St. Louis Staffing's Blog

Social Work vs. Social Mindset

stlouisstaffing — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:05:18 +0000

During a recent conversation with my friend, Jason Cleveland, we discussed the whole notion of being a “social worker” vs. having a “social mindset”. Jason works with ex-offenders helping to re-acclimate them into society specifically on the job front. That is where he and I share a passion: helping others find meaningful work. We both understand the crisis that society is faced with now and that is finding work for those who have paid their debt to society.

In Jason’s not for profit work and in our own offices, we’re faced with the choice of performing social work everyday or having a mindset that is socially aware and concerned. Sometimes the easy answer is to provide all the answers to the tough questions that are being asked of those we help. The more difficult solution is to pave the way for those to find the answers on their own.

Jason and his staff, as well as the staff here at St. Louis Staffing, work very hard finding the opportunities needed to place people into meaningful positions and satisfy their human need to work. There are overflow needs that come about from both our work. Often Jason must help his clientele find places to live, appropriate clothing to wear (especially on an interview) and some basic financial knowledge to make sure they can take care of themselves. Our staff often helps our employees decide on places to live based on the work we might have for them, we have helped in making decisions for medical treatment for their children and recommended schools.

In all the examples mentioned above, there can be a temptation to do the work for those asking for it. That is exactly the wrong message to send and the wrong attitude to take in order to help people. Doing things for people who are perfectly capable of doing it themselves is a hinderance to the outcome of self sustainability that everyone is trying to reach with a social mindset.

If you give a man a fish, he will have a single meal. If you teach him how to fish, he will eat all his life. Kwan-Tzu

Inspiration

stlouisstaffing — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:41:03 +0000

A close friend shared with me an experience that really made him feel great and gave me some insight that I would like to share. My friend posted a message on his Facebook page that said something to the effect of “Please respond to this post with one word that you think best describes me.” Two days later, someone who has worked very closely with this friend for the past several years replied with the word “inspirational”. My friend was curious so he emailed his co-worker and asked her what she found inspirational about him. Here was her reply:

You inspire me because you put your family and religion first.
You inspire me because you are always 100% positive (or at least appear insanely upbeat and unweathered in the toughest of times).
You inspire me because there’s never been a person that I know of that has met you and not adored you.
You inspire me because you are extremely open to other people’s ideas and opinions.
You inspire me because you hold no grudges.
You inspire me because you put forth amazing effort to lead a balanced life with business, male friends, family, religion, exercise, rest and relaxation etc.
You inspire me because even when you are the big fish in the small business pond, you never gain an ounce of narcissism.
You inspire me because you yearn to learn more about everything and actually read, participate, etc. in new things rather than just talking about doing it.
You inspire me because you are incredibly unselfish and truly want the people around you to be happy and successful in all aspects of life; even if that may clash with your personal views or values.
Of course there’s more, but those are the thoughts that easily came to mind.

Now I have to ask you, who wouldn’t want feedback like this? Needless to say my friend was speechless. As he put it, “I have worked with this person for almost seven years. We have a great working relationship and I respect her a lot as a colleague and person. And while I believe she respects me and my point of view, I had no idea that she felt the way she did. I’m very glad that I asked.”

Ask yourself who you find inspirational and even if they’ve not asked for it, send them a list like the one above. It is a great way to show your gratitude this Thanksgiving.

Turnaround for Manufacturing and Staffing

stlouisstaffing — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:18:54 +0000

As I speak with my colleagues in the staffing industry, the one consistent thing that they share with me is “We are busy!”. This means good news for business in America.

Staffing is a leading indicator of doom and turnaround. As I’ve written here before, our people were the first to be laid off in late 2007 and early 2008. After all, if your orders are drying up, the quickest way to cut costs is to let the temps go and ask your base workforce to be more productive. This just makes good sense.

Now that inventories are depleted and new orders for products are on the upswing, you need the people to get the product out the door. A recent Business Week column indicates that temporary staffing has added 44,000 jobs since July. This is similar to past recessions and is a clear indicator that manufacturing is turning around.

