Employees are more worried about
their commuting costs than ever, and
staffing companies are among the U.S.
employers offering a solution.
According to a study by ASA member
Adecco, the price of gas is a worry for
surveyed workers; 88% of respondents
named it as a concern. To help retain
talent, says Bernadette Kenny of Adecco,
employers might offer their employees
the option to work from home.
Telecommuting has been an integral aspect of business for the Training
Associates, an ASA member. “The vast
majority of our contract employees work
from home and communicate through
us,” says Jeanne Picardi. To keep
employees connected to the company,
the Training Associates developed a
tracking system.
“Because we have this proprietary
system, employees feel very much a part
Staffing Firms Tap Telecommuting Technologies
Approximately 25%
of the clients who
get exposed to our
candidates allow them
to go off-site once they
have demonstrated
their maturity and
productivity, and those
employees are able to
produce great work
remotely.
of this firm. We keep them up-to-date
on the hottest technologies and coach
them through our system, which contributes to morale and retention,” says
Picardi.
Herbert Cogliano, CSP, TSC, of
ASA member company Sullivan &
Cogliano has noticed the popular-
ity of alternative work arrangements.
“Telecommuting has definitely been
a growing trend, and I think it is only
going to grow stronger,” he says. Sul-
livan & Cogliano’s clients do not
commonly make explicit requests for
an employee who will telecommute,
Cogliano says, “but approximately 25%
of the clients who get exposed to our
candidates allow them to go off-site
once they have demonstrated their
maturity and productivity, and those
employees are able to produce great
work remotely.
20% of surveyed
CFOs plan to add
full-time accounting
and finance employees.
Of the 1,400 chief financial officers
surveyed by Robert Half International
in December, 20% said they plan to
add full-time accounting and finance
employees in the first quarter of 2012.
Only 11% of those surveyed anticipated
staff decreases in this area. The net 9%
increase reflects a four-point increase
since the company reported on its
fourth-quarter survey last year.
But hiring more financial employees
will be no easy task, executives predict;
68% of those surveyed said recruiting
qualified candidates poses a challenge.
“Competition for the best employees
is intensifying, and, at the same time,
these professionals are beginning to feel
increasingly comfortable exploring new
roles at other firms,” said Max Messmer,
Robert Half International’s chairman
and chief executive officer. “Businesses
are still selective when hiring but under-
stand they need to move quickly once
the right candidate is identified.”
Also according to this survey, execu-
tives in the transportation and construc-
tion sectors will do the most hiring in
the first quarter—a net 18% of CFOs in
each industry said they plan to hire ad-
ditional employees. n
Jump in Financial Hiring Expected in Q1
