and more efficiently, than the full time worker.

The people wanting to affiliate with you as workers will be

housewives, college students, retired people, and a large number

of people who like to work, but don't want to be tied down to a

regular job.  When you explain the concept of your service,

you'll be pleasantly surprised at the number of traditionalists

you'll convert to temporary workers.

First, you should visit your local Chamber of Commerce office. 

Explain the philosophy of your service, meet the chamber officers

and ask for their help.  You'll find that they have a listing of

all the businesses in the area, plus the names of the "right"

people to talk to in selling your service.  If you request, you

might be invited to Chamber meetings and be introduced to the

business leaders in your community.  The only kind of information

they will not be able to help you with is a listing of small,

home-based one-person enterprises.

You can locate your offices just about anywhere.  You'll find,

however, that your greatest success will come if you locate in a

modern office building housing professionals, such as lawyers,

accountants, insurance companies, etc.  Project a professional

image.  Locate in a city centre or business section of your town

if you can.

Basically, you'll need 600 to 700 square foot of office space. 

You should have a reception area, two offices, and a room to store

supplies.  The more prestigious your business address and office,

the better calibre of clientele you'll attract.  People looking

for temporary work, and employers considering using your services,

will doubt your abilities if they aren't favourably impressed with

your image.

It is possible to start this business in your home, but make sure

you have the space for a reception area, and at least a semi

private interview area.  Most of your selling efforts will be

conducted by mail, phone and personal visits to the employer's

place of business, so you won't have any problem there.

So, practically speaking, starting your business from home will

require a much smaller initial investment.  In this particular

business, rent and advertising will be your largest expense, so

beginning the business from your home is definitely worth

considering if your start up funds are limited.

In actual operation, you could have the applicants interested in

your services contact you by phone.  You would then set up

appointments either in their homes or your own, thereby

eliminating congestion of cars in front of your home.  If you

began on a part time basis, you could have a family member or a

friend answer your phone and set up appointments for you.  If you

do begin part time, and working out of your home, you might look

into the advantages of a professional telephone answering service.

Another idea for saving on costs might be to rent unused space

from businesses already established.  These businesses might be

sales or distribution offices, suburban insurance agencies, quick

print or copy shops, and repair shops.  Look around - many

businesses have had to take what was available at the time, and

would be more than happy to lease or share their vacant space. 

Keep in mind though that you'll do much better with an office of

your own, and you should move into one just as soon as you can

afford one.  Proper facilities that convey a professional image

should be number one on your list of priorities.

Your business image is projected by your address and the

appearance of the building in which you locate.  Your reception

area will set the mood of professionalism and efficiency.  The

reception walls should be inviting - walls painted in light pastel

colours, wall prints, floor lamps and wall to wall carpeting.  It

should also feel comfortable while being functional.  Comfortable

modern chairs and sofa; perhaps a floor planter or two, reception

desk and ash trays all help to achieve this effect.

The main office need have only a desk and a comfortable chair,

facing the door, a chair beside or in front of the desk, and a

file cabinet.  A print or two on the walls, and perhaps a book

case are the only "extras" you might use to dress up your office.

Your second office equipment will be for testing your applicants. 

You can inexpensively build a table along the length of two walls,

partition it into cubicles and have an electronic typewriter, an

adding machine, and maybe a headset connected to a dictation

machine, and another for testing shorthand capabilities.  Later

on, you'll probably want to have a word processor and a computer.

Ideally, you should also have a sales office and a storage room. 

The sales office will be where you greet and talk with employers

who drop in to look you over to find out more about your business. 

Mainly, this office will be where your people will work from when

calling prospective clients and selling your services by phone. 

The storage room needs only shelves to hold various forms, mailing

pieces, envelopes and business records.

One way to hold your start up costs to a minimum is by leasing

your office furniture and equipment.  Whatever you do, remember

that you're projecting an image, so don't settle for less than the

best.  This is absolutely imperative in regard to any equipment

used for testing your applicants.  You might be able to work out

an arrangement with the business department of a local college, or

business school, to send your applicants to them for testing on

their machines.  Such an arrangement, even at a cost of œ10 or so

per test, could save you several thousand pounds in start up

costs.

The first person you should hire should be either an experienced

manager or someone you can quickly train to assume those duties. 

It's best to hold out for a person with at least one year

experience as a Bona Fida Personnel manager.  This person should

be outgoing, detail minded, people orientated, and be able to work

well under pressure.

Your manager will be responsible for organising the interview and

testing systems, for setting up your sales solicitation programme

and for supervising the temporary workers, as well as your office

staff.  It's a highly responsible and demanding position, so don't

be reluctant to spend the money necessary to get the best.  You

will need to research to determine what salary such a top manager

receives in your area.

