Workforce Solutions Blog

Recruitment Process Outsourcing: Helping You Find Good People

Randy Hatcher — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:22:00 GMT

In this video, President Randy Hatcher gives a brief introduction to MAU's Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services. Finding and hiring good people in today's world can be difficult. With RPO, MAU can manage the entire hiring and recruiting process for you so that you can focus on building your business and on those functions within your organization that make you successful.

Watch the video above to learn more!

RPO Case Study:

Fortune 500 Consumer Goods Organization Captures $2.5 Million in Lost Revenue with MAU’s RPO Services

Safety Culture in Your Contract Workforce Tip 1: Using the Safety Tool

Adam Hatcher — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:43:00 GMT

In his latest video, Adam Hatcher, General Counsel for MAU, continues his series on creating a safety culture in your contract workforce. As promised, he shares an example of how to use the safety checklist tool introduced in the previous video. The links referenced in the video are below.

Stay tuned for the final in this video series on safety in your contract workforce!

Video Links:

Occupational Safety and Health Standards

Guidance Letter Example

About the Author:

Adam Hatcher is the General Counsel of MAU Workforce Solutions. Hatcher graduated from the University of Virginia and the Wake Forest School of Law, working as a prosecutor and in private practice before joining MAU. He is a member of the Association of Corporate Council and the Society for Human Resource Management, and is a Certified Staffing Professional (American Staffing Association).

Values and Behaviors: First Steps to Standardization in Your Company

Michael Boettcher — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 20:37:00 GMT

You will probably agree that standardization is vital to the success of an organization, andthat standardization is truly fundamental within an organization in order to sustain operational excellence. After all, isn’t operational excellence the ultimate goal of every company that is on a lean continuous improvement journey? Interestingly, you might not think of values and behaviors as the first steps of standardization. Typically you think of operational discipline, standard operating procedures (SOP’s) and lean tools as the first things required for successful standardization.

When you have strong values and behaviors in place as part of the organization’s culture, these vital traits get filtered throughout the organization. From the leadership team who demonstrates trust, discipline, respect and humility, it can flow out to the rest of the organization. This is where the real impact begins, when your values and behaviors reach out and touch everyone who is affiliated with the company.

Trust, discipline, respect and humility create an organization open to learning, which is critical to the lean PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) continuous improvement cycle. The goal of the team should not be avoiding errors but rather, achieving excellence. This is a subtle difference in how you apply your standards and expectations. You are looking to develop your people to understand the problem and be disciplined thinkers in order to solve problems vs. individuals who are just doing daily activities without understanding and reflecting.

Employees who truly feel there is respect and trust within the organization will also feel empowered to challenge the standard and seek to identify problems. Leaders can further encourage this by showing respect while they ‘go and see to understand’ in their gemba walks. Humility becomes important here as you want to make sure the teams are willing to share their PDCA projects and results. It is through the PDCA projects that the teams lean and grow. Constant reinforcement by helping people identify and solve problems completes the cycle of ‘Learn, Apply and Reflect’- which is what applying lean methods is all about.

I encourage you to take a step back and look at your company’s values and behaviors and consider how they are deployed. Do you have a robust standard in this key area that filters throughout every level of your organization? If you can say yes than you have a greater chance of sustaining positive changes in your lean transformation.

Safety Culture in Your Contract Workforce Tip 1: Seven Fundamental Programs

Adam Hatcher — Thu, 22 May 2014 13:00:00 GMT

In his latest video, Adam Hatcher, General Counsel for MAU, introduces the first of two tips on creating a safety culture in your contract workforce. There are seven fundamental programs he recommends having in place. Click here to download a checklist for these programs. The checklist is meant to help you identify and close any gaps that you may have in your workplace safety program, as it relates to your contract employees.

In his next video, Adam will give a brief tutorial on how to effectively use this checklist at your organization. So considered, if you want to get started before the next video comes out, please call your MAU representative and they will gladly guide you through this list.

About the Author:

MAU Outsourcing: Finding a Unique Solution for Your Company

Randy Hatcher — Tue, 20 May 2014 18:44:00 GMT

Today, President Randy Hatcher continues his video series on MAU's outsourcing division.

