TempWorks Anniversary: Derek Nicholls celebrates 5th Anniversary

Yesterday marked the five year anniversary at TempWorks for Derek Nicholls.

Derek is currently our Web Services Manager. He has been involved in the development and support of many of our ancillary products: WebCenter (Applicant portal, Employee portal, and Customer portal), Vendor Management, and Time Clock module.

Thanks Derek for your many contributions to our team over the years.

Good artcile today in NY Times regarding why car rentals are so expensive these days

During my travels recently I noticed car rentals have been fairly expensive, while other things like airfare and hotel prices have gone down.

I ran across this article today by Michelle Higgins which explains why this has happened, as well as giving a few different options. Here is the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/travel/28prac.html

TempWorks support

Many times during trips to see our customers have I heard, "we think your support department does a great job." Or "your support department is very quick to help us when we need it."

It never gets old hearing comments like these.

In fact, we got an email today from a customer who stated, "Support just walked me through it. You guys rock..."

I love getting emails (and phone calls) like this, so please keep them coming in.

Support of technical products is not easy as it has many different moving parts: software, hardware, third party applications, you get the picture. Most people don't care about that, they just need their data, their report, their quarterly mag media file. Just work baby!

We strive to get better everyday. Please keep your calls and emails coming in.

Nice work support team. Keep up the good work.

Life is a little better

Last Friday I made the switch from the Motorola Q and Verizon to the apple iPhone 3GS and AT&T.

On Saturday, I got a text message from neighbor, Trevor, asking if my life was better now that I had the new iPhone (Trevor has had an iPhone for the last year or so). I responded "No, my life was pretty darn good before my iPhone purchase."

I have to admit I sent Trevor a follow up text message recently letting him know I was wrong. Life is a little better...now that I have a few days to use some of the features and have been able to find all kinds of different applications from the iTunes app store.

For those of you who aren't impressed with the iPhone but are looking for a new Smartphone, I had seen this PC World article on The Hottest Smartphones of Summer.

TempWorks Case Study: Chase Staffing cutting costs and increasing productivity with DocCenter

Customer Background

CHASE was founded in Atlanta, GA in 1979 by Roy Abernethy, as a contingency recruiting firm. In 1983 CHASE began providing contract and temporary employees.

CHASE has over 30 full service branches that offer a broad range of candidates in mostly the Administrative and Light Industrial sectors. Additionally, CHASE has several specialty divisions specializing in Accounting and Finance, IT, Manufacturing and Technical placements.

During their 30 years, CHASE has received many awards for their excellent service. They’ve been identified as one of the top 100 staffing firms in the United Stated, and for several years have been one of the largest private staffing firms in Atlanta. CHASE will also celebrate their 30th anniversary this year.

“We invested in the DocCenter, even with the poor economy, because I thought that it would greatly improve staff productivity while making the process of registering with Chase much easier for candidates. DocCenter has certainly lived up to our expectations.”
-Roy Abernethy, CHASE Staffing

The Challenges

CHASE was dissatisfied with their applicant intake process, as it was time consuming, and they were incurring unnecessary costs. Instead of proactive recruiting, internal staff was spending numerous hours working on administrative tasks, and searching through filing cabinets to find employment documentation.

There were a number of issues with their previous process:

• Tedious data entry. Candidates needed to manually complete documents like their application, I-9 and W-4, internal staff would then have to enter the information into the database.
• The Hassle of filing and retrieving documents. Internal staff would separate and handle all forms accordingly (i.e. I-9’s were mailed to the corporate office on a monthly basis; applications were filed manually in filing cabinets). Recruiters spent time digging through filing cabinets to retrieve employee applications.
• Money wasted on shipping. Employment application packets were printed in bulk at the corporate office and shipped to each branch location.

Solution

“We have always had an ongoing commitment to streamlining business processes and the application process was something we still hadn’t tackled” states Gabriela Cabezas, Systems Administrator for CHASE. “We needed something that would simplify our procedure, and hopefully save us money at the same time.”

CHASE had been a client of TempWorks for several years. After discussions with the TempWorks team, they decided that DocCenter would solve many of the complications surrounded by the applicant intake process. “CHASE takes advantage of almost every one of TempWorks ancillary products, and our DocCenter was exactly what CHASE needed to streamline their employment documentation process,” comments TempWorks Vice President Cory Hintz.

“Our goal was to increase efficiency by reducing data entry for recruiters and applicants. Ease of storage and retrieval of pertinent application documents was also a goal of ours. We wanted to create a standardized application process throughout all 35 of our branches” concludes Cabezas.

“DocCenter has reduced the time it takes to complete the application process by at least 50% and we have eliminated 90% of the printing and shipping costs.”
-Gabriela Cabezas, CHASE Staffing

Outcome

CHASE implemented TempWorks DocCenter at three pilot branch offices to establish an efficient workflow, now all 35 branches are using DocCenter.

Cabezas reports that, “DocCenter has reduced the time it takes to complete the application process by at least 50%” Cabezas continues, “We have eliminated 90% of the printing and shipping costs of forms to the branch locations.”

