People of Ellendale: Local Temporary Services Agency Turns 25!
Hidden among the quiet businesses that reside in the St. Louis Marketplace is a service agency connecting unemployed people with jobs that need to be done. That little gem of a business is Southside Temporaries.
Established in 1991, Southside Temporaries is celebrating its 25th year of serving the St. Louis metropolitan area — the last four of which have been here in the Ellendale neighborhood at 6504 Manchester Avenue, along Ellendale’s northern border.
Steve Fraraccio, now owner and president, began working for Southside Temporaries in March of 1996. He bought the company eleven and a half years later, in 2007.
“In past years we have had small offices on Page avenue (near Highway 70) and on Hampton Avenue,” said Fraraccio. “We moved to our current office on Manchester because of its affordability and location — we needed to be inside the City limits and be accessible by bus.”
Being centrally located and near public transportation is important for Southside Temporaries so that their potential employees have the best access to them.
Applicants can come to the office in the mornings Tuesday through Thursday with two forms of identification to submit applications. “Then a Staffing Coordinator will interview them, determine their skills, find out their interests, and best-fit them with one of our clients,” explains Steve.
The jobs they work with their clients to fill include mostly light industrial labor ranging from assembly, packaging, shipping and receiving, machine operating, loading and unloading trucks, welding, operating forklift, and others in the manufacturing arenas.
And Southside’s Staffing Agents understand manufacturing. Most are required to visit and observe the potential job sites to fully understand the processes required for the positions they send temporary associates to perform. “This typical practice ensures the safety and understanding of the job for both the temporary associate and our client,” said Jason Jumps, Sales Manager at Southside Temporaries. “This promotes safety in the work place as well as placement retention.”
25 Years of Helping Family
Southside Temporaries follows a tradition of excellence in customer service, forming close relationships with clients, and providing them a level of service they require for their own success. They strive to treat everyone they work with — clients and employees — like they are a part of a family.
On average, Southside Temporaries employs about 290 people per week, filling labor positions for approximately 50 different clients.
Some jobs only last a few days, but on average, most range from weekly- to monthly-length assignments. Some clients also participate in a 90-day TryHire program with intentions to hire the individual if they work out through the trial period. “I would say maybe about 200 to 250 people per year gain permanent employment from our service,” said Steve.
Accounting for fluctuations in employment opportunities over the last 25 years, one could estimate that Southside Temporaries has potentially helped over 4,000 people find permanent employment at one time or another.
“And there is no better feeling then when a client calls and says they want to hire the temporary that we sent them,” explained Fraraccio with a big smile on his face. “Or even better,“ he continued, “when it’s not the client you might expect who asks to take someone on a permanent basis.”
Southside’s office staff consists of just six people, but they see a future of growth. They recently expanded their office space to 2,400 sq. ft. and see themselves staying in Ellendale for many years. “Down the road I’d like to diversify and be able to offer clients more clerical, accounting, and IT staffing solutions,” said Steve.
For more information about Southside Temporaries, a member of the American Staffing Association, visit their website, www.SouthsideTemporaries.com.
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