One of the highlights at Client Connection Forum so far today was the American Staffing Association‘s (ASA’s) President and CEO Richard A. Wahlquist’s morning dialogue about the state of the staffing industry, its trends, and how to best plan for the future. The overall theme of today’s session was to explore possibilities, draw your own lines, stick your finger in the wind, and most importantly: write your own story.
In case you didn’t have the chance to attend, here are some of our favorite tips to take away from this morning’s session:
Use Net Promoter Score. Net Promoter Scores are used to gauge the attitudes and behaviors of customers, and for the staffing industry, the industry standard is currently sitting at an eight. This means that there is an active, quantifiable need to shift the dialogue towards internal and external loyalty. The majority of the industry is currently pulling low scores, so this is a perfect time to strike hard and rise above!
Follow up with the people you place. Do you take the time to follow up with people after they’ve had an interview? Do you connect with them after they’ve been placed? Do you check in and learn about their experience after they’ve been on the job for six months? Those stories can be used to promote your business and gain valuable insight into the people you’re helping find jobs. Take the time to hear them.
Use legislature changes to start a dialogue with clients. There is a lot going on in Congress that effects both our industry and ourselves as individuals in the workplace. Creating a dialogue with your customers about these changes and what they mean can help you position yourself as a thought leader and get an opportunity to consider other perspectives, which is always beneficial.
Proactively track employees to stay ahead of the ACA. With all the changes happening in conjunction with the ACA, a lot of businesses are scrambling to keep up. Richard informed us of five positive steps to be taking to better address these changes:
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- Track employees eligible for benefits on Jan 1st
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- Notify new employees of coverage options
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- Discuss 2015 health coverage options with insurance advisers
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- Use ASA cost calculator to estimate ACA costs
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- Use ASA client communications kit to discuss cost impact
To wrap up, Wahlquist gave favorable mention towards his projections for the staffing industry’s future.
“We are predicting we will be one of the fastest-growing industries in the world in the coming years,” Wahlquist said.
Then, Wahlquist called our CEO John Long to the stage to thank him for his StaffingPAC initiative, and recognize him additionally for his corporate social responsibility initiatives made through Avionte’s non-profit arm, the Avionte Hope Foundation.
See yesterday’s blog post for more information about the StaffingPAC initiative.
