Elwood Staffing 2018 Company & Talent Report

2018

COMPANY & TALENT REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 A LETTER FROM OUR CEO

TIDBITS

06 GOOD YEAR/BAD YEAR 08 READ IT SOMEWHERE

MONEY

12 WAGES: TRENDS AND FORECASTS FOR 2018 14 WORKERS WANT TO GET PAID, BUT HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

PEOPLE

18 IT TAKES TWO TO MAKE EMPLOYMENT GO RIGHT 22 SPOT THE DIFFERENCES 24 RECRUITING IS TOUGH ENOUGH. WHY NOT CO-CRUSH THE COMPETITION?

LAW

28 ACROSS THE NATION 30 STATE BY STATE

ELWOOD

34 2017 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 36 NEW FOR YOUR NIGHTSTAND 37 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW 38 EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP 40 SERVICE FOOTPRINT AND SERVICE LINES

01

A LETTER FROM OUR CEO

02

Dear Friends, Many industries entered 2018 with strong outlooks—temporary staffing is no exception. Like our industry, we are well positioned for growth, focused on innovation, and prepared to challenge the status quo. We have the right mix of financial and human capital needed to continue to adapt our services and technology and exceed even our greatest expectations. By all means, we expect this year to be one of progress and positive change with an eye toward the rapidly evolving future of talent sourcing and management.

In fact, that’s the very mindset we strive to instill in our staff every day, and it’s reflected in our attitude, actions, and goals for this year: · We’re actively investing to engage associates who want to work with us and our client partners.

The ways people find jobs and the job attributes they seek have changed tremendously in recent years, and we anticipate a continued evolution. · Speed

is critical to success in this environment, so we’re taking steps to enhance our application and onboarding processes by utilizing new technologies and fine-tuning our existing operating procedures. · We’re continuing to put strategic focus on crafting an attractive employment experience— starting day one—that separates us from our competitors. In fact, a recent industry report claims 7 out of 10 Americans believe job searches are too impersonal. We’re always going to have a face behind our name. · We’re committed to hiring and developing internal employees and partnering with best-in-class customers so, together, we can offer employment opportunities unmatched by any rival. · We’re sharpening our focus on providing the best customer service to client partners by implementing user-friendly and higher frequency surveys to obtain real-time data and suggestions for improvement from within the organizations we serve.

We’ve always challenged ourselves to be better over the years, and we’re excited to tackle this list in 2018. As the very first line of our mission statement says, “Our customers are the driving force in all we do.” We recognize our success is in no way just our own, and I thank you for your continued support of Elwood Staffing.

Mark S. Elwood, Chairman and CEO

03

TIDBITS

04

BY THE NUMBERS Some important data we want you to know about the national employment landscape.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, here’s how things changed (or didn’t change) from December 2016 to December 2017: National unemployment rate: down from 4.7% to 4.1% abor market participation rate: L unchanged at 62.7% arginally attached workers: M unchanged at 1.6 million Discouraged workers: unchanged at 474,000 verage weekly hours worked: A up from 34.4 to 34.5 verage hourly earnings: A up from $25.98 to $26.63 mployer compensation costs: E up 2.6% Employer wages and salaries costs: up 2.5% mployer benefits costs: E up 2.5% Productivity: up 1.1%

05

GOOD YEAR/BAD YEAR

A collection of the best and the worst of the business world in 2017 and a few takeaways.

PAY EQUALITY … Despite the

Trump administration’s reversal of the planned change to EEO-1 filings, pay equality took a few steps forward when eight (and counting) states or jurisdictions mandated the removal of pay history from job applications and interviews in an effort to reduce the drag historical wages have on future employment.

LOOSE LIPS … In a recent

survey, 30% of millennials reported they’ve shared salary information with a co-worker. Only 18% of Gen-Xers and 9% of boomers said the same.

Sharing salary information is legal, and you can’t stop it (remember that!).

This data highlights an important change: The long history of employees remaining tight-lipped about salaries could be coming to an end.

VERTICAL INTEGRATION …

GOOD YEAR FOR …

Want to grow your business? Look up and down, not sideways. Furniture giant IKEA acquired TaskRabbit, a freelance handyman service wellsuited to provide extra sets of hands to assemble furniture; and Amazon is moving forward with plans to grow its fleet of transportation and delivery vehicles.

GETTING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS … Innovation isn’t always best for

the bottom line, or so says Crocs. The company is finally reaping huge benefits from a multi-year turnaround strategy focused on “staying ugly”— providing comfortable shoes and a little nostalgia but not a lot of fashion. The lesson here: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (even if it’s hideous).

BEING PICKY …

The national unemployment rate consistently hit 10-year lows month after month throughout 2017, and the labor force participation rate stayed low, making for a tough recruiting market.

Job seekers had plenty of choices.

KEEPING MUM … Major retailers boast seasonal hiring plans every fall, and the numbers are often seen as a way to measure the strength of the economy. Kohl’s bucked the trend this past holiday season by staying silent. The company said it planned to offer more hours to current employees to meet holiday demands. Is “Not Hiring” the new holiday trend?

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SAVING ON INSURANCE …

INTERRUPTIVE ADVERTISING …

Google is taking a stance against auto-play video ads by flagging host sites and blocking the ads. Do your homework before spending money, and don’t waste your advertising dollars on websites that don’t comply.

Health-care costs keep rising, with premiums expected to increase by an average of 5.5% in 2018. One other place a growing number of companies are spending their hard-earned dollars? Active shooter insurance.

DATA SECURITY … If WannaCry

didn’t, well, make you want to cry, the Equifax breach probably did. Legislation might not force drastic measures any time soon, but public sentiment will: It’s time to re-evaluate when and how you collect and store sensitive personal information (like a Social Security number on a job application) so you don’t scare people from doing business with you.

BAD YEAR FOR …

SHARING ON FACEBOOK … The social

media giant battled fake news, horrifying live-streamed content, and declining screen time all year, leading CEO Mark Zuckerberg to promise an overhaul of the company’s news feed algorithm in order to reprioritize content that fosters “more meaningful social interactions” between individuals. Industry analysts think this change could mean one big thing for companies that use the site: fewer opportunities for B2C interactions.

BEING A “TECH BRO” … Learn from

Uber’s rough year. The ridehailing giant just couldn’t stay out of the news. Claims of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, intellectual property theft, paying off hackers, and employee misconduct (just to name a few) plagued the company, much of which was attributed to ousted-CEO Travis Kalenick’s, uh, controversial leadership style.

WRITING A MANIFESTO … You

can say what you want at work, right? Wrong. One (ex-) Google employee learned that the hard way when he authored and shared a multi-page document decrying the company’s diversity initiatives.

07

READ IT SOMEWHERE Interesting things we’ve read and our thoughts on them.

SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROBOT PROBLEM

Engagement from fake social media followers can lead to a false sense of success.

Production employees have long been afraid robots will take all the jobs. Now digital marketers and talent acquisition specialists need to worry about robots, but for a very different reason: They may be making them look more successful than they really are.

Robo-engagement is a pervasive problem right now. Engagement from fake followers boosts social statistics but doesn’t lead to any tangible outcomes for a company.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram actively combat the problem by scanning for and deleting fake accounts (USA Today lost over 6 million “fans” on Facebook due to a purge one night last April!). OUR TAKE: Social media isn’t going anywhere, and it’s an incredibly important platform for just about any company, but don’t hang your hat on numbers alone. Though most social media outlets provide their own analytics, we encourage you to double-check those numbers and track conversions using thirdparty tracking mechanisms like Google Analytics, Bitly, or your own database.

At the very minimum, make sure you ask customers or job seekers how they found you and cross-reference that information against the metrics you see online. If you have 1,000 clicks on a job post but not a single candidate submits an application, you have a problem (either your job offering is bad or the “people” aren’t real)!

BE LIKE GOOGLE FOR FIVE BUCKS A MONTH

Concierge benefits are a cheap way to offer personal services.

Everyone wants to work at a hip company, right? Laundry service, free food, on-site day care service, shuttle service, and more.

Those services cost a lot of money, and they’re not feasible for many companies to implement. Enter employer-sponsored concierge benefits. In a typical concierge arrangement, the employer covers the cost of the concierge (usually something like $3.00 to $8.00 per month per employee), and the employee pays for the service the concierge sets up. For example, a concierge may spend hours on the phone looking for a new day care center or arranging car

08

maintenance during the workday, thus keeping an employee focused on work.

Some companies go a step further and offer vouchers to cover the costs of services.

OUR TAKE: Pretty cool, huh? If you have a demanding culture, crazy schedules, lots of traveling employees, or large groups of workers who could use a little extra help, we love this benefit. Just because you can’t be Google doesn’t mean you can’t try.

VIDEO GAMES: RESPONSIBLE FOR LABOR SHORTAGES?

One group of researchers posits that young, American men would rather play video games than earn an income.

