Harmon Personnel Services

Harmon Personnel is an Alternative Staffing Organization and a division of Community Action of the Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions. Harmon combines high-quality commercial staffing services with the social mission of helping people with low incomes move out of poverty. As an Alternative Staffing Organization (ASO), we focus on helping employers, job seekers and the community. We provide high-quality screening with an emphasis on skills matching and retention. We support candidates through training and development programs, and partnerships with community partners. In a national study, employers cited four main reasons they prefer alternative staffing service suppliers to conventional, for-profit staffing agencies*: 1. Better understanding of customer business needs: Customers report that ASOs have a deeper knowledge and understanding of their business priorities than their conventional counterparts. ASOs take the time to really learn the customer’s work setting and job requirements. Higher-quality screening and matching: Businesses note that ASOs effectively match candidates to job openings, reducing turnover and increasing productivity. They report the quality of screening is usually higher than that done by conventional staffing agencies. 3.Greater staff responsiveness: ASOs work closely with customer supervisors to manage workers, handle problematic issues and perform troubleshooting. Worker supports that enhance performance and reliability: The ASO difference lies in the supervision and support that come with ASO services. ASO workers receive supports – case management, child care, transportation, coaching – to keep them working.* Brokering Up: The Role of Temporary Staffing in Overcoming Labor Market Barriers, Center for Social Policy at University of Massachusetts Boston, 2009