Family matters. And OneStaff Medical, a travel healthcare provider based in Omaha, Neb., takes that maxim to heart. “It’s probably the only company where I don’t wake up in the morning and go, ‘Oh, I have to go to work,’” says OneStaff Medical Office Manager Nicki Parks. “They treat us like family, they get it that we have kids, they get it that we have families and they don’t expect themselves to be before that.”
Parks’ sentiment is echoed by the OneStaff team. “I love coming to work every single day,” says Stephanie Plechas, senior recruiter and team lead. “I’ve worked for a few different staffing agencies and this is by far the best one that I’ve ever worked for, as far as the culture goes.”
And that was President Todd Livingston’s goal when he founded OneStaff Medical along with Jack Swinney and Jason Avenell in 2010. Drawing on prior experience, they sought to make OneStaff a family-oriented environment. “If your spouse is really happy and you are treated equally as well by the company they work for, it just makes a stronger bond,” Livingston says. “We don’t ever want to get away from that, regardless of how large we get.”
It is the family environment that has earned OneStaff Medical its place on Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2016 Best Staffing Firms to Work For contest.
Family is included in many ways. For example, the company hosted a special day connected to a AAA baseball team game where employees, their spouses and children are invited to enjoy the game, have lunch and just have fun.
Another special event for families is at Christmas, where Santa Claus comes to the office to distribute gifts to employee’s children and poses for pictures with them.
“We want to continue this family environment we created,” Livingston says.
But not just anyone can claim a place among the employee ranks. What OneStaff looks for is people who exemplify the company’s core values: respect, honesty, dedication, hard work and professional courtesy. The company ingrains that into everybody’s mindset when they’re hired.
What potential employees don’t need is experience. In fact, many of OneStaff’s employees are fairly recent college grads. “We can mold them, train them to be OneStaff Medical’s employees and succeed from that,” Livingston says.
OneStaff looks for candidates who are eager and hungry. People who have actually taken the time to think about their future and what it holds and what they need to do to get there. What are their one-year, three-year and five-year goals? Where do they see themselves in five years?
And the answers they are looking for aren’t strictly related to business. “We want to hear about opportunity for advancement, that they want to buy a house. People who are hungry for the opportunity are some of the things and traits that we look for,” Livingston says.
Being open to ideas is another big draw for OneStaff’s employees. At many companies, owners and management teams don’t like change and dismiss any new ideas that are brought to them, Plechas notes. “But here, if you have an idea, it’s going to get looked at, it’s going to get talked about, it’s going to get reviewed and you’re going to get feedback,” she says. The answer still might be no, but the fact that employees’ thoughts are seriously considered is empowering.
Another factor in OneStaff’s favor is its management style. In Plechas’ nearly 12-year industry experience, she’s seen a lot of companies that micromanage their workers. At OneStaff, she feels as though she is able to run her desk as her own company. That autonomy frees her and others to work in ways that are most efficient for them.
Giving and Having Fun
The company also places an emphasis on community service, making it a monthly initiative. For example, the company recently ran a blood drive. And, of course, when employee’s children are raising money for their schools or clubs, the owners are the first to donate.
“Some of the companies that I was at before, it was always take, take, take, take,” Plechas says. But that’s not the case at OneStaff. “October through December, it was nonstop. We were volunteering, each team went shopping for the Open Door Mission here in Omaha. We went and fed the homeless. Just allowing everybody to take time off of work to go do these things, a lot of people, 50% of the office has probably never done before; it’s just very rewarding.”
But then there are the strictly fun events, or perks. In her role, Parks gets to set up many of these activities, such as arranging to have a food truck come to the office, or set up a luau or a movie outing. She likes helping to set up various events to break up the monotony of the day.
They’ll also have in-office events, such as trivia games, or potlucks. At a recent soup cook-off, Parks won $50 for having the best soup. “It’s just something that gets us away from our desks, where we’re all laughing and enjoying each other’s conversation.”
Fun and games aside, the most meaningful part of working at OneStaff is that everyone truly wants everyone else to be successful. “We all have the same goal of making this company successful because without the whole company being successful, none of us are,” Parks says.