When you hear the term outsourcing, what comes to mind? At MAU we approach it as a service by which we help our partners keep jobs in their city, in their state, but perhaps do so in a way they had not considered before. MAU wants to customize a solution for you that will improve productivity, efficiency and quality, while also making you more competitive.

Watch the video above to learn more!

MAU Outsourcing Case Studies:

Consumer Products Manufacturer Meets Production Needs with Outsourcing Model

Tier-2 Automotive Supplier Implements Ongoing Workforce Solution to Meet Rising Product Demands

Heat Stress: How to Beat it and Stay Cool this Summer!

Rob Loose — Thu, 15 May 2014 13:52:00 GMT

How does a guy from the Northwest cope with the sweltering hot and shirt-soaking humid summers in the South? The answer is, he doesn’t! I sweat it out all summer long. In fact, my aversion to the South’s suffocating heat is so bad that beads of sweat appear on my forehead when I think about going outside in the summertime. Those of you who are not from the South should know it is even shockingly hot outside at night! Okay, so maybe I’m a little too sensitive to the South’s intense humid heat but this son of the West Coast has never acclimated in my fifteen-plus years residing below the Mason Dixon Line. Southern summers drive me to heat stressing!

For you Northwesterners snickering at my plight, choke on this. Come winter, I may take up golfing and sip on a glass of lemonade to cool off after a brisk jog along the Savannah River. You can think of me while you stay dry inside your igloos sipping coffee, eating smoked salmon and listening to Pearl Jam.

All ribbing aside, this heat causes lots of trouble for even the most adapted Southern ladies and gents. Throughout June, July and August we hear heat-wave warnings on the news delivered as if Godzilla was “fixin” to attack Tokyo. It is serious business, and really cannot be taken lightly. As opposed to my “heat stressing,” the actual physical condition know as “heat stress” is something we all should know about. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) warns that workers who are exposed to extreme heat or work in hot environments may be at risk for heat stress. NIOSH goes on to encourage employers to train employees to understand what heat stress is, how it affects health and safety and how to prevent it. The following definitions describe the ways heat stress manifests itself:

Heat Stroke: inability to control body temperature
Heat Exhaustion: fatigue caused by excessive bodily loss of salt and water
Heat Syncope: dizziness and fainting caused from lack of climate acclimatization
Heat Cramp: muscle cramping cause from depleted salt and moisture levels
Heat Rash: skin inflammation caused by excessive sweating

The Center for Disease Control prescribes very specific methods to treat heat stress which I recommend reviewing in case the need arises to react. Click here to read these beneficial tips. While it is important to know how to deal with heat stress, preparing in advance to reduce exposure to heat stress is the preferred approach. The American Red Cross suggests the following preventative methods which I think deserve attention and focus from employers and employees alike.

Pay attention to weather updates including temperature, heat index and humidity changes.
Drink plenty of fluids even when you don’t feel thirsty and avoid caffeine and alcohol.
After you understand heat stress, look out for one another by assigning work to be done in groups.
Consider doing the heavy, labor-intensive work during cooler hours at night or in the morning.
Take more breaks and re-energize often.

This August, as I tune up my lawn mower again and turn my longing gaze toward the Northwest, I’ll do so early in the morning with a water jug nearby and my Southern-babe wife looking on while listening to the local weather report. I’ll take a break after I complete the front lawn and before I mow the back. Hey, it is almost September; I’ve almost made it through another sweltering Southern summer! Pretty soon my pals in Seattle are going to gaze southward as they slip on their Sorel boots and flannel shirts and venture out into the cold rain to the local coffee shop. My preparation to beat the heat has paid off, and I survived my heat stressing again while avoiding heat stress! So I say, “On to the beautiful Southern Fall weather!” I wonder if they have cold stressing up north? Wouldn’t know… I suppose that’s a topic for another time.

Y’all don’t be heat stressing now! Take control of heat stress risk, follow the Red Cross’ advice, and most of all . . . stay Southern cool.