Four economists from the National Bureau of Economic Research released a paper last July asserting that video games are responsible for keeping some young men out of the workplace. The researchers analyzed government data on leisure time from 2004-2015 and concluded that young men gained about 2.3 extra hours of leisure time per week over that period and spent about 60% of it playing video

games. Not every hobby keeps a man out of the workplace, so why would a video game? The increasingly social aspect, the opportunity to reap immediate rewards for accomplishments, and the never-ending nature of many games, say gaming and digital addiction experts. OUR TAKE: It’s an interesting theory, but there’s not enough incontrovertible evidence to convince us. Women make up 42% of the American gaming population, and gaming is popular with youths overseas, yet neither group is experiencing a similar decrease in labor market participation. The skills gained while gaming—teamwork, trusting peers, building remote relationships, delegation, hand-eye coordination, and more—are a great fit for many organizations. So, instead of looking at increased playing time as a detriment to the workforce, consider it additional job training! Have you thought about actively pursuing this population?

WHAT’S UP (OR DOWN) WITH WAGES?

Focus your research on nominal wage trends.

If you’ve worked on a labor plan recently, you’ve likely come across conflicting reports about wages; some data show wages are going up, while many reports from economists say wage growth is flat.

There’s usually an important difference in the type of data being reported, though: real versus nominal wages. So how do you decide which reports to listen to when planning for your workforce? OUR TAKE: Focus your efforts on keeping pace with nominal wage growth in your area, and ignore the chatter about real wage growth.

Nominal wages are the wages paid in a paycheck, while real wages are nominal wages that have been adjusted to account for inflation. The change in nominal wages is an important measure of your local labor market, while real wage growth is more applicable to assessing the health of the American economy. Workers focus on nominal wages, and nominal wage data is extremely easy to come by—it’s the data most often reported in compensation

surveys. If your wages lag behind the numbers reported in compensation surveys, you need to make an adjustment. Don’t feel a false sense of security when you hear the Fed saying, “Wage growth is flat.”

THE HEALTH CRISIS AFFECTING OUR WORKFORCE

Expert research shows widespread opioid use has a marked effect on our national labor market.

From the White House to the ivory towers of our nation’s most prestigious academic institutions, there’s one thing people seem to agree on: The opioid epidemic is real, and it’s costly (in more than just the loss of life). Janet Yellen, the former chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, said opioid use and the declining labor force participation rate go hand in hand. And a researcher at Princeton University added some sobering numbers to the national conversation, claiming 20 percent of the reduction in male labor market participation can be traced to opioid use and that a full onethird of working-age men who are not employed are taking prescription pain medication on a daily basis. The White House Council of Economic Advisors recently raised its estimate of the annual cost of the epidemic from $78.5 billion to a jaw-dropping $504 billion. As the toll mounts, many cities, states, and employers are banding together to address the crisis— from improving access to treatment to giving second chances to recovering addicts to even considering “safe injection sites” where drugs can be used without legal consequences and under the watchful eye of trained medical personnel. Perhaps the most visible governmental initiative in response to the crisis was the presidential declaration of a public health emergency, which made available some additional funds but fell short of a national emergency (which would’ve made available even more resources). OUR TAKE: This isn’t going away anytime soon, and we hope many will dedicate resources to aid in the solution.

09

WHAT THE …?

A few stories that will leave you scratching your head.

Sustainable goods takes on new meaning.

A distiller in Australia turned his frustration into a unique business opportunity. After visiting wineries and watching tasters swill and then spit out perfectly good wine, Peter Bignell made it his mission to collect spittoon contents and create a drinkable beverage. The result? An 80-proof, brandy-like spirit called Kissing a Stranger. According to Bignell, it’s “quite lovely.”

Your commute could get a whole lot better.

Nissan is afraid we’ll lose our love of driving, and it wants to change that by developing a car that can read a driver’s brain waves, anticipate actions, preferences, and discomfort, and react accordingly.

The company debuted its brain-tovehicle technology at the worldrenowned Consumer Electronics Show and promised onlookers that the system will make driving fun again. “Driving pleasure is something as humans we should not lose,” says the company’s senior innovation researcher.

Firing your best friend is never easy.

It’s even harder to fire man’s best friend, or so learned the CIA when it publicly dismissed the internet’s favorite canine, Lulu, from bombsniffing school. Like some human employees, Lulu showed little to no interest in her future career after being hired. The CIA did its part to engage Lulu: It offered extra breaks, some treats, and a few visits from a psychologist before kindly showing Lulu the (doggy) door.

MONEY

10

BY THE NUMBERS Some important data we want you to know about compensation packages.

What makes a good pay package?

Every worker will say something different, but we believe it’s marketlevel wages and a little something sweet on top. Employees want to be fairly compensated on an hourly basis— after all, wages affect everything from personal budgets to loan applications and interest rates—but there’s still a lingering expectation for an annual raise or bonus to be part of the mix.

Here’s what respondents to our annual employer survey tell us they offer to production and administrative workers in the first year of employment: MIDWEST: PRODUCTION WORKERS Employers that offer a raise: 93% Most common reason: Merit Employers that offer a bonus: 73% Most common reason: Attendance MIDWEST: ADMINISTRATIVE WORKERS Employers that offer a raise: 76% Most common reason: Merit Employers that offer a bonus: 61% Most common reason: Performance SOUTH: PRODUCTION WORKERS Employers that offer a raise: 85% Most common reason: Merit Employers that offer a bonus: 73% Most common reason: Attendance SOUTH: ADMINISTRATIVE WORKERS Employers that offer a raise: 72% Most common reason: Merit Employers that offer a bonus: 56% Most common reason: Performance WEST: PRODUCTION WORKERS Employers that offer a raise: 82% Most common reason: Merit Employers that offer a bonus: 61% Most common reason: Holiday WEST: ADMINISTRATIVE WORKERS Employers that offer a raise: 77% Most common reason: Merit Employers that offer a bonus: 53% Most common reason: Performance

11

A summary of findings from our annual employer survey.

For the past two years, we’ve predicted wages would rise. We were kind of right.

PRODUCTION WAGES

Production wages across all sectors and geographies have been on the rise the past couple of years, but competition changed a bit this year. Though we track a number of sectors, the bulk of our survey respondents fall within the manufacturing and distribution sectors, and based on their responses, it seems they are of two very different mindsets. · The majority of manufacturers made wage increases, but the median increases given were no larger than they were last year. Because so many employers made increases, those that did likely do not feel as much relief as expected (see Figure 2).

sectors take a toll on traditionally lower-paying distributors, namely through recruiting challenges and elevated turnover (see Figure 1). We absolutely applaud those companies that increased wages this year (and did so at elevated levels), but the distribution sector continues to lag behind. The low percentage of companies that reported starting wage increases continues to worry us. In a day and age where workers with similar skills easily cross industry lines looking for work, it’s not enough to benchmark against one’s own industry; the distribution sector still has room to improve.

ADMINISTRATIVE WAGES

Across sectors and geographies, not much changed with regard to administrative wages—a few positions saw a median wage increase, a few stayed the same, and one (for whatever reason) dipped lower than · Compared to last year (see Figure Figure 1 COMPARATIVE STAFFING INDUSTRY TURNOVER last year, fewer 4). We maintain that distributors made HR leaders do a nice increases, but job of benchmarking those that did gave administrative talent; increases one to perhaps it’s because two times higher most administrative than those given workers are hired in last year. As a result, small quantities, and wages offered in the the cost of raising distribution sector an existing wage to have crept closer meet market demand to those offered by simply costs less Manufacturing Sector Distribution Sector Total Staffing Industry Turnover manufacturers (see when you only do Figure 3). it for one or two new hires each year.

We said it last year, and it’s worth saying again: We often see It’s easier to find the money to pay just a little more to one the crippling results of wage discrepancy between the two person in an office versus hundreds on the floor.

