Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the Accelerated Degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is gonna be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we wouldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the show, we have the president with Focus People. Rene Beach. Welcome.

Rene Beach: Thanks for having me, Lee.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. For folks who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about Focus people? How you serving folks?

Rene Beach: Yeah, absolutely. Focus people is a staffing agency right here in the Atlanta area. Pretty close to the battery. So right there in the city. And we provide great talent, um, to companies here in Atlanta.

Lee Kantor: Now is your focus on permanent or temporary or both.

Rene Beach: Actually we have divisions for both. So I have a direct hire. They’re looking for those purple unicorns, some special set of skills. And so those typically are our direct hire roles. And then we have we also do contract work. And most of those are going to be contract to hire.

Lee Kantor: Now do you have a niche or is this kind of a very broad based.

Rene Beach: Absolutely. So we’re very focused on government. Our largest client is the state of Georgia, and we provide over 50% of the contingent workforce that works for the state of Georgia, which, incidentally, is the largest employer in Georgia. And then so government, so working, like I said, mostly with the state of Georgia also working with local cities and counties as well as colleges and universities. And then I have another division that’s focused on mid market clients. So a lot of our mid market clients are looking for accounting and finance. Very hot right now. Maintenance techs also very hot human resources administrative assistant. A little bit of call center. So that sort of sums it up.

Lee Kantor: Now how does um like what does a person that is good for a government job, how are they different than somebody who might be good for a private sector job?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. So all large again, uh, state of Georgia is the largest employer in Georgia. And so those, there are certain folks that are able to just sort of not worried about the red tape, things kind of moving a little bit slower. It’s very uniform, the way that they move, very strategic versus if you’re going to work for a mid-market client, you’re going to really enjoy wearing many hats. You’re going to like a job that’s going to be very, very fast paced. So it’s a different personality that wants to work for a midsize company versus one that wants to work for a enterprise company.

Lee Kantor: So how did you get good at providing people for the government?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. One at a time. That’s how you get good at most things. But our very first client was the secretary of State’s office back in 1994. And we provided great service for the Secretary of State’s office. At that time. It wasn’t under one large contract. Instead, it was, um, each agency just was able to select their own vendor. And so we did a great job for the Secretary of State’s office. And then that led to their neighbors, um, just down the hall from them. And so we slowly expanded by delivering consistent, reliable results. Um, which is how we’re still the they’re our biggest client today.

Lee Kantor: So now when you’re looking for, um, candidates, what, how, how can you how would you coach up somebody who’s looking for an opportunity right now to present themselves as a great candidate in your eyes, like when you’re scouring the world, how do you like what stands out to you? What are some of the things that a candidate could be doing to stand out to the folks at Focus People?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. Um, I would say at right now, um, there, there seems to be a shift where it’s more of an employer market rather than an employee market, meaning that there’s more candidates than there are jobs. Um, for a lot of positions in Atlanta, not for all. Certainly engineering, um, is, is separate from that, um, as well as, um, we, a lot of those maintenance technicians. So there’s very positions where this doesn’t apply. Um, but there are a lot of positions where there are more candidates than there are jobs. Um, and when you’re in that situation, you want to make sure that your resume very closely aligns with the position because that’s what they’re going to look at first. They have the opportunity to make sure that those skills are tightly aligned. Um, so first is looking at your resume, making sure that you’re well aligned for that position and then, um, taking that extra step to reach out to the recruiter. So send them an email, reach out on LinkedIn. Um, you also can, um, give us a call, let us know that you’re interested in the position and then that’s going to help elevate you to the top.

Lee Kantor: So creating some sort of a human interaction helps elevate you in the is.

Rene Beach: It’s like going back to the old school, right? Old school is new school. And, um, it is the human interaction that matters.

Lee Kantor: So what, what do you say to the people that have just been pounding, like those big portals and just throwing their name in the hat and thinking they’re going in front of, you know, hundreds or thousands of job opportunities, that just not how it’s done in today’s market?

Rene Beach: It is. So we feel a lot of positions where people just apply. Um, and so again, the first step is does the resume match that, that you can’t get past it. Um, it’s absolutely essential that your resume, the skills that you actually have are on your resume because a lot of people have great skills and they just don’t even think about them. Right? And they don’t actually put them on the resume. So they’re not reading that individual job that they’re applying for. They really want this position, but not taking that extra moment to just make sure that it shows that you can actually see it on the resume. Um, and I find that, that if, uh, especially with hiring managers, when they send that over, they really want to see that those key words. It’s certainly not looking for word for word, but they want to see those key words. Do they have the key skills that are very important to the position? So that’s step one. Um, and we do a lot of hiring just in that that way. But then the next step is, um, taking the, that the extra moment to reach out and and and let someone know that yes, I’m very interested in this position. And, um, you know, what can I do in order to, um, be submitted for this position?

