Temp that doesn't help!

[susan silva]

Have you ever had a temp come in to the office, either when you were out or to help out on a project and it was more trouble then it was worth? (of course not the temps that come to DeskDemon, we know you ALL are top notch!!!!

[gee4]

Unfortunately Susan, yes!

A few years ago while in between jobs, I was hired as an Events Administrator to oversee the opening of a new hospital building.  Everything was going well, I had created a guest list, sent out invites, was co-ordinating replies and preparing registration lists and name badges for the big day.

I asked the Consultant who placed me in the role if I could take a day off for my birthday.  I made the request well in advance so that a temp could be put in place for the day.  I never thought for one minute a fiasco would occur.  A temp was found and I did a handover with her but got the feeling she was not very sure of things, however  I trusted that she had been vetted and took my leave.

Upon my return I discovered the invite database had been messed up and the various replies were not processed as they should have been.  I had previously set up a mailmerge for name badges and had to re-create what I had already prepared.  As you can imagine I was livid.  Here I was re-doing work that should have been a walk in the park.  Not only had the Consultant misplaced a temp but she had also messed up, and I was left to look a complete fool.

I was so angry I phoned the Consultant and gave off and explained that all my work had to be redone.  They of course could not believe what had happened and soon after I left them and took up a permanent job elsewhere.  I did of course fix the mess and saw the job through to the end but didn't quite enjoy it as much as I should.  Prince Charles was the VIP who opened the new building and we all got a momento of the day.

Not sure how this could have been avoided but recruitment agencies do need to vet staff more closely.

[rose.winter1980]

I have had three unfortunate temps in my long admin career.

First temp had been compulsorily retired from a very high-powered post with an international organisation.  She managed to upset all my colleagues on her first morning - so much so that by mid-day they had christened her "Attila the Hun".  Most unkind.

The second and third temps had much the same problems.  Both wanted my job (and made it VERY clear they would have liked to step into my shoes) and both were hugely incompetent. 

Second temp couldn't type a simple letter without grammatical or spelling mistakes, let alone do anything more serious.  She managed to upset the President and Patron of our company, which requires some talent as they are both quite easy-going.  She set about undermining me - papers went missing, phone calls were not relayed to me, post went missing, she disrupted communications between me and my colleagues, me and my (new) boss.  In fact, she was thoroughly unpleasant.  After she had left, I discovered that a good part of her CV was falsified, and she fraudulently claimed welfare benefits and all manner of other evil things.  Her temp agency ditched her fairly promptly.

The third temp was at our offices for just one hour when she approached my manager to enquire whether there were any vacancies.  She sent confidential papers which I had specifically requested that she keep secure, to an entire Committee that didn't have any requirement to see them in the first place.  The latter led to a long investigation by someone from our compliance department. She also removed confidential notes from the company's offices - for what purpose we never found out. 

I suppose the moral of this for temps is: make sure you are sufficiently skilled; if you are looking for a job, then you may ask, after a reasonable time when you have had time to assess whether or not the company would be agreeable to you, whether there are any opportunities in that company and don't, whatever you do, ask the person you are assisting "When are YOU going to look for another job"!

Not to seem like a complete whiner, I would just like to say that I have met some absolutely wonderful temps.  One was from Australia and travelling throughout Europe.  She had an enormous capacity for work, was competent and always cheerful.  The other outstanding one was from the States and very, very capable.  We still keep in touch nearly nine years after she worked with me.

[gee4]

Rose,

I seem to remember these incidents from previous discussions - how rude of these people to put you and your colleagues in such uncomfortable situations....and any wonder the "good" temps get a bad name.

I have to say in all my working life, temp or perm, I am reserved until such times as I am comfortable to become socially interactive with others or ask questions above and beyond my daily work.

I totally agree with you that not all temps are the same and I too made some friendships over the years with individuals I met whilst temping.

Remember this, never go to a party unless you are invited.  The same goes for opinions and conversations, don't get involved unless you are asked to.  And most importantly, respect others and they will respect you.

[officepa]

If being a Temp was my choice on a permanent basis and I was happy with that, I would take offence that someone has even asked the question "Have you ever had a temp come in to the office, either when you were out or to help out on a project and it was more trouble then it was worth?