450%

400%

350%

300%

250%

200%

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

1

1

12

2013

2014

2015

2016

2

Figure 2 MANUFACTURING SECTOR PRODUCTION POSITIONS

MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE

% THAT INCREASED WAGE

MEDIAN INCREASE

Packer/Hand Packing

$11.00 - $11.49

58.47%

$0.50 - $0.74

Material Handler

$12.00 - $12.49

60.20%

$0.50 - $0.74

Shipping/Receiving Clerk

$12.00 - $12.49

52.22%

$0.50 - $0.74

Forklift Driver

$12.00 - $12.49

56.76%

$0.50 - $0.74

Quality Inspector

$13.00 - $13.49

52.83%

$0.50 - $0.74

Assembler/Fabricator

$11.50 - $11.99

54.39%

$0.50 - $0.74

General Labor

$11.00 - $11.49

52.28%

$0.50 - $0.74

General Maintenance

$16.00 - $16.49

48.73%

$0.50 - $0.74

$14.50 - $14.99

49.25%

$0.50 - $0.74

$12.00 - $12.49

42.86%

$0.50 - $0.74

$15.00 - $15.49

43.18%

$0.50 - $0.74

MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE

% THAT INCREASED WAGE

MEDIAN INCREASE

Packer/Hand Packing

$11.50 - $11.99

40.68%

$0.50 - $0.74

Material Handler

$12.00 - $12.49

41.67%

$0.75 - $0.99

Shipping/Receiving Clerk

$12.00 - $12.49

29.09%

$1.00 - $1.24

Forklift Driver

$12.00 - $12.49

42.59%

$0.75 - $0.99

Quality Inspector

$12.50 - $12.99

29.17%

$1.00 - $1.24

Assembler/Fabricator

$11.50 - $11.99

26.67%

$0.75 - $0.99

General Labor

$10.50 - $10.99

23.81%

$0.50 - $0.74

General Maintenance

$13.00 - $13.49

30.00%

$0.75 - $0.99

Machinist

3

Machine Feeder/Offbearer

3

Welder3

Figure 3 DISTRIBUTION SECTOR PRODUCTION POSITIONS

Figure 4 ALL SECTORS ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS Office Assistant3 Office Manager

MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE

% THAT INCREASED WAGE

MEDIAN INCREASE

$12.50 - $12.99

34%

$0.50 - $0.74

$17.00 or more

27%

$1.00 - $1.24

Receptionist

$12.00 - $12.49

30%

$0.50 - $0.74

Customer Service Representative

$13.00 - $13.49

33%

$0.75 - $0.99

Data Entry Clerk

$12.00 - $12.49

29%

$0.50 - $0.74

Accounting/Bookkeeping Clerk

$15.50 - $15.99

35%

$0.50 - $0.74

Payroll Clerk

$15.50 - $15.99

27%

$0.50 - $0.74

3

Notes: 1 Data come from a benchmarked group of more than 100 of Elwood Staffing’s largest clients.

2 Data come from the American Staffing Association.

3 Year-over-year data not available.

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WORKERS WANT TO GET PAID, BUT HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Here’s a hint: Minimum wage is not the correct answer.

On our application, we ask every applicant to input his or her desired hourly wage (the wage at which he or she will accept work). We calculate the number of respondents who say they are willing to accept work at each given wage. Looking at the data in aggregate helps us understand the normal wage expectations in a market, as they are often very different than the local or state minimum wage or median wage. This is great information to have in your back pocket when you are setting a pay and recruiting strategy, which is why we’re giving it to you. There’s a benefit to knowing not only what your competitors are offering but also what workers say they need to be enticed by your opening.

% OF ELWOOD STAFFING APPLICANTS WILLING TO WORK FOR THE LISTED HOURLY WAGE Reported data exclude values below state minimum wage.

ALABAMA 72% 48%

79%

84%

100% 93% 95% 96% 97%

57%

22% 7% $9

ALASKA

100% 78% 71% 74%

ARIZONA

93% 95% 88% 91%

85% 59%

0% $10

9% $11

14% $12

22%

31%

40%

$14

$15

77%

44%

54%

$17

$18

83% 86%

$19 $20+

91%

100%

$11

$12

42%

$13

65%

10% $13

$14

$15

GEORGIA

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

97% 100% 92% 94% 95% 66%

73%

$11

$11

$18

$19 $20+

72%

80%

86%

$9

$12

$13

$10

$15

$14

$15

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

2% $9

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

100%

2%

3%

$9

$10

$14

$15

$17

$18

$19 $20+

88% 91% 80% 84%

$16

86%

100%

$17

$18

$19 $20+

96% 100% 91% 94%

69%

$11

29%

$12

$13

$14

$15

INDIANA

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

100% 95% 97% 89% 93% 66%

76%

54% 33% 22% 3%

$11

$13

74%

12% $10

$12

63%

43%

$13

$16

49%

93% 95% 88% 91% 68%

68% 71%

FLORIDA

31%

$12

$11

22%

$14

$15

14%

16%

60%

10% $10

$17

$14

48%

47%

IDAHO

37%

$9

39%

79%

48%

3%

$16

100%

61%

19% $12

$15

COLORADO

30%

$11

$14

$13

62%

37%

$16

$12

74%

7% $13

$11

ARKANSAS

24%

CALIFORNIA

9%

67%

100%

$10

$12

$13

$14

$15

14

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

$9

8% $10

$11

$12

$13

$14

$15

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

KANSAS

85%

97% 100% 92% 93%

KENTUCKY

98% 100% 93% 96% 96%

50% 20% $12

36%

31%

$13

$14

$15

MICHIGAN

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

97% 100% 92% 94% 96% 63%

73%

1% $9

4% $10

2% $11

$12

$13

$14

$15

MISSISSIPPI

80%

72%

77% 81%

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

91% 92% 93% 94%

100%

$9

$10

$13

$14

$15

NEVADA

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

87% 90% 80% 84% 58%

100%

$9

$10

1%

3%

$11

$12

$9

$10

$11

$12

$14

$15

$16

$17

$18

100%

$9

$10

$11

4%

4%

5%

7%

10%

$12

$13

$14

$15

$16

$17

33% 11% $11

42%

$18

$19 $20+

83%

88%

1% $9

$12

$13

$14

$14

$17

$18

$19 $20+

98% 100% 93% 95% 97% 73%

$11

$9

$12

$13

86%

NEW YORK

$15

VIRGINIA 69%

75%

80%

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

100% 95% 96% 90% 93%

$9

$16

64%

$17

$18

0% $11

$19 $20+

97% 100% 92% 94%

$12

$10

$12

$13

$14

$15

$14

$15

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

98% 98% 99% 99% 100% 92% 96%

1% $9

15%

18%

$11

$12

26% 29%

$15

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

$17

$18

$19 $20+

59%

68%

78%

37%

4% $10

$13

$14

$15

SOUTH CAROLINA

$11

$12

$13

$14

$15

$16

$17

$18

67% 71%

75%

$19 $20+

$10

100%

UTAH

48%

84%

$11

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

100% 93% 95% 95% 96%

$14

$15

$14

57%

54%

$15

$16

WASHINGTON

$12

$13

$17

$18

$19 $20+

100%

$15

15

$17

$18

$19 $20+

94% 89% 92%

100%

67%

89% 82% 85%

1% $9

24%

4% $10

$11

$12

$13

$14

$15

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

$18

$19 $20+

100%

56%

$16

$17

WYOMING

24% 28%

$14

$16

44% 15%

$13

$13

84%

29%

$12

$12

81%

8% $10

$11

45%

$14

100%

100%

56%

$13

$16

51%

15% $11

$19 $20+

OKLAHOMA

32%

$9

$18

64%

52%

4%

$17

73%

76%

20%

$16

93% 95% 87% 91%

76%

42%

$14

$15

2% $10

23%

$13

$14

69%

TEXAS

3%

44%

$15

82%

7%

$13

34%

35%

$12

$12

15%

23%

$11

$11

57%

$16

60%

5% $10

38%

$15

96% 100% 91% 93%

52%

87%

62%

$10

100%

1% $9

10% $13

$19 $20+

27%

PENNSYLVANIA

52%

TENNESSEE

2% $9

90%

4% $10

$17

16%

76%

18% $12

81% 84%

$19 $20+

33%

100% 71%

$18

19%

OREGON 78%

$17

31%

54%

23%

$16

86%

61%

OHIO

35%

$11

$16

10%

52%

17%

$15

76%

$19 $20+

NORTH DAKOTA

1% $10

$14

50% 54% 26%

$13

$13

66%

4%

$15

34%

NEW MEXICO

24%

$14

23%

46% 15%

$13

71%

4% $12

$12

51%

15% $11

$11

40%

7%

$18

49%

MISSOURI

26%

$10

75%

7%

54%

42%

43%

68%

79%

19% 23%

20%

7% $11

63%

53%

35%

0% $10

100%

70%

67%

0% $9

LOUISIANA

81%

1% $9

4% $10

12%

13%

$11

$12

$13

$14

64%

69%

76%

37%

$15

$16

$17

$18

$19 $20+

PEOPLE

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BY THE NUMBERS Some important data we want you to know about our associates.

Ever wonder just exactly who is walking in our doors? Take a peek: Total number of applicants: 296,319 Total number of W-2s issued: 135,600 Education attainment: · No HS diploma or GED: 10% · HS diploma or GED: 61% · Greater than HS diploma or GED: 29% Average number of prior jobs: 3 Average amount of prior work experience: 74 months Clerical skills: 33% Technical or trades skills: 21% Manufacturing skills: 44% Logistics & distribution skills: 41%

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Say you have an employee, let’s call him John, who is totally happy with his job. He comes to work on time, completes assigned tasks, has some friends at the office, seems content with his pay, and continually comments about how much better this job works out for his family life than his last one. You don’t have to worry about him, right? Well, while John sounds like a fulfilled employee, he’s merely a satisfied employee. He’s not engaged, which means he’s not fully connected and committed to your organization. John’s satisfaction with his job masks the fact he feels his manager doesn’t have a clue what he contributes daily, he’s not sure he has any real future with the company, and he can’t see what impact his contributions make beyond his small work group. It’s just a matter of time before he starts looking elsewhere for what he’s not getting with you.

