Spherion Staffing Thrives on Local Connections
Tuesday, August 19th, 2014
Business at Spherion Staffing in Middle Georgia is up so far in 2014 over prior year due to an improving economy and a growing customer base, according to Michael Chalmers who owns Spherion franchises in Middle Georgia and North Alabama. The biggest increase is in staffing for manufacturing and logistics positions but staffing for administrative and clerical positions is growing as well.
"Because we are locally owned, we can make decisions and respond more quickly to our customers," Chalmers said. "And being a franchise of the second largest staffing firm in the country gives us access to the latest recruiting techniques and innovative tools."
Spherion Staffing Services is a recruiting and staffing provider that specializes in placing administrative, clerical, customer service and light industrial candidates in temporary and full-time opportunities. A $2 billion workforce leader, Spherion served more than 3,000 clients last year through a network of 148 offices nationwide. Each local office is individually owned and operated.
Chalmers purchased the Middle Georgia franchise from Spherion in 2010 after working for four years as the manager of the then corporate-owned office in Byron, Ga. This year he added the franchise for North Alabama, which has an office in Huntsville, Ala.
"Because we are locally owned, our clients know that the money they spend with us is reinvested in the Middle Georgia community," Chalmers said.
"When our business grows, it helps create more local jobs and through our connections with the local Chamber of Commerce, it helps support community causes."
An additional professional division
Spherion Staffing of Middle Georgia launched a new professional recruiting service offering in 2014. The service offering is focused on direct recruiting for entry-level, mid-management and senior-level positions in areas such as IT, accounting and finance, human resources and manufacturing and logistics, among others.
"We are a great source for direct recruiting because of our many connections in the local business community," Chalmers said.
"For example, we may know of someone who is currently in a job but is considering a move. Those types of connections help us identify the best possible pool of candidates for an opening."
Spherion regularly surveys its clients to ensure they are satisfied with the services they receive. According to Chalmers, clients typically rate their satisfaction with the company at 4.2 to 4.5 on a scale of five.
"We're proud of our customer-centric culture and our reputation for service excellence," Chalmers said.
"We want to work in partnership with our customers and there are many customers who have been with Spherion for 10 years or more."
A daily challenge
Finding qualified candidates for job openings is a daily challenge, according to Chalmers. When the economy was struggling, more than 500 people might respond to a job posting. Then the challenge was to identify the best possible candidates. Now that the economy is improving, the response pool is smaller and that can make it even harder to find the right person.
"We partner with local colleges, work with the Georgia Department of Labor and use a grass roots approach where we network throughout the community to identify promising candidates," Chalmers said.
Spherion utilizes a range of pre-employment testing for hourly talent to check their qualifications. The testing includes standard background checks and drug testing, and may include a subset of the more than 300 skillset tests the company regularly administers.
More information on Spherion Staffing is available at www.spherion.com. The Middle Georgia Spherion office can be reached at 478-956-1700; the North Alabama Spherion office at 256-881-0993.