Why pick on Temps?  - surely staff taken on in a permanent role could cause havoc such as posted? 


The question, to me anyway, comes across as mocking our fellow colleagues.  There will always be good and bad in all companies.  Temps have a hard enough time as it is - even the good ones - so to be made fun of is not, in my opinion, very professional.

[gee4]

In all fairness Cathy you do have a valid point.  I know several individuals who choose to temp, term time only, as it suits because they have children to look after.

It amazes me that the same old issue of temps is dragged up again and again as if we/they are imbeciles.  People temp for a reason and shouldn't be labelled.  A new employee, whether temp or perm, should always be treated equally.

My point above wasn't necessarily aimed at the temp, but rather the recruitment agency for not properly vetting my replacement.

[Atlanta Z3]

When I was office manager I was asked to hire a temp to catch up the accounts payable filing.  I don't think this person knew the alphabet!  After a week of not being able to find anything, I came in one Saturday to go through all our accounting files (at least if was only one year) and refile.
To be fair I have worked with some outstanding temps, that I would have loved to be able to hire.  The temp companies of course don't want to lose good temps.  Some companies can not afford to pay for a temp for 13 or more weeks to hire them, even if the temp would like to be permanent.

[catsmeat]

I can only think of one truly bad experience with a temp.  She wasn't criminal, or spiteful, just .... hopeless.   Whilst she could type, being able to strike keys in the right order does not a secretary make.  Her letters were badly laid out, and the filing she did on the computer left a great deal to be desired.  After two days the team were demanding someone who had more than the vaguest clue of what they should be doing.

But one bizarre thing she said to me still sticks out in my mind.  She asked me if I came from Lowestoft.  I don't; I've never been there, and it's miles away from where I was working.  Apparently I had a lisp, just like her friend from Lowestoft 

[peaches2160]

Ahhhhh, the temp issue:)  When I assumed this role, working for the VP of the department, after 25 yrs with the company in various roles, we had a temp working in the area.  She had applied through HR and expressed interest in the position.  She was very hostile towards me since I had been placed in the position and she was not considered.  She would come to my office door and make demands she said were on behalf of her boss, (a direct report of the VP I work for), read books at her desk instead of working, not work on tasks she was assigned by me and refused assignments given by the other managers in her area.  She would tell me that the way in which I was doing something was not how my predecessor did it.  Well, I am not my predecessor.  As a result, she drove me NUTS!  My boss finally sent a directive to her boss that she is to be released, after he saw her reading a book hidden in a binder on her desk instead of working.  Afterwards, things were much better since she did not add value anyway. 

[rose.winter1980]

My method nowadays is not to take anything on trust.  Check a person's CV very carefully and ask questions about any gaps.  Ask a likely candidate to attend your office for a handover/interview and provide a test.  Sometimes, this isn't feasible or appropriate, but this does work.                 

We have three long-term temps in my company working at different levels in finance, IT and general admin.  All of them have been through the above process and all doing very well.

[Cathy S]

In sympathy with your point Cathy, it works both ways:

I have been on the receiving end of some pretty shoddy treatment as a temp over a 2 year period, but with one exception fulfilled every engagement professionally - the exception was when I went to a new assignment in torrential rain and was unfortunate enough to upend a paving slab soaking myself inside and out my clothing.  I reported early to the Reception desk, explained my predicament and expected to be shown to the ladies to try and make the best of the situation.  Instead I was escorted to my desk and given a pile of copy typing which required me to fetch documents from the filing stack.  I wasn't shown the filing stack, had to find it myself in another part of the building.  But the clincher was, having sat in soggy clothes all morning I suddenly found the entire office had gone for lunch and not said a word to me.  I went to the nearest phone box, rang my controller and told her I would stay the week for her, but she would need to find someone else after that.  It was a most unfriendly office.

On the other hand, as a manager I hired temps from time to time and always used a preferred agency (the one I had temped for unsurprisingly).  One week the temp arrived punctually on the Monday morning, worked perfectly well and seemed to be quite happy with the input from her immediate colleagues.  She said she was popping home for lunch and didn't come back ... nonplussed I called my contact at the agency and she spent several days trying to speak to the temp.  It turned out she had gone home, had a violent fight with her partner and left home - so nothing to do with our company at all!

Cathy