Creating a Safety Culture in Your Contract Workforce

Adam Hatcher — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:41:00 GMT

In his latest blog, Adam Hatcher, General Counsel for MAU Workforce Solutions, sets the stage for building a phenomenal safety culture in your contract workforce.

Recently, OSHA has placed particular emphasis on safety within a contract workforce. In 2013, OSHA issued a directive to its regional administrators focused on just that. Please click the link below to read the memo.

Stay tuned, in the next three videos Adam will share two practical tips to assist in creating an effective safety culture in your contract workforce.

Please click here to view the 2013 OSHA Memorandum!

About the Author:

Outsourcing Division Expansion: How MAU Can Make Your Company More Competitive Today

Alana Davis — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:49:00 GMT

Today, MAU President Randy Hatcher introduces the recent expansion of MAU's Outsourcing Division.

As an employer, how many days come to an end and you ask yourself, “What did I get done?” To learn more about how MAU can help make your company more competitive through this innovative approach, view this video!

Trusting in Your Lean System

Michael Boettcher — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 20:42:00 GMT

When reviewing your “Lean System”, think about how well it can (or cannot) identify problems and then solve them. For example, if you want to continue to move your lean system forward, contemplate how companies can better engage ’Hearts and Minds’ of their front line employees.

A robust lean system is one that creates a social environment where problems can be quickly identified and then physically solved through motivated employees who have the necessary training to eliminate the wastes they encounter in their day to day activities. Trained, motivated employees with the power and leadership support to eliminate MUDA (waste) is vital to ensuring customers receive the highest quality product and/or service at the lowest cost.

In order for the team to stay engaged, there must be a suggestion system in place that ensures visual openness and quick turnaround of the ideas generated. Front line employees will only provide positive input if they are shown respect through a program aligned with trust. These employees are motivated to solve problems and often have valid solutions to the problems identified. What will not work is the antiquated ‘suggestion box’ of days past. Your goal should be to pull all ideas out with an emphasis on small, continuous improvement, daily kaizen type projects. By focusing on kaizen projects that are easily evaluated and approved, the day to day activities of your employees are sure to improve.

Once you have trained and properly motivated employees, the lean system you have in place will make tremendous transformations. Trust is a two way street and employees who trust leadership will be more invested in their day to day work. Empowering them to eliminate waste will become the essential element to your lean system. This will also lay the foundation for lean trained employees to volunteer and become engaged on larger more strategic projects. The key piece is to keep your lean system open and visual so it becomes a part of the everyday work environment.

How 15 Minutes a Month Can Improve Your Workforce

Sarah Chatelain — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 13:25:00 GMT

A common challenge for most employers is keeping both their full-time and contract workers engaged and invested in the company long term. Problems that could have been handled and solved by a simple conversation can quickly escalate if they are not reported in a timely manner and allowed to continue. Employees who do not believe that their work is seen as a valuable contribution to the company can easily “check out” and only perform at the bare minimum; an action that can have an increasingly negative impact on the morale of the rest of your staff. Most companies have some sort of “open door policy” that is intended to ensure that the employee feels comfortable coming to his or her manager with a problem at any time—but what are you doing to reinforce this idea?

A simple, yet exceedingly effective method to engage your staff is conducting brief bi-weekly or monthly “town hall” meetings in which your staff is welcome to contribute their ideas and issues on a more informal basis. The size of your overall staff will decide how often you hold these meetings, how much time you can dedicate to them, and how you divide the group, but they need to be on a regular basis in order to be the most effective. Ideally, you would conduct these on an individual basis, but you can also host group or team meetings if the size of your workforce makes one-on-one interaction a challenge. If needed, you can also have open meetings for the entire staff that are non compulsory.

In these meetings, acknowledge high performers and individual accomplishments open up the floor for other recognition from the staff, and solicit more candid feedback. By meeting on a consistent basis, you can show your staff that you value their hard work, and that you take their opinions and suggestions seriously. In addition, you will be able to solve small problems before they become more serious, provide feedback on-the-spot, and build a relationship with employees comprised of loyalty and respect.

