Tar Heel Temps to close Jan. 31

The campus temporary employment agency where thousands have sought employment is closing.

Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Brenda Malone cited “financial challenges” over the past year in her announcement that Tar Heel Temps would shut its doors for good Jan. 31.

“The problems have been due to the budget cuts throughout the University,” said Paul Ingui, manager of Tar Heel Temps.

Ingui said budget reductions left campus departments unable to hire the number of temporary employees they used to.

Currently, 174 employees across campus are working in temporary jobs placed by Tar Heel Temps. Ingui said last year at this time there were 220, and in the past the number of employees was as high as 500.

He added that roughly 2,800 people seek employment a year through Tar Heel Temps.

The self-supporting program derives its entire budget from its employees working across campus. Departments pay an hourly fee to Tar Heel Temps for each employee it hires. That fee had to be increased last year, Malone said.

“Any staff that work on Tar Heel Temps, any costs, have to be provided through the business we generate,” she added.

Those fees go partly to the salaries of Tar Heel Temps’ eight staff members, who work out of an office on Airport Drive. The program began in 1992, said Kathy Bryant, director of communications for human resources.

“Unfortunately, continuing budget difficulties, along with a decrease in temporary hiring and an increase in administrative overhead costs, have led to this difficult decision,” Malone said in a Jan. 4 e-mail to campus.

“This decision was extremely difficult — and is made with a heavy heart.”

While the down economy has decreased demand on Tar Heel Temps for new hires, it’s increased the flip side of the business. Ingui said the number of people seeking employment had increased by 3 percent this year. He said he thought other temp agencies are experiencing similar spikes in interest.

Malone said Tar Heel Temps has also faced competition from other local employment agencies and campus departments’ ability to directly hire temps.

“We’ve been facing some budget challenges for a while,” she added. “You get to a point where you can no longer be competitive. We hit the point where we can’t sustain ourselves.”

Current Tar Heel Temps employees will convert to direct-hire temps employed by their individual campus departments.

Ingui said Tar Heel Temps hires aren’t concentrated in any specific areas of campus — employees are available to all corners of campus, with the exception of UNC Hospitals.

Malone said the next step would be finding a new and efficient way to continue providing employment services for the UNC community.

“We’re going to be working to find out how we meet the needs of the University,” she said. “Some have relied on us for years, and we want to help.”

Malone added that future plans could include a revamped version of Tar Heel Temps, but it would have to operate very differently from the current incarnation.

“I don’t envision Tar Heel Temps, in the state it’s in now, being resurrected any time soon,” she said.

“But long term, never say never.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.