University of Washington Human Resources

As a self-sustaining unit of HR’s Total Talent Management, UTemp Staffing serves as a cost-effective option for your temporary staffing needs at the University of Washington. We work closely with you to understand your specific requirements and then recruit and hire qualified employees, manage billing, and perform other administrative functions associated with employee relations and compliance. We provide:

• Responsive service: We strive to contact you within one business day to confirm your request and clarify your staffing needs. We are also here to assist you throughout the duration of the employee’s placement in your department.
• Staffing ease: We place qualified employees that fit your interim staffing needs, adding stability to your workforce. Whether you need a temp for four hours, days, or months, we aim to find you a great match.
• Consultation: There are occasions when UTemp may recommend other options to better serve a unit’s specific needs. Depending on the situation, UTemp may refer a hiring client to work with their UWHR recruitment partner on a targeted recruitment, or to seek the services of an outside contingent staffing agency.

Job categories

We strive to provide candidates in a variety of areas including, but not limited to:

• General services (customer support, ushering, cashiering)
• Office support (filing, reception, clerical, coordination)
• Professional and administrative (executive assistance, program management)
• Healthcare office administration (patient services, medical records, stockroom)
• Fiscal administration (costing/budgeting, accounts payable/receivable, medical/dental billing)
• Data processing and analysis (data entry and manipulation, transcription)
• Information systems (help desk, software support and development)
• Hospitality (food service, catering, event set-up)
• Student services (registration, counselors, campus guides)
• Research (lab support, grant coordination)
• Trades and light industrial (warehouse, drivers, custodians, gardeners)
• Leadership (management and administration)

After submitting an order, you should receive confirmation by email. If you do not, please call or email UTemp so we can confirm receipt. After receipt of your request, a UTemp representative will reach out to you to clarify and confirm next steps.

UTemp hires candidates into hourly-paid positions for a limited duration. Our recruiters ask various questions about your staffing need, the setting in which the work will be performed, and the expected duration to:

• Identify the correct job profile and appropriate rate of pay:
  • non-permanent classified; or
  • professional staff temporary project
• Identify a candidate who will be a good match for your interim needs.
• Ensure the candidate we identify for you is eligible for employment by completing screening and other onboarding requirements.
• Complete business processes in Workday related to hire, change job, termination, and position management.

Service-level expectations

Our commitment to you

• UTemp takes pride in partnering with our hiring clients and providing exceptional, timely, and responsive service.
• UTemp considers candidates’ interest and availability, as well as their knowledge, skills, and abilities when placing a worker in your unit to do specified work, for a specific duration.
• While many of our workers do apply for, and are considered for, regular positions, finding the exact long-term match for your permanent staffing needs should be directed to UWHR recruiting teams rather than UTemp Staffing.

Our expectations

• Our candidates are eager to work, and UTemp seeks to find placements for them quickly before they accept positions elsewhere. When we refer a candidate to you for consideration, we ask that you make a decision as quickly as possible to the suitability of the candidate to perform your needed work.
• No offer of employment (verbal or otherwise) should be given to a candidate until all the pre-hire processes are confirmed and completed by UTemp. There are specific processes that must happen pre- and post- offer, so we ask you to work with your UTemp recruiter closely on next steps.
• We ask about the intended length of the assignment so we can anticipate and ensure the candidate we place has availability to remain for the duration of your department’s need. While there is no guarantee the employee will stay for the full duration, there’s also no guarantee of employment to the UTemp employee, should the position need to end sooner than anticipated.
• Once UTemp has placed a candidate in your department, they should not be hired directly by your department, unless the candidate is selected for a permanent vacancy through competitive recruitment.
• UTemp should not be considered as an option to circumvent the regular hire process, or to screen applicants “on- the-job” for permanent vacancies.
• Clients should not initiate a transfer of a UTemp employee to a direct-hire position without first consulting with UTemp:
  • There is a business process that UTemp is required to complete in Workday to approve the job change of a UTemp worker.
  • If the department is trying to convert the UTemp employee to a direct hire, an additional fee may be charged if needed to recoup UTemp costs. (See also “Minimum fee to convert employee to a direct-hire” under “Fee structure” below.)

UTemp’s service fee is a 35% mark-up over the employee’s pay rate and is inclusive of the payroll benefit load rate (Worker’s compensation and Unemployment benefits, Social Security, Medicare, Healthcare and Retirement Plans, etc.). The service fee helps to cover administrative costs of providing the following services:

• Referring qualified candidates who have successfully completed our pre-screening processes, including behavioral interviewing and skills assessment, completing reference and background checks, and assessing employment eligibility (review of prior UW employment history, I-9 requirements, etc.).
• Position management, including adjusting and extending employment start and end dates, and closing the position once the work is complete.
• Direct billing to cost center(s) you elect through “Internal Sales” in Workday to spend category SC1016-Temporary Office Services.

