US recruiters battle against polar vortex
8 January 2014
Recruiters across the US have been forced to close offices as large parts of the country have been hit by record low temperatures, as widely seen on TV news reports.
Wed, 8 Jan 2014Recruiters across the US have been forced to close offices as large parts of the country have been hit by record low temperatures, as widely seen on TV news reports.
With some parts of the Midwest hit by what meteorologists describe as a polar vortex, as temperatures plummet to as low as -27C (-16F), recruiters have spoken with Recruiter about their battles to keep their businesses going.
Kenny Reinbold, corporate communications communicator at Express Employment Professionals, which has 22 franchise businesses in Minnesota and 18 in Indiana, two of the worst hit states, tells Recruiter that inevitably some employees have missed work.
In Amherst, New York, Reinbold says: “We have had about 50 employees who have not been able to make it to work either because of the driving bans or businesses being closed.” Around 12 clients’ businesses closed on Monday, he adds.
In Duluth, Minnesota, Reinbold says some agency workers have been unable to take jobs because they are reluctant to make the walk from where the bus drops them to their place of employment in such extreme conditions. “And who can blame them,” he adds. “Some businesses have closed as well,” although he notes “on the flip side, several businesses have called us with day labour openings, due to missing their own staff”.
The company also closed some of its offices early, with knock-on effects on job candidates who were previously scheduled for an interview.
Ed Zetusky, previously managing director of Anders Elite in the UK, and now the general manager of The BOSS Group, a mid-sized staffing company in the creative and marketing sector in the US tells Recruiter that over the past four weeks weather has closed its offices in Dallas, Chicago, Metro, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore for up to two days.
“I would not say we lost full days,” he adds, “as we have the ability to work from home, and with candidates we have been able to connect with them at home via their cell [mobile phone].”
It has proved impossible to contact some clients who have been unable to get into their offices, says Zetusky.
Not all recruiters have been so adversely affected by the extreme weather. Adrian Kinnersley, founder of London-based Twenty Recruitment, says that it is pretty much “business as usual” at the company’s offices in Central Manhattan.
Apart from one or two days last week when some staff who travelled in from outside the city were affected and some interviews that were postponed, “it hasn’t wildly impacted on anyone’s appetite to hire or to move jobs”, he says.
Courtney Casey, a staffing co-ordinator with The Esquire Staffing Group, based in Chicago, tells Recruiter that transport delays caused by the ‘big freeze’ have been the main problem. Although she says that while temps have generally been able to make it to their place of work, a few have been reluctant to face long waits at bus stops and at taxi ranks.
Casey says despite problems with the areas transport system, the company’s own staff have generally been able to get in to work.
However, despite the severe conditions, for US recruiters such as Casey, every weather cloud clearly has a silver lining. “A few clients have called for additional staff to cope with the fall-off [in their regular staff],” she says.
With some parts of the Midwest hit by what meteorologists describe as a polar vortex, as temperatures plummet to as low as -27C (-16F), recruiters have spoken with Recruiter about their battles to keep their businesses going.
Kenny Reinbold, corporate communications communicator at Express Employment Professionals, which has 22 franchise businesses in Minnesota and 18 in Indiana, two of the worst hit states, tells Recruiter that inevitably some employees have missed work.
In Amherst, New York, Reinbold says: “We have had about 50 employees who have not been able to make it to work either because of the driving bans or businesses being closed.” Around 12 clients’ businesses closed on Monday, he adds.
In Duluth, Minnesota, Reinbold says some agency workers have been unable to take jobs because they are reluctant to make the walk from where the bus drops them to their place of employment in such extreme conditions. “And who can blame them,” he adds. “Some businesses have closed as well,” although he notes “on the flip side, several businesses have called us with day labour openings, due to missing their own staff”.
The company also closed some of its offices early, with knock-on effects on job candidates who were previously scheduled for an interview.
Ed Zetusky, previously managing director of Anders Elite in the UK, and now the general manager of The BOSS Group, a mid-sized staffing company in the creative and marketing sector in the US tells Recruiter that over the past four weeks weather has closed its offices in Dallas, Chicago, Metro, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore for up to two days.
“I would not say we lost full days,” he adds, “as we have the ability to work from home, and with candidates we have been able to connect with them at home via their cell [mobile phone].”
It has proved impossible to contact some clients who have been unable to get into their offices, says Zetusky.
Not all recruiters have been so adversely affected by the extreme weather. Adrian Kinnersley, founder of London-based Twenty Recruitment, says that it is pretty much “business as usual” at the company’s offices in Central Manhattan.
Apart from one or two days last week when some staff who travelled in from outside the city were affected and some interviews that were postponed, “it hasn’t wildly impacted on anyone’s appetite to hire or to move jobs”, he says.
Courtney Casey, a staffing co-ordinator with The Esquire Staffing Group, based in Chicago, tells Recruiter that transport delays caused by the ‘big freeze’ have been the main problem. Although she says that while temps have generally been able to make it to their place of work, a few have been reluctant to face long waits at bus stops and at taxi ranks.
Casey says despite problems with the areas transport system, the company’s own staff have generally been able to get in to work.
However, despite the severe conditions, for US recruiters such as Casey, every weather cloud clearly has a silver lining. “A few clients have called for additional staff to cope with the fall-off [in their regular staff],” she says.
