Alternative to Temping – Internal Pools and Part-Time Employment

As employment professionals, we advocate temporary employment through a reliable temp service. From our vantage point, it offers an individual the best balance between a career and a private life without the struggles of self-employment. We do realize, however, that temping is not for everyone. Those who reject temp work offer these common complaints, depending on their sector of the industry:

1. "The pay is too low; I can make more money on my own or in a permanent job."
   
   
2. "Employment health insurance and other benefits either don't exist at my service or they are too hard to accrue."
   
   
   
   
3. "The insecurity of not knowing if I'll be working next week is too stressful."
   
   
4. "I want to be able to build ongoing relationships with coworkers. I like to see familiar faces at work."
   

If you can identify with these concerns, we offer some alternatives to temp work. We defined most popular choices of individuals (and some employers) who opted not to work with a temporary help service.

Internal Pools or Floaters

An internal pool consists of a core of permanent employees who are assigned to temporary assignments within the boundaries of a single organization. For example, a law firm may employ ten secretaries as floaters. They are sent to various departments within the firm on an as-needed basis. Usually, this activity is coordinated by a unit manager. Floaters generally receive the same pay and fringe benefits as all other workers employed by the organization. They may work full- or part-time, and may even "flex" the hours they work, depending on their employer’s project schedule or seasonal need. Floaters do not work through a temporary help firm.

A great deal of planning, recruiting, and coordinating is involved in the creation and setting up of a workable internal pool. These pools are most commonly found in large firms (five hundred-plus employees), and their size is always smaller than the organization’s peak demand for temporary staff. This is to ensure cost-effectiveness; a firm wants to be sure the floaters it employs are used every hour they spend at the workplace. Even if a firm uses floaters, it will typically supplement its internal pools with the use of outside temporary help as needed. Companies generally like the concept of internal pools, although they are hard to administer. A floater's familiarity with the company's procedures and working environment minimizes the learning-curve factor and maintains continuity. Many floaters are cross-trained so that they can handle a variety of needs. Since floaters have no ongoing responsibilities of their own, they can assist others without having their own work suffer.

We found that people who float usually do so for one of two reasons;

1. As an entry-level mechanism to gain access to a more permanent position within the organization
   
   
2. As an exit mechanism for those employees who plan to retire or who wish to work less than a forty-hour week
   

Typical pool/floater groups include mailroom personnel, messengers, secretaries, personal-computer or word processing operators, bank tellers, nurses, and food-service workers. Floater positions are difficult to find without going through an employment agency, but we did manage to locate one advertisement from a recent newspaper. Not surprisingly, it is from a law firm.

Part-Time Employment

A part-time employee works less than a forty-hour week but reports to the same position at regularly scheduled times. A part-timer can work one day per month or every day. An informal survey showed that most part-timers work an average of twelve to twenty-five hours per week. Part-timers may qualify for health insurance coverage and other company benefits, including paid time off, but these fringes are usually applied on a prorated basis.

Employers generally have a large pool of candidates seeking part-time work, so they can afford to be selective. Good part-time jobs (those offering convenient hours and high pay) are difficult to find because personnel turnover is so low. A happy part-timer recognizes that he or she has a good deal and is reluctant to give it up.

According to The Conference Board, a research group based in New York City, part-time employment options are most commonly found at companies with a fairly young workforce and those which are largely nonunion. If you prefer a steady part-time job over temporary employment, here are some tips for you to follow.

1. Look for part-time employment at smaller companies (fewer than fifty people); in general, they are more receptive to this option.
   
   
2. Approach your full-time employer about the possibility of switching your position to a part-time one, perhaps split between yourself and another part-timer.
   
   
3. Pursue part-time leads with as much energy and enthusiasm as a full-time campaign. Follow up your personal network contacts and read the classified newspaper ads with a discerning eye.
   
   
4. When you go on an interview, don't write "seeking part-time employment" on your application or on your resume. Wait until you have met the employer and he/she seems to like you and/or be comfortable with you. Ask what kind of part-time opportunities are available with that organization. If you don't take the plunge and ask, you may miss a wonderful job opportunity.
   
   
5. If you find an employer who wants to hire you but is skeptical about part-time work, offer to give yourself and the employer a trial period of ninety days to test each other.
   

The newspaper listed many ads, but many of them we found to be for unattractive and low-paying telephone solicitation positions.