When you conduct these meetings, it is critical that you give your employees all of your attention. They will only put in as much effort into the meeting as you seem to be putting forth. If possible, come out from behind your desk and make the interaction less formal (if the meeting is conducted in your office). If not, make sure that you are seated within the group instead of standing above them—this will make you seem more approachable. If you appear to be more on their level visually, it will be easier for your employees to be honest with you, especially if the topic of conversation is particularly difficult to discuss.

These meetings can be a huge opportunity for you to give feedback on a group’s work performance before it becomes an issue worthy of formal documentation. It’s also important that you ask for feedback on your own performance—if you are open to feedback, the employees will be more likely to respect yours. The most important step of these meetings is following through on suggestions or questions. If an employee raises a question about an issue, you must commit to finding a solution. Keep up with every suggestion or question until you have a definitive answer!

If you are working with an integrated workforce of both contract and full-time workers, these meetings can help you assess performance issues, potential candidates for promotion, and reinforce individual accomplishments. Even though your contract workers may only be with your company during peak business times, consistent meetings will help you foster a fruitful relationship that would encourage them to return when you need to quickly add to your staff. Building a pool of workers who do not need as much preparation will cut down on your training budget and facilitate a much faster transition into your workforce. Fifteen minutes might not sound like very long to you, but can make a world of difference to the morale and productivity of your workforce.

We Live Safety at MAU!

Adam Hatcher — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:26:00 GMT

At MAU, our first core value is “We Live Safety”!

In order to get the most out of your contract workforce, we feel that safety must be a top priority for all employees.

Adam Hatcher, General Counsel for MAU Workforce Solutions, notes the importance OSHA’s Multi-Employer Worksite Doctrine as it relates to our first core value, “We Live Safety”, in his latest blog.

Stay tuned, as we will continue to tap into the top legal issues that affect staffing firms and their clients via a monthly blog throughout 2014.

About the Author:

Benefits of Establishing an Outplacement Program

Stephanie Morrow — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:31:00 GMT

An established outplacement program can help to protect your business by minimizing possible financial and legal exposure, as well as avoiding costly or unnecessary civil litigations.

If you’re anticipating a reduction in staff this year, keep in mind that MAU offers a variety of programs, workshops and training sessions to educate management and executive level employees on effective strategies and processes for the following issues:

Workforce reduction and termination
Legal compliance
Managerial and employee communication
Violence in the workplace

Take advantage of our effective personnel assessments and testing services, which can be used to evaluate new employees, or as an employee transition tool, in these areas:

Career positioning and corporate fit
Behavioral, aptitude and leadership qualities
Team dynamics and performance
Language and literacy

Trust MAU to design a custom management, coaching, and training program that arms your leadership team with the knowledge they need to effectively handle critical outplacement processes.

How to Deal with Personnel Issues in the Workplace

Adam Hatcher — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 14:03:00 GMT

Adam Hatcher, General Counsel for MAU Workforce Solutions, continues to share knowledge about Co-Employment in his latest blog.

Hatcher describes three items employers should maintain at all times, when dealing with personnel issues. Watch the video above to learn the details.

Stay tuned, as we will continue to tap into the top legal issues that affect staffing firms and their clients via a monthly blog throughout 2014.

About the Author:

Career Transition & Outplacement Services at MAU Workforce Solutions

Stephanie Morrow — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 17:14:00 GMT

Are you prepared to transition your employees successfully from your business to a new opportunity, should a change in demand result in reduced headcount?

At MAU Workforce Solutions, we have the resources, technology and expertise to assist your employees in their time of need. We’ll help you maintain positive staff relations, while communicating effectively with transitioning employees.

With access to our fully equipped career center, library and e-learning tools, you’ll lead dedicated employees down the right path, and support them with the tools to transition to their next opportunity. We also offer customized programs and industry events, either in-house, online, or on-site, to educate and prepare displaced employees for their next steps.

We also coordinate and partner with other local, national and international job services agencies to ease the transition, and aid in their job search. Learn more about our recruiting partners.

