Company/Title: Branch Manager for HireQuest
Years Served: Staffing for 15 years, 7 years in current position
Contact info: 706-798-5860
Sabrina Hines has learned how to scramble the hard way. She worked her way up over the years from a receptionist to a recruiter, to her present position as a Branch Manager with HireQuest.
When COVID reared its ugly head a couple of years ago, staffing agencies struggled to meet their client demands for workers. The hardest-hit industries like travel, restaurants, entertainment, education, health care, and retail grabbed the headlines.
What you might not have heard as much about were the impacts on construction and manufacturing. Guess where many of those companies secure employees? From staffing agencies like HireQuest.
“The government enabled so many workers who figured they could sit home and make more money by drawing unemployment,” Hines explained. “People were also scared and there were weeks when no one came in to apply for jobs.”
Hines also related that prior to the pandemic, many of those jobs were paying $10 an hour. More recently prospective employees are holding out for more. As a result of supply and demand for workers, companies are now offering $14 to $15 an hour as a starting wage.
“It’s a struggle when you have Amazon come in and offer $18 an hour. On top of that, workers are getting tax refunds and choose to live off that until it runs out. But we have seen applicants trickle back in in the past few months, which is good.”
Workers are also demanding more in the way of flexibility. Staffing agencies like HireQuest are still dealing with challenges, including addressing health and safety concerns, COVID-19 vaccination mandates, and whether jobs are fully remote, onsite, or something in between.
“About half of the workers we see every day ask about working remotely,” Hines said. “That option is not for every client we serve nor for every prospective employee. It requires a lot of discipline.”
The fact is that 65 percent of employees are actively searching for new roles and 88 percent of executives continue to see more turnover than normal. It all boils down to finding the right person for the right job and that, too, can be a challenge.
“Finding good clean-cut people with a clean background, meaning no criminal history or failed drug tests is another challenge,” Hines said.
She is probably the right person for this job. Her dad was in the military and her mom was strong in the ministry. She has faith in her ability to match the prospective employee with the right job.
“I’m just a country girl at heart who loves my family, making memories, and matching people with jobs,” she said.
She also shares her passion and motivation to succeed with her team each day by posting a quote for them to contemplate. Her favorite is by John D. Rockefeller: “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
