Winning with Diverse Talent Solutions, Celebrating Women of Color Business Owners

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women in Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women in Motion, we have Kenida Lewis with The Adinek Group. Welcome.

Kenida Lewis: Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your firm, how you’re serving folks.

Kenida Lewis: I am serving people by serving them with talent. We help organizations win with talent. We’ve been in business since 2020, although my experience spans almost 20 years if I can really say that, it’s kind of crazy to say, in talent acquisition and staffing and contingent workforce planning and also just workforce planning as well.

Kenida Lewis: So we started at the height of the pandemic. I knew I wanted to do some consulting work. I was unfortunately furloughed, probably like 90% of the U.S. And I was fortunate enough to pick up a client and they were in the essential worker space and they needed some help identifying people because of the churn because people would get sick and they would have to replace them and have to be out. So I was very instrumental in helping them to stay afloat, the operation to stay afloat. And I just kind of took it from there.

Kenida Lewis: So, the Adinek Group was born. We reincorporated in the great city of Las Vegas, in the state of Nevada. And we offer clients an array of services, so from professional search to temporary help to large-volume staffing. We were very fortunate recently to be a part of Super Bowl LVIII and provide staffing to some of the events that were there in the Las Vegas area. So that was very exciting. So that continues to forge forward our event and large and high-volume staffing segment.

Kenida Lewis: And then we also provide a unique screening service as well for corporations because as you know, unfortunately, it’s kind of a 50-50 workforce mix out there now. Just as many people as you see are getting hired and getting new roles, just as many are, conversely, being laid off. So, there’s a lot of great talent in the workforce right now.

Kenida Lewis: And so when you see a pretty exciting role that’s posted, there could be over two, 300 applications for just one role. I mean, just by my background and understanding of some of the pain points in the talent acquisition and recruiting space, we can go in and help screen those candidates very efficiently and effectively, pass them over to the recruiting team so we’re only trying to support or augment. We’re not trying to come in and eliminate anyone’s job. We just want to help.

Kenida Lewis: So, we’ve been fortunate to receive accolades for our successful work and for the placement. So, we hope to continue to do that. And I’m glad to tell people more about that today here on this podcast.

Lee Kantor: Well, let’s start giving some advice to both sides of this coin here. From the corporate side, what are some ways that you can make yourself attractive to candidates? How would you recommend a company kind of put the word out there when they’re trying to attract the right talent for their organization?

Kenida Lewis: Yeah, that’s a great question. And one of the first things I would do, the first things that happen is kind of the job description as well. I’m sure that you’re aware of. And, you know, what you can do, really, is to make sure it’s very inviting. Job descriptions have changed, and it’s not so much the standard format where there’s so much narrative that it’s very hard to get your – get a handle on. Now, it’s really exciting jargon and just really upbeat and positive narrative that today’s talent can identify with and, you know, they can understand and not be intimidated to comply with.

Kenida Lewis: Also, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of a stat from a company’s perspective that men will look at a job description and they can only have two or three of the requirements that are on there, and they will apply. Women will look at the same job description, and they will feel like they have to check every single box that is on there before they apply. And I just want to make employers or corporations aware of the wording around job descriptions as well to make it inviting and attractive and unintimidating for candidates to apply. And that will broaden your talent pool as well.

Kenida Lewis: And the last thing I would like to make them aware of is that social media is such a powerful force. Way back when people started to incorporate a role called in the recruitment marketing space. So that was really to make sure that the jobs were viable, that they were plentiful, that they were being advertised on the right channels. Now, social media is just such a force to be reckoned with and how people interact with it. So some people or corporations may feel like LinkedIn is just the place to be. Maybe Facebook, really Instagram and TikTok and how you can get really creative with talking about a day in the life as it relates to the jobs that you have is just super important. It’s so relatable, and it brings such a great candidate pool to your organization.

