We Celebrated The Grand Opening Of Our Professional & Direct Hire Divsion

Article originally published by Richland Source, December 4th, 2020

To better assist companies find skilled employees and to place professionals in the best positions, Spherion Mid Ohio has established a new department focusing on direct-hire and professional placement services.

The staffing agency held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new office area at its Ontario location on Thursday afternoon. The 3,000-square foot space is composed of offices, conference room and a waiting area.  

President and owner Beth DeLaney said while the unveiling of the space was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiters have gone full force to match professionals with companies in the past few months.  

Professional placement takes much more time than general staffing. Jessica Johnson, a professional recruiter for Spherion Mid Ohio, said she does a lot of resume mining to source candidates. She also pre-screens those candidates through interviews to make sure they are qualified for a high-level job.

For professionals looking for a career transition, Johnson said she reaches out to companies seeking the specific skill set and to create the conversation between the two sides.

“I’m really the connector,” she said.

The pandemic has struck the economy and caused many layoffs. According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Richland County’s unemployment rate hit a high in April at 20.3 percent. The number has steadily gone down and was back at 5.2 percent in October.

Johnson said while many highly-skilled professionals lost their jobs in recent months, various openings have been created. Those positions came from people who do not feel comfortable going back to work and decided to retire or quit.   

“Right now is an interesting time with really great roles being available, but also really strong candidates looking (for positions),” she said.

In recent months, Johnson has completed placement in positions ranging from high-level production work to executive roles. The positions include skilled machinists, a plant manager and a financial analyst. DeLaney said the salary for professional jobs range from $40,000 to more than $125,000 annually.

Although the pandemic changed the way Spherion Mid Ohio interacts with its  clients, DeLaney said they have been busy since summer. The staffing agency now has 45 internal staffers who serve Richland, Ashland and seven other surrounding counties. They specialize in areas such as accounting and Finance, light industrial and manufacturing.

DeLaney said employers always want “the best of the best,” but usually do not have the time or expertise to pick the top candidates from piles of resumes. And that is what her recruiters do.

A second professional recruiter begins on Monday. With the new division becoming official, the owner anticipates hiring more experts.

“If I can ever find a highly skilled recruiter again, oh yes, I won't let them go,“ she said.