Job satisfaction is important, for sure, but it only serves as the

foundation necessary to build an engaged workforce. When you create a workplace culture highly focused on investing in your employees and their future with your organization, they’re both satisfied with their jobs and engaged with your company, establishing better understanding of organizational roles, higher job satisfaction, and increased retention rates.

So how do you make sure the Johns of your workforce are engaged?

According to a recent study by Gallup, today’s typical employee, and the environment he or she expects to be a part of, has changed.1 Trade in the old-school thought process that a paycheck is the only thing that matters to your workforce. While money is still important (and we fully believe competitive wages should be a piece of your engagement and retention strategy), purpose, feedback, and coaching are also top priorities for the average worker.

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IT TAKES TWO TO MAKE EMPLOYMENT GO RIGHT

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PURPOSE UNDERSTANDING ONE’S ROLE IN THE ORGANIZATION

As the workplace has evolved (what with the mass exit of baby boomers and flood of millennials), the new workforce has come to expect more from their job: purpose. Gallup research backs this idea up, stating employees today want to work for a purpose, not just a paycheck2, which means you might need to reimagine your workplace culture to ensure an employee fully understands his or her job role and priorities, receives ongoing feedback to curb any negative behavior and reinforce good behavior, and is made aware of opportunities for advancement and growth when they become available.

Research tells us only one in two people walk into work every day with a clear idea of what’s expected of them.3 If your employees don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing, day after day, you can bet they won’t be sticking around for very long. By cultivating a workplace culture that focuses on the individual, you pave the way for employees to find their unique lanes in your organization.

The buck doesn’t stop here though.

Establishing purpose for your employees is just one piece of the puzzle; it won’t be the be-all and end-all to your engagement

woes. Once employees understand how they fit into your organization and why their roles are important, you’ll have established a healthy foundation for employees to be engaged, but you must elevate that purpose to create deeper involvement.

FEEDBACK HIGHER JOB SATISFACTION

In conversations with working associates across our national footprint, we’ve learned one of the hottest topics this year is that of ineffective, infrequent, and even nonexistent feedback between working associates and their superiors.

In the Northeast, some of our associates reported applying for permanent positions as many as five times without receiving any constructive feedback from the hiring company in regard to what needed to happen in order to improve their chances of being converted. Since receiving this feedback from our associates, Elwood and the client have put a solution in place that gives associates the opportunity to have a sit-down with their immediate supervisors to discuss any issues.

This problem isn’t isolated though, and many times, it goes unsolved. These same sentiments were echoed by Gallup at the Human Capital Institute’s “HCInnovation@ Work” conference recently.1 In a metaanalysis of 2.1 million people, Gallup

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gathered insight into the strengths of an organization in terms of job satisfaction.

The results were eye opening: · Only 34% reported their manager knows what they’re working on. · Only 21% reported receiving feedback from their managers on how to reach their goals. · Only 26% reported feeling the feedback they received actually helped them to do their work better.

Seeing these statistics should raise the question, how does your facility measure up?

Are your managers consistently tapping employees to let them know how they’re doing? If not, they should be, and not just once or twice a year. Research shows employees who received daily feedback from their managers were found to be the most engaged with their jobs (49%) compared to those who reported only receiving feedback from their managers a few times per year (27%).1 Providing feedback to your employees requires you and your upper management members to be more than just bosses though. Gone are the days of upper management sitting high in their ivory towers. In order to give constructive feedback, your management needs to be involved; your management needs to coach.

COACHING

INCREASED RETENTION RATES

Coaching in the workplace isn’t a new topic for us (but if it’s the first time you’re hearing about it, check out our 2017 Dollars and Sense white paper titled, The (Retention) Struggle is Real: Mentorship is the Solution You’ve Been Searching For to get yourself up to speed!).

If you’re fully aware of just how much of a trending topic coaching is, and we’re talking #NuggsforCarter-level trendiness, then it should be no mystery whether or not your organization is already onboard.

In fact, in a recent analysis at one of our clients in the South, as many as 95% of the associates interviewed on just one shift shared they didn’t feel as if they had received the proper training from their work supervisor to do their jobs effectively. What’s more, they didn’t have a trainer or coach they could bring questions back to and learn from; they were relying solely upon their peers to “figure out the job as they went.” Could this interaction describe your facility, too? If the answer’s yes, change needs to be implemented quickly.

When proper coaching programs are in place, be it peer mentors, supervisor training, or a combination of the two, your employees are more engaged with your organization and with their jobs, and when employees are engaged, they have more reason to stay.

Unsure of where to start? Brainstorm how you can implement coaching and mentorship programs at your facility with our pocket guide, 9 Simple Ways to Keep Your Employees Happy on the Job at www.elwoodstaffing.com/brc.

THREE PIECES COMPLETE THE ENGAGEMENT PUZZLE

Purpose, feedback, and coaching; each piece, while an individual component, is interconnected. You can’t have one without the other. Well, you can, but the results won’t be stellar, and you’ll be left wondering where you’ve gone wrong.

ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION CHECKLIST:

PURPOSE Your employees fully understand their job duties and what’s expected of them.

Your employees feel what they do has value and they are a part of something greater than just a job.

Your facility posts job postings internally first to create a sense of loyalty and further instill belonging in your employees.

FEEDBACK Your managers know what their subordinates are working on.

Your managers provide constructive feedback daily. ere are avenues in place for employees to voice their Th concerns and have conversations with their superiors.

COACHING Your facility employs a coaching or peer mentor program.

Your employees have someone in their work area to rely on when questions arise. xpectations are clear, and employees understand what they need E to do to grow within the company.

Sources: 1 Brecheisen, Jeremie. “Gallup: Changing the Conversation with Teams.”

HCInnovation@Work. The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch, Scottsdale, AZ. 25 October 2017. Lecture.

2 Ott, Bryant. “3 Reasons Why Performance Development Wins in the Workplace.” Gallup.com, 12 October 2017. Web.

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SPOT THE DIFFERENCES Our annual survey of over 90,000 job seekers provides critical insights on how job seekers feel about their local employment landscape. After all, feelings drive actions.

Remember that game from when you were a kid—the one with two nearly identical pictures placed side by side and a call to action to find all the differences? Well, here’s to feeling like a kid again, because at first glance, these maps probably look identical. But it’s just your eyes playing tricks on you; the data differs by individual ZIP code.

Though we hope you spend some time looking at your local data and comparing it to surrounding areas, we don’t actually expect you to find all the differences. However, if you feel so inclined, knock yourself out: We counted 7,786 to be exact. Happy hunting!

SO WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

Because the staffing sector often feels change before any other sector, Elwood actively monitors the pulse of its applicants to detect changes and predict and prepare for market shifts. We call this our Applicant Sentiment Index™ (ASI).

As part of our standard application process, we ask every applicant to answer a set of questions anonymously so we can measure favorable or unfavorable sentiment toward a few parts of the job seeker’s local employment landscape: quality and quantity of jobs, quality of wages, willingness to commute, and more. The sheer number of responses and the stability of the questions over time allow us to track shifts in workers’ mindsets to predict and prepare for market changes.

QUANTITY OF JOBS We measure optimism by the number of respondents who say they feel the quantity of local jobs is increasing or staying the same. Currently, 89% of job seekers across the nation are optimistic about the number of open jobs available to them locally, which represents 1.5% growth from the same time last year and 2.5% since inception of the ASI in late 2015. Nothing more to see here, folks— improving sentiment mimics the upward trend in job gains reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics over the past few years. This supports our notion that, en masse, people’s feelings are a pretty good gauge of what’s actually going on in the world, which is good news and reinforces the value of the ASI.

QUALITY OF JOBS We measure optimism by the number of respondents who say they feel the quality of local jobs is increasing or staying the same. Currently, 92% of job seekers across the nation are optimistic about the quality of open jobs available to them locally, which represents 1%

growth from the same time last year and similar overall growth since inception. After falling in the first quarter of 2016, positive sentiment toward the quality of local jobs has slowly crept up almost every quarter, indicating employers might be making efforts to improve their total employment package (that’s everything from pay, to schedule, to flexibility, and more) in today’s tight labor market.

QUALITY OF WAGES We measure positive sentiment by the number of respondents who say they feel their local wages are higher than or equal to those in surrounding areas.

