Staffing agencies play a key role in today’s job market

Work Matters Column by Gwen Patterson  

In today's dynamic job market, the collaboration between staffing specialists, employers, job seekers and workforce development agencies plays a pivotal role in building a more robust and thriving workforce. These are the kinds of partnerships I work to facilitate and nurture through my role as operations manager for Express Employment Professionals in Elizabethtown. 

At Express, our mission is to assist job seekers in finding the right job for their skills and experience. Our job listings are like a constantly shifting mosaic, changing weekly and sometimes even daily. Employment opportunities prominently available include warehouse operations, forklift operations, maintenance tech, production/machine operations, customer service, bank telling, accounting, administration and much more. 

To stay in tune with the local job market and the needs of our job seekers, we at Express use multiple recruitment platforms and maintain transparency in our communication. This transparency is key to helping job seekers make informed decisions about their suitability for available positions. When it comes to roles requiring specific skills, we utilize various evaluations. Most importantly, we work closely with job seekers to evaluate how their existing skills and experiences align with the demands of potential employers. 

One of our core principles is building strong relationships with area employers. We partner with them by providing monthly insights into current employment trends and challenges, and we meet with our clients to identify their "pain points" and plan how to address them. We help them anticipate their staffing needs based on upcoming business orders and explore out-of-the-box solutions to reduce turnover. Moreover, we offer access to various programs and training options, enriching the services we provide to our clients.

Our collaboration with the Kentucky Career Center - Lincoln Trail (KCC-LT) is incredibly valuable. Some of the ways KCC-LT supports area employers is by facilitating on-site recruiting and hosting Let’s Talk Tuesdays Online Job Fair events. These virtual events allow job seekers to interact with potential employers from the comfort of their own homes, fostering productive connections. We've also engaged with KCC-LT programs aimed at assisting the unemployed, fostering a win-win situation for job seekers and local businesses.

Events like KCC-LT’s Meet the Employer, typically held the third Tuesday of each month, enable us to connect with job seekers and provide them with insights into how they can contribute to the local workforce. Meet the Employer is an excellent platform for job seekers to more intimately explore potential employment opportunities by having one-on-one conversations with local employers. 

As someone who has worked in this field for 23 years, I can attest that the world of staffing is constantly evolving, and the learning curve never flattens. Throughout my time in this profession, I have been dedicated to finding the right fit between job seekers and employers, whether the prospective employee is a fresh graduate or an experienced professional. The best phone calls I receive are the ones where a company is ready to hire a candidate because it means a family's life is about to change for the better.

The important community partnerships staffing agencies form are a linchpin in addressing the complex needs of today's job market. Our collaboration with employers, job seekers and agencies such as KCC-LT underscores the power of cooperation and innovation in creating opportunities for our region. 

To learn more about resources available through KCC-LT, visit https://ltcareercenter.org.

Gwen Patterson serves as operations manager for Express Employment Professionals in Elizabethtown. She can be reached at gwen.patterson@expresspros.com.