Other results:

• Increased efficiency. Recruiters are no longer spending time looking for employee forms. If they need a copy of a certain form all they have to do is look in the employee record in TempWorks core, and there it is. It is a complete electronic document storage solution.
• Reduced costs. DocCenter allows CHASE to get rid of wasted space used for paper storage. The filing cabinets are gone!
• Increased speed of intake process. Employees are able to fill out their own forms electronically, which automatically streamline into TempWorks core database.

For more information about CHASE Staffing Services, please visit www.chasestaffing.com

TempWorks Software
3140 Neil Armstrong Blvd. Eagan, MN 55121
651-452-0366
www.tempworks.com

"All my stress has gone away."

I just got off the phone with a current customer of TempWorks. I was speaking with the owner of the company. He said he was very happy with his decision to go with TempWorks ASP model almost three years ago.

"All my stress has gone away," he stated. Being he no longer has to be concerned about hardware and software related issues. He is able to focus on what they do best, staffing.

He also mentioned anytime there was bad weather in the past he would be concerned his servers wouldn't restart. He continued with his past anxiety that their data backup or battery backup would fail, thus leading workers not being paid on time. He stated, "all that worry has subsided."

We concluded the conversation with him thanking me for the many services we provide for him and his team.

Grab hold of social media, while your name is still available!

Social media discussions are everywhere...literally.

Yesterday on staffingtalk, Gregg Dourgarian mentioned one of our customers who was featured on MSN regarding their social media strategy.

I saw a "tweet" today from Cheezhead featuring his blog. He mentions how CBC News reported "social media jobs are HOT!"

You can't listen to the radio or watch tv these days without someone mentioning their twitter page.

I read this morning on ESPN.com that Kevin McHale's departure from the Minnesota Timberwolves was reported from a Tweet by team forward Kevin Love. This story is was also confirmed in this blog by Haley Marketing which was also discusses how many people are getting their news from the internet.

If you haven't started, there is no time like the present. David Evans, from ClickZ, had an article recently describing how to get started with Social Media, in case you have time to check it out.

TempWorks Customer Spotlight: LK Jordan and Associates

LK Jordan and Associates has been a customer of TempWorks since 2006. They have four offices which are located in Texas.

LK Jordan has won many awards over the years for being one of the "best places to work," as well as "outstanding business." In addition, LK Jordan has been near the top of many industry lists for temporary staffing and executive search firms in Texas. In recent years their owner, Linda Jordan, has been named to the Corpus Cristi business hall of fame. You can read more about their accolades here.

I had the pleasure of stopping in at one of LK Jordan's branches last week while I was in Houston. While I was leaving I noticed a table full of cookies. I was told they bake the cookies there each day and bring them out to their customers. I very unique way to build customer relationships. Who doesn't like freshly baked cookies?

Another anniversary at TempWorks, congratulations Aaron Nottestad on your six years!

Happy Anniversary Aaron Nottestad.

Aaron joined the team at TempWorks six years ago. Since his arrival he has played a big part in the development of our Enterprise product.

To see some of Aaron's work and view how much our Enterprise product has evolved over the years you can read Paul Czywczynski's recent blog post.

Thanks Aaron for all you do for our team.

Only 4 more days until you can get your hands on the iPhone 3G S

Even though TempWorks utilizes almost everything Microsoft, I have been an apple fan for years. Last week I mentioned I was considering moving off of the Verizon network...well friday will be the day. I reserved my iPhone 3G-S and will be picking it up from the MOA (Mall of America).

You can read about all of the new features, like voice control, compass, better camera and video from the apple website.

So this is what the anticipation of Christmas in June feels like...more to come.

Trip last week to Houston

I was able to make a trip last week to Houston, Texas. I stopped in at nine different customers and prospects during my visit. Besides the near 100 degree weather, it was a very good trip. Most everyone said they had seen things picking up in the last six weeks or so.

I also stopped in at Minute Maid Park to catch a few innings of a baseball game between the Astros and Cubs.

Down the third base line at Minute Maid Park is a small scoreboard. This is certainly not unique, but between innings the scoreboard scrolls through all of the energy stock prices for the day. Obviously this is important to many companies, as well as individuals in the Houston area. Maybe I will see the stock ticker at other ballparks in the future.

Customer service

Customer service is important. There is no doubt about it.

I have heard many times, we are all sales people. It doesn't matter who you are, or what it says on your business card, as long as you work for a company YOU ARE IN SALES!

Today I have had three different customer service experiences:

1. The card left on my desk at the hotel from the hotel manager stated, "We are all here to make your stay more enjoyable. Please feel free to contact any of us at any time. If there is anything I can do personaly, here is my extension...please call me directly." Very well done in my opinion.
2. I returned my rental car at the airport. While I was gathering my things, a lady asked if I had filled the tank with gas. I told her know as I had purchased the gas option before I left. She proceeded to tell me, "No you didn't." I said, "Yes, I did," and I grabbed the rental car agreement to show her. She said, "well that isn't my problem, you need to take it into the counter and have them fix it." At that point I wasn't very happy, as I felt it was her problem. I felt she didn't want to help me...very poor customer service.
3. I then walked up to the Northwest, I mean Delta, area to check a bag. I had asked the lady behind the counter if there was an earlier flight than the one I was on. She said, "no." Then she proceeded to tell me how much she didn't like her supervisor. She let me know how she didn't get paid enough to do some of the things required, and there were others who were getting paid more than she does who should be doing these things instead. Especially being she has a bad back. Quite honestly I couldn't get away from her fast enough. Again, very poor customer service.

