Page 28 - BusinessWest July 21, 2021
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 EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
LISTED ALPHABETICALLY
  SNI COMPANIES
14 Bobala Road, Holyoke, MA 01040 (413) 887-6400; www.snicompanies.com
SPHERION STAFFING
51 Park Ave., Suite 7, West Springfield, MA 01089 (413) 781-4120; www.spherion.com/westspringfield
SUNSHINE VILLAGE
75 Litwin Lane, Chicopee, MA 01020 (413) 592-6142; www.sunshine.us
VIABILITY
5 Franklin St., Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 584-1460; www.viability.org
Quitting
Continued from page 26
of the NorthEast, concurred, and said members are telling her that employ- ees are leaving their jobs for a host of reasons, ranging from retirement, or, in many cases, early retirement, to those higher salaries that are now available as companies desperate for good help ante up. Like Pileski, she said many employees used the pandemic to take stock of their situation, with a good number not only finding something, or some things, lacking, but also discover- ing a newfound determination not to settle for what they had.
“Members are seeing more quits, more people leaving, than they would certainly like to see,” she said. “And
it comes down to employees taking
a step back, looking and things, and saying, ‘I’ve enjoyed my time with this company, I’ve done this, and I like
this, and all of this is great, but I don’t know where things are going to go, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve always wanted to try this new field or this new area, or making this kind of change, and now is the time to do it because there are job offers out there, and the pay I’m going to get for mak- ing the change is better than it’s ever been. So I’m going to put my toe in the water.’”
For this issue and its focus on employment, BusinessWest looks at why so many people are putting their toes in the water and leaving their jobs, and also at what employers are doing, or should be doing, in response to this challenging trend.
Resigned to the Situation
Pileski stated the obvious when she told BusinessWest that this is a candi- date-driven market. How long it will stay that way is anyone’s guess, but for now, job seekers are in the proverbial
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Brian Houle
Gina Golash-Kos
Colleen Holmes
Temporary, temp-to-hire, full-time placement, and professional outsourcing of accounting, clerical, light industrial, and technical staff
Provides area businesses with skilled, dependable workforce through individual or group placement
Alternative staffing solution with a social mission for area employers; human-service organization specializing in job training, job placement, and on-the-job support for individuals who are disadvantaged or disabled
COMPANY
OFFICES (LOCALLY)
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TOP LOCAL OFFICER
 Candida Canepa
PRIMARY SPECIALTIES
Professional placement in the areas of accounting, finance, banking, administration, legal support, and technology; staffing solutions include temporary work, temp-to-full-time assignments, and full-time placement
SUMMIT CAREERS INC.
85B Mill St., Suite B6, Springfield, MA 01108 (413) 733-9506; www.summitcareersinc.com
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Bryan Picard
Specializes in temporary, temp-to-permanent, and contract placement in manufacturing, warehouse, printing, food production, machining, medical, and administrative sectors
UNITED PERSONNEL
289 Bridge St., Springfield, MA 01106 (413) 736-0800; www.unitedpersonnel.com
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Patricia Canavan
Temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire placements for professional and management, human resource, office and administrative, accounting and finance, medical office, warehouse, light industrial, hospitality, and information technology
WORK OPPORTUNITY CENTER INC.
1094 Suffield St., Agawam, MA 01001 (413) 786-8830; www.wocinc.org
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Bob MacDonald
Offers employement in the community and vocational training; light industrial assembly; capable of bringing production crews to other places of business
   driver’s seat.
That’s because there were more
than 9 million job openings nationwide at the end of May, and also because, well, people are still quitting a near- record rate, creating more jobs to fill.
“The ball is in the candidate’s court,” said Pileski, adding that her company
“
they’re fighting for people, but paying them more. And then you get into the conversation ... is it worth ‘this much’ to keep this person? Before COVID,
you would almost always say ‘no.’ But I don’t think you can think that way anymore.
industry is that, to attract and keep people, we’re paying a lot more money than we were two years ago — a lot more,” he said. “For example, for a line cook, I used to be able to keep them happy at the $16- to $17-an-hour rate; now, I can’t get a line cook for less than $20 or $22 an hour now, because if I don’t pay them that, they’re going to go right down the street and find a job that pays them that.
“Everyone is in the same boat — they’re fighting for people, but paying them more,” he went on. “And then you get into the conversation ... is it worth ‘this much’ to keep this person? Before COVID, you would almost always say ‘no.’ But I don’t think you can think that way anymore.”
Elaborating, he said that, in this cli- mate, retention is extremely challeng- ing. He estimates he can only retain maybe 30% of those he hires, where historically, the number is more like 60% to 70%.
Speaking in general terms, Wise told BusinessWest this problem extends across the board, to all sectors. “It’s an equal-opportunity quit rate,” she said, adding that departures are being seen in healthcare, higher education, hospi- tality, and other areas of the economy.
Some of those leaving are retiring, she noted, adding that the pandemic convinced many that it was time to leave the workforce, at least on a full- time basis. For others, there might be burnout, she went on, noting that, during the pandemic, many employ- ees actually worked longer hours
and skipped vacations, while deal-
ing with stress on a number of fronts. With something approaching ‘normal’ returning, some are seeking out oppor- tunities to take some stress out of their
Quitting
Continued on page 41
ing or not ... they’re definitely thinking about it,” she told BusinessWest, add- ing that she believes the quit rate will remain higher than normal (which is just south of 2% historically) and spec- ulates that it might not have actually peaked yet.
These sentiments were put into per-
 Everyone is in the same boat —
     PETER ROSSKOTHEN
”
  has been flooded with orders from cli- ents looking to fill positions, and there is a dearth of candidates to fill them. And those who are looking can pick and choose and go to the highest bid- der, if you will. “When we call individu- als on opportunities, whether it’s con- tract or permanent, they have multiple offers on the table, where in the past, we may have been their only resource or their only offer. Now, they’re seeing three, four, or five offers because the ball is in their court and they have the upper hand because the talent market is so low right now.”
This environment is certainly con- tributing to the higher quit rate, she went on, because there are myriad places for people who aren’t entirely happy to go, and, in many cases, more attractive employment packages to be found.
“Whether people are actively look-
spective locally — and, more specifi- cally, across the hospitality sector — by Rosskothen, who used some words and numbers to paint a picture about how dire the hiring scene has become.
First, some numbers. He estimates that he’ll need maybe 350 employees at his various facilities to handle the peak of the season, to arrive in just a few weeks. He’s at 270 now, and really has doubts about whether he can hit his number.
“I’ve got a little bit of forgiveness in July because it’s busy, but we’re not crazy yet,” he said. “But it’s coming — it’s coming fast.”
He further estimates that his overall payroll is running about 10% higher than last year (or the last normal year), when a 2.5% to 3% increase (reflect- ing raises of that amount given to most employees) would be the average.
“The biggest challenge for us in this
  28 JULY 21, 2021
EMPLOYMENT
    BusinessWest
















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