Provide Loyal Employees the Services They Need to Advance

MAU offers career transition assistance and educational programs to your valued employees, including:

Customized programs and workshops (in person and web-based): Provide individual or group training sessions that cover stress management, financial planning, building an effective resume, researching the job market, job search techniques, networking, effective interview strategies and offer negotiation.
Web-based career transition programs and e-learning tools: Give your employees the resources needed to advance, and set out on the right path for their future careers.
Behavioral aptitude leadership testing: Offer career, behavioral and personality evaluation tests and assessments to help individuals properly choose job opportunities, and pair individual traits and preferences with position requirements.
Access to job service partner agencies: MAU coordinates and partners with other local, national and international job services agencies to ease the transition, and aid participants in their job search.

Not Forgotten Tried and True Methods for Cultivating Workplace Safety

Rob Loose — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 16:13:00 GMT

In today’s modern world where creativity, ingenuity and pursuit of the “new” and “different” rule our psyche, do we hastily devalue classics? Are the Proven, Tried and True too often passed over for the unique “new thing” that nobody has thought of yet?

Recently, I enjoyed an uninterrupted father-and-son weekend with my eleven-year-old . What could be more classic than a father and son spending time together? When we decided to have a snack, I thought of an old recipe my dad used to prepare for me – chili and cheese over Frito chips. My son loved it! On that same weekend, I introduced my son to the board game Battleship. To top off our weekend, we listened to the entire album London Calling by the Clash – a proven classic for this unashamed Gen Xer. My son liked what he heard and even asked me to replay some of the songs several times. It was “cool” for me to introduce some of my favorite classic foods, entertainment and music to my son. In fact, my old favorites became my son’s delightful new discoveries that worked for him!

My son liked my classics but it is apparent that he is a modern kid driven to explore the “new” like social media and advanced computer games, to name a few. Like my son, the safety world also relentlessly pursues the new, innovative and out-of-the-box methods to keep people safe. Today’s new methods for safety like BBS too quickly become yesterday’s fad only to be replaced by the next “new” thing. When it comes to workplace safety, there are some classic methods and techniques that continue to successfully cultivate safety in the workplace today. Are you ready for some retro safety methods?

Toolbox safety meetings are a classic - old reliable - forum for communicating and setting a tone for safety still used today by some organizations I visit. These short meetings held typically at the beginning of a shift are probably named so because originators gathered around a toolbox to discuss previous shift’s safety reports, shared tips for safe behavior and even incorporated stretching and warm-up exercises into their before-work pow wows. I have had the privilege of participating in many of these useful meetings over the years and love to see them still organized today. Occasionally I have even observed participants of these short meetings trade responsibility between team members conduct the meeting. Toolbox safety meetings, when performed well, create team unity and heighten awareness of everyone’s responsibility to keep one another safe.

Another tried-and-true method for promoting workplace safety that seems to always go a long way rewarding the extraordinary is mentioning high achievers in a newsletter. Sound simple? It is. This sort of acknowledgment amounts to a thoughtful gesture of thanks and appreciation spoken to in front of peers acknowledging the achievement of a few. I’ll wager most will agree the phrase “thank you” is always nice to hear. But seeing your name mentioned in a written communication directed to those with whom you work explaining the good job you did creating safety takes the message of “thanks” to a new level. The power of this sort of written recognition implants an appreciative memory most don’t forget and encourages future safe behavior from the recipient. Additionally, the message also wets the appetite of those eavesdropping on the communication for the same sort of recognition. Newsletter recognition is easy to create and goes a long way toward rewarding and encouraging workplace safety.

Have you heard of MBWA? My old boss Walt taught me many acronyms in my time working at Kimberly Clark but one acronym I observed him practice with persistent regularity is MBWA (Managing by Walking Around). If you’ve heard me talk about Walt before, you know that this great plant manager lived safety! Daily, Walt would venture into the manufacturing area and engage employees, train them and, in so doing, encourage safe workplace behavior. Walt’s management style personified effective safety leadership in its highest form and MBWA was his tool for encouraging safety on a grassroots level. Seeing Walt MBWA inspired me and his example has stuck with me and countless others with whom he interacted at Kimberly Clark. This beloved manager pulled off many effective boilerplate management tactics, including MBWA, that I’ll venture to say many managers that knew him attempt to emulate today. When your manger engages you in the workplace with a message of safety, that powerful message sinks in permanently. MBWA performed with safety in mind works every time!

