Empowering Others To Live Their Best Lives

Driven by culture and talent, Workforce Strategies, Inc. (WSI) was founded in 2001 and has been giving the recruitment and staffing industry a good name ever since. Whether you’re a business researching new staffing partners, a job seeker looking for the best employment agency, or curious about what it’s like to be part of WSI’s internal corporate team, WSI is there to empower people to live their best lives through employment solutions. A 2020 Wonderful Workplace winner, WSI is full of open-minded, growth-orientated people who embrace their values. The team works hard, plays hard, and always puts employees, clients, and associates first.

“For twenty years, WSI has continually experienced growth and change, but nothing prepared us for what we experienced in 2020,” mused Jeffrey O’Brien, WSI President and CEO. “Like most companies, we were largely impacted when COVID-19 arrived and had to quickly adapt by making some tough decisions. But even a global pandemic couldn’t keep us from providing extraordinary service and support to our employees, clients, and associates. We’ve built an incredible team at WSI, and it was our positivity and perseverance that not only brought us through but will continue to see us through as we continue to grow.” Continue reading to learn more from Lauren Rogalski, manager of process improvement and engagement at WSI, about what makes it a wonderful place to work.

What was WSI’s biggest achievement during 2020?

At a time when things were very uncertain and a tad bit scary, WSI managed to persevere and stay the course! Being deemed essential during the pandemic gave us the motivation and strength to continue delivering impeccable service and do what we do best: provide employment solutions. WSI has been relied on to supply essential workers to many of our clients who stayed in operation through the height of COVID-19. Additionally, we’ve gained incredible amounts of new business over the last six months, allowing us to increase our headcount and provide employment solutions to even more people during a time when we’ve seen unemployment skyrocket. We’re proud to be able to help businesses get back up and running and even more proud to help people find work when they need it most. It’s provided us an amazing amount of purpose, as we will continue to empower people to live their best lives.

What is unique about the workplace culture at WSI?

The most unique thing about our workplace culture is our commitment to making it a priority. We work tirelessly to improve our onboarding program, training program, engagement initiatives, and HR practices to ensure we are attracting and maintaining the best talent.

We encourage our employees to explore their interests and strengths and assist in guiding them to the next phase of their careers. We ask for feedback—all of the time. We know when we ask our employees what they need, they’ll be honest, and in turn, we can provide the best environment to foster growth and teamwork. We offer opportunities for employees to get involved in different committees, including the WSI Green Team, Wellness Team, Culture Squad, and Diversity and Inclusion Team.

We have fun! We celebrate! We recognize amazing work and the importance of doing so. Best of all, we communicate and commit to being transparent and honest.

Why do you and other WSI employees love going to work each day?

I love going to work every day because of the people I work with. There is something to be said about hiring great people…when you hire amazing talent, they do amazing work, and that’s what makes WSI so incredible.

Each of our employees strives to do what is best for WSI. We live by our core values and commit to only hiring people who will embrace them. Our leadership team is committed to leading by example and providing servant leadership to all of our employees. We celebrate, communicate, and genuinely enjoy one another, and at the end of the day, that makes all of the difference!

How do leaders at WSI build engagement within their teams?

Engagement, team building, and culture have always been crucial to the success of WSI. We understand the importance of a strong onboarding program and continued engagement for the entirety of our employees’ time with WSI. We focus on consistent touchpoints, recognition, training, career pathing, growth, continued education, and raw feedback.

We are continuously looking for opportunities to be better. WSI will never settle for the status quo and is committed to improving year over year. We understand that managers of staff have the most immediate impact on employee engagement, productivity, and workplace satisfaction. In order to do that, we rely heavily on feedback from our employees. The Best & Brightest Surveys (West Michigan and National) are a large annual focus, where we conduct an in-depth review of our results to identify areas of opportunity. In addition, on a quarterly basis, our employees complete an internal engagement survey, as well as a performance review. Lastly, we administer a Manager Effectiveness survey, allowing employees to provide anonymous feedback regarding their manager’s performance and effectiveness.

Last, but not least, we use a recognition software called Kazoo which allows our staff to recognize a coworker who has gone above and beyond. Employees can earn points to redeem rewards, which provides an additional incentive to do amazing work! It keeps our teams and offices connected and reinforces a positive supportive work environment.

How has your company taken care of employees during COVID-19?

In addition to the practices mentioned above, we implemented regular, company-wide, town hall meetings to address the state of the business. During these meetings, we encouraged employees to ask questions. WSI took every precaution to ensure safety and committed to staying diligent with CDC guidelines and internal processes. We moved to a remote workforce wherever possible and invested in the technology needed to ensure employees had the resources to continue to do their job effectively. We’ve stayed open and honest throughout the pandemic and have continued to prioritize our employees and their needs. We also implemented virtual spirit weeks, meme wars, and virtual happy hours to have fun and stay connected. Lastly, we asked for feedback from our staff with a COVID-19 Response Survey to find areas of opportunity and to allow us to continue to do better because we know that’s how we’ll continue to be successful.