Lee Kantor: Now, what would you say to the candidates out there that are struggling? Like I hear a lot of folks that are they apply for hundreds of jobs. They don’t get any interviews, or any kind of encouragement at all. They wonder if they’re even being kind of seen. Is there anything a candidate could do to stand out, or is it kind of a – is it even worth applying when there’s one of these mass job postings? Is it better to just use your network and kind of work your way into an organization that way?

Kenida Lewis: Very good question. Again, I would say both. You know, knowing someone is probably 60, 70% of the battle to be able to rise your skills and qualifications to the top of the pile. Now, what you do with that opportunity from there is completely on you. You probably hear this term going around now called nepo babies and, you know, people thinking that they’ve been given opportunities. Well, sometimes that’s what’s required. You know, not to say that we’re trying to, you know, I guess mull over anyone else that is any just as qualified or, you know, look over anyone else. But, if you do, if you are able to leverage your network, that is the number one way in order for you to rise to the top of the pile, specifically in today’s market.

Kenida Lewis: I would also say that applying for the job is also very necessary because a lot of times, specifically in roles that require very unique skill sets, you know, could be in engineering or something and technology, that, you know, they will look at every application that comes through. A lot of these large organizations have a pretty large recruiting team, and their job is to identify talent, and they’ve put metrics around the timeline that it takes from someone to apply for them to actually be in seat because as long as that position is open, it’s not making them any money. So that’s another thing that’s going on now that there are a lot of metrics that are being put in place around recruiters and that team to be able to identify the best talent in the most time-efficient way as possible.

Kenida Lewis: So I would say, number one, please leverage your network as much as possible. But please know that it’s still on you to shine during the interview process and take that very seriously, which I know most candidates do. And then, I would also encourage you to apply and be mindful. This is one trick as well that I try to – people that come to me and have questions about applying for jobs or, you know, I’ve looked everywhere and, you know, I can’t find what I’m looking for.

Kenida Lewis: If you apply, if a job has been opened for two weeks, let’s say that, the recruiter will go into that ATS, which stands for Applicant Tracking System, which is what you apply through online. And there is a list of applications. And typically what they will do is the first ones that they will look at are the first ones that come in. So if you apply two weeks later, you know, yours is kind of at the bottom of the pile. So they may have identified someone that has great skills, five or six people that have great skills that applied within the first two or three days. And so because they’re on a timeline or they have other things that they’re working on, they will move those five candidates through and one of them may get hired. So it may have nothing to do with your qualifications or anything. It could just all be a timing issue and just the massive amount of people that come through the requisition. So just be mindful that, you know, it is not their intention to ignore people. It just could be a timing issue. And they could have found some of the candidates that they’re looking for in that first stack of applications.

Lee Kantor: Now, what are you seeing from a trend standpoint? Are companies hiring more full-time employees? Are they going more contract? What is kind of the job market look like through your lens?

Kenida Lewis: You know, that’s – I would say I’ve been – you know, this is a very interesting time. So let’s just start there. I would say that what I’m seeing from a trend standpoint is that companies are still hiring in full-time capacities, let’s say that. But what I’m seeing as I’m scrolling through LinkedIn, I’m on there consistently, all job boards, professional organizations, is that people are finding new opportunities, but they aren’t what the traditional companies that we’re used to hearing like the Coca-Cola or the Pepsi’s or the Twitters or things, Microsoft, or Clorox or, you know, different – you know, you’re used to some household names. They’re very different names that I’ve never heard of, of companies. So some of these startups that have come to be years ago are really coming to fruition, or some people are branching off and doing very different things to be able to compete or take advantage of AI or all of the things that come in through with factory automation and, you know, engineering, those types of things.

Kenida Lewis: So what I am seeing, though, is on the flip side of that are the traditional or nontraditional candidates as I would like to call them, they are a lot more open to contract work, a lot more. I see a lot of candidates or employees that are looking now to transition out of some of the full-time roles because it’s very siloed. You do one thing, one job every day, which is great. It builds a specific skill set. You definitely get experience. You move through the organization, or at least that’s the hope. You get promotions and raises and those types of things.