Lee Kantor: So now let’s change gears a little and talk about how you’ve led this organization and the growth of a, of a company like this where there’s, you know, you’re not the only game in town. There’s a lot of competition in your space. Um, is there anything you would recommend to other, uh, business leaders on how to grow in a competitive market? What are some of the things that you, uh, you know, are your kind of true North’s?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. I was just at a conference last week specifically for the staffing industry. And one of the questions that I was asking my neighbors, um, those were sort of at the conference with me, um, was tell me about, um, inbound leads and how that’s going for you. And, you know, are you getting those? And most of them said no, which surprised me. Um, because we’re getting 4 or 5 inbound leads a week. So we call those employers that are reaching out to us and saying, hey, can you help us? Um, and so I’m asking, right, I’m having that conversation. How did you find out about us? I’m shocked at the number of people who are using ChatGPT, um, to find us. And so when you put in number one staffing firm in Atlanta, um, focus people comes up at the top. Um, I haven’t quite figured out exactly what ChatGPT is looking for. I’m imagine it’s pretty similar to what Google is looking for. If you were to put in those same words, best staffing firm in Atlanta. Um, and so we’re doing those, those extra things by making sure that we get Google reviews. If we deliver great service to a candidate or to a client.

Rene Beach: So we’re just asking, hey, you know, I’m so glad you had a great experience with focus people. Would you take a moment to leave us a Google review? Um, and they’re doing that. So that’s helping. We’ve got 4.9 stars and over 750 reviews. Um, if you look at our competitors, not a lot of them, um, have that many reviews and certainly not that. Um, 4.9 stars. So those are one of the ways that we’re um, having the opportunity to work with new clients and companies in Atlanta. Um, and being consistent, creating processes where you can consistently deliver results, um, which is finding those candidates that match the jobs. Um, and also helping candidates so that they know what to expect in an interview. Um, they’re not arriving at an interview frazzled. They have all of the information, they know exactly what they’ve applied for. Um, they know what the client is looking for. Um, and they understand even simple things like the dress code. Um, and so just coaching people and giving them all the information so they have the best chance at success when they’re interviewing for a position.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned that a lot of times now companies are coming to you and saying, hey, I have this need. When you’re working with a new, uh, company like that, what are some of the questions you have to know about them in order to find the right candidate? Like you mentioned, dress code and things like that, but other things like culture fit and, um, you know, what is kind of the rhythm of the job? Because every organization runs their operation differently. How do you, you know, give yourself the best chance of finding the right fit for them in a specific instance?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. That’s, um, what we love to do is matching, um, candidates and clients, um, with the, the right opportunity. So everybody has the chance to grow. Um, I really love to be in someone’s space. So as wonderful as zoom or video interview or video opportunities are, um, if I can be in this, the client’s space and kind of see where the person is working, meet their hiring manager, understand who it is that they’re reporting to the dynamics of the team. Um, you know, you have some, I’ve got one client, um, where they really are looking for someone who it’s their receptionist position, but there’s just a lot of downtime in that position. They need somebody at that front desk, but it’s not super busy. So they really want someone who is, um, maybe they’re a student and they’re studying on the side or, um, they have some other small business that they’re running on the side. So something where they can basically keep themselves entertained, but still able to be engaged in the position and then have other clients where, um, their receptionist position is, um, moving very, very fast and they need someone who can, can move and keep that pace with the phones and the people coming in and the deliveries and all of the things. So as you said, every client is different and we really get that sense from having the opportunity to meet. Um, and so we’ll bring our recruiters out. We bring, I go to every client meeting, um, new client meetings so I can meet them in person. I bring a recruiter with me. We’re going to talk to them and really ask those questions so we can understand that individual business. They’re all different as fingerprints.

Lee Kantor: Now is sometimes during those conversations, does it bubble up like they might be asking for a certain maybe job that that’s how they call it in their business. But it’s actually you call it something else. Or there might be a better way to attract the right fit person for them to solve their problem. But they’re just, you just have to get clarity around what outcome they ultimately desire rather than I need, you know, an HR manager.