Currently, 77% of job seekers across the nation are optimistic about wages available to them locally, which represents virtually no change from the same time last year but nearly a 2% decline since WAIT! There’s a story hidden in the data: inception. Does The third and fourth quarters of 2017 saw this mean wages are marked declines in willingness to commute falling? Absolutely (6% and 4%, respectively), and while not—it indicates we always expect some pullback over the that job seekers holidays, this was much greater than normal. are becoming Prior to this, willingness to commute had increasingly been consistently making gains and staying discouraged about above the baseline, reaching a high in June available wages, a 2017 of nearly 10% growth since inception. strong sign they Why is this so important? We’ve noticed aren’t going up as over the years that sentiment toward wages much as expected, and commute times tends to move opposite because after all, one another: Sentiment toward wages has disappointment been on an overall decline, while willingness is the result of to commute has been going up. We expect a difference this inverse relationship to hold true over between reality time. Consider this when allocating your and expectations. recruiting dollars and time.

Economists have long rued the fact employers aren’t raising wages as much as they should in such a tight labor market and relatively strong economy, and it appears as if workers feel the same.

WILLINGNESS TO COMMUTE We measure willingness to commute by asking respondents to report the length of time they are willing to commute one way to and from work.

Currently, 40% of job seekers across the nation are willing to commute more than 30 minutes before and after work, which represents a 1% decline from the same time last year but, after falling sharply in the last half of 2017, virtually no change since inception.

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90 90 90 90

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 17 17 1177

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 17 17 1177

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 17 17 1177

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 17 17 1177

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 17 17 1177

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 17 17 1177

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 17 17 1177

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 17 17 1177

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 16 16 1166

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 16 16 1166

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 16 16 1166

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 16 16 1166

103 103 103 103 102 102 102 102 101 101 101 101 100 100 100 100 99 99 99 99 98 98 98 98 97 97 97 97

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 16 16 1166

INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 17 17 1177

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 17 17 1177

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 17 17 1177

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 17 17 1177

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 16 16 1166

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 16 16 1166

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 16 16 1166

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 16 16 1166

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 15 15 1155

98 98 98 98

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 16 16 1166

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 15 15 1155

INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 17 17 1177

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 17 17 1177

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 17 17 1177

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 17 17 1177

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 16 16 1166

Q3 Q QQ 20 3 23032200 16 16 1166

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 16 16 1166

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 16 16 1166

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 15 15 1155

96 96 96 96

Q2 Q QQ 20 2 22022200 16 16 1166

INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE

INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE INDEX VALUE

104 104 104 102 102 102 100 100 100 98 98 98 96 96 96

Q1 Q QQ 20 1 21012200 16 16 1166

Q4 Q QQ 20 4 24042200 15 15 1155

QUANTITY OF JOBS AVAILABLE LOCALLY Increasing

104 104 104 104

Decreasing

102 102 102 102

100 100 100 100

98 98 98 98

QUALITY OF JOBS AVAILABLE LOCALLY Increasing

102 102 102 102

Decreasing

101 101 101 101

100 100 100 100

99 99 99 99

QUALITY OF LOCAL WAGES COMPARED TO SURROUNDING AREAS

JOB SEEKER WILLINGNESS TO COMMUTE

110 110 110 110

105 105 105 105

100 100 100 100

95 95 95 95

Local data available upon request.

23 Higher

Lower

Greater than 40 minutes

Up to 10 minutes

RECRUITING IS TOUGH ENOUGH. WHY NOT CO-CRUSH THE COMPETITION? Two is better than one, right? There are countless examples of great things that joined forces to create newfound excitement and greater impact among target audiences. Like what, you ask?

For starters, peanut butter and chocolate, Cold Stone Creamery and Tim Horton’s (hooray!), Target and Isaac Mizrahi, Crest and Scope, Tide and Febreze, tacos and Tuesday ‌ too far?

The point is, there are times in business when it makes sense to leverage the brand strength of a trusted, likeminded partner to achieve different or greater results. Most often, we see this happen when two brands align to develop and launch a new product, but it also has its place in the world of recruiting.

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CREATE NEW EXCITEMENT.

Think about it: What do you want out of your recruiting efforts? To net the greatest possible number of qualified candidates, yes? Your staffing partner has the same exact goal when recruiting for you. You both want to achieve the same result, so why not take advantage of the opportunity to create new excitement through marketing synergy? Enter co-branded recruitment ads!

YOU’RE ATTRACTIVE. SELL YOURSELF!

While it’s true many individuals enjoy contingent work for the flexibility it provides, nearly half (49%) choose temporary or contract work as a stepping stone to permanent employment.1 In fact, 99% of temporary workers who want to secure a permanent job actually do so.1 This means the simple step of including your company name and logo in your staffing partner’s job posts is highly likely to turn the heads of job seekers wanting to get a foot in the door at your company. And people who want to be with you specifically are more likely to stick around, thus reducing turnover.

SOMETIMES GENERIC JUST WON’T DO.

The ability to feature client company names and logos in recruitment ads also turns a generic job description into something more interesting and unique. In a market where competition for talent is fierce and basic company information is one of the top pieces of information job seekers want employers to provide, it’s critical to grab attention with clear and relevant content. No one is looking to recruit generic employees, so why create generic postings?

Sources: 1 Steven P. Berchem. The Bridge That Works: The 2014 ASA Staffing Employee Survey. 2014, The Bridge That Works: The 2014 ASA Staffing Employee Survey, americanstaffing.net/posts/2014/07/15/2014-asa-staffing-employee-survey/.

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WAYS TO CO-CRUSH WITH ELWOOD 1. Consider allowing us to feature your company name in job posts.

2. Consider letting us conduct pre-hire tours with interested applicants.

3. Consider having us film realistic job-preview videos for use in the pre-offer stage.

LAW

26

BY THE NUMBERS Some important data we want you to know about employment law.

WHO IS DOING WHAT, WHERE? Legal medical marijuana use: 29 states and Washington, D.C. Legal recreational marijuana use: 8 states and Washington, D.C. Paid sick time: 7 states and Washington, D.C. Ban on prior salary inquiries: 4 states, 1 territory, and 3 cities Minimum wages greater than federal minimum: 29 states and a handful of cities Annual indexing of state minimum wage: 28 states xtra provisions for pregnancy E and related conditions: 45 states and Washington, D.C. Paid family leave: 4 states Extended leave periods under FMLA: 13 states and Washington, D.C. Guaranteed time off for school events: 10 states and Washington, D.C.

27

ACROSS THE NATION Your guide to important employment legislation.

“YOU’RE FEELING FRISKY, AREN’T YOU?” Sexual misconduct never has a place at work (or anywhere else).

If you don’t live under a rock, you know that sexual misconduct in the workplace is a hot topic right now. From New York to Hollywood and everywhere in between, victims are speaking out against offenders, and the fallout mounts with each passing day while defendants, their employers, and the rest of America rush to stay ahead of the tidal wave. A renewed focus on this issue is great, but eradicating sexual harassment and related offenses shouldn’t only be reactive.

A lasting and continued commitment to ending this type of harassment must be your focus, and it takes a multi-step approach: clear and sound anti-harassment policies, viable reporting channels, swift and robust investigation and disciplinary practices, and preventive training initiatives.

If allegations of inappropriate behavior surface in your facility, take a play out of one city’s playbook. (Seriously, they made all the right moves.) In Beauvais v. City of Inkster, the city of Inkster successfully defeated a hostile workplace suit brought forth by a former female police officer alleging the city failed to properly remedy the situation after she was the victim of workplace sexual harassment (a fellow officer harassed her on multiple occasions, asking if she was feeling frisky or interested in engaging in sexual acts with him). The city won the suit because it proved it had taken the appropriate steps after learning of the offenses: The officers were not placed on shifts together, the defendant was put on temporary leave, an outside law firm was brought in to investigate, and the police department and other city departments received updated sexual harassment training.

28

IT’S SO GAUCHE (AND ILLEGAL) TO TALK ABOUT MONEY.

New laws prohibit employers from asking job seekers to provide prior salary information.

Does pay inequality follow a worker?

More and more states and jurisdictions think so, and they’ve reacted by banning salary inquiries during the hiring process.

Delaware is the latest addition to the list, which also includes California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and New York City. Proponents argue that sharing past compensation can reduce a person’s earning power across an entire career, but some business groups say the new legislation is more harm than help, citing frustration with growing disparity in hiring rules from one area to the next. If you hire in one of the locales listed above, make sure your job application and interview process exclude the question, “How much did you make at your last job?”

When Legislation Comes Knocking At Your PTO-Policy Door There are some situations in life when there’s absolutely no right answer. But, in the case of leave policies in locales with mandated paid sick leave, there usually is one.

THREE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT FMLA—BUT SHOULD.

