Re: Temps are people too! -Reply

[Colleen Adams <colleen_adams -at- MEDISPAN -dot- COM>]

Or, rather than relying on the temp agency to test an applicant's skills,
we've developed our *own* test for a word processing temp.  Our test
includes some advanced word processing tasks, as well as being able to
find blatant errors in a body of text (since it's important for our Doc
Assistants to be able to do this when assisting a writer on a project).
Additionally, we require that *we* interview the temp ourselves (just like
we would do for a full-time employee candidate), rather than allowing the
temp agency to use their own judgement on providing us with a body.

We've been burned too many times with physcho-temps-from-hell
(literally).  We make it *very* clear in the interview that if he/she does not
seem to be working out after 1 week, we'll look elsewhere.  Our
Documentation Assistant positions within our team are critical to the
overall workflow of our projects (and trust me, we've been burned on
full-timers, too).  We quite screwing around trying to tolerate those
individuals that didn't display the necessary qualities for the job upfront.

Colleen Adams
External Documentation Manager
First DataBank, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN
colleen_adams -at- medispan -dot- com



>>> Marilynne Smith <marilyns -at- QUALCOMM -dot- COM> 10/06/98 05:49pm
>>>
When I was working for an agency, they provided support while I was
on the
job.  I could call them first and get help.  They also tested my skills
in-house before sending me out.  If more agencies did this sort of thing,
perhaps the client satisfaction rating would go up.

Marilynne

At 02:47 PM 10/6/98 , Sella Rush wrote:
>I've never worked as a tech writing temp (contractor) for an agency, but
>prior to going into tech writing I did spend over a year working for=
 several
>temp agencies on clerical assignments.  Later, working as a
writer/editor=
 in
>a publications department, I had the chance to work with dozens of
word
>processing temps.
>
>I enjoyed being a temp, partly because I like variety.  I also found it
>extremely easy to "blow people away", mainly because I actually
showed up
>and accomplished something.  And because I'm not a lemming, I also
tried to
>contribute my perspective.
>
>*However*, I do not agree that the face of temps has changed.  Once in
a
>while you get a jewel like Laura, someone you can give a complex job to
and
>not check up on them every ten minutes.  Most of the time you get
people=
 who
>know their stuff toolwise, but need their hand held for a while before
they
>come close to being productive (which is expected).  Quite often you
get
>people who simply don't have the tool know-how or other skills, and if
>they're nice you give them the benefit of the doubt and blame the
agency=
 for
>suckering both of us.  And occasionally you get someone who may or
may not
>know the tools but it doesn't matter because their raison d'=EAtre is to=
 rack
>up as many billable hours while accomplishing as little as possible.  This
>situation will never change until agencies devote more time to
screening=
 and
>become more scrupulous about matching skills to needs.  And I think this
is
>true for tech writing temps (contractors) as well as clerical.
>
>Sella Rush
>mailto:sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com
>Applied Technical Systems (ATS)
>Bremerton, Washington
>Developers of the CCM Database
>
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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>Send commands to listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g., SIGNOFF
TECHWR-L)
>=20
~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~ ~!~
Marilynne Smith                 marilyns -at- qualcomm -dot- com
Sr. Technical Writer            (619) 651-6664
QUALCOMM                AE-203B
              "We'll have the whole world talking"

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