Rene Beach: Absolutely. Every day. Um, and people that is very, very common, especially the larger the company gets, um, they’ll have very unusual and niche job titles, sometimes outdated job titles. Um, and so when we’re talking to candidates, um, and sending them over, so what we do is we’ll receive that job, we’ll talk through the intake call, receive all of the information that we can, the more is better. Um, we’ll learn everything we can about their interview process again, so that the person who is interviewing has the opportunity to know as much upfront as possible. People always do much better when they know what to expect. And so we’re able to take all of that information. And then we’re, when we use our database, find great candidates that who are a match and are actively looking for jobs, then we’ll reach out from our database and use the more commonly used job titles. Um, and then that way we can find people who are really looking for a particular position. Um, and it’s even just nuance in, in what’s trending, you’re able to attract the right people when you’re, um, when you use the right job title. I find that especially with entry level positions, you might use the word office coordinator. Um, but if instead you, you change the word just to analyst, um, you can often attract those who are looking for that elevated title, right? They’re doing the same job, but you just tag the word analyst on the end of it, and you’re going to attract those candidates that are really looking for title is very important to them. And so explaining that to clients, educating them so that they understand what the candidate needs and the candidate understands what the client needs. It’s really just kind of a matchmaker, to be honest.

Lee Kantor: And you really have to communicate with both sides, right? You have to communicate with the employer to, you know, understand what they’re looking for. And then when it comes to the candidate, do you do any type of communicating with them to kind of coach them up, to give them the best chance of getting the job?

Rene Beach: We do. We love to coach people. Um, I also I’ve found that ChatGPT, um, kind of a, maybe a lesser known information, but you can actually talk to it. So, um, when someone is prepping for an interview, the more prepared you are, the more successful that you can be when you’re talking, uh, when you’re in an interview. And so you can put the, the job description into ChatGPT and just sort of have a conversation back and forth with it, ask it to act like the, the hiring manager and ask you questions about the position. It’s a great way to coach up. Um, and so we tell people about that, but we also ask them as well. So we let them know what kind of questions they should expect. They aren’t the exact questions. We’ve been in this game long enough that we understand what hiring managers generally ask during interviews, especially some of the hiring managers that we’ve been working with, are really long time. So we’ll let them know what to what to wear, the questions that will be asked, what the benefits are, where to park. Um, and so they walking in with that confidence level, they’re not kind of frantic running around trying to figure out if they’re in the right place. Um, and then we’re following up afterwards. How did it go? Is this something that you’re interested in on both sides? So talking to the, the client saying, you know, this person is very interested in the position, just so you know, they would like to move forward. And that way everybody knows what to expect. Again, it’s a little bit of a matchmaker type scenario where the more information both sides have, the more of a successful placement that you’ll have.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you manage the expectation for your clients when it comes to how quickly you can fill the slot for them? I’m sure that’s one of the first questions they’re asking you. And a lot of times I would imagine they need the person yesterday. So how do you kind of handle that when it comes to the speed of making that the right fit?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. Um, and again, it is based on the position. So yesterday I was having a conversation with the hiring manager and she said, I need an HR generalist. I need an accountant who actually has their CPA license. And they also have industry experience in her particular niche. And then she said she also needed, um, a, it was a third position. Oh, um, it was a nurse administrator as well. So more of an administration type position. And so we just walked through each one of those. So, you know, the human resources position I have, um, we’re very, very involved in the HR community in Atlanta. And so I have people that are reaching out to me constantly. I’m always having that conversation with them. I have those candidates who are kind of secretly looking for a new position. Um, and so that gives me the opportunity to know that I can get candidates to her quickly. So that was her first question. How quickly can you get me candidates for this position? And I told her I could have you people, um, in just a few days. Um, but then she has the CPA who she wants to have very specific experience for, for her particular niche. Um, and so when that comes to it, I’m going to let her know that one’s going to take me a little bit longer. Um, especially since it’s not a huge industry in Atlanta. Um, and so that one was going to let her know that one probably take me two weeks to find somebody that she really loved. Um, and then versus that administrative position that she had, that she had, that one will probably take me about a week. So it really just depends on the position, um, and how specific they’re going to be. If you want a purple unicorn that’s going to take you a little bit longer than, um, you know, someone who has 3 to 5 years of experience.

Lee Kantor: So when they’re, when you’re working in an industry that maybe has zero unemployment or, uh, negative unemployment sometimes, how do you find those people that are actively working? Like what, how do, what are they doing that stands out to you that you’re like, oh, let’s, let’s find these people and connect with them and see if we can persuade them to move over here.

