Breaking All Records

Written by Corinne Garcia Thursday, August 11 2011

Snapshot: Joan Davison, President, Staff Management
In 2009, her company achieved 100-percent client retention. She is Joan Davison, president and COO of Staff Management | SMX, a global provider of contingent staffing solutions headquartered in Chicago. Here she talks about how Staff Management achieved that.

Womenetics: In 2010, you helped lead your company through a record-breaking year, smashing all company records and outperforming the industry. To what do you attribute this success?
Joan Davison: I believe there were three reasons for the success: a good plan, flexibility, and most importantly, great people. You need a great strategic plan to set the course, and at Staff Management | SMX we have one that all members of our executive team are committed to executing.

As a team, we review the plan on a monthly basis, making adjustments to benchmarks and finding ways that we can improve. That commitment to learning and adapting our business plan really allows our company to stay flexible. Flexibility within the plan is really an important element. The foresight we gain from our planning process keeps us on the forefront of the industry.

Add to this great people – which is what our business is all about – who are committed and passionate, and you’ve got a winning combination. The Staff Management | SMX executive team has an average of 15 years tenure with our company, and so we have the advantage of knowing and trusting one another, which makes it easier to navigate in times of change.

Womenetics: During an economic recession, why has Staff Management done so well? Why has it been an important business sector?
Davison: Our flexible business model has helped us stay strong. We strived to understand the needs of our client base and deliver value to them. We focused on the long term during the recession and banked on our clients to return strong – which we saw in 2010. We also retained as much tenured talent as possible, stood by our clients despite shrinking revenues, and worked to expand our client base with smaller and more diversified accounts. This was a risky strategy when many in the industry were shedding their unprofitable clients and passing on potentially risky smaller accounts.

The temporary staffing industry is a leading employment indicator and can be a key economic indicator following a recession. With the recent weakness in the U.S. labor market, the staffing industry and staffing earnings remain in the spotlight. Contingent labor has become an integral part of an organization’s work force planning strategy as companies choose to rely on the flexibility of contingent labor to adjust quickly to changes in the business cycle without having to add and shed permanent positions.

Contingent work is becoming more project based and more professional and, where work is performed, more dynamic. Temporary staffing can be used as a just-in-time solution to increasing demand, and, conversely, an organization can more quickly apply the brakes.

Womenetics: How have you approached your company’s expansion into other parts of the globe?
Davison: I believe in expanding our footprint, both globally and domestically, through our current client base. As our clients realize the value of our solutions domestically, we are increasingly asked to partner with them in other parts of the world to help them achieve the same focus and value that they realized with us in the United States.

Our expansion into Latin America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific has been in response to the business needs of our client base. We have taken these opportunities to expand while continuing to cement, secure, and provide value domestically. Today these regions have become an important part of the global staffing market, our footprint continues to grow, and our focus continues to gain momentum.

Womenetics: Why has this global expansion been an important move for the company?
Davison: Rather than expanding globally for the sake of expanding, our global expansion initially occurred as a way to continue to provide value to our current clients by becoming a business partner in their global operations. Our clients have an international business need, and we felt that in order to continue to provide a high level of service it was necessary to expand internationally in support of those clients.

In addition, it was a protective strategy. We did not want to give competitors the chance to engage with our clients because they had an international footprint and we did not. Today, we look at the initial strategy and see its value and merits. Business is global and to service your clients you either need to become global or partner with firms that can provide service where you cannot.

Womenetics: In 2009, Staff Management achieved 100-percent client retention, which is an almost unheard of in this industry. Why is this industry known for high client turnover, and how did you bust that myth?
Davison: It is really all about focusing on providing value. As a leadership team we work hard to communicate our focus internally so all employees understand exactly what they’re here to do. Our message is simple: We are here to provide best talent, drive compliance, and yield tangible savings for our clients. By doing these things, we build sustainable value in our clients’ organizations. A clear focus allows our teams the ability to better deliver value to our clients, and with that we know that the rest will follow.
Womenetics: What are the biggest staffing issues your clients face?
Davison: Like many industries, our clients struggle with uncertainty in the economy and the economic factors that impact labor costs. Therefore, our clients strive to maintain low inventory levels and to stay lean. This strategy can create erratic labor forecasting and increase pressures with on-boarding and training when demand increases.