Kenida Lewis: However, I’m seeing a great need for people and a hunger for them to diversify their skill set because there’s so much opportunity to be able to get new opportunities through social media and some of these other networks or, you know, the Amazon Marketplace. I was on a call today. Walmart has a marketplace where you can get on and sell products.

Kenida Lewis: So, individuals are definitely looking to be able to accept or identify more contract work because it gives them more work-life balance. It gives them an opportunity to diversify their income, and it also gives them an opportunity to expand their skill set beyond just a traditional role. And that’s a challenge for corporations because they still have somewhat of a very traditional model. You go into the work office every day. This is a full-time job. You’re, you know, 8 to 5, 7 to 5, whatever it is. You have after-work events, team building exercises, and then you have this candidate base that is definitely looking for remote work, work from home, and then also contract. So, very interesting times as far as employment trends.

Lee Kantor: Now, how important is it for candidates to just continuously update their skill set? For example, like AI is so popular that you can’t – every day some companies talking about it. Is it something that, if you’re a candidate, especially a young person, that you should be taking advantage of all these kinds of free certifications? Like from the, you know, LinkedIn or HubSpot or Google or Amazon has all these certifications you can get in all these different kind of skills. Is that something that should be just part of your – like, if you’re looking for work, is that should be – that should some of those activities be part of your workweek of just getting and acquiring more of these certifications?

Kenida Lewis: You know, I think it just depends on what the candidate is looking to do. If they feel a little bit unfulfilled in the work that they’re doing, or they feel like they want to do something a little different, I think that that is very important. There are a ton of opportunities for people to be able to tap into, to be able to expand their skill set.

Kenida Lewis: You know, Google has that. There’s coding opportunities. There’s things with AI. There’s also things with social media that you can get certified. You know, Amazon has classes. They have the – I’m going to lose my train of thought as to – AWS services that they have. They’re just tons of things. But it just all depends on what the candidate is interested in pursuing.

Kenida Lewis: What I’m seeing from a standpoint, as far as the certifications are concerned, honestly, is that people, the skills that they have, they’re deeming that those are enough because there are so many opportunities, you know, outside of the traditional workplace. And I think the traditional workplace has a significant amount of advantage as well. But there are so many opportunities outside of the traditional workplace that, you know, leverages, you know, marketplace, network marketing, social media, selling online, those types of things that are pretty easy and intuitive to pick up.

Kenida Lewis: So, I would just encourage anyone that there are tons of resources that are out there for you to upskill if that’s what you’re interested in doing. But then, you know, the resources and the ways to diversify income that are out there now are rather intuitive and it will definitely walk you through to just a new plethora of opportunities for you to take advantage of.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re looking for talent, is that part of the service you provide? Like do I, you know, work with you and you coach me? Or is it something that you’re just out there, like you work for the corporations and then you’re out there just kind of scouring LinkedIn and all your variety of places you go to find talent?

Kenida Lewis: We always say that we have three clients. We have the candidate, we have the organization, and then at the same time, we also have, you know, the hiring manager. I think in traditional recruiting, the client has been solely focused on the organization that’s paying the bill. We don’t feel that way. We feel like our product is people, and we take that very seriously.

Kenida Lewis: So we do take the time to do coaching as far as industries that they should be looking in if their resume looks presentable because we feel like that is also a reflection of us, and we also just think that it’s a great service to be able to coach individuals as to how they need to show up. Most people do a very good job with that, but just subtle things may make a difference that we may suggest. And also we have intimate knowledge of our clients. So anything that we can do to make them show up better, we will let them know that.

Kenida Lewis: What I have been getting a lot of now that I’ve been in business, people see me active on LinkedIn and the community and in other places, I just get a lot of people that say, you know, go talk to her. She’s great. Go have a conversation with her. You want a new career, you’re looking to do something different, you want to change, you want a new job, go talk to her.

