Haven’t you wondered…
As the face of the company and a member of Active’s founding family, Chief Operating Officer Benny Elzweig spends his day answering questions from clients, associates and staff members. We asked him about the most common questions he gets, and he was happy to share his answers here in this AMA post.
You’ve recently been named Active’s COO. What are your priorities in that role and how will they affect your clients?
My first priority is always on building and growing relationships with our clients and associates. Getting to know our people personally, as individuals, is a value that was instilled in me by my father and grandfather before him. Our clients can expect to receive the same level of service and attention under my leadership as they’ve experienced previously.
My main responsibility in the COO role is ensuring Active’s ongoing financial strength. For our staff members and associates, that means job security and opportunities to grow. For our clients, our strength is key to our ability to provide better talent, new service offerings, and additional locations to support their growth.
And finally, I have to mention safety. Keeping our people safe and keeping our clients’ sites safe is paramount. Last year we hired a highly-experienced director of risk and safety and a director of human resources, both of whom work closely with me and our team to do the right thing every day.
With unemployment so low, how does Active find people? What do you know that I don’t know?
I wish there was a secret sauce I could share! Recruiting is tough these days. There are a few factors that allow Active to recruit and place associates at our clients’ jobsites even when unemployment is at historical lows.
We recruit day-in and day-out. It’s all we do, and over the years we’ve gotten pretty good at it.
We’ve built a reputation for offering good jobs and fair pay. Job seekers have come to know Active as a place where they can get more than a job: they can find meaningful work that helps them improve their lives.
And, we build caring, personal relationships with our associates. We treat them like members of the family, and that goes a long way.
I’m concerned about all the new HR regulations affecting my business, like mandatory sick leave, minimum wage changes and paperwork requirements like I-9. Can Active help me keep it all straight?
We’re watching all these changes, too. Our HR director and management team have processes in place to not just keep current on regulatory and legislative changes, but to communicate and train our recruiters and managers. We audit our internal HR processes monthly and correct mis-steps quickly.
Our clients can feel confident that when an Active associate is placed at their jobsite, their HR paperwork and recordkeeping is “clean.”
Active is a family-owned staffing company. What advantage does offer my business?
There are three advantages of working with a family-owned staffing company like Active. I talk more about this in a recent blog post, but here is the short answer.
First, it’s just easier to get things done. For our clients, this can mean faster response times, quicker decision making and fewer levels of bureaucratic red tape.
Second, you may feel a greater sense of care and attention from a family-owned staffing partner. Simply put, we typically have fewer clients to manage and have more at stake with each individual client.
And third, you have access to the owners, like me and my father Elliot Elzweig. When problems arise (and they sometimes do), you can get right to the top. That access can help resolve problems quickly and also allows us to make changes in how business is done – for you and other clients – so those same problems are less likely to arise in the future.
What questions to you have for Benny? He says, “Ask me anything!” and when you do, we’ll update this AMA series with his answers. Can’t wait? Talk to Benny directly at benny@activestaffing.com or by phone at 212-244-6444.