First Source Staffing
Brooklyn, NY
Year program began: 1998
Program sponsor: Fifth Avenue Committee
Jobseekers placed last year: 195
First Source Staffing is one of the few alternative staffing organizations organized as a for-profit corporation. Its nonprofit sponsors originally sought to create a community-based, worker-owned staffing company that would empower contingent workers and offer them an equity stake. Although it soon became clear that the workforce was too transient to implement cooperative ownership, First Source has continued to fulfill its mission to be a source of quality temporary employment for local residents trying to enter or reenter the workforce. The company achieved sustained profitability in 2004. Its nonprofit owner is Fifth Avenue Committee, an organization focused on affordable housing development and job creation in the South Brooklyn areas of Redhook, Gowanus, and Sunset Park.
We spoke with manager Beverly Vaughan to learn more about First Source Staffing’s business services and the company’s relationship to Fifth Avenue Committee’s other employment programs.
How did you get into the alternative staffing business?
I began working in the staffing business in the 1980s, first as a receptionist and later as a placement coordinator to fill clerical and high-level administrative positions in the Wall Street area. I took a break to raise my kids and later returned to the workforce in IT, but decided to go back to staffing because I enjoy helping people find work. I’ve been at First Source for nine years now.
What population(s) does First Source work with?
We serve a mix of people who are unemployed or receiving TANF, and most of our applicants are drawn from the immediate and surrounding neighborhoods. Our job seekers are mainly African American and about three quarters are women, many in their 30s. A lot of our candidates have a high school diploma or GED, but literacy is a big issue
How many jobseekers does First Source serve annually?
Last year we interviewed close to 500 individuals and placed about 200 people. We receive many more resumes than this.
How do you recruit candidates?
We receive referrals from job developers at various local agencies, including Fifth Avenue Committee’s other programs, and through word-of-mouth. When a job order requires a specific skill relating to accounting or a particular software, we might place an ad online and post the job with local universities.
What types of support services have you found to be most critical to people’s workplace success?
Because our workforce is mainly women, child care is a crucial support. We rely on a network of service agencies to help workers with child care subsidies and other personal issues including financial counseling.
What types of employers do you serve?
Our customer base is very diverse, and ranges from doctors’ offices and charter schools to manufacturers, packing firms and transportation companies. Our accounts tend to be small and 90% of our assignments are clerical, including back office, mailroom, data entry, reception and administrative support. In addition, every tax season we place over a hundred individuals in supervisory roles at tax preparation sites for four nonprofit customers that manage Earned Income Tax Credit campaigns.
What marketing methods or messages have you found to be most effective in attracting new customers?
We get new prospects through Google adwords and word-of mouth. For community-minded businesses, our social mission is a selling point. Others are only interested in whether we can deliver quality workers.
Regarding customer retention, I find it’s so important to listen carefully and let employers vent when they are unhappy about something. We hear them out, and when they see that we’re sincere about understanding an issue and doing all we can to address it, they appreciate our accountability and support, and they stay with us.
Please briefly describe Fifth Avenue Committee’s other programs and explain how First Source relates to these.
Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI) offers sectoral skills training in commercial driving, telecomm cable installation, skilled woodworking and green cabinetmaking, and TV and film production. We let our candidates know about these training opportunities, and we recently recruited some of their film production trainees for a staffing assignment.
Neighborhood Employment Services (NES) offers walk-in job search counseling and support services, including computer training, internet access and referrals to GED and ESL classes. We sometimes recruit candidates from NES to fulfill job orders.
In addition, we have recently developed a partnership with Per Scholas, a nonprofit venture in the Bronx that trains about 500 computer technicians a year. Many of their graduates get work through conventional staffing companies, and they wanted to improve on this process. As our partner, Per Scholas has hired a salesperson to market their candidates for temporary and contract positions, and we will service the accounts and support the individuals placed. This arrangement will also enable us to fulfill more technical positions with existing customers, beyond our core clerical offerings. Per Scholas’ salesperson just started in June.
What are the biggest challenges of operating a staffing service program in your market?
We’re a small fish in a big pond and it’s hard to get noticed.
As a manager, what do you wish you had more time for?
Everything(!) … but especially sales, and figuring out how to tap into new markets.
What about First Source Staffing makes you most proud?
We serve low-income people whose situations are often very insecure. It’s deeply satisfying to help them get steady work that increases their economic stability and control over their lives.
What are your program’s main goals for the future?
We would like to place a lot more people, and we are excited to begin our partnership with Per Scholas and see how this develops.
Please, briefly share a success story about one of your workers or one of your customers.
One of our customers was experiencing a lot of conflict in his medical office, because of tensions among his staff. We supplied him with a temp who was older and more mature, and initially she was also challenged by the hostile atmosphere there. We continued to coach both her and the employer, and after almost five months he hired her and let others in his office go. She is thrilled with the job, and he told me bringing her into his practice was the best move he ever made.
What advice would you offer to someone considering alternative staffing as a strategy in their community?
Do your research to understand the market opportunities and human service resources available in your service area. Be aware that the staffing business is filled with ups and downs; it’s important to love what you’re doing.
To learn more, please visit First Source Staffing on the web.
