April 15, 2008 08:55 am
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Editor’s note: This is part of a series on the 2008 BKD Small Business of the Year finalists. Winners will be named during the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce annual banquet on April 24 at the John Q. Hammons Convention and Trade Center.
By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
A great-grandmother trying to stay busy during retirement.
A high-school graduate looking for his first job.
A divorced mother returning to the work force.
These are some of the clients who walk into Stephen Shields’ office. Shields is owner and manager of Express Employment Professionals in Joplin.
“They need us to be present 100 percent for them because they are looking for hope,” Shields said. “I can’t promise them a job, but I can treat them with respect and offer them that hope.”
The human aspect of the staffing agency is what drew Shields out of real-estate management 10 years ago and into starting an Express franchise in Joplin in 1998.
“We celebrate how many dollars in payroll we found for people every week, because that’s diapers, and food on the table and shoes on their kids’ feet,” he said. “We take a genuine interest in people. It’s far-reaching, what we do here.”
That reach caught the eye of at least two people who nominated the Joplin Express franchise for the BKD Small Business of the Year Award. The business is one of the finalists for the award, which will be presented later this month.
Express Employment Professionals, formerly Express Personnel Services, is the largest privately held staffing agency in the world, with more than 600 offices in four countries.
Shields said the Joplin business has grown every year since it opened and has had “substantial growth” in the past five years. Two years ago, the business outgrew its storefront at 32nd Street and Connecticut Avenue and moved across the parking lot to a space twice as large.
Last year, the Joplin Express office placed 3,215 people into jobs; so far this year, Shields said, business is up to 550.
Shields points to several elements that he said account for his success. His staff’s drive and compassion are crucial, and he said building open relationships with companies is what keeps them coming back for his services.
“I think Joplin has embraced Express because of the relationships that we’ve built and the fact we treat our applicants and employees with great respect,” he said.
Shields’ office also has tried to educate the Joplin area about staffing agencies and to dispel the stereotypes of temporary jobs. The Joplin Express office also offers permanent job placement, direct placement, an outsourced human-resources department, supplemental human-resource specialists, payroll services, and seminars on human resources and leadership training.
The staffing agency places people into local positions in manufacturing, production, clerical work, accounting and customer service.
Shields said his office prides itself on working for the best interests of companies and employees. Area companies hire Express to attract, screen and place good job candidates. But Shields said he also takes on the responsibility of making sure potential employees get competitive benefits and wages.
“When we get a good candidate in here, we’re their agents,” he said. “I’ve had people in here before that I knew were good, and I’d make a phone call and tell the company that he needed this much an hour or I was going to call the next company.”
Shields said he is pleased with the success he’s had in Joplin, and his future with the company could lead to another expansion or another regional franchise.
Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.
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