The next member of your staff should be an enthusiastic, hustling

sales person.  This employee should be experienced and adapt at

selling by phone as well as in person.  Unless you can afford to

pay a good direct mail advertising copywriter to create your

mailing pieces for you, it would be wise to look for direct mail

advertising or copywriting experience.

Your sales person should spend the mornings calling prospective

employers on the phone, and the afternoons making in person sales

calls.  With this kind of routine in mind, look for sales people

with high ambition and energy levels.  Try to pick the kind who'll

come in early and stay late to work on his direct mail efforts,

clearing the decks so that he uses his time during regular

business hours to close sales by phone and in person.  You need

and want a 'closer' - not an order taker.  Be as selective as you

have to be in choosing this salesperson.

In addition to the going rate which a sales person of this kind

should be paid, you should also consider paying a 5% bonus for

every new account brought in.  When you find the right person, it

will be worth it, so make it worthwhile to join your staff.  Not

all sales people will necessarily develop into good sales

managers, so try to find one who fits all your requirements.  The

sales manager would recruit, organise, develop, motivate and

supervise your sales staff.  With those responsibilities, you'd

want to offer a salary plus override on the sales production of

his staff of sales people.

You'll need an efficient and foolproof book-keeping system to keep

track of your payroll, client billing, income taxes, work

schedule, hours worked, and all the money that comes in.  For this

chore, I suggest that you contract with a company that handles

this type of work.  Explain to them everything you think you need:

ask them to set up a system, and then instruct your receptionist

on how to keep it up to date on a weekly or monthly basis.

The last of your staff will be your receptionist.  This person

should be attractive, have a lot of empathy with people, and an

easy smile.  They should dress stylishly, but not provocatively. 

When they are not answering the phone or greeting customers, they

can be administering tests, doing miscellaneous typing, making

folders for the records of your workers, and general office

duties.

The kind of temporary workers you'll want to attract will fit into

several general categories, and can be recruited in a number of

different places.  Try having brochures made up about your

company, and send them to career councillors at your local

business, secretarial and technical colleges in your area.

Another group will be housewives who perhaps held regular jobs

before marriage or the birth of a baby, and now want to get back

into the job market.  You can bring these people in by posting

notices in shop windows, arranging announcements at meetings, etc.

Another group to recruit will be the "bored with life" people. 

These will be in the job group not satisfied with the future where

they are, and looking for a better opportunity.

It is imperative that you begin recruiting and signing workers as

soon as possible; at least a month before you open for business is

not too early.  According to industry surveys, the most common

reason for the failure of temporary help services is not enough

workers lined up to fill client demand.  When you get a request

for help, you should be able to send out a qualified person.

Each market area differs in the number of different types of

workers a temporary help service should have available, but in

every case it's best to have more than you figure to be a basic

need.  You must establish a maximum number of people within any

one occupational field that you'll sign up, or else you won't be

able to keep everyone busy.  Unless you keep the workers you have

registered working pretty much as often as they want to work,

you'll begin to lose them.

It's not hard to determine when a person is losing interest in

temporary job assignments through your firm.  Whenever you call to

give an assignment and you can't reach the person you're calling,

try several follow up calls.  It should become obvious to you that

they're no longer interested if you still can't reach them with

your follow up calls.  It's a good practice to ask for

notification of vacation or other plans that will affect their

availability for work.

If you call and a job assignment is refused with a lame excuse,

come right to the point and ask if he wants to change his

availability status, or if you should drop him from your list of

available temporary workers altogether.  Never coddle a temporary

worker.  If he's not available when you call to give him an

assignment, or he gives you a less than valid excuse for not

accepting, flag his call assignment card and move on to your next

available worker.  You might call a couple of days later to check

his availability, and interest in continuing to work, but don't

waste too much time.  You can always reinstate such a worker, but

it is probably better to spend the time recruiting a replacement.

As mentioned earlier, one of your major expenses will be for

advertising.  Your manager and sales people should keep you

advised on your current advertising impact and results, and from

this you should have a good understanding of how to use your

advertising budget most effectively.  Your advertising should be

double-barrelled, aimed at both the employer and the worker.

Generally, your efforts to add new employers to your clients list

should focus on direct mail.  Advertising efforts to recruit new

temporary workers should be almost exclusively devoted to

newspapers.  Years ago, some radio stations sold sixty second

commercials to a few temporary help agencies.  The agencies talked

to prospective employers, playing up the fact that they had

skilled workers to handle overload and deadline situations.  These

commercials were broadcast in the mornings before 8 o'clock.  Then

they followed up during the afternoon hours with commercials

inviting people seeking temporary work to come in and sign up. 