I’m looking forward to future weekends with my son where I can teach him some of the other classics I have hidden up my sleeve. It’s my hope he’ll learn to balance appreciation of the classics that have established the boilerplate for future generations and, at the same time, never dull his appetite for discovering the “new.” As for workplace safety, I’m grateful for my mentors that revealed proven classics like promoting safety through toolbox meetings, newsletter recognition and Walt’s application of MBWA. Generations are safer because of these reliable safety-creating tactics that continue to eliminate workplace danger today. Let us learn and apply what worked from the past and not forget to use these classic, reliable tools going into the future.

Till next time live safety!

Is There a Fundamental Misunderstanding of Kaizen?

Michael Boettcher — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 20:03:00 GMT

Is there a fundamental misunderstanding of Kaizen?

Have you every heard, “Kaizen focuses only upon a small simple change” or “Kaizen only achieves a 20% improvement”?

The risk that we need to avoid here is looking for the ‘’breakthrough’ in one big step. Not only is this almost always impossible, but it is dangerous. A new term has recently been added to the lean vocabulary: Kaikaku. While kaizen is a focused incremental change for the best, Kaikaku means making fundamental and radical changes to a production system.

In a Kaikaku “blitz event” the team simultaneously impacts a series of processes across several functional areas, thereby implementing change to many processes at once in a very short time period. This may be very disruptive to production and virtually impossible to think through all the changes in much detail prior to implementation. What is the challenge with the Kaikaku? Attempting to ensure success because you didn’t follow the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Adjust) cycle, especially the ‘Check-Adjust’! With all of these simultaneous process changes how can you validate that none are broken? Were there any real value added changes?

Don’t get me wrong, there may be times when a full makeover is needed, but I would recommend something along the line of a DMADV event. DMADV (Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify) is a formal Six Sigma Black Belt event focused on completely redesigning a process to fit your customer’s needs. The Kaikaku appears to be a DMADV shortcut, which I bet you will be sorry for in the end.

If you still feel you need to accomplish something more significant, try a Kaizen event. A Kaizen event occurs over a full week and allows for more radical improvements, but the focus is still only to impact a limited process area, such as a production cell. Start with a trial, in a controlled environment; monitor the results thru the use of a pilot before going live across a broad process area. The best radical change is one where a solid ‘Plan’ is developed and broken into pieces that can then be ‘Done’ strategically where you can monitor the impact and ensure it is sustainable.

Tips for Developing a Successful Relationship with Your Contract Workforce

Randy Hatcher — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:01:00 GMT

In the following video, MAU President Randy Hatcher explains how staffing providers and their clients must work together to achieve the best contract workforce possible.

One of the benefits that temporary workers provide is flexibility, as companies are able to ramp up or down with ease. That being said, companies who give their staffing provider timely notice regarding the need to hire, will see an increase in the quality of candidates brought into their facility. While we understand that this is not always possible, Hatcher encourages companies to forecast their hiring needs as much as possible. This will make the hiring process easier for the client, as well as the staffing provider.

Another topic that must be addressed between staffing providers and their clients is pay rates. Hatcher explains that in order to attract the best contract workers, the client must be in the right tier in terms of pay and benefits. If the pay is to low, it will be hard to attract the talent necessary to complete the tasks at hand.

Finally, it is important for companies to treat their contract workers with respect and orient them in similar ways as their full time regular staff (avoiding co-employment issues, of course!). If a temporary worker feels like part of the family, they will be more likely to perform well on the job and stay with his or her employer for a longer period of time. Showing respect towards all employees, especially contract workers, will lead to an improved work environment, as well as a decrease in turnover. At MAU, our goal is for contract workers to be provided with quality training, performance evaluations, as well as growth opportunities whenever possible.

To learn more, please view the video below.

Embracing Co-Employment

Adam Hatcher — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 16:04:00 GMT

Adam Hatcher, General Counsel for MAU Workforce Solutions, will be providing insight into the top legal issues that affect staffing firms and their clients throughout 2014 via a monthly blog.