Example: If we place a program assistant with a pay rate of $21.00 per hour, the total cost to the department will be $28.35 per hour (which is 35% over the pay rate).

Cancellation fee

A $75 cancellation fee will be applied if a department cancels a job order after UTemp refers a suitable candidate for placement. This fee may be waived by the recruiter with good reason, such as canceling due to budgetary concerns, the unit’s decision to not fill the staffing need, or if UTemp was unable to refer a qualified candidate in a timely manner.

Four-hour minimums

With advance notice, UTemp can fill staffing assignments for one day jobs, a minimum of four hours.

UTemp compensates employees for a minimum of four hours if they arrive at work and are sent home because there is no work to do. If the department has not made a good-faith effort to communicate with the employee to cancel their arrival, the department will be charged a minimum of four hours, even if the employee does not work or works less than the four hours.

If there’s an expectation that work shifts may fluctuate and it is understood that there may be times when the employee is not needed, there should be a mutual understanding between the department and the employee that their work may not be needed some days, or they may work shorter shifts on some days. These situations are not subject to the four-hour minimum.

UTemp recruitment fees

If UTemp’s referral leads to a direct hire, a fee will be incurred.

• Direct Conversion Fee: Charged when a department directly hires a UTemp worker. This equals the markup percentage (35%), prorated for up to three months
• Direct Hire Fee: If hiring after requesting UTemp services, a fee of 35% of the candidate’s three-month salary will be charged.

Example: UTemp identifies and coordinates placement of an administrative assistant to cover a leave of absence. A department hires the administrative assistant placed by UTemp after one month. The administrative assistant earns $30.00 per hour and works four hours a day. The total cost that UTemp will charge to the department is $42.00 each day for the remaining workdays short of a maximum of three months. In this example, the remainder would be two months.

• 35% mark-up x $30 per hour = $10.50 per hour x 4 hours per day = $42.00 per day
• $42.00/day x # of days in next two months
  • Employee started April 29, and was converted by department effective June 1. The conversion fee owed to UTemp would be 43 working days x $42.00/day = $1,806.00

What you should do before a UTemp employee starts

Before the employee starts, the unit should:

• Arrange access to programs or UW systems that the employee will need to use to do the work.
• Obtain badges or security cards needed for building access.
• Determine who in your department will be the primary contact for billing, as they will receive a sales confirmation once UTemp billing is performed. However, additional billing contacts may be added by UTemp to access billing history on the UTemp Manager Dashboard in UTempHires.
• Understand the position attributes and requirements – At hire, the recruiter includes the manager on a hire confirmation to the employee. Attached to this is a UTemp Staffing New Hire Checklist, which outlines the following employee expectations related to:
  • Time sensitive hiring and onboarding tasks;
  • Eligibility for various benefits and perks;
  • Required orientations and training;
  • Additional information, including but not limited to:
    • Tips for orienting with department and manager,
    • Compensation and time off,
    • Safety, security and health,
    • Transportation and other helpful resources.

What you should do after the UTemp employee starts

Discuss work expectations and provide any additional information, onboarding, or training specific to your department or work area. More information related to onboarding and training is referenced in materials provided by Total Talent Management.

How to extend an appointment

Please do not extend UTemp employees in Workday!

UTemp manages positions for our clients, including job changes needed to extend an employee’s employment date. If you have not verified the employee’s availability and interest in continuing in the assignment, let us know, so we may follow up with the employee on your behalf. Otherwise, we will assume you’ve spoken with the employee and that the extension is mutually agreeable.

No later than the employee’s expected last day, or at any point during the assignment, you can go to the UTempHires Department Dashboard to request an extension of your employee’s appointment.  Next to their name on the Active Jobs tab, click on the Extend Job link. This will open a new Outlook email message to UTemp through which you may fill in the requested end date and reason for extension. Or you may simply send an email to UTemp to request an extension. Providing the fields below will help expedite your request.

UTemp Job Number: 1117
Candidate Name: Smith, John
Requested End Date:
Reason for Extension:
Your Recruiter: Claudia Munoz

We will review the employee’s continued work eligibility to confirm whether they may be extended and respond at our earliest opportunity, and if appropriate, UTemp will process this action in Workday.

What to do at the end of an assignment

The employee’s manager will receive an end-of-assignment reminder via email two days before the employee’s end date. If your unit requests the assignment be extended, you may reply to that email with a new end-employment date. Otherwise, the employee’s employment will end, and the position will be closed.

If you need to end the assignment earlier than scheduled, contact your recruiter. Inform your employee of their new end date if you are comfortable doing so. Otherwise, we will be happy to assist you with this communication.