Kenida Lewis: And I never really considered myself a career coach. But I just figured just through talking people as of late, talking to people as of late, and all of my experience, the nuggets that I give them are very valuable. So now we’ve turned that into, I would say, a mini product or service. So if someone has sent my way and they’re looking for suggestions around career coaching or next steps or new job opportunities, where should I look? I do provide a first consultation for free. That’s anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes for us to get the ball rolling.

Kenida Lewis: Then if you feel like this is something that you’re going to benefit from, we’ll talk about future sessions and what that looks like in hour increments. But as a complimentary service, we do resume review if we’re working with you and actively submitting you for one of the jobs that we have to our clients. So, any of the recruiters on my team or with my organization can help you show up so that you look your best and you have your best foot forward.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you share why it was important for you to become part of the WBEC-West community?

Kenida Lewis: Yeah. WBENC is an amazing organization. It is just filled with women entrepreneurs and, you know, corporate leaders that are championing for other women or all women to be successful. I had the opportunity to go to the WBEC-West procurement conference in Tucson last year, and I literally met people that I had been trying to connect with via social channels for months with no success. And I was like, oh, you know, there’s so and so working right there – by there. She’s a VP of procurement for this hotel company. And you get to network and talk with them. They also have a matchmaking session.

Kenida Lewis: So all of the services that you provide through the state and local government are assigned a NAIC code, if people are familiar with that, and they can match you with employers that are looking for your services. So you can go there. They have tables set up, and you can talk with people that are actually looking to procure the services that you have. They have just a plethora of events that thrust you in just a world of opportunity for your business to be successful, whether that comes from additional certifications if you’re looking for financing, if you’re looking for other resources, you know, operational channels. It’s just a wealth of information. And then also just the database that they have on file.

Kenida Lewis: So if you’re not in front of people or at a conference or at a networking event sponsored by WBEC-West, you can hop in the database and you can type in if you’re looking for someone at Hilton and all of those people will come up. And it’s almost like it’s a warm introduction versus just reaching out to someone on LinkedIn because you’re in this amazing networking group or organization and enterprise that people champion and really believe in. So it’s been nothing but a great resource for me. And I encourage anyone that is considering the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Lee Kantor: So what can we be doing for you? What do you need more of and how can we help?

Kenida Lewis: I would say at this point, it would behoove me to continue to try to take advantage of the opportunities to garner contracts. That’s what everyone is really looking for. Some people say, I need financing, I need this. Well, sometimes if you have the contracts, you know, financing becomes less important. So, really, we ways for people to continue to connect and continue to have great conversations with decision-makers to be able to garner contracts that are in, you know, my area of expertise so that I can continue to grow and I can continue to help other people.

Kenida Lewis: Our mission is people purpose placement. So we place people for and with a purpose, and we would like to continue to do that. And being exposed to other organizations that have great cultures would be amazing for us to connect with, to be able to place some of this amazing talent.

Lee Kantor: So is there a niche or a sweet spot or an industry that you work in or do most of your work in?

Kenida Lewis: We have been very successful in hospitality manufacturing. We’ve placed a ton of engineers, project managers, and engineering and manufacturing and construction hospitality across the board so that’s professional-level positions as well as high-volume positions. And then we’ve also been working in state and local government. And then most recently we launched our sports and entertainment high-volume division. So any of those areas would definitely benefit us.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what’s the website?

Kenida Lewis: It’s www.theadinekgroup.com. And just for humor, I know that The Adinek Group is a mouthful and people ask me how do you pronounce it? But actually, it is Kenida spelled backwards. So, just want people – some people pick up on it right away, and some people are just kind of like, what is it? And, you know, some people kind of mull over it. So that’s an easy way.

Kenida Lewis: We’re also on all social channels. We’re on Instagram, @theadinekgroup. We’re on LinkedIn as at The Adinek Group. We have a full page with our mission, vision, posts, resources, all those things in addition to the website. And we do have a small presence on TikTok. We could do better and we will, but you can find us in all of those places. So once again, it’s www.theadinekgroup.com.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Kenida Lewis: And I appreciate you having me. It’s been such a pleasure. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.