Archive for category: General Information

By Scotti Mizner – Senior Recruiter at Grafton Staffing

Everyone has been distracted at least a couple times while at work. The casual conversation, a “ding” on your phone which causes you to read the newest alert, or some app on your phone that you get lost in for twenty minutes. With the advance of technology and smart phones, the list could really be endless for distractions in our daily lives.

Are all distractions bad?

We have all been in that place where you are working your hardest and not making progress. It’s frustrating. You’re not sure what else could be done to reach your goal. Maybe you are ready to throw in the towel and see who else can pick up your slack. You end up walking away from your desk, chatting with a co-worker, refilling your coffee, and doing anything other than what you are supposed to be doing at the moment.

You sit back down. Twenty minutes go by and all of a sudden something clicks. You use a different approach, and BOOM! You accomplished what you had been stuck on for the last three hours. Sometimes, walking away and taking a break can show you an angle that you hadn’t seen before. Maybe the distraction is what you needed at the moment.

On the other hand, you can also have distractions that eat up your day.

These don’t benefit you or your company. You find yourself reading the latest trending topic, then that branches out to another topic, then another. Now forty-five minutes have passed and you aren’t sure what you even read about.

To eliminate these distractions, you have to take stock of what is distracting you. Was it your phone or a co-worker?

By understanding what distracted you, you can start to put in place behaviors and habits to avoid those distractions. Was it your phone that distracted you when a notification went off? Turn off your notifications while at work. Then allow yourself to manually check your normal phone apps, but with a certain cut-off time, if your work allows.

Did you get stuck chatting it up with Kathy in the office? Two options there. Either avoid Kathy’s office like the plague (potentially offending to Kathy, just a heads up) or limit the time spent inside Kathy’s office. Go into her office with a plan of what business needs to be talked about, and set a time limit. If the business talk lasts the whole time, sorry Kathy, we can chat at lunch.

So… while distractions get a bad reputation, it’s the type of distraction and how we let it affect our day that can be the difference between a bad distraction, or maybe a good one. It is all about how we use the distraction to our advantage, and limiting the time spent on distractions. We must use our distractions and stay productive, instead of just wasting time counting down until the end of the day.

The longer you spend with a distraction, the longer the day is, and the less gets accomplished for the day.

By Kylie Fanning – Senior Recruiter at Grafton Staffing

As much as we like to play hero and accomplish things individually, we all run into situations and careers that don’t always allow that to happen. It’s a good thing because anyone can use help no matter what the situation is.

In the staffing industry, teamwork is huge, for a few different reasons.

Not every recruiter is a master at every skillset their clients require. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of getting the job done…  they can still provide their clients with the assets they need to succeed. Teamwork becomes vital at this point due to the nature of the business and how it works. Most of the clients that we work with aren’t sold by the recruiter. And the nitty gritty details of any job requirement can be deal breakers.

As a recruiter, we rely heavily on our sales and account managers to provide us the details needed to find the perfect fit for our open positions.

At Grafton, our workflow is nothing short of symbiotic.

Not only do the recruiters count on the account managers to get every little detail right, but they also have to be able to count on the recruiters to find the talent for their client’s needs. To us, teamwork means a lot more than a typical business. It’s vital that we have open communication and work together to find solutions to the things that Google can’t seem to give us the answers to.

It isn’t just necessary for our clients happiness, but also for our own internal staff as well. It provides each of us the opportunity to learn something new, to boost a fellow teammates confidence, and improve the morale of our company as a whole. As cliche as it sounds, teamwork really does make the dream work over the long hall.

By Jeff Hagen – President of Grafton Staffing

First off, thanks to all our partners and employees in 2018. I enjoy this time of year. It’s great time to reflect and appreciate all the people who’ve influenced you. Change is a part of every organization, and Grafton saw plenty of change last year. I believe we made a few changes in 2018 that will help us achieve greater success in 2019.

New Website

We launched a new website in early 2018. It was great to update our corporate look. However, we’ve seen some real benefits on how people interact with us. Our new site is much more user friendly for people using mobile devices. We’ve seen much more traffic and applicants applying from those devices which benefits both our clients and candidates.

The site is also getting new content  every week through the stories on our blog. We now have three times the amount of people coming to our website each week. Candidates can read about success stories, or how we helped provide training to improve the skill sets of hundreds of employees. We’re a team that cares about their success. Clients have learned about how we partner and how we’ve offered some unique solutions to everyday issues.

Team/Culture

I think at one point we thought culture change was a project. That it was going to be done at some point, and we could move onto another project. I was wrong. A culture of accountability is something that needs constant, every day attention. We’re getting better. We have a team that wants to be accountable and successful. Each week I have staff asking for reports, so they can compare numbers to last week/month. They’re driven to be better each week.

As we continue to offer additional training to our staff, it will be exciting to see how far each of them can grow. I’m looking forward to helping them get there.

Expanding our Footprint

Grafton has always been bigger than most people realize. Based on revenue, Grafton is in the top 15% of the largest staffing firms in the United States. Based on W2’s, Grafton is one of Kansas City’s largest employers. (For the most part, I’m okay flying under the radar.)

