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Check out the latest Staffmark timely articles, news, and stay informed about our latest innovations, awards, service lines, and more.
News + Events
Check out the latest Staffmark timely articles, news, and stay informed about our latest innovations, awards, service lines, and more.
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Cincinnati, OH, May 8, 2024
A Pair of Boots, A Path to Work
How a community program and Staffmark are helping new hires succeed on day one.
At Staffmark, we strive to always live up to our purpose: to be the heart between people and jobs. That belief shapes how we show up for the talent we place, for the clients we partner with, and for the communities we serve. The Boots Scholarship Program is a small but powerful example of what that belief looks like in practice.
It starts with listening to the community
The best community partnerships don’t begin with a check. They begin with a conversation. They begin with showing up, building relationships, and asking honest questions about what is really happening for the people in our neighborhoods. Many of the workers Staffmark places are navigating circumstances most of us rarely have to consider: wondering how to put gas in the car for the week, how to feed the family, and how to afford the basic equipment needed to start a new job. The more clearly we understand those realities, the better positioned we are to remove the barriers standing between great people and great jobs.
The barrier no one was talking about
In Memphis, one of the most economically challenged regions in the country, a $40 pair of work boots can be the line between a fresh start and one more closed door. Many of the workers Staffmark places are coming from circumstances where every dollar is carefully accounted for. According to Staffmark Market Manager, Brooke Kessinger, “When you factor in a week or two of unpaid time before a first paycheck comes in and the gas it takes to get to the job site, a required pair of steel-toe boots is often more than a budget line. It is the reason an offer never turns into a job for many people.”
It is an equipment barrier that few people think about.
It starts with listening to the community
The best community partnerships don’t begin with a check. They begin with a conversation. They begin with showing up, building relationships, and asking honest questions about what is really happening for the people in our neighborhoods. Many of the workers Staffmark places are navigating circumstances most of us rarely have to consider: wondering how to put gas in the car for the week, how to feed the family, and how to afford the basic equipment needed to start a new job. The more clearly we understand those realities, the better positioned we are to remove the barriers standing between great people and great jobs.
The barrier no one was talking about
In Memphis, one of the most economically challenged regions in the country, a $40 pair of work boots can be the line between a fresh start and one more closed door. Many of the workers Staffmark places are coming from circumstances where every dollar is carefully accounted for. According to Staffmark Market Manager, Brooke Kessinger, “When you factor in a week or two of unpaid time before a first paycheck comes in and the gas it takes to get to the job site, a required pair of steel-toe boots is often more than a budget line. It is the reason an offer never turns into a job for many people.”
It is an equipment barrier that few people think about.
Partners who prepare. Staffmark places. Boots make it possible.
The Boots Scholarship Program supports graduates of community training partners who prepare workers for the warehouse and skilled-labor jobs Staffmark places every day. Through Staffmark’s partnership with the New Start Foundation in Memphis, every graduate of New Start’s forklift and skills-based training programs comes to Staffmark for placement. The Olympic Career Training Institute (OCTI), another valued community partner, prepares graduates through programs like Warehousing in the Supply Chain, equipping them with the certifications and confidence to step into a new career.
That access gives our team a unique view into what new hires need to succeed and what is standing in their way. Recently, our local Staffmark team asked a simple question to the New Start Foundation team: “After transportation, what is the biggest barrier you see to getting new talent on the job?” The answer? Work boots.
Every BRG showed up
For Staffmark, this was an opportunity to step in and help. Brooke is the chair of Staffmark’s RISE Alliance Business Resource Group (BRG), which was formed to empower marginalized groups through advocacy, support, and inclusion. She knew RISE had a small amount of leftover funds from the year prior. Knowing it was not a lot, she asked the other Staffmark BRGs whether they had anything left over in their own development budgets to contribute. Another three of them said yes and that they would love to help.
Together, Staffmark four Staffmark BRGs gave $4,860 from their own budgets to provide boots to up to 120 new hires.
Meet Sakura
The first pair of boots went to Sakura Harris, a recent graduate of OCTI’s Warehousing in the Supply Chain program who has already secured full-time employment. Through the Workboot Program, Sakura received the boots — and the confident, comfortable start — she needed to begin her new career on day one. Her excitement says everything.
Meet Sakura
The first pair of boots went to Sakura Harris, a recent graduate of OCTI’s Warehousing in the Supply Chain program who has already secured full-time employment. Through the Workboot Program, Sakura received the boots — and the confident, comfortable start — she needed to begin her new career on day one. Her excitement says everything.
Success on day one
As this blog is being written, the boots are being distributed and heading to work. Through this program, more and more workers will show up prepared, confident, and ready to perform from their first shift. Staffmark’s local team is tracking retention and outcomes for every recipient to help employers understand how small non-monetary incentives like this influence workforce results.
Through other programs like this, Staffmark has found that when employers remove small, solvable barriers on day one, they gain more talent who arrive ready to work, stay longer, succeed in the role, and refer other strong candidates to the workplace.
Just the beginning
The Boots Scholarship Program is starting small — over 100 pairs in one community — but the vision is bigger. Brooke envisions scaling the model with national footwear and retail partners, expanding to more clients and regions, and continuing to chip away at the small, solvable barriers that stand between great people and great jobs. For Staffmark, that’s our mission and where we belong: at the heart between people and jobs.
That access gives our team a unique view into what new hires need to succeed and what is standing in their way. Recently, our local Staffmark team asked a simple question to the New Start Foundation team: “After transportation, what is the biggest barrier you see to getting new talent on the job?” The answer? Work boots.
