The Broad Stroke of Staffing's Good Deed

Referrals are the best known source to find a new career but the Staffing Industry is the single greatest conduit connecting people with jobs in Canada. There are over 2000 staffing companies in Canada and each one is responsible for helping hundreds or even thousands of people find work every year.

Just in case your local Ontario Liberal MPP has recently tried to convince you otherwise... Work is good! Work provides the income necessary for healthy living, family sustenance, and enjoyment. Work may not give people dignity but a lack of work certainly can take one's dignity away.

Staffing companies are not directly responsible for the creation of work but they do play a vital role in helping people and employers to connect with each other in an efficient and productive manner. The growing shortage of skilled human resources in Canada is common knowledge. The Staffing industry provides a valuable service to people and companies by helping Canadian organizations to efficiently search for, evaluate, select and hire people.

Competition is good too. With over 2000 staffing firms to choose from in Canada; companies and job seekers can take their pick of a staffing company that will deliver the greatest value.

Liberal MPP Vic Dhillon (Brampton West-Mississauga), a strong advocate for the under-employed and homeless has recently delivered his constituents a disservice by thinking and acting as if Ontario's Temporary Staffing companies create the jobs. What Dhillon fails to realize is that staffing industry does not make the jobs, they just help to fill the jobs. Even the good jobs! Dhillon is unhappy with the short length of some work assignments and the levels of pay that is sometimes available to the under-employed. Through some sort of misguided logic, Dhillon has decided that crushing the Human Resources department will create better jobs. Not!

Everybody wants our society and our industries to be filled with good work, meaningful work, skilled work, high paying work and secure work. This would also make the staffing companies happy too.

With an election year rapidly approaching, Liberal MPP Vic Dhillon is attempting to make political traction by introducing a Private Members Bill in the Ontario Legislature which is designed to license or regulate staffing companies. If Mr. Dhillon is concerned about the type of work available in Brampton then maybe he should focus on job creation. If he says that there are disreputable staffing companies in his jurisdiction then let's go and straighten them out. But please, do not unjustifiably disparage a whole industry.

Our staffing company (Design Group Staffing Inc.) has been selected for Platinum Status as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies. We are ISO certified and have been recognized for our safety standards and commitment to the communities we serve. I personally and many of my piers have received awards and recognition for business success, volunteerism, community service and for contributing to the high standards of our companies and the staffing industry. I know that my thoughts and feelings are echoed by thousands of other human resources professionals and staffing industry professionals when I say that I am insulted by Mr. Vic Dhillon's broad stroke of ignorance.

It's probably time to go and visit Mr. Dhillon to share views. Please feel free to send me your rant. I'll be sure to pass it along.

It's going to be a great New Year and we're determined to make a meaningful difference to more lives than ever before. Because... that's what we really do!

Happy New Year