Part-time permanent staffing company enters Utah market
A Denver-based staffing company that focuses on finding employment opportunities for college-educate people looking for permanent part-time jobs has opened its first Utah franchise.l0 til 2 is one of the top 10 fastest-growing businesses in the Denver area and was started by four professional women seeking to fill a niche in the staffing industry by initially placing stay-at- home mothers who wanted to go back to work while their children were in school.
"Parents want to know that they can put their children on the school bus in the morning and be able to pick them up in the afternoon." said Liz Norwood, a founding partner of 10 til 2 in Denver. "The clients [business owners] have to sign a contract that they will give time off if kids have a school event so the parent can attend, which is unheard of in the corporate world."
But the firm soon realized that women weren't the only professionals looking for permanent part-time employment, as it attracted college-educated older individuals who didn't want to fully retire.
Renee Reeves, a Salt Lake native who has lived in the Denver area for the past three years, became acquainted with the 10 til 2 business model and decided that Utah would be a perfect match for the staffing service.
"I've always wanted to own my own business," Reeves said. "I've been in management and accounting for a big company for many years. I was just kind of tired of the whole corporate grind. I felt like I needed to do something different. When I came across 10 til 2 I thought it was an awesome idea. I was so impressed with the four women who started this thing up."
Reeves moved back to Utah in August and has the franchise rights to the Salt Lake South metro area for the company. As her database of clients and employees grows, she intends to expand the franchise in Utah.
"We're the only staffing service in the country that exclusively places people in permanent part-time employment," Norwood said. "We felt it was a very good business model that could be duplicated."
The company saw Utah as a natural location for a franchise because of the focus people here have on the family.
The company requires that all of its employee candidates have at least one year of college education. Candidates are placed in professional employment and the company does not deal with day labor, temporary employment, retail or restaurant employment. According to Reeves, small companies have the greatest needs for professional part-time permanent employees.
"If businesses are thinking of the 40-hour full-time permanent employee mind-set they might have several needs but may only be able to afford one single fulltime employee and they have to choose what position to fill," Reeves said. "A small business has all kinds of needs. They have bookkeeping needs, they have marketing needs, they might have IT needs. And if you're stuck and all you can have is an administrative person, that person may not have any of those other skills. They could hire more than one person and have each one for a few hours a day and that would be sufficient. I think it's a perfect situation for business and employees." Potential employees can apply by visiting the 10 til 2 Web site, (www.tentiltwo.com) where applications are entered into 10 til 2's proprietary database. Employers interested in filling a part-time position can contact the l0 til 2 office to discuss job specifications and requirements.
Reeves reviews all resumes, then works with both clients and candidates to fill the job openings. 10 til 2 is the official employer of the candidates once they are accepted for a position. After six months, the company has the option of "buying out" the employee from l0 til 2, or keeping the arrangement as is. "In a small company that doesn't want to have to deal with payroll, keeping them in on the 10 til 2 payroll works out just perfect for them," Reeves said. Additionally, because the employees are part-time, neither 10 til 2 nor the client company provide benefits to the employee, which saves a company money and can be another attractive aspect of hiring a professional part-time employee.
l0 til 2 currently has twelve franchises throughout Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Ohio, Texas and Michigan. The company was founded in 2003.
- Debbie Taylor, The Enterprise - Salt Lake City