Some situations require special attention and special calculations.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a well-known and widely administered offering, but there are a few common situations that arise with FMLA that many HR professionals may not know how to navigate: failure to return to work, remote work arrangements, and the single integrated employer test. What’s up with these? · When the clock strikes 12: It’s not the greatest idea to have a company policy that promises automatic termination for employees who fail to return to work at the end of a specified leave period under the FMLA. Why? Life happens. First, making termination decisions based on failure to provide “reasonable notice” for a late return to work can get you in a gray area, and precedent says you’ll probably get the short end of the stick on that one; and, second, some conditions covered

by FMLA may also be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for the employee.

For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—and, as a result, federal courts—has held that leave above and beyond that which is offered under FMLA is a reasonable accommodation. (Worth keeping your eyes on: Severson v. Hartline Woodcraft, Inc. The ruling in this case favored the employer and may set precedent.)

· When Skype meetings are the norm: For FMLA purposes, employees who work remotely (such as telecommuters, construction workers, and truck drivers) must be included in the headcount for either the worksite from which their work is assigned or the worksite to which they report; their home is not their worksite—a very important rule to understand, because of course, headcount of 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius is one part of the FMLA litmus test. For example, a facility with 47 onsite workers and no remote employees would not be required to offer FMLA leave, but a facility with 47 on-site workers and 4 remote workers assigned to the facility (regardless of their actual geographic location) would be required to offer FMLA leave to all 51 employees. · When your company is in a committed relationship: Headcount of employees at separate, but related, companies might be aggregated for FMLA purposes if the two companies pass the “single integrated employer” test (and, of course, operate within 75 miles of each other). This means companies that individually have fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius could be required to offer the leave benefit. There is no single factor that determines coverage, but there are four common characteristics of integrated employers: · Common management. · Interrelation between business operations. · Centralized control of labor operations. · A degree of common ownership and financial control.

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Seven states and Washington, D.C., now mandate employers offer paid sick leave to every employee (give or take a few based on local law). For many employers, these new laws raise the question: Which is better— one PTO bucket that meets or exceeds local sick leave requirements or separate buckets of personal and sick leave? Most of the time, the answer is probably separate buckets.

There are two main arguments in favor of this rationale.

First, most sick leave legislation has provisions prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees who use the sick leave they are entitled to under the law; these provisions are often in conflict with many companies’ policies surrounding excessive use or abuse of time off. In other words, you could get yourself in a pickle if you try to punish an employee for excessive or abusive use of time off if all time off comes out of the same bucket. You’ll have a tough time proving the employee was abusing his allowance of “personal” time off if it’s all lumped together, so he or she will likely be shielded by the sick leave law.

Second, the cost of one bucket is sometimes higher. For example, California requires employers to pay out for all unused personal—but not sick time—when employment ends, and employers who don’t designate between personal and sick time will be stuck paying out for time they otherwise would not be required to pay.

Seattle law says employers who offer one bucket must allow 108 hours of sick leave, but employers who have separate buckets need only offer 72 hours annually.

STATE BY STATE

Don’t see your state? It could be next.

WASHINGTON: Seattle just wants to keep employers on their toes. Employers across the state scrambled to design programs to meet the state’s new paid sick leave policy, with many working hard to figure out how to accommodate for differing state and local provisions.

Employers in Seattle that crossed the finish line early and planned for a peaceful holiday break were back at the drawing board after the city changed its policy in late December, causing many to rewrite their handbooks before the new law took effect on New Year’s Day.

OREGON:

OregonSaves. Well, apparently, Oregonians do not save enough, so the state stepped in. Employers that do not offer a retirement plan and have 100+ employees must automatically enroll everyone in OregonSaves, a state-sponsored retirement saving program. Over the next two years, smaller companies without retirement plans will be phased into the program.

NEVADA: Moms are seriously the best. Nevada was just one of a handful of states to pass a law providing additional protections and accommodations for pregnant women or women with pregnancy-related conditions.

These laws go above and beyond existing federal and state laws and aim to further level the playing field for women in the workplace.

CALIFORNIA: Small employers to offer unpaid leave benefits.

A new law expands parental leave benefits to employees at companies with 20 or more employees on-site, guaranteeing at least 12 weeks of unpaid time off for those who have 12 months’ tenure and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12-month period.

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NEW YORK:

Go on home, and here’s your paycheck. New York forged a new path by implementing statemandated Paid Family Leave for private-sector employees. All qualifying employees are guaranteed wage replacement, continued health benefits, and a job upon return when they take a leave of absence to bond with a child, care for a close relative with a serious health condition, or help relieve family pressures when someone is called to active military service. Phasing in over four years, the plan will eventually offer 12 weeks of paid leave every 52 weeks. Employees pay into the plan, and participation is not optional.

MAINE:

Governor and constituents at odds over legal weed. After narrowly passing its ballot-box vote, recreational marijuana use is now legal in Maine (though it’s still illegal to buy or sell it, making it tricky for folks to legally obtain it). Maine is one of eight states and the District of Columbia to allow recreational use of the drug, which leaves employers with a choice: relax drug screening policies to account for the changing times or keep them in place and risk weeding out good candidates who indulge (pun totally intended).

MASSACHUSETTS: Office relationships are tricky for everyone. A Massachusetts court determined that reporting paramour favoritism or rumors of an office romance can be considered protected activity under anti-retaliation laws, and employees who are punished or fired for making a report—even if the report is based on rumor and not on fact—may have basis to claim retaliation.

TEXAS:

What do foster kids and veterans have in common? Texas created some new laws for them. It’s now unlawful for Texan employers to have a leave policy that allows employees to take personal leave to care for or otherwise assist a biological or adopted child but excludes foster children; and employers who give veterans preference in hiring, promotion, and retention over other qualified candidates can now alert the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Veterans Commission and be included on a website that lists employers who give veterans preference.

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MISSOURI:

St. Louis did what? In a rare and very bizarre turn of events, the city of St. Louis lowered its minimum wage from $10.00 per hour to the state-mandated minimum ($7.70) after losing a battle with the state legislature over the legality of locally mandated minimum wages.

The change put 35,000 workers at risk of losing money, though some employers pledged to maintain pay rates.

But, hey, at least the state minimum wage is going up to $7.85 this year! That’s something to celebrate ... right?

ELWOOD

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BY THE NUMBERS Some important data we want you to know about our company.

Elwood is a leading provider of talent-based solutions and actionable workforce intelligence. With offices that span the United States, a broad service portfolio, and a seasoned staff, we support companies through the entire employment life cycle—from attraction to retention. And with the combined expertise of our specialized divisions— Elwood Professional® and Elwood Tradesmen®—we offer a uniquely comprehensive and innovative solution set that effectively meets the needs of our clients and associates.

Founded: 1980 Current internal employees: 1,130 Number of service locations: 275 Presence in: 31 states Lifetime acquisitions: 15 We are recognized as one of the largest staffing firms by Staffing Industry Analysts, the global adviser on staffing and workforce solutions.

Rank Among Industrial U.S. Staffing Firms: 10th largest Rank Among U.S. Staffing Firms: 18th largest Rank Among Global Staffing Firms: 46th largest

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A glance at Elwood’s financial strength and organizational stability.

We recognize the importance of making good financial decisions and operating in a manner that ensures financial stability for our clients and associates. By properly managing risk exposure, regularly investing in infrastructure, and managing operating costs effectively, Elwood has established a history of impressive financial results. The outcome is a strong balance sheet and adequate liquidity to support our clients’ current and future labor needs. Our clients can have confidence they have a financially stable partner that is focused on long-term success and compliant with all statutory requirements.

applicants, the methods used to reach them, and the ability to retain them. Recruiting and retention initiatives fueled an increased investment in staff and communication-related technology during 2017, and we expect those costs to continue rising due to the tight labor market. Aggressively managing ancillary costs such as facilities and administrative services provided a partial offset to increased costs, and higher volume allowed us to keep per-placement costs at competitive levels. As a percentage of revenue, total operating costs improved slightly from 10.2% to 9.6%.

REVENUE

ASSETS AND LIQUIDITY

Revenue grew by 13% during 2017 to reach $964 million. The A strong asset base is necessary to fund working capital and increase in revenue was primarily the investments in infrastructure, and we have Revenue $ in Millions $964 result of organic efforts and was aided by consistently reinvested profits to support $890 heightened demand from clients in the growth and innovation. As of December $852 $804 energy sector. Order volume was steady 2017, total assets were $168 million and in manufacturing and logistics; however, total liabilities were $82 million. Current year-over-year growth in those segments ratio, which measures our ability to meet was more subdued than prior years. Our near-term obligations, continues to be revenue distribution by geography was very strong and increased to 3.5. Large well balanced; we maintained a strong investments during the past year include presence in the Midwest, Southeast, a major network upgrade to strengthen and West and grew our market share security and system performance as well in the Northeast and Southwest. We as multiple investments in technology are continuing to add new markets to to more effectively and efficiently reach our footprint, enhancing our ability applicants and associates.