The first topic up for discussion is Co-Employment. Hatcher advocates the use of MAU's Co-Employment Checklist, which is accessed daily by on-site supervisors, managers, and more!

About the Author:

40th Anniversary Series: Marketplace Chaplains

Randy Hatcher — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:51:00 GMT

For our 40^th Anniversary blog series, we have talked about the building blocks of MAU Workforce Solutions. One thing that separates MAU is our caring culture. We work to make lives better for our Applicants, Clients, and Employees. As this series comes to a close, we focus on one of the benefits that reinforces this concept: our partnership with Marketplace Chaplains.

Marketplace Chaplains exist as an employee care service, sending chaplains on a regular basis to corporations all over the world. At MAU, we employ their services to send chaplains to visit each branch location and most client sites on a weekly basis to speak with employees, assist those in need of prayer, and much more! The information shared between the employee and chaplain is kept confidential and is not shared with MAU. We have received many positive comments from our employees about the support provided by the chaplains.

The Mission Statement of Marketplace Chaplains reads:

Marketplace Chaplains USA exists to share God’s love through corporate chaplains in the workplace by an Employee Care Service for our corporate client companies, both in the United States and abroad.

To learn more about Marketplace Chaplains at MAU, please view the video below.

MAU Launches 40th Anniversary Interactive Timeline

Stephanie Morrow — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 18:17:00 GMT

Forty years ago, William G. Hatcher, Sr. stepped out with his faith in God, $500, and a big dream when he opened MAU Workforce Solutions. This year, as we mark 40 years in business, we feel indebted to Mr. Hatcher for everything he did to grow MAU into what it is today. His vision and determination laid the groundwork that has earned MAU the ability today to attract the finest employees who serve the world's leading companies.

In celebration of our 40^th Anniversary this year, we are excited to launch a new Interactive Timeline! Walk through the history of MAU to view key events and milestones, see the opening dates of our Branches, find out why some of our longest-term employees love working here, and watch video clips to hear stories about the building blocks of MAU.

Visit the site here: MAU 40th Anniversary Timeline!

MAU is a family-owned, certified minority business enterprise. We have extensive industry knowledge on top of the ability to analyze, design and implement solutions that match the needs of clients. We have developed a wide range of services, including; temporary staffing, professional recruiting, outsourcing, outplacement, managed services, personnel testing and assessments, and loss control focus and safety approach.

40th Anniversary Series: Thanksgiving Dinner at MAU Workforce Solutions

Randy Hatcher — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 15:42:00 GMT

At MAU, we have worked hard to develop and sustain a corporate culture where employees feel valued and cared for. One of the ways we demonstrate our appreciation is through our annual Thanksgiving Dinner.

This event allows employees from all facets of the company to come together and share a meal. Even more notable is the time we spend together prior to eating, where employees are able to share what they’re thankful for.

Over the past 40 years, our Thanksgiving Dinner has grown from a few tables of employees, to dozens of tables! We know that this would not be possible without our founder, Mr. Hatcher. He laid the foundation of MAU, a company that has grown steadily to become one of the nation’s top diversity owned staffing firms.

To learn more about employee engagement at MAU, please watch the video below.

Focusing on "Why" as Opposed to "What"

Michael Boettcher — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:57:00 GMT

I want to take a moment and challenge you to look at the why first as opposed to the what. Often when driving a lean continuous improvement project you can hit some negativity or proverbial wall which is hard to pass thru. When this happens, shift your focus from looking at what went wrong and what changes we can make to prevent it from happening again but rather to the why value proposition. Starting with the why process is important to further the relationship and impact to the real value added. By focusing on the why before looking at the 8 wastes you are in a better position to define real value and lead the team to find the what.

Focusing on the why will allow you to have a greater emphasis on the bigger picture as apposed to the specific defective you are working to correct. This is an interesting twist which links into one of my favorite tools, the SIPOC. If we understand the Suppliers Input and the Customers Output we have a better understanding of the why. Once we have a better understanding of why, the what should become more obvious to the CIP team.

