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Sometimes your library can get out of hand. Vacations, sick leave, conferences, and special projects can make handling the routine a monumental task. When you need just a few extra hands, F1 Services can help. We specialize in providing degreed librarians and experienced paraprofessionals to libraries. Whether you need help for a week or a year, we can supply a librarian with the skills you require. If you have a crisis, F1 Services can often provide a librarian within 24 hours. We have personnel available for both part-time and full-time assignments. You have the option of interviewing candidates and selecting the person who will work best with your staff. All F1 Services employees are covered by workers' compensation and liability insurance; and we handle all tax, Social Security, and Medicare payments. We can also comply with your requirements for drug testing or criminal background checks. Our rates vary with the skill levels required - call us at 214-662-0538 for an hourly rate quote or project estimate. Temporary Staffing Questions & Answers
A member of your staff is out for a short time.
You have the opportunity or requirement to contribute to a special project.
Your marketing program has yielded spectacular results.
Although the cost can be expensed from operating funds rather than a payroll account, which may make getting the funding easier, a temporary or contractor will not be cheaper than an employee. The hourly wages we pay temporary staff are comparable to pay scales of other employers in our area. The F1 Services fee will be more than our employee receives since our charges include the cost of providing benefits to the employee, Social Security and Medicare taxes, workers compensation premiums, unemployment taxes, liability insurance and, of course, a profit. Why not just hire an independent contractor without going through F1 Services? You can do that as long as the contractor has his or her own company, works regularly for other companies in addition to yours, and works "independently." If, however, the contractor works only for you, works at your site with tools you provide, and works under your supervision, that person is an employee (yours or ours). According to the IRS Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide, a worker who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed. You can submit an SS-8 Determination of Employee Work Status form to the IRS and they will decide whether someone can be classified as a contractor or is really an employee. Often they are librarians who have recently received their degrees and are in the process of looking for their first professional position. F1 Services hires graduates of Library and Information Science programs from Texas Woman's University and the University of North Texas in Denton, and from the University of Texas in Austin. In other cases, they are librarians with years of experience who have been downsized or reorganized out of a job. Highly experienced staff often welcome the opportunity to use their research skills in a new environment while they seek a position with managerial responsibility. We also have experienced employees who prefer the freedom and variety of temporary work. Take a detailed look at the position you will need to cover. List all the tasks performed by that employee and prioritize them. Which are the essential tasks that must experience no interruption in service? The temporary employee must have the skills necessary for these tasks so that he or she can step in on the first day without missing a beat. A library with a high demand for literature searches may require someone with extensive online search skills, whereas the library with frequent quick reference questions may need someone with a knowledge of print resources or subject expertise. If a process can be easily taught -- and you have the time for training -- the skill needed for it will have a low priority. A prospective temp without this skill would still be a viable choice. While you are analyzing and prioritizing tasks take this opportunity to determine if some can be eliminated or delegated to other members of the staff. There is another side to the skills question that should be considered. Your temp will come not only with the skills you require, but with additional ones. Whenever possible, take advantage of these bonuses. For example, during downtime the temp who recently took classes in html programming can spiff up your Intranet site. If you are fortunate enough to have a temp with considerable experience, ask her opinion of the efficiency of some of your processes. How can I justify the cost of a temp? Think as your boss would. Will this absence make a difference in customer service, such as deterioration in turn-around time, failure to produce the daily awareness bulletin, or maintenance of the Intranet? How might that impact the production of other employees? Check to see if there is money in the budget that can be used to offset the cost of a temp. Since the cost of a temp often comes out of discretionary spending, you may be able to make a case for a temp "within budget" when other areas are under-expended. Often overlooked are the hidden costs of trying to cover a position with reduced staff. There will be travel costs if the person covering has to go to a different site. You may be required to pay overtime or give comp time. What happens to service at the reference desk when that staff person is reviewing periodical renewals for someone who is on maternity leave? And of course there is the stress felt by other staff members as they try to perform more work than is possible in the same period of time. If temps have been hired on previous occasions or in other departments, don’t hesitate to use precedent as a justification. Make certain that you are very clear in stating the requirements of the job. Librarians and library paraprofessionals have skills that are not readily available from most general temporary services. You don't want to have to teach someone about the LC or Dewey Decimal system. Be very specific when you specify the skills required so that your management and human resources department will understand why you can’t just use someone from the agency that supplies clerical temporaries. How can I keep my temp happy and productive? Although the temporary librarian is not an employee of your company, the more you can do to make the person feel like a valued member of your team, the more productive he or she will be. Recent lawsuits against major companies have lead to policies such as excluding contract employees from company telephone books or not allowing them to attend company parties. While you must follow the policy of your organization, you should do whatever you can to demonstrate that you appreciate the contribution the temp makes to your operation. Invite the temp to staff meetings and encourage his or her participation in discussions. If your staff all goes to lunch together, ask the temp to join you. If you anticipate that the temporary position may at some point be converted to a permanent position, you don't want to give your best candidate reasons to resent you. If you are fortunate enough to have a temp with significant experience, make the most of your opportunity to learn from the person. There is always the chance that your temporary librarian will find a permanent position elsewhere. If you provide the challenges and satisfaction the person needs, however, "temporary" can be a very long time.
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