When Rick Wagner, CEO and Founder of Employment Solutions, and his wife, Kate, jumped straight from college to the staffing field over 20 years ago, they did so with no experience but a lot of enthusiasm. Set on opening their own staffing company, the two looked to Wagner’s grandfather, who worked for a national staffing firm, for guidance. “We had his dusty 1972 operations manual and his faith in us,” says Wagner. “It was interesting,” he says of the generational gap, but it was enough to lead them in the right direction and the company quickly landed its first client. “We were young and inexperienced, but we listened to our client and figured out how to get them what they needed,” Wagner explains. “Today we are much more sophisticated, but listening to the client is still central to what we do.”

Unparalleled Value
From day one, Employment Solutions set out with one goal in mind—to create unparalleled value for both clients and employees of manufacturing and logistics companies. “That is the concept of the win/win,” explains Wagner. “For any of us to win, we need to create the right match.”

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For the employee, that match can depend on work environment, company culture, pay, etc. For the client, the right match is skills sets, cultural fit, reliability and attitude. “But really, the bottom line is productivity,” says Wagner. “When we get the right fit, everyone is happy and the result is that turnover goes down and productivity goes up.”

Increased Productivity
So how do you increase productivity? “We really work with our clients and have the tough conversation many other firms won’t have,” explains Wagner. “Sometimes it’s a change of process, sometimes it’s a change in base wage, and sometimes it’s identifying a new group of people that weren’t targeted before.”

“Too often, people don’t necessarily feel like they are part of anything—that they are just being paid for their labor,” adds Charlie Carter, President of Employment Solutions, Ohio. “But if you can change that and make them feel that they are part of a culture, they will stay.”

And it’s that retention that ultimately leads to increased productivity. “The less turnover you have, the more productivity you are going to have,” explains Carter. “And in turn, the lower your costs are.”

Strong Candidates
As one of the largest manufacturing and logistics staffing agencies in the markets they serve, Employment Solutions receives a steady, strong flow of quality candidates.
Most staffing agencies use a similar recruiting process. So what sets Employment Solutions apart? “Understanding the client’s culture and creating a strong flow of candidates that fit into that culture,” answers Wagner.

Carter adds that paying attention to people and developing relationships through proper follow up allows for that understanding to grow. “It’s more than just picking the right people,” he says.
And strong candidates translate to long-term employees, which means less turnover and more productivity.

Entrepreneurial Edge
One concept that gives Employment Solutions an edge time and time again is the ability to continually think entrepreneurially. “We are early to adopt new technology, new strategies, and new recruiting methods,” says Wagner. “We were early to embrace online recruiting in the ‘90’s and we continually use new technology to strengthen our recruiting edge. It allows us to come through when others can’t, especially in tough times.”

Recognition
Employment Solutions has held a growth rate of over 30 percent for the past seven years, billing more companies in every market served than any other staffing company. “Over the course of a year, we will bill between 250 and 300 companies,” shares Wagner. “For our size, that’s a lot of clients and it gives us a nice variety of jobs for our candidates.”

This consistent growth has led to several awards including both the Inc. 5000 and the Mercury 100 lists seven years running as well as being named as one of the top 100 fastest growing staffing companies in the nation by Staffing Industry Analysts for the past two years.

But Wagner is most proud of the company’s win in the 2016 Best of Staffing competition, which recognizes the top 2 percent of staffing companies. “This is based on client and candidate satisfaction scores, and we won both the client and candidate sides.”

Employment Solutions is in the business of increasing productivity of manufacturing and logistics companies through providing a more innovative customized staffing solution. “We are definitely not the cheapest provider out there,” explains Wagner. “But we can save our clients money by providing a solution that will create more productivity with less people.”

Employment Solutions creates next generation workforce solutions to recruit, retain, and inspire qualified employees and they build strong partnerships with clients that stand the test of time, which in the end is more beneficial and cost effective for everyone.

Jessica LaGrossa is a freelance writer and editor with over 15 years of publishing experience. She can be reached at jessicalagrossa@gmail.com.