Beyond this basic concept is an unexpected benefit of increased respect and trust from everyone involved. As the focus is shifted off of the who and the what to the why you should see greater engagement from everyone on the team, especially the process owner as they will be able to understand the relationship this change of emphasis has on the big picture. Moving the organization toward the why improves the focus back toward the reason you need each person to get involved. I have used this many times to improve engagement in projects where the value proposition was not as obvious to key members of the team. The why plays to the heart which can help open the mind to other possibilities including the value proposition not originally seen in a project.

40th Anniversary Series: Employee Engagement at MAU Workforce Solutions

Randy Hatcher — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 16:37:00 GMT

At MAU, the topic of “employee engagement” is taken seriously. We have established unique processes and events to make sure our employees know just how much they mean to our company.

For example, all managers at MAU gather once per quarter to discuss the current state of their department, strengths, challenges, etc. At the beginning of the meeting, each manager is presented the opportunity to speak for one minute about what’s happening in their life. This provides our employees the opportunity to get to know one another beyond traditional work-related conversations. At MAU, we refer to this activity as a “personal check-in”.

In addition, we have departmental “take five” meetings where all of the employees in each department gather to discuss their current responsibilities at work. Gathering together also provides opportunities for employees to share what’s on their mind, even if it’s not work related.

On site at Client locations, MAU leaders hold pre-shift meetings with employees. They typically start with a safety topic and then cover the plan for the day.

We encourage everyone to think about ways in which employee engagement may be improved within their companies. At MAU, we are constantly developing new ways in which we connect and enrich the lives of our employees. After all, without great employees, our companies would cease to exist!

To learn more about employee engagement at MAU, please watch the following video by MAU President Randy Hatcher.

40th Anniversary Series: Christmas Caroling at MAU Workforce Solutions

Randy Hatcher — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:20:00 GMT

At MAU, we like to have fun! One of the ways we liven up the work environment during the Holidays is through Christmas caroling.

For the past 40 years, MAU employees have gathered to sing their favorite Holiday tunes each week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. When the last carol is sung, employees enjoy a potluck breakfast before heading back to work.

If you happen to visit MAU this Holiday season, make sure to join in the fun and sing a carol or two!

Watch the following video from MAU President Randy Hatcher to learn why it’s important to have fun at the office.

Lean Defense

Michael Boettcher — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 14:42:00 GMT

I love to take analogies from sports and apply the successful concepts to lean and continuous improvement. This one may require you to stretch your mind a little, but I believe you will agree consistency of commitment over time is critical in all that we do to be successful. It's an old cliché you hear repeated over and over, “Defense Win Championships”. The thing about defense is that it doesn't take superstars, but a group of teammates with well-choreographed movements who end up eventually stifling the offense. Everyone loves the flashiness of offense, high scoring is more exciting, but in the end it comes down to defense.

In lean concepts our defense is built on making quick adjustments to a broken process or taking action against the status quo. The goal is having the ability to make a precise adjustment based upon inputs outside of your control (offense did X, we do Y). Lean provides a framework for seeing the whole picture and moving the expected results to our favor.

All of the great defenses force an offense to get out of rhythm and that gives them the advantage. In business we need to smooth out inconsistencies so we have a better rhythm, and what better way than a great lean defense. The lean approach is to help identify, initiate and sustain meaningful organizational change over time. This is best done thru team engagement with unwavering focus on eliminating pain points in the day to day activities required to add value to the client.

What do great sports teams defenses do in order to succeed? Ensure leadership engagement with the team through daily Gemba’s. Asking what works and does not work (timeout) because those in the game often have a great grasp of current changes and opportunities. Next up is application of quick change through daily kaizen activities. Allow the team to react quickly (audible); being able to adjust quickly can be a great advantage is stopping unwanted results. Being flexible based upon new inputs is critical to preventing errors. Another vital tool is the introduction of visual workflow which gives you a line of sight to what is currently happening. In sports the study of game tape and current game pictures often leads to rapid changes (halftime adjustments) thereby improving the ability of seeing what is happening to stop unwanted disruptions.

So go ahead and build a great defense.