Nissen and Associates Staffing Continuum Inc.

For more than eight years, Scott Nissen used staffing services to help his company, which manufactured neon displays, find employees.
"We would go from 50 to 130 employees, and it was through that experience that I really learned how effective staffing can be for a business," he said.
In 1997, Nissen started his own staffing service company, Nissen and Associates Staffing Continuum.
Nissen said his company is able to stand out in an industry with more than 130 local competitors by delivering superior talent.
In 2002, the Wisconsin Association of Staffing Services named Nissen and Associates a top recruiter of talent.
Nissen and Associates also has been recognized as the 15th-largest Milwaukee-area staffing service.
The firm’s ability to recruit top talent is a result of the firm’s unique company-client relationship, Nissen said.
"We have a peer-to-peer relationship between the associate, the client and our company," Nissen said. "Our strength is in being a solution-provider."
David Lopez, a career consultant at Nissen and Associates, said the staff is willing to go the extra mile for a client.
"We genuinely care about the people that we place," Lopez said.
That extra mile can mean going out of his way to pick someone up for work.
"If they need a ride to work, I’ll pick them up at their home and give them a ride to work. I have no problem with that," Lopez said.
Nissen said the staff takes extra measures to ensure lines of communication remain open between his employees, the workers they are trying to place and the businesses looking for employees.
"We need to be a business that is easy to do business with," he said.
Lopez said all of his clients and associates know how to reach him at any time on his cell phone.
"I check in on a daily basis with the head associate and clients’ supervisors," Lopez said.
Nissen said he has a great deal of appreciation for the lengths his staff will go, and he said they are the primary reason his company has been so successful.
"It has been one of the most satisfying aspects – to be as fortunate and blessed to have the staff that I do," Nissen said.
Nissen said he does not come up short on employee benefits, as he provides flexibility and job-sharing.
"We always want to position ourselves as an employer of choice," Nissen said.
That philosophy helps to create a positive working environment for staff members of Nissen and Associates, Lopez said.
"We will do whatever it takes to help each other out," Lopez said. "If I have a situation where I’m troubled, I can always lean on them to back me up."
The company’s success is also derived from its use of referral networks, Nissen said.
"We are a reputation business," he said.
Nissen and Associates has established relationships with 76 community-based organizations.
"We are working with community-based organizations to grow a relationship so they are motivated to refer quality individuals back to us," Nissen said.
Furthermore, Nissen said his company is committed to helping community-based organizations meet their goals and missions.
Nissen said his company has been able to develop
relationships through respect and honesty.
"We are not a cookie-cutter operation. We are not producing a managed product. We cannot design an individual’s talents," Nissen said. "Flexibility is how our business will grow and our associates will be successful in their careers."
June 25, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI