Has Mark Eldridge cracked the code for developing future leaders?
“We hire entry-level people almost exclusively. Then we train them until they stop absorbing,” Eldridge, the CEO and founder of IT and life sciences staffing firm Alku, told me during a recent call.
The company’s senior leadership ranks are now filled with people who learned the staffing industry from the ground up, drilled and coached by firm mentors. The current president, Andrew Bull, was Alku’s first intern.
It’s a strong example of how training and upskilling can develop natural leaders while also supporting business growth. Alku’s employees’ testimonials have landed the company on SIA’s Best Staffing Firms to Work For list every year since 2014, and the firm appears regularly on SIA’s Largest Staffing Firms in the US list.
“Workers want to progress in their fields,” SIA’s Senior Editorial Director Craig Johnson tells me. “Executives I interviewed said that when their companies offer training that helps workers move to better-paying positions, those workers appreciate the firm.”
Johnson, who wrote the cover feature, “A fix for staffing’s most pressing problem,” drives home the importance of training and upskilling – particularly now. “Demand remains strong for workers with the right skills, and several staffing providers have developed programs to fill in the gaps,” he says. When the talent isn’t there, company programs can step into the breach.
“Many of the people I spoke with were very enthusiastic about upskilling,” Johnson tells me. “It’s not just a must-do, but also something they were very interested in doing.”
For even more insights into the power of in-house training and upskilling, turn to our profiles of this year’s Best Staffing Firms to Work For. Broadreach Executive Search, a grand prize winner, for one, has turned people with little or no staffing experience into successful staffing professionals.
We’d love to learn about your upskilling or training programs, as well as your insights into the staffing ecosystem and our coverage. Share them with us at editor@staffingindustry.com.