2014 2015 2016 2017 to serve clients nationwide. Through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, COMPLIANCE revenue is forecasted to continue growing.

Elwood is committed to operating in full compliance with all laws.

To ensure we are complying with financial requirements, we engage the services of independent experts. Our financial statements are OPERATING COSTS audited annually by the CPA firm of Blue & Co., LLC. Income tax Effectively managing operating costs requires a dynamic approach returns are prepared by the accounting and business advisory firm of that addresses rapidly changing labor market conditions. Our Grant Thornton LLP. cost structure is invariably affected by the availability of qualified

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Revenue by Geography

Revenue by Industry Construction & Other 3%

Southwest 14%

Aerospace Food & 3% Pharmaceutical 9%

Midwest 28% Northeast 11%

Manufacturing 45%

Logistics 19%

West 25%

Southeast 22% Energy 21%

Operating Costs by Category

Operating Costs % of Revenue 10.4% 9.7%

Facilities 7.8%

10.2% 9.6% Operations 11.7%

Recruiting & Selling 13.2%

2014

2015

2016

2017

Total Assets $ in Millions

Current Ratio

$178

4.3

$168 $158

Labor 67.3%

$150 3.5 3.2

3.2

2014

2015

2016

2017

2014

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2015

2016

2017

NEW FOR YOUR NIGHTSTAND

Ditch your sleeping pills in favor of our most recent publications.

LIKE CLIFFSNOTES, BUT SHORTER.

BECAUSE, SERIOUSLY, WHO EVEN WANTS TO READ THAT MUCH?

7 states and DC (and Maine, kind of). Mainers recently voted yes legal use and retail Iots oftohiring THE ROAD TO HELL requirements sale of marijuana, but the governor said heck, no! For now, folks can only reap what they sow.

If you’re not as liberal as your state laws, youINTENTIONS can keep on keepin’ on: It’s legal to IS screen PAVED WITH GOOD workers for pot in every state, and some still permit zero tolerance policies while It’s legal to light up for medical use in 29 states and DC and for recreational use in

2017 2018

NATIONWIDE

ABOUT THE INDEX

DOLLARS

SENSE

3rd QUARTER 2017

OPTIMISM ABOUT QUANTITY OF JOBS

We measure optimism by the number of respondents who say they feel the quantity of local jobs is increasing or staying the same. Currently, 89% of job seekers across the nation are optimistic about the number of open jobs available to them locally, which represents 2% growth from the same time last year and virtually no change from last quarter.

89%

Y-OVER-Y GROWTH RATE

+2%

We measure optimism by the number of respondents who say they feel the quality of local jobs is increasing or staying the same. Currently, 92% of job seekers across the nation are optimistic about the quality of open jobs available to them locally, which represents 1% growth from the same time last year and virtually no change from last quarter. Positive sentiment towards the quality of local jobs has slowly crept up almost every quarter since the ASI’s inception in the fourth quarter of 2015, indicating that employers are making efforts—even if small—to improve offerings in today’s tight labor market.

92%

Published annually, our starting wages and benefits guide contains survey responses from more than 1,200 employers across the nation and reports on starting wages and benefits for workers in small to large companies operating in the manufacturing, logistics and distribution, and other sectors. In the report, you will find information about starting wage ranges, shift differentials, raises and bonuses, career progression programs and other perks, white papers, benefits, and year-over-year trends.

and heightened minimums help workers make enough to put the basics on the table. · Longer hiring processes don’t weed out many more Differences in Interview Lengths1 Forty-five states and DCthan now have laws expanding protections and unwanted candidates accommodations for pregnancy and related-conditions, lactation and/or short ones. An average breastfeeding, or both. We all know moms are seriously the best, and these laws aim of 4.5% of candidates toare make sure they’re treated disqualified within the that way. Many states—most recently, Nevada—feel federal Uncle Sam is only part of legislation is notofcomprehensive enough and 14.7% that women still face an uphill battle at workthe problem. It’s true the U.S. first five days the hiring asprocess; a result,that but number comparable federal legislation may happen in the future. The Pregnant has the highest regulatory Workers FairnesstoAct wasofintroduced to the U.S. House of Percentage Representatives May (for thehiring environment of all only increases 5.9% of interviewin length explained by various factors industrialized nations, and third time), but it hasn’t since. candidates at 20 daysbudged and (Adjusted R-squared) that absolutely plays a role in longer. The average company the length of time it takes to can disqualify a candidate in Family first, or so say a bunch of states (and DC) who have gone above and beyondhire. But, examining the data 11 days or less.

FMLA requirements. Employees in CA, NJ, NY, and RI now have guaranteed access to further shows the largest 7.3% 7.2% paid family leave; 13 states and DC have expanded the eligibility requirements or amountpercentage of differences · Some candidates vanish of leave offered under FMLA; and 10 states and DC guarantee time off for family membersbetween interview lengths after three weeks. The to attend school-related events. In an age where we’re all pushing harder and longer to can be explained by the 22nd day is the first point in produce more and inch out the competition, guaranteed family leave offers workers the unique hiring practices time we’re unable to reach assurance they can be available to do more than just deliver a paycheck. of individual companies more than 5% of candidates (14.7%). The regulatory engaged in a client’s hiring environment has less than process. Up to that point, half the impact (7.2%). less than 1% of candidates Company Factors Job Title Factors All Other Factors (Country, Metro, Industry, ignore our calls; but after that Employer Type, Number of Employees) point, an average of 5.5% of people won’t talk to us.

+1%

OPTIMISM ABOUT QUALITY OF WAGES

We measure positive sentiment by the number of respondents who say they feel their local wages are higher than or equal to those in surrounding areas. Currently, 77% of job seekers across the nation are optimistic about wages available to them locally, which represents 1% growth from the same time last year and virtually no change from last quarter. We’re not surprised for two reasons: (1) Economic data still doesn’t support wage growth as strong as expected in a tight labor market, and (2) Many employers will increase wages in the fourth quarter to support holiday business— good news for communities with retail and warehousing employers.

WILLINGNESS TO COMMUTE 30+ MINUTES

We measure willingness to commute by asking respondents to report the length of time they are willing to commute one way to and from work. Currently, 41% of job seekers across the nation are willing to commute more than 30 minutes before and after work, which represents 2% growth from the same time last year. Consider this data when allocating your recruiting dollars and time.

77%

41%

+1%

+2%

METHODOLOGY: Total responses collected over the past year equal 86,878. Reported quarterly data have a margin of error of +/- 0.66% at the 95% confidence level for population N, conservatively defined as the population within the national labor force that would consider contingent employment.

Emailed the first Tuesday of every month, the newsletter contains a little personality and a healthy dose of proprietary research, employment law updates, current events, and anything else we think is worth your time.

year after that. And so on. A rising tide lifts all ships, so raising your wage because the law · Higher percentages ofyou candidates accept jobs in the firstkeep 5 days. says you must won’t help win the race for talent (but it will you Sixty-two out of jail,percent and of candidates accept a jobaifgood it’s offered five days.

That number declines to 53%one fromworker 6-10 days 40% from 11-15 days. that’s thing).within The federal minimum isn’t enough to sustain or a and family,

OPTIMISM ABOUT QUALITY OF JOBS

Starting Wages & Benefits Guide

DOLLARS AND SENSE | 2017 2018 STARTING WAGES AND BENEFITS GUIDE

According to the latest from Glassdoor1, the average time it takes a company in the U.S. to complete the interview The flu will probably hit hard in 7 states DCup this year. sick is guaranteed and hiring process for a new employee is 23.8and days, from 22.9Paid days justtime a couple of years ago. At a brisk pace, for mostcould employees in AZ, CA, CT,City MA,toOR, WA, and it will be available a person walk from New York SaltVT, Lake City in DC, that and same amount of time. to Rhode Island’s workers in July. Many state legislators champion paid sick leave policies because so much job growth has happened lower-wage employees So, in this tough recruiting environment, why oninearth are we positions giving jobwhere applicants enough time to literally hike typically qualify for paid time off under normal company policies. across the don’t country in search of something better?

I don’t know about you, but we’re scratching our heads. If there’s enough time for a job seeker to cross the nation, there’s certainly enough time for him to knock on a couple doors around town looking for another job—and you’d better believe he will.

It’s not OK to ask “How much did you make at your last job?” in a growing list of locations. So zip your lips and change your application if you hire in CA, DE, MA, OR, DATA SHOW RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TIME-TO-HIRE AND DROP-OFF RATES PR, New Orleans, Philadelphia, or NYC. Why the change? Glad you asked. Supporters say sharing past compensation unfairly reduces a worker’s future earning power and gives Our data support the notion that a lengthy hiring process has a negative impact on job acceptance. In examining employers the upper-hand in salary negotiations. data from the first half of 2017 for candidates who were placed in a special hiring pipeline while moving through the steps of a client’s extended hiring process, we came across a few key findings: The days of paying $7.25/hr are gone in 29 states and a handful of cities. And · Candidates jobfederal offers minimum that comeorsooner.