Please note, UTemp non-perm, classified employees are required to be provided at least one day notice if ending an assignment earlier than expected, or paid in lieu of notice. For example, if you are to tell your temp employee that tomorrow is their last day, then appropriate notice is given. However, if you call the UTemp office requesting to end the position the same day, UTemp will advise the employee to add hours to their time tracking for an additional day to be paid to them.

After the assignment ends, the employee’s manager will receive an email with a request to complete an evaluation. This asks for feedback related to the employee’s performance and welcomes your comments related to the service your unit received from your recruiter and/or UTemp in general. While completing the evaluation is not required, it is valuable to UTemp as we consider placing the individual again and lets us know how we might improve our services.

UTemp will wait until the employee’s hours worked and time off has been paid out, as appropriate, before we terminate the employee and close the position.

There are occasions when UTemp may refer a hiring client to contract with an outside contingent staffing agency.

Working with Outside Contingent Staffing Agencies Checklist

Before contacting staffing vendors:

1. Contact UTemp, via phone, email, or by filling out an order form.
2. If UTemp is not the best option to assist with a department’s particular staffing need, a UTemp recruiter may refer the client to their UWHR recruiting partner to explore other options, such as posting for a direct-hire recruitment.
3. If it is determined that the department’s staffing needs would be best served by seeking assistance from an outside staffing agency, we may recommend that the client explore this option to find their needed talked and provide a list of approved staffing vendors.

For an overview and comparison on your staffing options, ask one of our representatives for the UTemp Staffing Comparison Chart, which highlights the differences in cost and services offered by UTemp, UW Staffing and Recruiting, and outside staffing agencies.

Selecting a contingent staffing vendor

The following process outlines the steps for departments seeking staffing assistance from an outside vendor:

1. UW Procurement Services recommends selecting a minimum of three vendor(s) to contact from the list of approved vendors to foster competition through a second-tier selection process. Being “approved” means they have reviewed and agreed to UW’s contractual terms and have a signed contract on file with Procurement Services. (*Medical Centers Recruiting will facilitate this process for their clients).
2. See sample Vendor Contact Template (below) for guidelines on the type of information you will need to present to vendors so they may begin working on your request. To ensure fairness, provide all the same information and timeline to all vendors for which you will solicit candidates for your consideration.
3. When receiving candidates from vendors for consideration, if not immediately provided, be sure to ask the vendor what the bill rate (or charge) will be should you select the candidate.
4. Upon reviewing qualifications and pricing, the department works with the vendor to select the most appropriate candidate for their needs, verifying candidate meets requirements, and will be paid appropriately for the work being performed per UW compensation guidelines. The criteria for selecting a candidate from a vendor will be the one who proposes the most “responsive” candidate, at the lowest bill rate. “Responsive” may be considered as “most qualified”, allowing flexibility for the hiring client to choose a more qualified candidate that comes with a higher cost over one that has a lower bill rate.
5. As soon as a selection has been made, notify the vendors not selected that a candidate has been identified, so they no longer spend time working on your request.
6. A background check must be conducted by the staffing agency prior to the candidate starting work. While this is a requirement agreed to in the contract, the department will be responsible for asking the vendor whether a criminal background check has been completed successfully on the candidate being referred.
   (a) If there are questions or concerns with this process, the UW hiring client may refer the vendor to UTemp or their UWHR recruiting partner.
   (b) This includes if there is a disclosure of a conviction, which may or may not affect the candidate’s eligibility to perform the required work.
7. Department then works with vendor directly on invoicing.
   The agency will be required to register with the UW to receive more information and obtain payment for services.
8. If the worker needs a UW NetID, they will need to be entered into Workday. See instructions on the ISC website for Contracting Contingent Worker. (*WMS team will facilitate this process for Medical Center clients).

Vendor Contact Template

The following is a template that may be used when contacting staffing agencies for assistance. When emailing multiple agencies, please bcc: or send individual emails, rather than cc:ing multiple vendor contacts. The vendors need not know what other vendors you are contacting. Provide all the same information to each vendor, with an expected timeline for when you seek solicitation of candidates. Afterwards, don’t forget to communicate with vendors who submitted candidates who were not selected.

To: [StaffingVendorEmail@vendor.com]
From: [YourEmail@uw.edu]
Subject: [JOB TITLE at UW needed!]

Job Title:

Job Description:

[DUTIES – What are the true day-to-day job duties?]
[SKILLS REQUESTED – Be prepared to clarify desired and required skills. Are any of the tasks negotiable?]
[REQUIREMENTS – Education, experience or knowledge needed?]

Department:

Location:

Pay Rate (Range):

Work Schedule:

Reason:

[Why are you looking to bring in a temp at this time, and how long do you think you will need someone?]

Anticipated Start Date:

Anticipate End Date:

Selection process:

[resumé review only?, phone screen?, interview?, accepting referral of candidates by end of the week, or until an acceptable candidate is identified?]

Background check needed: [Yes or No]

Conditions of Employment: [Any other pertinent information?]

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