The EPG Connection

As you know, Emerson Personnel Group is collecting phone cards to send to our servicemen and women. The team at Emerson Personnel Group considers it an honor and a privilege to undertake  this effort to support our men and women serving overseas. Hopefully, providing our troops with long distance phone cards will enable them to reach out half-way around the world to touch base with loved ones and friends who miss them and are praying for their safe return. Please consider joining Emerson Personnel Group in this event built to let our troops know they are in our hearts and minds. 

So, pick up the phone cards you’d like to donate, (for more details on where you can obtain them, see below) and swing by our office on Friday October 26th for free food and give-aways, anytime between 3:00 and 7:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you then!

International Pre-paid phone cards can be purchased at the following retailers:

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Amy Steelman at asteelman@emersonpersonnel.com or call her at (856) 667-9180.

Welcome to the first edition of The EPG Connection. The team here at Emerson Personnel Group is very excited about the many opportunities for growth and networking through this monthly publication. You may be wondering how we arrived at the name of our newsletter. Well, after 38 years of conducting business right here in South Jersey and Philadelphia metro markets, it is safe to say that no one is more “connected” than Emerson Personnel Group. Through business, family, friendships, community involvement, charity work, and participation in literally thousands of networking events, it has become quite a challenge to find someone who does not know the Emerson family and/or Emerson Personnel Group. So, naming our newsletter The EPG Connection made perfect sense based on our high level of connectivity to the region. I would also like you to consider your subscription to the newsletter as an invitation to the fabric of our extensive network. The good folks here at EPG enjoy nothing more than bringing together individuals, companies, and service providers, who can mutually benefit from the development of a solid relationship. So, again welcome aboard! Get to know us, and help us to help you grow your network of quality people who believe in getting things done right the first time.

Personal Information:

Name: Denise Tocco

Title: Manager Temporary Division

What you do for EPG: I develop relationships with clients, fill job orders, and keep track of weekly numbers and reports.

First job: I was the bookeeper/ Property Casualty Insurance Rater at Coe Insurance Agency in Collingswood, NJ.

Little-known fact about you: I am an avid Philadelphia sports fan- which can be frustrating at times.

Home: I have a 22 year old daughter, Laura and a 24 year old son, Nicholas. Laura is a 2nd grade special education teacher in Barrington, NJ. Nicholas is an accountant with a South Jersey auditing firm. I also have 2 pets, Romeo…my fancy cat and Spare Cat…just in case!

Business Philosophy:

Essential business philosophy: I always strive to help our clients, applicants, & co-workers achieve success.

Yardstick of success: The number of individuals and corporations we are able to help.

Goal yet to be achieved: I would like to see our company become the most respected & relied upon staffing agency in South Jersey.

Mentor: The Emersons… and I would have to say I learn a little something from my co-workers everyday.

True Confessions:

Word(s) that best describe you: Honest and fair.

Like best about your job: Making win/win placements… for our client, the applicant, and Emerson Personnel Group.

Like least about your job: I’d have to say, when something doesn’t work out… letting the applicant and/or client know.

The most important lesson you’ve learned: That you should never force someone to do something they don’t want to… I’ve learned that the hard way!

Life motto: “If you like what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”

Greatest fear: Never let people know what you are afraid of… it leaves you vulnerable… my grandfather always said that.

Person most interested in meeting & why: My great grandfather, so I could learn more about my famly history.

First choice in a new career: Probably an accounting type position.

Greatest extravagance: Planning a trip to Italy next spring.

Et Cetera:

Most influential book: “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson… because change is constant.

Favorite movie: “Gone with the Wind”… I enjoyed the book even more.

Favorite restaurant: Bistro Romano in Philadelphia… for sentimental reasons.

Favorite vacation spot: Myrtle Beach, SC with my parents and extended family.

Favorite room in the house & why: My kitchen… the company is great & the food is not bad either!

Favorite way to spend free time: Spending time with my family & friends and making improvements around my house.

The imagery is unmistakable: an aboriginal cannibal on the prowl for his next meal. When we use the term “headhunter,” this, for many people, is the conjured image. But this term, in common business usage , is also a not-so-affectionate nickname for the executive search professional. But truly, executive search professionals are more accurately described as “matchmakers.”