Rene Beach: Absolutely. We use LinkedIn very often. Um, people will have their full profile filled out on LinkedIn. So the more information that you have, the more likely it is that a recruiter will be able to find you. Um, because we’re just doing keyword searches in LinkedIn, so we’ll go in. Um, we have special sourcing seats. We’re able to create searches with, with key words, industry, um, etc. and then from there we’re able to start doing outreach and send those messages on LinkedIn and asking people if you know they’re open to work. Are you looking for anything right now? Um, and a lot of those people, depending on the position, they’ve, we’ve been in the industry, um, you know, since 1994. So lots of people have already applied, uh, to focus people. So I may find them on LinkedIn initially, or I may find them in my database. And so I’ve already have contact information for them. So we’ll just give them a call and see if that’s something that they would be interested in.

Lee Kantor: Now, is that something you recommend for people that are in competitive jobs is to periodically just take some of those interviews just to see what your kind of value is in the marketplace?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. It’s a great negotiating tool for your current employer as well. Um, so letting, if you talk to us one, you might be just moderately interested in the job. So it’s nice to have conversations with people in your industry and see what might be down the road. Um, even if you’re not ready now, it’s good to have those conversations. I find that unfortunately, we don’t always know, um, what our current, we can feel secure. Um, but unfortunately, uh, you know, not all positions and all companies are on the same page that the employees who are working for them are. So you never know what’s coming down the line. Um, it’s a good thing to just have a conversation, you know, who the recruiters are in your market if you do that. Um, and so just kind of holding on to those at least be nice, right? So it’s not a good match for you. Um, I have a lot of people. Another way that we find is we’ll reach out to someone who has that experience. And rather than saying, would you be interested in this position, we’ll say, um, do you know anyone who might be interested? And so we get a lot of referrals that way to like, no, I’m not looking right now, but my friend is, um, and then we’ll just respond with, why don’t you hang on to my information, we get these positions in fairly often. If anything changes, um, just reach out to us. And so we want to keep that communication open. And I recommend that. That candidates do the same thing as well. Um, because just because this particular position might not be the perfect fit for you, maybe it’s on the wrong side of town, maybe the pay rate isn’t quite high enough. That doesn’t mean that the next one that we get in, um, won’t be so just giving us that information. So replying, you know, my friend would be interested in this job. I’m looking for x, y, z. We said thanks for letting us know we’re going to make those notes. And then when I get something that’s close to that, I’ll reach back out again.

Lee Kantor: Now, how did you kind of build your team? What qualities were you looking for? Were you looking for people who had experience in the industry, or were you looking for people with the right attitude that you’d be able to coach up and help do the job that you needed them to do?

Rene Beach: Absolutely. I stay open. Um, again, I’m pretty active on LinkedIn, so I have people regularly linked out, reach out and just ask if I have any openings working for my team. Um, I definitely hold on to those resumes again. You never know what’s going on in people’s lives. I’ve had people leave that they weren’t expecting to leave. Right. Something happened in their lives and their situation changed pretty quickly. Um, and they needed to move back home to take care of, um, family or whatever that may be in their situation. So, um, but when I hire, I’m definitely one always looking for people so anybody can reach out to me on LinkedIn, let me know that that’s something that you’re interested in, you’re looking for a position. Um, but then also, uh, the other day I was at a job fair. So I had a client who had asked if I would come and attend their job fair. They needed some extra hands. Um, and while I was there, I met someone who had really great customer service skills. I just liked the way she moved through the room. Um, I felt like that there would be some possibility for her to come work for us. And then I landed a couple of new great clients that were a really good fit for us and needed to hire. So I reached back out to her and asked her if she’d be interested in learning the staffing industry. And she was. So again, it’s those always listening and always recruiting. So I I’m a recruiter at heart. That’s, uh, since I’ve been recruiting since I was 19. And so I’m always on the watch out, uh, looking for someone who just might be looking to make a change.

Lee Kantor: So you’ve been working in this industry since the beginning of your career?

Rene Beach: I have, I’ve been with focus people, um, since 1999. I was a college student, uh, just kind of, I didn’t realize it at the time that I was sort of just in my own little staffing agency, but it was time for me to pick a major in school. And at 19, that felt really overwhelming. I don’t know how I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grow up. Um, and so I, uh, just opened up the phone book, started making some phone calls, asking if someone was looking for some help. Um, told them I would work for free for the opportunity to come and learn their industry. And, um, I got connected with a the marketing company that provides services or at that time provided services, marketing services to focus people. I completed an internship with her. She recommended that I talk to the founders of the company, Amy and Brian Shockley and I had lunch with them and they said, sure, come work for us. And that’s how I became a recruiter. I didn’t know what it was or even that I would be interested. It was just a referral, and here I am.

Lee Kantor: So what did you like about it? What was the most rewarding part of helping people find opportunities and helping employers find the right fit people?

