Pointers for engaging a temp agency and tips to help keep your temp hires on track.
Roles and Responsibilities
Cornell Hiring Manager
Job Description: Clearly communicate duties and responsibilities of opportunity, skills required, encourage the submission of a diverse slate of talent, time frame and other relevant information to aid in high quality and timely placements.
Terms: Ensure that at the outset of placement, terms and conditions are explained to you and are feasible
Performance: Contact the agency representative to communicate all disciplinary concerns and performance issues.
Feedback: Provide feedback, via the Purchasing website, on interactions with the vendor.
Confidential & Timely: Handle all information in a confidential manner and respond in a timely fashion to all referrals and requests from the vendor.
Orientation: Provide an appropriate orientation for the temporary worker in your workplace.
Reports: Request reports as needed from vendor or Workforce Recruitment and Retention.
Release for violation: Communicate with your local human resource representative if an agency temporary employee must be released due to a violation of any university policy and/or procedure.
Temporary Agency Vendor
Customer service: Provide a high level of customer service in response to all inquiries from Cornell University representatives. Clearly communicate realistic timeframe for filling of temporary need and take steps to encourage and present diverse slates of talent.
Disciplinary issues: Handle all disciplinary issues and remove temporary employee if necessary.
Annual meeting: Meet, with members of Recruitment and Employment, once per Cornell fiscal year, July 1-June 30, to review the previous year, discuss issues and concerns and prepare for the upcoming year.
Communications: Have specific communication and feedback mechanisms in place to provide:
Timely performance feedback to individual talent.
At the outset of the placement provide hiring manager with clear information related to terms and conditions of individual placements to include summary of appointment and all associated costs.
Overall relationship feedback to Workforce Recruitment and Retention staff.
Sharing of background information: Ensure that all relevant information including but not limited to Cornell work history and information gained during reference checking are made available to hiring supervisors in advance of a hiring decision.
Advance Cornell orientation: Partner with Workforce Recruitment and Retention to develop a general Cornell University orientation program that all talent to be employed at the University must complete prior to their first day working at the University.
Summary reports: Provide summary reports to Workforce Recruitment and Retention on a quarterly, annual and as needed basis to assist Cornell University in understanding total volume (requests vs. placement), expenses, length of appointment, diversity and other relevant information by department, college/unit and university as a whole.
Weekly violations reports: Implement a process to communicate in writing to Workforce Recruitment and Retention the name, start date and end date, department and college/unit on a weekly basis of all hires or individuals released due to violation of university policy and/or procedure. This will aid the university in ensuring that talent removed from our campus are not being hired through your agency and placed on site.
Temporary and Contract Staffing Agencies
Need to find temporary help? Cornell has negotiated agreements with temporary employment agencies to provide quality staffing in a timely, cost-effective manner.
First, have you considered an internal temporary hire?
Contact your local Human Resources (HR) office or representative who can:
Post the opportunity on Workday.
Assess the possibility of your short-term need becoming a Gig or rotational opportunity as a way to develop current university staff.
You might also consider a Cornell spouse or partner:
Dual Career and Engagement Consultants work with spouses and/or partners of potential and current Cornell staff and faculty members who may have an interest in pursuing temporary opportunities.
Before Contacting an Agency
Compare Rates & Services
The following rate information regarding contracts negotiated with suppliers is confidential and should not be shared with anyone outside of Cornell University, as per Cornell University Policy 4.6, Standards of Ethical Conduct.
Due to the nature of our business, there will be times when you may receive unsolicited emails or phone calls from third-party employment agencies looking to do business with Cornell. It is common for the caller or the email to provide the name of an administrator as an endorsement of their services. The Recruitment and Employment Center evaluates new temporary service agencies on an annual basis. Please direct all unsolicited requests to Sonja Baylor, ssb8@cornell.edu.
Working with Temp Agencies - FAQs
What is my role in working with a temporary agency?
View the roles and expectations of the hiring manager and vendor above.
What does the mark-up rate include?
Part of the bill for a temporary worker goes to cover the administrative and human resource efforts associated with hiring a temporary employee. The percentage reflected in the chart below is inclusive of, but not limited to:
Reference verification
Background check
Payroll expenses and paperwork (withholding and payroll taxes)
Recruitment advertising/marketing
Unemployment insurance
Workers' compensation insurance
Benefits if applicable
What does Direct Placement mean?
This is a service that is offered by agencies where they serve as an extension of your recruiting efforts and assist in finding and placing candidates for a regular position.
Note:In keeping with Cornell's Filling Vacancies Policy, before filling a position, positions must be posted and a fair and open search conducted
What is a temp to perm fee?
If the hiring manager wants to hire a temporary worker who was hired through an agency into a regular position, they may need to pay an additional fee to the agency.
Note:In keeping with Cornell's Filling Vacancies Policy, before filling a position, positions must be posted and a fair and open search conducted. temporary.
Where can I find a listing of temporary agencies that the university has contracts with?
View the full listing of agencies below that the university has negotiated agreements with as well as the associated fees.
Approved Temporary and Contract Employment Agencies
The agencies listed below offer prearranged negotiated pricing, enhanced reporting, orientation, and feedback processes.