Kansas City will always be home, but now is the time for us to engage with clients across the United States. We have expertise in animal health, pharmaceuticals and engineering that could assist other partners outside of the Kansas City region. The technology and staff are in place to push forward and have a record 2019.

Thank you to everyone that was part of our success in 2018. We’re looking forward to working together in 2019!

Post written by Greg Dabbs, Business Development Manager

I have two words to share with you today: Partner and Vendor.

Most people are familiar with those words but many people don’t really think about the difference between the two and the importance of one versus the other.

Looking at it from a business perspective a vendor is someone or a company that exchanges goods and services for money…an order taker.

Being a partner is someone or a company who engages in a business relationship with another person or company and understands equal participation and being a resource and solutions provider.  The latter of the two, being a partner, is what truly drives your business relationships forward to success.

Below are 7 key components that highlight the benefits of being a partner vs a vendor:

1. Transparency and trust

People see the truth in you through your actions, personality, and in how genuine you are with them. Always be that way and reveal what you’re thinking and what you’re trying to accomplish. Be straightforward. Don’t hide anything. Maintain this approach and you’ll be well on your way to establishing transparency and trust. If you take these traits and establish a good foundation, then the business will grow and take care of itself.

2. Excellent communication

A good line of communication is essential when establishing and maintaining a good relationship with clients. Make sure you’re communicating the good, the bad and everything in between. Attention to detail is key. And don’t make assumptions. Always clarify to make sure you and your clients are on the same page.

3. Be engaged in learning the business and goals of your partners

Don’t just know what your client produces, manufactures or sells, but gain an understanding of what goals they’re trying to achieve.

Whether it be adding new product lines, acquisitions, growth goals etc. Get to know what is new and groovy going on with their business. That’s an easy way to show them how much you care.

4. Run toward problems, not away from them

Some people are afraid when problems, mistakes or challenges occur in a business relationship. The tendency might be to ignore it and hope it goes away.

You’ll create a stronger relationship if you own up to any mistakes you’ve made and fix them. Or help come up with solutions to problems that have nothing to do with you or your company.

Take the initiative to create a solution, leap out of your comfort zone and help make things better.

5. Measure and re-evaluate

Always measure your actions and results with clients. This includes re-evaluating what needs to be improved, changed, corrected…anything that can strengthen the bond and trust factors.

Don’t sit on your hands if something isn’t working or going the way you think it should. Be proactive in coming up with solutions and switching things up to avoid recurring issues.

6. No hidden agendas

Hidden agendas bring a truckload of negativity. Don’t ever engage in a conversation or go into a client meeting with a hidden agenda. Be straightforward and clear on what you want to say or accomplish.

7. Be a consultant and solutions provider

Go to your clients with something that sets you apart from everyone else. For example, what is the niche where you have the most knowledge and experience? Become the go-to person for your client. Be proactive in showing them how you can make their lives easier.

Make sure they know you’re always there for them. Good service and true authenticity is sometimes the No. 1 thing lacking in this world. Make it happen.

What other advice or thoughts do you have on partnerships vs. vendor relationships? We’d love to hear from you!

Post written by Greg Dabbs, Business Development Manager

If you want to accomplish something big in your life or career, it’s important to remember all of the little things that need to happen along the way. Nobody achieves their goals by going directly from A to Z.

When it comes to your work, staying on task and being consistent with the little things gets you where you want to be every day. There’s so much to do…

Whether it’s the emails you need to send, the customer calls you need to make, the reports you need to complete, the fires you need to put out, the praise you give a coworker, the prompt follow-up you gave to the ten clients you interacted with that day, returning messages promptly, the positive attitude you filled the office with, the hands you shook, the meaningful conversations you had with clients getting to know and understand them, the office lunch you bought for everyone, the positive feedback you handed out, the problems you ran toward and fixed, or the thank you cards you sent to clients.

WHEW! That’s a lot, right?

It sure is, but all of these things you do consistently day in and day out help your business and help you achieve your daily goals.

Here are eight tips that will help you make sure you’re proactively taking care of all of the “little things”:

1. Prepare your daily task/goal list the night before.
2. Get to work early to review your list and make adjustments.
3. Attack the most important things on your list that will move you and/or your business forward.
4. Stay FOCUSED. Stay away from social media, too much office chatter and any other things that easily distract you.
5. Be a good quarterback. We all have unexpected things that come up throughout the day that need to be addressed. It’s important we give ourselves permission to call audibles, adjust quickly, and enable ourselves to still get to our daily goal line.
6. Manage your emails. Some people like to respond to emails that come through right away. Others take ten minutes every hour to deal with email. And others manage emails three times a day. Whatever approach you take, make sure you’re managing your emails…and not the other way around.
7. Show gratitude. Write down three or four things at the end of the day that happened that went well. That simple step will help give you a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
8. Finally, don’t forget to find laughter every day!

What other things do you do each day that help you stay on task and reach your goals? We’d love to hear your ideas!