WSI, a nationally acclaimed staffing and recruiting agency, helps local candidates find suitable employment and grow in their careers.

WSI; KALAMAZOO, MI | Though its team is dedicated to matching clients with the perfect job, that passion is driven by WSI’s commitment to building a better community—in and out of the office. To accomplish this, WSI holds quarterly “Days of Caring,” when its whole team volunteers for a local cause.

“A lot of the people who we’re helping find jobs are using the resources in the community. We have to understand how it comes full circle,” says Lauren Rogalski, manager of corporate culture. “The more that we can help the nonprofits and organizations that are giving back to the people in our communities, the better off we all are.” In the past, the WSI team has cleared trails and stalls at the Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center, helped the Salvation Army set up a toy store for families to shop over Christmas, and participated in multiple drives for United Way.

While these efforts have done a lot of good for the Southwest Michigan community, Rogalski notes that the “Days of Caring” have benefited WSI internally as well. “I do think it brings on an incredible camaraderie just to be able to go out and spend quality time with somebody from a different division and really get to know them,” she says. These charitable excursions not only shake up the team’s day-to-day activities but also keep the organization connected to the community it serves.

Not satisfied even with quarterly volunteering, WSI tries to make every workday a “Day of Caring” by using an online program called “You Earned It” to celebrate teammates who go above and beyond.  “It is like Facebook for the workplace,” explains Rogalski. “You can log in and shout out your coworkers for being awesome. But it’s not for when you do your reports fast enough. It’s for when someone exemplifies what we want to be as a company and has passion driven toward our purpose.” The team can even set customized behavior bonuses, incentivizing a particular behavior or task that they would like to see. And after accumulating recognition points, team members can sort through a catalog of 200,000 prizes and gift cards to choose their reward, making it fun to pitch in.