How do you keep business and home separate?
After COVID, business and home became comingled. We quickly realized we needed to have some strategies in place to keep business and home separate. Here are the strategies we have implemented: (1) Create a physical barrier. We do our best to limit business discussions to the “home office.” This helps to keep our focus and frame of mind on business matters, and out of the kitchen! (2) Time limits. If there is a business matter, we need to discuss during a family event we set aside 15 minutes to summarize the situation and coordinate the timetime on our calendars to discuss the matter further. This alleviates the anxiety of a pressing matter, allows us the time to reflect, and focus on finding a solution at a more appropriate time (3) Reminders; specifically, family reminders. Our family members will joke “this conversation is boring” if we start to veer off into business discussions. It is a comical reminder to be present with family and enjoy the time we have together.
How do you keep younger generations engaged with the business?
Staffing and recruiting is an exciting business to be in and one that lends itself to engagement. The very nature of staffing and recruiting keeps our eyes and ears open to changes that are happening in real time. The engagement we have with various professional and community organizations allows us to be at the forefront of trends and changes. Our diverse workforce, that spans generations, propels us to implement policies, procedures, and an environment where all can thrive and excel. The key is to be receptive, flexible, adaptive, and willing to learn.
Give short history of your family owned business. Why it started?
Our CEO, Irma Diaz-Gonzalez was asked to fill a job order for Oscar Mayer in Davenport, Iowa. The Supervisor and HR Director were so pleased with the hard-working candidates she sent, he became her best ally and marketer, telling other HR Managers in the area “if you need good people call Irma”. The workers she placed were so grateful for the opportunity they came bearing gifts! Not just treats, but the gift of referrals and gratitude. This is the seed that was planted and got the company started, one that we work to nurture each day.
What are the unique challenges of running a family-owned business?
There is a great quote in The Godfather, when Michael Corleone tells his brother, “Tom, don’t let anyone kid you. It’s all personal, every bit of business.” Working with family is personal. The desire to make your children proud, your parents proud, your family proud is compounded when you personally work with them every day. The responsibility that comes with working with family is a tremendous one, and while it comes with its challenges, it makes our successes so much sweeter to celebrate with the ones we love.
What was your biggest win last year?
The company’s biggest win last year was working with a client to find 20 Bilingual Customer Service Representatives. The client’s customers were waiting for 2 hours to speak to someone in Spanish. Our team was quickly able to find excellent professionals to help address their business needs. What started with 20 representatives grew 10-fold over the year and brought our client’s Spanish queue wait time to under 1 minute.