Rene Beach: It’s definitely a thrill. Um, that moment when someone lands the, the, uh, the job and you get to make that job offer, um, they have an opportunity to really have the chance to, uh, to change lives. I had someone, um, that I placed, uh, she called me on Sunday morning. I was driving to church. Her name was Miriam and worked, she worked in Savannah for Department of Revenue and I made that placement for her. She was about 5 or 6 years ago. She was really down on her luck. It just felt like everything was going wrong. Um, and, uh, she needed a job desperately. I had the opportunity to connect her with an opening that I had. Um, and, uh, she called me, like I said, I was driving on the way to church. Just wanted to see how things were going. Wanted me to let me know that, um, she was still there at Department of Revenue and loved her job and that she had been, um, elevated into a management role and she was excited. So you make those connections, um, you remember each other. And the funny thing was the minute that she called, I was like, oh, I recognized her voice immediately. And her phone number, um, because she had a Savannah area code. So I already had some idea, um, that, you know, it might be someone that I had placed out there. And, um, she started talking, I recognized her and I was like, how are your boys? So it’s funny how you make that connection throughout trying to help someone, um, land their next great opportunity.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share, uh, regarding maybe one of the employers you’re working with don’t share the challenge. They came. I mean, don’t change the name of them, but maybe share the challenge they came to you with and how you were able to help them maybe get to a better place, even more than they even imagined. If because you put the right person in their hands.

Rene Beach: Absolutely. One of my favorites is, um, there’s a large call center in Atlanta and, um, we had the opportunity to, um, to staff for that position. This was probably about ten years ago. Um, we placed someone there. Um, and, uh, he really struggled with his time card. I don’t know why he still kind of laughs about it, but he struggled with his time card. So he would come into our office, um, and ask us to help him fill out his time card. And he wanted to make sure it was submitted in person, so he got paid. Our offices were really close to each other, so he would just come in at the end of his workday on Friday. The timing was great. We were happy to see him. But anyway, so we got to know him really well because he chose to come in and submit his time card that way in person. And, um, so he was also, uh, went from contract to hire, was hired by that company and then eventually has been, is now running that call center. He is the ops manager for the whole call center. And, uh, he, uh, he reached out, he was like, look, when he took over as office manager, he was like, I am in a situation. These things are happening. Um, I’m going to have to let some people go.

Rene Beach: I really, it’s just the, the energy is not right here. Um, we’re going to have to just start over. And so we helped him to completely rebuild his team. Um, and we went back out. Um, it was about a month ago, we went back out there to his call center and we have a program, um, where we, uh, promote or I guess promote not the right word, but really encourage folks, um, who do a great job. And so we got to go out there. We printed out some, um, uh, awards. We passed out awards and gift cards. We were giving out prizes to the whole office. We brought treats. So we had five outstanding employees, um, that he really wanted to celebrate. And so we had the opportunity to go out there and celebrate with him, um, and really celebrate the change that he has done by, um, training great people, hiring the right people, um, and creating the atmosphere where people want to go to work. And so it’s just exciting when you get to be part of someone’s story from the very beginning, um, where they’re struggling with their time card all the way through to now becoming that, um, the manager of the entire center, um, and help him rebuild his team. Um, it’s just so rewarding, uh, to, to be part of that process.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. The impact is real. I mean, that is just a great example of, you know, just working hard to make sure you have the right fit. I mean, you just can’t put bodies in place. Like you really have to do what you can do to make sure you have the right fit.

Rene Beach: Absolutely. It’s really fun. You know, you get a little bit of thrill out of it too. Um, so now in my current role, I still get to go meet people on their first day of work. So one of the things that we love to do is meet people on their first day of work. We want to make sure that they know where they’re going, that they’re connected with the hiring manager. Um, so anyway, that’s part of it. And so I get to often be there on someone’s first day at their new job. Um, I don’t get to follow their journey so much anymore and submit candidates and coaching and all of that. But I still get that thrill of showing up on the first day, um, bringing some donuts for their office and then, um, helping them, uh, give them a little gift bag with some trinkets for their desk if it’s an office position, um, and welcome them on their first day. So it’s a real opportunity and a thrill to be part of the hiring process.

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

Rene Beach: Absolutely. We’re at people.com. Um, easy to find, especially if you’re in Atlanta. Or you can just look up best staffing firm in Atlanta on ChatGPT and you’ll see us at the top. Um, you’re welcome to give us a call. We actually answer the phone when you call no robots. And, um, you also can reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’d love to connect, um, and have conversations. I’m actually having lunch with somebody next week who reached out on LinkedIn and said she wanted to learn more about focus people and how we might be able to help her find her next opportunity.

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

Rene Beach: Yeah. Thanks, Lee. I hope you have a really great day.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.