The Last Word
By Aaron Green, CSP, Chairman
Stepping Up to the Certification Challenge
When ASA rolled out the Certified Staffing Professional™programin2004,
Bill Stoller, co-founder and vice chairman of
the board for Express Services, was serving as
chair of the ASA certification committee. The
committee, ASA staff, various employment and
labor law experts, and many others had worked
extremely hard over many months to ensure the
certification program we have today is everything
it needs to be—the pinnacle of professionalism
in our industry.
At that time, Stoller approached me and other
colleagues in the staffing business with a challenge:
Earn your ASA certification and help elevate the
professionalism of the industry. I love a good
challenge, and I enthusiastically accepted.
I met the challenge and earned my certification.
It was such a valuable experience that I decided
to apply the certification challenge to my entire
company. Today, every employee of Professional
Staffing Group—executives, recruiters, receptionists—everyone is a certified staffing professional.
It has made an enormous difference on many levels,
and I know the same can hold true for other staffing
companies. Here are just two reasons why you and
your firm should—if you haven’t already—step up to
the certification challenge.
PSG purchases the certification packages and
provides the time and resources corporate employees need to study, practice, and pass the online
exam.
Protect Clients and Candidates
Another major benefit that comes with ASA
certification is the ability to protect your firm’s
clients and candidates. The business relationships
on both levels are stronger because your corporate
employees are confident and knowledgeable partners who can conduct themselves in a highly credible manner.
Clients will appreciate the fact that your firm is
prepared to protect them from legal missteps and
candidates will appreciate knowing that your firm is
prepared to protect their rights as employees.
Employment and labor laws can be complicated,
and many regulations vary from state to state. A
staffing firm with ASA-certified employees can
help eliminate any doubt a client or candidate may
have about engaging in a business relationship.
A major benefit that
comes with ASA
certification is the
ability to protect
your firm’s clients
and candidates.
Be a Standout Firm
In addition to ensuring top-notch staffing
services, the fact that PSG is a 100% certified
company goes a long way toward market differentiation. We’re the only staffing company in the
greater Boston area that does this. How many
staffing firms in your major markets can boast a
team of ASA-certified professionals?
Implementing the ASA certification program
also gives your firm’s internal training program
a stamp of excellence and sends a clear message
to your corporate employees: We’ll invest in you.
Support Your Industry
Being a loyal supporter of the ASA certification
program and all that it can do to help enhance the
value and credibility of the staffing industry goes
hand in hand with being an active member and
industry advocate.
With this year’s elections drawing near, I
encourage you once again to support ASA’s government affairs and legislative activities. To find
out how to get involved—and how to help ASA
support pro-business candidates—contact Toby
Malara, Esq., ASA government affairs counsel
at tmalara@americanstaffing.net. And, on behalf
of the ASA board of directors, I extend a sincere
thank you to all those who have shown their
support thus far. Let us always keep the health
and future of our industry top of mind. n
