Now, I've been thinking about Temp agencies and my experiences working through them. I have seen temporary staffing agencies that were basically set up overnight in empty warehouses and office spaces, a few lawn chairs brought in and a computer and they are in business. However, if you Google how much money does it take to start a temporary staffing agency, some white guy speaking from his Ivory tower will tell you around $50,000.00. I say BALONEY. I have seen temporary staffing agencies that were started with less than $1,000.00. That is one of the reasons we have SO MANY OF THEM.
Office space in an undesirable part of town, in a run down building, can possibly run a person $400 to $500 a per month on the low end. A computer, a desk, and a few lawn chairs (yes.. I've seen agencies with plastic LAWN CHAIRS) are brought in, a $10.00 pack of business cards is created and they are in business.
How do they drum up business? Many of them DON'T as the owner may know one Human Resources director who agrees to give them some business and that is all the incentive they need to get started. Their entire business is dependent on one company and when the Human Resources affiliate either leaves the company or gets fired (either or) they shutter their doors. I so wish I was kidding people but these are things I have witnessed personally.
Another way these temp agencies drum up business is by appealing to the GREED of Corporations. They call up and harass the hell out of whoever is running the place and in charge of hiring and tell them they can cut their costs by filling whatever positions they have for bottom basement pay. Of course the Human Resources person loves hearing this and it never fails they always agree to throw business to the BOTTOM FEEDERS who sponge off of the desperate seeking work driving their wages down even farther.
I have no respect for Temporary Staffing Agencies. The majority of them anyway. They lie constantly to the people who call up looking for work. Even when they don't have any assignments they lie over the phone to get people to come in and take hours out of their day filling out paperwork and taking tests so that they can look "busy" in front of their bosses.
I even stopped using Careerbuilder because Careerbuilder was so desperate for their business it allows the temporary staffing agencies to willfully misrepresent the employer posting and the job type and duration of employment. I found this out after I had placed my resume on careerbuilder and specifically selected the profile for "Non Temp" agencies only and my phone immediately started blowing off the hook by temporary staffing agencies. These people were so adept at what they did I would be grilled intensely from the first 3 minutes of the phone call about the names of my previous "HR" and "Managers" before I realized they had no positions and were only seeking LEADS.
I called up to Careerbuilder and complained and was advised if the position had at least the "chance" to go permanent they allowed the staffing agencies to list it as a "permanent position" and to post it with language suggesting they were the original employer and not the agency. What baloney.
I was also told by Careerbuilder that I would have no option to take my information away from being seen by temporary staffing agencies. On the other hand, Indeed.com is far more tactful about the matter and they allow people to exclude temporary staffing agencies out of their searches although I am sure they still get around these restrictions somehow. They always do.
In all, I wonder how many of these "temporary staffing people" dressed in cheap suits and sitting at $80.00 tables while directing applicants to sit in lawn chairs would be there if they themselves could find a good job? Probably not many.