Everything worked well except that not enough prospective

employers called often enough to justify the expense.

For really professional results, you should get a freelance

advertising copywriter to do your direct mail piece.  This should

be a page brochure, emphasising these points.

All employers have sudden work overloads, face deadline

situations, or are suddenly left with a mountain of work for

specially trained employees just when they are sick, on vacation,

or off on an emergency.

Your company understands these workload problems, and has skilled

professional replacement workers who can quickly step in and get

the job done.

Your company thoroughly tests each of the specialists hired for

these special staffing crisis situations, and can assure the

employer that they are tops in their individual areas of

expertise.

Your company is well aware that many businesses would like to save

the expense and headaches of hiring a full time specialist of the

same calibre of your people on a Temporary or Oncall basis.  Your

people cannot be hired by the prospective employer because they

already work for you, but if and when a temporary worker is

needed, your company stands ready to fill the need, regardless of

the job speciality required.

Even if he doesn't need one of your people today, the need could

arise at any time, and suddenly.  So they should keep one of your

brochures handy, and don't hesitate to call you personally for

whatever temporary help is needed.

One you have the copy written, decide on the layout and type if

and what colour should be used, and take it to the printers.  Your

brochure should be printed on 100 grams paper, or art paper, and

folded to your requirements by the printer.

Your complete mailing should consist of a short cover letter

inviting the recipient to avail himself of your services; a

brochure explaining your services in greater detail; postage paid

business reply envelopes.  The mailing envelope and the cover

letter should be addressed to each business owner or personnel

manager by name.

Your newspaper ads for qualified workers looking for temporary

assignments should be display ads in the "Help Wanted" section. 

Most such ads are one column wide by 3 to 6 inches deep.  Be sure

to have an ad running on a Wednesday or Thursday.

These ads should invite the readers to come in and register for

work with your company.  Work with your freelance copywriter to

say what you want to say.  Overall, though, these ads should

explain that you have plenty of jobs going begging; that the

worker sets his own days to work, and can take jobs as seldom or

often as he likes.

In day to day operations, your manager will interview applicants,

talk with clients, solve problems, take orders from employers, and

make job assignments.  Usually, his busiest time will be right

after lunch when job orders start to come in.  With this in mind,

you might want to arrange for him to take an early lunch period.

While your manager is "running the show", your sales person will

be making telephone calls in the morning, and in person during the

afternoons.  It's a very good idea to send out your direct mail

advertising one week, and then call on these same people, either

by phone or in person, the next week.  Remember that your sales

calls should be relaxed visits, allowing the prospect to learn

more of your business and the kinds of people you have available. 

During each sales call, the prospect should be left with the

feeling that your company can save him money, solve a lot of

production and scheduling problems, and take the exasperation out

of his personnel requirements.

As a rule, you'll find that most jobs are called in during

afternoon hours.  With this in mind, it would be wise to have set

procedures for your specialists to call you each afternoon to let

you know where they can be reached until 5.00pm if they are

available for a job assignment the next day.  You might want to

set a policy of "No call from you - no assignment for you".

Most temporary help agencies give their workers a supply of 3 part

time cards when they're hired by an agency.  When the request for

a worker comes in, the most qualified in the required category is

called.  Job, name of company, location, approximate length of

job, and payment are all explained.  If they agree to take this

job, they fill in the time card for the day the work begins.  When

they report for work, they have the time card signed by the

employer to verify starting time, and finishing time.  One copy of

the time card stays with the employer; the temporary worker keeps

a copy; and the other copy is mailed to your office.  Smooth and

simple, but make sure you've got everything worked out before you

begin.

Your book keeper notes the proper information on the ledger for

that employee, files the time card and sends a ledger duplicate to

accounting for billing.  Of course a reminder call should be made

first, but as a rule, any account that hasn't paid within thirty

days should receive a personal visit.  As to the hardcore

delinquent, no more temporaries should be sent, and a collection

agency should be used to clear up the account.

You will have to get a licence from the Department of Employment

to run a temporary help agency, details of which can be found at

your local library.

That's it then - the how, what, why and where - of getting started

with your own profitable temporary help service!  Remember, it

takes solid and consistent advertising, earnest recruiting and

selling.  So don't stop or let up until you have everyone in your

area registered, and every possible employer as a client, aware of

your business.  It's a big job with lots of challenging work

involved, and you'll need good people to help.  It is worthwhile

to search out these people with care, to be sure you have good

reliable, employees - the rewards will be well worth it!  Organise

your business for success, and get with it!