Why would an organization turn to an executive search firm as opposed to using the experienced in house human resources staff? There are a number of services and philosophies that an executive search professional brings by way of his or her expertise in the recruiting field and his or her specialization in a given industry. 1. Hiring the right key person is too important to leave to chance. Search firms are best when they are utilized for finding the most key employees in an organization. The organization with the strongest executives is usually best poised for a competitive market environment. In any case, it is clear that people are the most important resource of any organization, and the executives and significant technicians are those who will likely make or break the organization’s success. 2. Search firms can reach candidates not currently in the job market. Normal recruitment strategies really target those who are in the job market or who are nearing the edge of the market. Traditional advertising, even extended to the Internet, reaches only those who are looking for new employment. Executive search firms work to find those who are already happy and successful in their current jobs–people who usually are not reading the want ads, trade journals or online job search services. 3. Search firms can operate confidentially. Many times, an organization may not want to disclose their search publicly for strategic or competitive reasons. Search firms can operate confidentially and behind the scenes in these case, using existing networks of professionals to find executive talent. 4. Executive hiring mistakes are expensive. Traditional recruiting is based on a short job description and limited advertising resources. Often hiring mistakes are due to miscommunication about job expectations or requirements. Search firms remove this guesswork from the equation by better identifying a job and its requirements early in the recruiting process. 5. The executive search process casts a wider and more precise net. Generalist human resources professionals are well equipped to handle more routine and general recruiting needs. But in an executive or highly technical recruiting, the specialized nature of executive search firms allows better pinpointing of resources to specific recruiting techniques and in expanding the recruiting network beyond the typical marketplace of a given organization. 6. References are likely to be more reliable. Recruiters who simply check the references given them by candidates will simply hear the best about that candidate. After all, would a candidate list a critic as a reference? But recruiters use their professional network to get the straight story on a candidate from reliable and usually more realistic sources. And references are usually more likely to be honest with a professional recruiter than with someone who will be the candidate’s employer and could at some point inadvertently disclose their sources. 7. Search firms assist also with the offer and negotiation process. Typically, in house human resources professionals are not as well acquainted with the employment market for specialized staff and executives because they deal with relatively few of them in any one organization. Search consultants are better able to stay in touch with the market and offer advice to the client about the compensation and benefits offered by competitors.

Conclusion

Executive search firms fill a critical need in the recruiting process for executives and technical specialists. While their services are often not inexpensive, the benefits of their services to an organization generally outweigh the costs by several fold for those critical executive and technical staffs. A future article will address the executive search process and what a consultant will provide to an organization under an executive search contract.

As a professional keynote speaker, workshop/seminar facilitator and organizational consultant, Wayne Parker has worked with hundreds of individuals and organizations to grow, change and succeed. Wayne’s background includes 20 years of experience in training, administration and management. He has trained hundreds of people in the areas of sexual harassment prevention, time management, life/work balance issues and customer service. He is also recognized for his experience and skills in the areas of leading change, vision development, leadership development, strategic planning and goal setting, human resource development and team building.

Throughout the month of October, Emerson Personnel Group will be collecting phone cards for our soldiers serving our great nation overseas. Join with Emerson Personnel Group to help ease the burden of our men and women who are so far from their loved ones.

You and/or your office, organization, family and friends can purchase phone cards from local retailers such as WAWA, 7-11, CVS, gas stations, anywhere INTERNATIONAL prepaid phone cards are sold. You may choose to stop by our office with the cards you’ve collected anytime during the campaign, Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. (For directions to our office, click here.) If you’d like to mail them to us, please send them to :

To round off this exciting event, we’d like to invite you to join us on October 26th for a “Support Our Troops” Open House. Stop by our office anytime between 3:00 and 7:00 for an “All-American” buffet, a raffle, giveaways, and of course, a chance to meet the wonderful team here at Emerson Personnel Group!

Register for this special event by sending an email to asteelman@emersonpersonnel.com or ask any questions you may have about the phone cards, the campaign, or the open house. Also, feel free to leave questions, comments, etc. right here in the post!

We are so excited about this very special event and look forward to seeing you on October 26th!