ACCU Staffing Spotlight

Nearly everyone knows what a staffing agency is, whether they know it by that name, as a “temp” agency, or simply by what they do and not by any specific name at all. Over the years, many of these companies have gotten a bad reputation simply because of the way they operate, how they treat their employees, or a slew of other reasons. Many of them . . . but not all of them. The ones who treat their employees better and who spend time to find the best ways to handle customers stand above the rest. ACCU Staffing is one of those shining lights.

ACCU Staffing Services was founded by Doris Damm in 1979 after she recognized a market for temporary employment in the early days of downsizing. She was working at a firm which did employee headhunting placements and, upon coming home one day, told her husband, Ed, that she wanted to start a staffing company of her own. At the time, these companies were called temporary service companies rather than staffing companies. Just as important as matching employees with employers, Doris wanted her firm to be located where people would find them. Not hidden away in back alleys, not up in a high-rise building, but on the streets where people would see their branding on a consistent basis.

From her first small office in Cherry Hill, Doris built her company into one consisting of 13 regional offices in the Delaware Valley. She handles planned staffing, permanent placements, corporate outplacement services, and on-site management functions. A large part of ACCU’s success was due to strategic office placement on main thoroughfares and in the areas that needed staffing the most. Success, in jobs or in placement, comes from being close to where the work is.

The struggle at the time was the same one that exists today. HR departments want to know how to get the right employees into the door and employees want to know how to get their foot in the door as well. What ACCU Staffing set out to do was to connect these two. Whether for part-time, full-time, or specific positions, ACCU aims to connect the right people to the right positions so that everyone wins.

ACCU Staffing not only places people in positions but they also handle a good deal of the training that will help employees be successful in those positions. With respect to call centers, office support, and professional support, many customers require specific skills of their new hires. If someone comes in and does not have those skills, each office has a resource called the career center which offers special training free of charge at any point in time.

If someone comes in and needs multiple types of required training for their position, they can come into an office and get that type of training. This training means a lot for companies that need help in commercial packaging or manufacturing. A lot of this work entails not only learning the systems that are in place but also pre-training to make sure employees can handle what will be expected of them. That could be anything from moving items around to food packing to temperature fluctuations at the worksite.

ACCU also has what’s called a mobile recruiter. Back in the 1990s, Ed was driving down Route 73 and saw an old mobile home. He had the idea to convert it, make it a bit more professional, and then take it to areas where ACCU didn’t have an office so they could advertise and recruit people in new places. At times, they even held hiring events. From that idea has sprung true, modernized, mobile staffing vehicles.

A key area of focus for ACCU Staffing is the reduction of turnover. This helps not only ACCU Staffing but also their clients and employees as well:

For ACCU, it reduces costs. Placing people in the right positions the first time brings costs down across the board and also helps ACCU’s reputation.

For employees, it saves the time and energy of having to retrain themselves for different positions. Finding the right fit from the start is always going to be better than having to shift around from position to position looking for the right one.

For customers, the same thing is true. Time is saved, money is saved on training, and satisfaction is improved by having the right people in the right roles from the beginning.

How is turnover reduced? By education, to start. Companies will explain their needs and then proper training will be created for them, whether that is through dedicated rooms for specific tasks, filmed videos of workplaces and environments, or going through safety training and appropriate attire. By preparing employees for what they will actually encounter in the workplace, it significantly improves the chances that they will better fill positions that they are placed into.

Another way that ACCU sets themselves apart is their biannual barbecue. During these events, the family pitches in to purchase food and cook for all of the employees that work for them. It’s a way of giving back. Half of the employees will run the office for one day while the other half attend, then the two switch the next day. In the modern work environment, small things like this set the company apart and allow employees to feel like they are actually cared for.  +

For more information about ACCU Staffing, you can visit them online at accustaffing.com or contact them at 888-437-ACCU.

*This article appeared in the Fall 2019 edition of HIG’s Risk & Business Magazine*