To any customers and future customers of TempWorks:
If you have any questions, problems, requests, or suggestions please let us know. We are here to assist you and your team. Please call us at 651.452.0366. My email is cory@tempworks.com and my direct line is 651.287.8346 if there is anything I can do to assist.

Paperless technology

Certainly the world is trying to go paperless, one direct deposit, cash card, or text message at a time.

TempWorks has been slammed this week from customers and prospects all excited about our new text messaging service and the endless possibilities it will now offer their employees.

I was excited this week when I was given the paperless boarding pass option when checking in for my Northwest Airlines flight. Okay it isn't Northwest anymore, it is Delta (it will be hard for me to get used to changing to Delta as I have been a long time traveler of NWA).

Anyway, when I checked in for my flight Delta sent an electronic boarding pass to my cell phone. Then when I went through security and boarded the airplane I just had to put my phone up to the reader. It was very cool...and no piece of paper! I recommend it if you are given the option next time you fly.

TempWorks CTO celebrates eight year anniversary

Congratulations Paul Czywczynski!

Yesterday Paul celebrated the 8 year milestone at TempWorks. In this day and age it is quite the accomplishment to have an employee stay with a company for this long. When I wished Paul a Happy Anniversary yesterday he replied back to me, "thanks, but you have two years on me." I replied, "actually almost three," but who is counting?

Please check out Paul's development blog, as well as a recent post where I discuss Paul Czywczynski being one of the key contributors to TempWorks success.

Thanks Paul for all you have done, and all you continue to do for our team.

IAH airport turns 40 today, and I was there to take in the festivities

I have flown into the Houston airport many times. When I arrived in Houston this afternoon I saw a few people dressed up in clothes and glasses from the 1960's. At the time I thought it was a little strange, but didn't ask any questions. This evening as I was watching the local news they mentioned the clothes and festivities were due to the IAH 40th anniversary.

The following link describes more about the airport and how it has changed over the years.

TempWorks customer, new product, CTO, and VP all mentioned in following article...

Texting for temps:
http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/06/08/jc-texting-for-temps/

When will Verizon have something comparable to the iPhone or Palm Pre?

I have been a Verizon customer for ten to fifteen years. I have been using the Motorola Q for the last two or three years, the longest I have kept a phone (mainly because there has not been a better Smartphone from Verizon).

For the last few weeks all I have heard about is the Apple conference which kicked off today which unveiled new features and bigger hardware for its iPhone. In addition, Sprint has been promoting their "iPhone Killer," their Palm Pre which had a huge weekend...its first on the market.

Anything from Verizon, not recently. Maybe it is time to switch to a different provider...

Congratulations Anthony Iannarino

A few months ago I mentioned reading Anthony Iannarino's Sales Blog on a regular basis. Well apparently I am not the only one reading it. He recently posted he was on the list of the top 15 blogger and twitter users.

Congratulations Anthony!

A few hours off

Last month I mentioned I stopped by the Ranger's ballpark in Arlington to enjoy a few innings of a baseball game. Last night I took a few hours off from work, my phone, my email, my social networking, you get the idea.

I spent a few hours at a water park with my family. It was our youngest daughter's 7th birthday party. It was a lot of fun. I would recommend it to any working parent. Take the kiddos and some of their friends to the water park, get your suit on, go down the water slide a few times, and just have fun. You will be glad you did it...I sure did.

Customer quote regarding TempWorks DocCenter

I enjoy getting emails from our customers. This morning I received an email from a customer who installed our DocCenter product in the last few months. "Our branches absolutely LOVE DocCenter! That’s one of the best things ever."

Who am I to disagree.

Maybe that is the reason our DocCenter product has been our best selling ancillary product this year. Good bye paper on-boarding process. Hello efficiency and productivity!

Shannon Barger celebrates her first anniversary at TempWorks

Today is the first anniversary for Shannon Barger at TempWorks. Shannon handles all of the billing for our team. She also helps out in our funding and payroll processing department.

Congratulations Shannon! Thanks for all of your hard work over the last year.

It is amazing what new carpet or a new coat of paint can do

If you stop by our office in the next couple days you will notice there is some construction going on. Outside our office on the second floor of our Eagan location they are putting down new carpet.

Yesterday when I came off the elevator I noticed they had pulled up the carpet, and wow do the cement floors look terrible.

But step off the elevator today and they are probably a third of the way done already with the new carpet on the floor.

Amazing progress in a short time.

I was a little surprised at how much of a different things looked from last week, to yesterday, to today. It is also surprising to me how much of a mental difference this small change makes. The maintenance staff painted the walls a few weeks ago too, and it certainly seems to raise everyone's spirit.

Sometimes the small things, make a huge difference.