Celebrating ten years of the Temporary Staffing Service

This month we celebrate the ten year anniversary of the University’s Temporary Staffing Service (TSS). As we reach this milestone, I would like to take the opportunity to share the team’s incredible success over the last decade. 

How it started 

TSS was established in 2014 in response to the high costs of using local temping agencies, and concerns that these services were not always meeting our needs. Institutions such as Cambridge and Warwick had successfully developed their own temporary worker services and, after considering several alternative options, we were confident Oxford could develop its own high performing temp agency. 

The University’s aims for the TSS were to provide a quality service, reduce costs and ensure the service became a self-funding operation. Ten years on, I am pleased to say the TSS has exceeded our expectations. 

From its humble beginnings in the basement of the Careers Service, to the bustling agency-style offices on Little Clarendon Street, the TSS has excelled under the leadership of Annie Harris, TSS Manager. Annie’s long career within recruitment agencies ensured that a commercial focus was instilled in the TSS from day one.  

Alongside Annie and her team, who work tirelessly to attract, review and match candidates, the TSS owes its success to support from central functions such as Casual Payroll (Finance Division) and the University Card Office (Estates Services). Our consultant Tom Harlos has also been instrumental in leading the initial implementation project and has supported the TSS through various evolutions. 

TSS started by sourcing grade 3 to grade 7 administrative staff for a handful of University departments, but quickly gained a reputation for delivering a quality service, which saw the customer-base grow rapidly in the early years. 

Mirroring the commercial approach taken by temping agencies, the TSS charges an hourly administration fee for each temporary worker deployed. These fees enabled the TSS to become a self-sustaining operation by its third year. 

In 2019, the TSS expanded its service to support colleges, bringing a fresh challenge to source new categories of temporary worker such as Bursars and Lodge Porters. Four and a half years on, our temporary workers now have the opportunity to build skills and experience across the entire collegiate University, with hiring managers also gaining the benefit of this experience.  

The TSS contributed greatly during the pandemic, providing large numbers of temporary workers to staff the University’s testing and vaccination centres, despite half of the TSS team being furloughed. 

Ten years on 

The TSS is now sourcing administrative staff across grades 3 to 7, placing a broad range of staff across finance, HR, communications and administrative roles. 

During its 10 years, the TSS has saved the University £8 million in unrecoverable VAT; a huge achievement in meeting our aim of reducing the University’s cost of temporary workers. 

Over 3,500 temporary workers have been deployed since the TSS began, covering more than 9,000 assignments. Nearly 1,400 of these temporary workers have gone on to secure permanent roles across the collegiate University, at no cost to the hiring departments. 

By the end of this calendar year, TSS temporary workers will have completed 2,000,000 hours of temporary work and submitted 100,000 timesheets. 

What’s next? 

Recent changes in the labour market have created recruitment challenges for departments and colleges, causing an increase in demand for TSS workers. To help us meet this demand, projects are underway to improve the candidate experience with simplified holiday pay arrangements and an improved application and onboarding process.      

Visit the Temporary Staffing Service website for more information and find out how you can hire a temporary worker for your team.