NEW CLIENTS
HOLIDAY HOURS PAID
NEW OFFICES
NEW STATES
DIRECT HIRES
ASSOCIATES HIRED
TEMP-TO-HIRE PLACEMENTS
TEMPORARY PLACEMENTS
ASSOCIATES SERVED
Welcome to 2021! As we were putting this post together, we were reminded of how challenging and difficult last year turned out to be. It is hard to remember that the first couple of months of 2020 were business as usual and then in mid-March, everything changed and all of us have been trying to adjust ever since. A few of the major impacts we felt:
Uncertainty as the new normal
I think this has been one of the most stressful aspects of COVID-19, the massive and sustained uncertainty it created. We have never been in a period where planning what was going to happen the next week (let alone the next month) was so hard. It forced us to dramatically shorten our planning outlook as things changed so frequently. The plus side is that this required us to move faster with less information and still effectively support our clients and our Associates. This speed of decision making allowed us to better cope with the constant changes in 2020, and has positioned us extremely well to carry these lessons with us into the future.
Dramatically accelerated workplace changes
The speed with which COVID-19 hit accelerated many changes that may have taken years or decades to occur. From the likelihood that business travel will remain reduced, to more people working all or partially from home, to the massive increase in eCommerce (and all businesses that support it), a lot of the changes that came about because of COVID-19 are likely to remain as the economy recovers.
The importance of thinking outside the box all the time
I am really proud of how creative and resourceful the Engauge team was, particularly in the early days of the COVID lockdowns. We went, for example, from regularly doing on site tours at clients to creating virtual tours so we could continue to support their need for new Associates in a safe way. This also led to more Associate training being conducted at our new training and outsourced Manufacturing Facility in Menomonee Falls. The success of our Training and Outsourcing programs was a definite bright spot for our team who is so passionate about making this vision a reality and engaging with clients and Associates in new and innovative ways.
The huge importance of good relationships inside and outside Engauge
If we ever needed reinforcement that maintaining close relationships with clients, team members, and Associates is critical, this year was it! The reason we were able to successfully operate through so much turbulence and uncertainty was because we had on-going communication with all key groups.
Despite the challenges 2020 presented, we are extremely proud of what our team accomplished last year, and we really look forward to our continued expansion in 2021!
Katie Malnight Meisinger
Vice President of Operations