The to average of thehigher hiring process for candidates whether you’reaccept still at the have come acceptlength your area’s who were an offerTwenty-eight and started in the position was 6.3 days, annual compared to 17.8ofdays for candidates wage, don’t extended get comfortable: states have laws mandating indexing who were extended offer but declined the your position. the minimum wage, soanthere’s a good chance minimum will rise next year. And the

Because the staffing sector often feels change before any other sector, Elwood actively monitors the pulse of its applicants to detect changes and predict and prepare for market shifts. As part of our standard application process, we ask every applicant to answer a set of five questions anonymously so we can measure favorable or unfavorable sentiment towards three parts of the job seeker’s local employment landscape: quality and quantity of jobs, quality of wages, and willingness to commute. The sheer number of responses and the stability of the questions over time allow us to track shifts in workers’ mindsets to predict and prepare for market changes.

AND

ELWOODTHINKS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

others say marijuana must be treated like any other prescription drug. However, if you’re feeling adventurous, you could consider a screening policy change, especially for nonsafety-sensitive workers.

APPLICANT SENTIMENT INDEX™ REPORT

Chamberlain, Andrew. “How Long Does It Take to Hire? Interview Duration in 25 Countries.” Glassdoor Economic Research, 9 Aug. 2017, www.glassdoor.com/research/time-to-hire-in-25-countries/.

1

APPLICANT WHITE PAPERS TM SENTIMENT INDEX As part of our standard application process, we ask every applicant to answer a set of questions anonymously so we can measure favorable or unfavorable sentiment toward parts of the job seeker’s local employment landscape: quality and quantity of jobs, quality of wages, willingness to commute, and more. The sheer number of responses—over 90,000 each year—and the stability of the questions over time allow us to track shifts in workers’ mindsets to predict and prepare for market changes at the national, state, and local levels.

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A collection of over 20 studies and reports to help you navigate the world of contingent staffing, ranging in topic from retention to engagement to employment law and more. New this year: · Like CliffsNotes®, but Shorter: Employment Law Roundup · The Road to Hell is Paved With Lots of Hiring Requirements · Starting Wages: Trends and Forecasts From Our 2017 Employer Survey · Retention Hack: Understanding Worker Habits That Drive Turnover

OUR YEAR IN REVIEW Our main hustle is serving you. We do the rest of this on the side.

FEBRUARY We acquired and re-branded Swanson Staffing, a commercial staffing firm serving northern Indiana and parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The acquisition included branch offices located in Fort Wayne, LaPorte, and Elkhart, Indiana, and Sarasota, Florida.

MARCH Chairman and CEO Mark Elwood was selected by

the editorial team of Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) for its 2017 Staffing 100 leadership list. The list recognizes leaders across the staffing industry for the significant impact they have made on the workforce solutions ecosystem by innovating, inspiring others, and above all, pushing the boundaries of excellence in staffing.

This is the third time Mark has made SIA’s Staffing 100 list in its six-year history.

APRIL Elwood Staffing and Elwood Tradesmen (our dedicated

skilled trades staffing division) earned the Safety Standard of ExcellenceSM (SSE) mark. The SSE certification process and designation were developed by the American Staffing Association and the National Safety Council to promote staffing industry-wide safety standards and compliance with federal and state occupational safety and health requirements. We were one of the first six U.S. staffing firms to achieve this designation.

SEPTEMBER Our second annual Workforce Intelligence Summit was a huge success—and doubled in size! Over 80 professionals from a variety of industries across the nation came together in Indianapolis to spend a day discussing strategies for employer success. Please join us next year!

DECEMBER Following years of programming and

testing, Talent Fox® was released to our network of branches and made available for client enrollment. Talent Fox is a proprietary workforce tracking and data portal that helps Elwood’s client companies gain total visibility into their contingent workforce programs through order submittal, tracking, and fulfillment capabilities, as well as instantaneous reporting on the staffing metrics most important to our customers. Delivering on its name, Talent Fox is customizable, smart, intuitive, and precise.

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EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

MARK S. ELWOOD

STEVEN J. HUNNICUTT, CPA, CGMA

Mark joined the company in the fall of 1987 and has served in many capacities such as sales consultant, vice president, and president prior to being named chief executive officer in 2003 and chairman in 2016. He likes to maintain a healthy balance of duties, focusing on operational and financial performance and strategic initiatives while cultivating relationships by visiting branch offices around the country and spending time with existing and prospective customers.

Steve’s primary areas of responsibility include overseeing accounting, finance, treasury, and tax functions. He initially joined Elwood Staffing in 2000 as controller and moved into the chief financial officer role in 2002.

Prior to joining Elwood Staffing, Steve worked in public accounting and as an analyst for a Fortune 500 automotive parts supplier.

Chairman and CEO

JOHN A. ELWOOD President

John oversees the executive management members of the Legal, Risk Management, Human Resources, and Field Operations Departments, and he is very passionate about learning and development. He is past chairman of the board of the American Staffing Association, of which he has been a board member since 2008. He joined the company in 1996 and was appointed president in 2003.

MICHAEL D. ELWOOD

President, Elwood Professional

Mike is responsible for Elwood Professional, the company’s high-end search and placement division. His team serves the engineering, IT, and professional-level hiring needs of the company’s national client base. Mike previously worked on Wall Street and in the technology industry. He joined the company as the chief operating officer in 2004 and was appointed president of Elwood Professional in 2012.

Chief Financial Officer

J. MICHAEL STOCKARD JR. Executive Vice President

Mike is responsible for company-wide sales support and new business development. He also works closely with the company’s Southeastern branches and is responsible for maintaining and growing some of Elwood’s large, strategic clients. Mike served as the president of TRI Staffing for three years before it was acquired by Elwood Staffing in 2006. Mike is also a past president of the Alabama Staffing Association.

LIA R. ELLIOTT General Counsel

Lia is responsible for providing legal advice to the organization, strategically identifying legal risk, structuring proactive policies and procedures, negotiating and finalizing large commercial transactions, and managing Elwood Staffing’s Legal Department. Prior to joining Elwood Staffing in 2007, Lia practiced law with a civil law firm, focusing on the employment and labor law sector.

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DAVID S. MEYERCORD

NICKOLAS J. SEGER, CPA, CGMA

Dave leads the company’s Workforce Solutions group, a department dedicated to the growth and development of large, multimarket accounts.

He and his team support field staff with sales, implementation, service delivery, account management, and best practices for Elwood’s largest and most complex clients. Dave has been with Elwood Staffing since 2011.

Nick leads the company’s operational team. With oversight of field and risk operations, learning and development, and the central recruiting team, he works closely with the branch network to ensure best practices are in place and followed across the organization. Nick joined the company in 2005.

Senior Vice President

KEVIN L. HARDY Senior Vice President

Kevin is responsible for branch performance and customer relations. He directs client strategy meetings, proposal development, and field operations, and works with management to build client relationships. Kevin was with SOS Employment Group for 13 years before it was acquired by Elwood Staffing in 2013.

JOHN K. MORRISON

Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel

John has management oversight of the Human Resources, Risk Management, Safety, and Unemployment Claims Departments.

Additionally, he manages the company’s insurance programs and provides legal support and advice to the company primarily in the areas of wage and hour law, employee relations, the Affordable Care Act, insurance, and risk.

John was general counsel of SOS Employment Group for 18 years before it was acquired by Elwood Staffing in 2013.

Vice President of Operations

VICTOR J. MEYER, CPA, CGMA Vice President of Finance

Vic is responsible for financial reporting, both on a consolidated basis and at varying levels within the company to measure performance and alignment with strategic initiatives. Vic joined the company in 2014 after working in both public accounting and corporate finance.

BRETT A. FLORA

Vice President of Technology

Brett is responsible for shaping, managing, and maintaining the company’s information technology environment. He and his team actively develop and implement plans to improve the organization’s communication, access to information, and organizational efficiency. Brett spent 20 years in IT operations and management in private, public, and international companies prior to joining Elwood Staffing in 2013.

JOHN A. NIEDERMEYER

Vice President of Strategic Services

John drives organizational health through learning and development, change management, and strategic support of service operations. John was with SOS Employment Group for 20 years before it was acquired by Elwood Staffing in 2013.

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SERVICE FOOTPRINT AND SERVICE LINES

Elwood Staffing® recruits and screens top industrial and administrative talent and matches them with our clients’ opportunities, creating mutually beneficial relationships that move companies and people forward.

With a focus on placing skilled trades professionals, Elwood Tradesmen® supports clients throughout the U.S. for projects in a wide variety of industries with helpers, apprentices, journeymen, and master craftsmen.

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Specializing in search and contract placement, Elwood Professional matches highly skilled engineering, information technology, and business management professionals with mid-level, VP, and executive openings.