Staffing makes great sense for the manufacturing industry on a number of levels. Answering customer demand and allowing workforces to ebb and flow with business needs are just two of the more important ones. If your business can benefit from a more flexible workforce or if you need the expertise that a full service staffing company can offer, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Innovation

stlouisstaffing — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:19:03 +0000

Recently I was honored to serve as a judge for the Idea 2 Product competition sponsored locally by St. Louis University. Students from the business and engineering schools are encouraged to submit their ideas for original products or services for cash prizes and to move on to a regional competition next Spring. Throughout this month-long process, there were several things that struck me:

There are some brilliant people out there willing to take chances
The most successful ideas were a collaboration of thought from different disciplines
We all need to encourage innovation

I was impressed with practical, useful, outlandish and fun nature of the products entered. There are too many to list here but the students recognized the need in the marketplace and responded to it well. Some ideas were very early in the stage of development but others were ready for market and just needing an investor or the confirmation from some professionals that it had a prayer in being successful.

Invariably the best ideas had multiple team members from multiple disciplines of thought. When business students teamed up with engineering students and included thoughts from law students as well as a sprinkling of professors, the ideas were well-rounded, believable and you could see a short path to market readiness. There were a few ideas that came only from one discipline or another and you could tell they were pretty raw. I believe this teaches all of us a lesson in collaboration and cooperation. Seeking the counsel of others is certainly advisable.

As business leaders, we need to encourage all those with ideas to pursue innovation. The cash prizes awarded in this competition were meaningful, but hardly worthy of the time spent. Innovation is important for the good of the economy as a whole, not just the personal, monetary rewards that come with success. Too often good ideas are laughed at or brushed off as fanciful. Opportunity lies in the minds of great thinkers. Everyone can dream big dreams and you never know where the next best mousetrap will come from.

Unemployment

stlouisstaffing — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:15:57 +0000

It happened again this morning. I was attending a speaker series and was engaged in conversation over coffee with the controller for a local lighting distributor. The conversation centered, as it usually does these days, on the amount of growth or lack thereof we’ve been experiencing over the past year. This person indicated that while they and many of their customers had been experiencing somewhere on the order of -30% growth, things were starting to get busier. This seems to be the common sentiment unless you’re in commercial real estate. This person also indicated that profitability was approaching “robust” due to the cost cutting measures implemented over the past 12 months.

Our conversation moved naturally towards staffing levels. I heard from him and many others like him, a similar theme: when positions had to be eliminated and headcount reduced, the weakest performers were the first to go and are not likely to be rehired. Does this seem alarming? I’m sure it does to those underperformers who are still searching for a position and/or hoping their old employer will hire them back. I believe most employers have found that they were overstaffed and used the recession and lack of business as an excellent opportunity to not just “trim the fat” but to do so in a precise manner that kept the best talent.

All of this makes great sense for companies. The best talent always produces the best results for its customers. Unless a company must perform according to bargaining unit rules, keeping the best and getting rid of the rest is a great first step towards higher customer satisfaction and more profits. These two things help ensure the long-term viability of the company and everyone is a winner.

“Everyone”, you say? What about those that have been let go and through my insinuations here, were underperforming? These people win as well. Long term, no matter how great the job was, if you are underperforming you will not be satisfied in your position. This lack of satisfaction will almost certainly translate into some other form of dissatisfaction in other areas in your life. The sooner someone is “set free” from a bad working situation the sooner they are able to find the right situation. Standing in the unemployment line gives the person a pretty difficult perspective with which to appreciate this situation. I have spoken with many who have successfully made it through a career transition and have echoed these sentiments.

I can’t help but think about the difficulties we’ve been through over the past 12 – 18 months as a period of pruning for business. The branches, and therefore the whole plant, will become stronger in the long run. However, we didn’t just bundle up the pruned limbs and through them in the fire, they have been or will be replanted and nurtured in a different manner for the benefit of the entire garden as well.

