Robert Half International Helps Companies Find Temporary Professional Staff

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Nowhere is the adage "you can't find good help nowadays" more untrue than in the Tri-Valley area. However, finding the right person for a particular job can be a challenge for many companies, especially when the position they are trying to fill requires specific skills for a limited amount of time. In these cases, many companies turn to firms like Robert Half International Inc., at 5720 Stoneridge Drive.

Founded in 1948, Robert Half International specializes in providing placement services for accounting, finance, and information technology professionals, among others. The company has seven divisions: Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting, and Robert Half Management Resources, for temporary, full-time and project professionals, respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance; OfficeTeam, for temporary administrative support; Robert Half Technology, for information technology professionals; Robert Half Legal, for temporary, project and full-time staffing of attorneys, paralegals, and legal support personnel; and The Creative Group, for creative, advertising, marketing and web design professionals.

"The way our organization is structured is that we have branch offices in two major service lines," says Ken Gitlin, Executive Director of Robert Half International. "The first is a staffing service that we provide under a variety of brand names via a network of 325 plus branch offices throughout North America, continental Europe, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. We're the largest specialized staffing firm in the world." RHI also has a permanent placement division called Robert Half Accounting and Finance.

In addition to its staffing and recruiting operations, RHI is also the parent company of Protiviti Inc., a provider of independent internal audit and business and technology risk consulting services. Protiviti helps clients identify, measure and manage operational and technology-related risks they face within their industries and throughout their systems and processes. Protiviti is the leader in its field as well and has 35 branch locations worldwide.

Hacienda is home to the accounting, information technology, and operational support services for RHI itself. Approximately 800 employees work at the facility's several hundred thousand square feet of office space. The world's largest specialized staffing firm chose to center its operations in Pleasanton because it was impressed by the skilled workforce the Tri-Valley had to offer. "We needed a location that would make sense for us as a business, affording us room to expand and still take advantage of the wealth of professional expertise offered by the greater Bay Area employment environment," Gitlin says. "Pleasanton was an attractive choice because it gave us access to professionals that live in places like San Jose, Fremont, Walnut Creek, Oakland, Tracy, and Stockton. We're situated in Pleasanton intentionally to be able to attract the workforce that's up and down the 580 and 680 corridor."

As for why RHI has shown so much growth in recent years, Gitlin believes it's because temporary employment can be beneficial for both the employer and for the temporary employee. "More and more businesses are realizing the benefits of using professional level temporaries to assist them in addressing fluctuations in workload. For the individuals we place, we help them put their talent to work in positions where their expertise can add value. They can then take advantage of the opportunity to explore new professional challenges or earn income while searching for a permanent position."

Photo: Ken Gitlin, executive director of Operational Support at Robert Half International, looks over one of the company's many Hacienda offices.

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