Diane's experience as a temporary office employee led them to consider the staffing industry.    "We looked at franchises," he said, "and decided that wasn't what we wanted to do."   

The company remains a family-owned enterprise with Modaff's son, David, 43, the chief operating officer.   

Their daughter, Lynda, a graphic artist in Los Angeles, created Friday Services' Dalmatian Logo and the slogan: "Hang on, Friday's coming!"   

Friday Services has 27 internal employees, but draws on a 3,000 person pool of available workers.  That group covers eight WNC counties from offices in Hendersonville, Asheville and Morganton.

In addition to traditional clerical staffing, the company provides workers in technical fields, including engineering and computer services, and for light industrial companies.

"Original equipment suppliers for new automobiles" are an active client area, Modaff said, with Friday Services providing assembly line and warehouse workers.

"The main reason  Friday has been selected is their flexibility to meet our needs. They are very proactive in employee assessment and recruitment."

Kay Arnold,
Continental Teves
senior human resources administrator

Kay Arnold, senior human resources administrator with Continental Teves, said Friday staffers work at three company facilities in WNC, with several dozen at the Fletcher plant.   

"The main reason Friday has been selected is their flexibility to meet our needs," Arnold said.  "They are very proactive in Employee assessment and recruitment."   

Citing competitive pressures, Friday Services executives were reluctant to discuss specific assignments.   

"There were six staffing firms in the area when we started in 1987,"  Modaff said, "and there are close to 30 now.  Everyone wants to steal our lunch."

The American Staffing Association reports the staffing industry's average daily employment in the first quarter of 2003 increased more than 11 percent to 2.13 million workers.

James Cothran, 76, or Asheville, who works with the housekeeping group during the second shift at Continental Teves, said Friday Services looks after it's workers.

"I really enjoy working for Friday," said the World War II Navy veteran. 

"Retirement wasn't for me."   

Alongside its core staffing business, the company provides personnel search services and information technology consulting.

In the early 1990s to jump-start it's entry into recruiting and technical services, Modaff said, the company completed two acquisitions.

Although "temporary" is still used to describe the staffing industry, Pressley said "strategic" is more accurate, as some projects are multi-year in length and include the same employees for the duration.

FRIDAY SERVICE FILE  

• Company president:  John Modaff, company president

• Year founded:  1987

• Business:  Company provides staffing for clerical, technical and light industrial jobs

• Revenue:  More than $10 million a year

• Staff:  27 internal employees and a pool of 3,000 person pool of workers payroll that reaches 1,000 people in peak months,

• Offices:  Asheville, Hendersonville, Morganton

• Client base:  75 to 100 clients

Some businesses utilize so many Friday staffers, Pressley said, a company employee works on-site to supervise those individuals.

More than 100 Friday staffers are currently working at one location, she noted.

Friday Services' external workers are eligible for a benefit program, Modaff said, and 63 percent receive paychecks from the company via direct deposit, a measure of the stability of their employee pool.

There is still plenty of turnover among temporary workers, Pressley said.

"Sometimes they come to us because they know we are affiliated with a certain company they want to work with," she said.

These individuals can end up with a "working interview" at desired company, Pressley said.

About 11 percent of Friday Staffers were hired permanently in 2002, David Modaff said.

John Modaff said he does not detect any hostility toward temporary workers at job sites.

Since temps are the first to go in an economic downturn, he said, they provide job security for full-timers.

Reflecting the national trend, business is up for the first six months of 2003, Modaff said, and it also increased in 2002 and 2001 over the prior year.

That is good news for the Western North Carolina economy, he noted, adding, "the staffing industry is a pretty well known barometer for the economic climate."