Social Crisis

stlouisstaffing — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:01:21 +0000

I believe it was providential that yesterday my working day began and ended with meetings discussing the same topic: how the convicted felon who has paid their debt to society for their crimes, is going to find gainful employment. In the morning I had a breakfast meeting with Janis Frick and Jan Gannon from Soaring Spirit Ministries. They head this ministry that helps those who are incarcerated in several ways: worship ministry, devotional materials, prayer ministry, transition and a life leadership series. Jan and Janis were awarded grants recently to start their own staffing service that caters specifically to those who have left prison and are now looking for gainful employment. Experts have said that the recidivism rate for those that leave prison and don’t find a job can be as high as 65%. In my own experience I have found that more and more of our customers are refusing to hire convicted felons for even the most basic entry level work in manufacturing and other service environments. Soaring Spirit is working on a feasibility study to find out if a staffing enterprise can be financially sustainable in a marketplace where the number of companies willing to employ convicted felons is shrinking and the number of convicted felons, unfortunately, is not getting any smaller.

Then yesterday evening, I attended a panel discussion hosted by Cross Collaboration discussing how we can provide more job and career opportunities for the unemployed in St. Charles County. There was a great representation from panelists that help provide resources for the unemployed along with audience members, like myself, who have a vested interest in growing the job opportunities in St. Charles County. The discussion after the discussion led me to a group of local pastors working with convicted felons from St. Charles County and providing direction and guidance for them to find work and support themselves and their families. One ministry in particular, Connections to Success, and one of its representatives, Jason Cleaveland, and I discussed how we can work together to not only provide the counseling necessary, but how we can educate more hiring managers as to the skilled workforce that is available and somewhat untapped in ex-convicts.

I admit this is not a new phenomena but one that grows worse each year. Business and social leaders must come together to solve this problem. Simply shutting out ex-convicts will not make the problem go away.

Hiring Process – Initial Interview

stlouisstaffing — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:11:35 +0000

This is the third post in our series about effective hiring practices. This is one of the more basic steps in the process, it demands plenty of attention and certainly cannot be skipped, but for the most part it is an opportunity to listen to people talk about themselves without diving in too deep as to their past and/or future.

Hiring Process – Finding Candidates

stlouisstaffing — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:07:35 +0000

Hiring Process – Job Descriptions

stlouisstaffing — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:10:24 +0000

I attended a “How To Blog” networking event the other night. One suggestion for those of us who find writing more difficult than talking, was a video blog. Great idea I thought. If someone will listen, I can speak for hours on topics I’m genuinely passionate about. It just so happens that I sat down to dinner with Nick who owns a company that buys, refurbishes and sells classic cars. He was happy to have me dispense some free advice about how he can do a better job hiring auto mechanics for his company.

What an inspiration – content and technique all in the same evening. So here you have the first installment of the St. Louis Staffing “VLOG”. Please let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading and watching.

No Competition? Bring It On!

stlouisstaffing — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:41:11 +0000

How many times have we as business leaders thought that if we can just outsmart, outmaneuver or outpace our competitors, the business would be ours for the taking? Especially in commodity driven marketplaces where the competition is fierce and many, just to be able to separate ourselves on something other than price might make all the difference in the world.

You may have heard of or even read a great book, Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (blueoceanstrategy.com). In it there are very practical illustrations about how companies have made their competition irrelevant and created a new marketplace where only their products exist and thrive.

Similarly comes the attached blog posting from Kaihan Krippendorff (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kaihan-krippendorff/outthinker-mavericks-out-innovate-competition/force-your-competition-defend). Krippendorff is a master strategist. He was first recommended to me by Verne Harnish from Gazelles. His books, The Art of the Advantage, The Way of Innovation and Hide a Dagger Behind a Smile all speak to gaining the upper hand on competition and creating a space in the marketplace where you succeed.

I recommend both these resources as opportunities to be in a place where your competitors have not dreamed of being and realizing your business goals.