September 30, 2004

Good help isn’t hard to find for University of Houston supervisors and administrators.

With the recent addition of Corestaff Services as the university’s on-site staffing agency, departments or colleges can access temporary or contract employees in a quick, efficient manner.

Robert Herrington, assistant vice president for executive development and training, said that timely turnarounds were a prime reason UH selected Corestaff as its staffing vendor.

“Sometimes, requests for temporary or contract personnel are made for projects that need to begin immediately,” said Herrington, who was involved in the selection process for a new staffing vendor. “Because Corestaff is based in Houston and has an extensive clientele database, we were confident in this vendor’s ability to fulfill staffing requests quickly and with quality candidates.”

Corestaff Services replaced AppleOne. One of the reasons for the switch to Corestaff was the company’s commitment to retaining an on-site office to administer personnel requests, Herrington said.

AppleOne had maintained an office near the Department of Human Resources in McElhinney Hall for a number of years, but during the past year, it had relocated off campus.

Sandi Gardea, Corestaff’s performance partnership manager, is now the primary contact for requests. Gardea, who maintains an office at 345 McElhinney Hall, is handling requests by appointment currently. She anticipates developing a Web-based requisition and invoicing process that will be implemented in early 2005.

“Business managers will receive their invoices online, so they can see the costs associated with temporary or contract staffing,” Gardea said. “They will then be able to budget more efficiently.”

She added that hiring managers also would be able to view resumes and applications online.

In addition to UH, Corestaff serves UH-Clear Lake and UH-Downtown.

Gardea can be reached at 713-743-5627 or 743-JOBS and at sandi.gardea@corestaff.com or uh@corestaff.com.

“There comes a time when a department needs extra hands with a project or someone to fill in while a staff members is out for a period of time,” Herrington said. “Temporary personnel are key in solving these kinds of problems, and we feel that Corestaff can provide UH with the extra help it needs whether it’s for long-term projects or just a few hours a day.”

Mike Emery
memery@central.uh.edu