Womenetics: How do you and the company give back to the Chicago community?
Davison: We are very committed to our community relationships in Chicago as well as the communities in which our clients, employees, and associates live and work. We focus on supporting charitable organizations that make a difference in the communities that we serve and that help develop responsible citizens and the work force of the future.

We partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Metropolitan Chicago, and have had the opportunity to make a positive impact through event sponsorship such as the 2010 BBBS Holiday Party. I so value events like that where we can make a difference as a company but also as individuals through our personal participation.

We also sponsored the 2011 Jimmy Biggs Memorial Cabrini Connections Golf Benefit, which supports children on the north side of Chicago who fail to obtain the basic skills and experiences necessary to compete for employment in the global economy. This makes an impact in the community surrounding our Chicago headquarters.

We focus our efforts both nationally and locally. Along with supporting efforts like Feeding America, it also means getting involved with the charities that are meaningful for our clients. This year we supported the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which supports the cystic fibrosis community. Later this year we will sponsor and participate in the eighth annual Waste Management Charity Golf Classic.

In 2012, I am looking forward to our first company-wide community service day. Every office across the country will pick a local charity to support; as an organization we will be giving eight hours to every employee to devote to community service for that charity. This effort has been organized by our Diversity Council and has the support of the leadership team.

Womenetics: Why is this community support so important?
Davison: There is a tremendous amount of need right now, and I believe that it’s important for companies that can help to help. Each and every day we work hard to connect people with the jobs, training, and leadership that can enable them to be successful and to contribute to their communities. The assignments we place our associates in often create a career bridge that may bring them opportunities for advancement as well as personal growth.

By supporting charitable organizations that have an impact on the communities where our employees and associates work and live today, we help to create our work force of tomorrow.

Womenetics: How would you describe your approach to leadership, and why does it work?
Davison: My approach centers on being clear and direct, whether the message I am delivering is positive or negative. I try to provide solid direction and don’t waver from it. I have found that if you stay consistent with your communication, people believe in you and trust your leadership. Also, I stay in tune with my work force and have an open door communication policy.

Womenetics: Who has inspired you/mentored you the most?
Davison: I have had the great fortune of knowing many inspiring people – from my parents to spiritual mentors to the people I work with each and every day. To name one person would be difficult! I try to listen to as many people’s stories as I can regardless of whether they are in the executive suite or on the production line. Everyone has a story to tell and their own personal triumphs. Big or small, they all teach a lesson.

Womenetics: What have been the lessons learned, and what would you have done differently?
Davison: I don’t spend a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror. I am sure there are things I could have done differently, but then I wouldn’t be where I am today. So, I stay focused on the future and how I can improve myself each day.

Womenetics: Why do you think you are considered a role model for women and especially for working moms?
Davison: While I don’t think of myself as a role model, I am thankful that I’ve had the ability to blend a career that I love with the realities of a working mom. My family keeps me grounded and balanced. They also help me to be sensitive to the needs of all working parents, regardless of gender. For me, finding the humor in a tough situation at home or at work usually helps reduce the stress and keep the balance.

Womenetics: Do you take time for yourself and if so, what do you do?
Davison: This may be the most difficult question of the day because time for myself is a rare occurrence. I have a demanding job that requires a lot of travel, two great sons, a supportive husband, and an extended family that I value seeing. So, I am always very active, and I tend to like it like that.

When I am not traveling it’s a priority for me to attend as many sporting events (hockey and baseball) with my kids as I can, to catch up with friends and family, and to spend a lot of time outdoors as a family doing everything from golfing to fishing to water-skiing.

Corinne Garcia is a freelance writer and editor living with her husband and two young boys in Bozeman, Mont. She has also written for Women’s Adventure, Christian Science Monitor, Northwest Travel, Pregnancy, Fit Pregnancy, and Fit Parent.