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| Too Few elves to stock the shelves. |
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Shoppers may be fighting each other for a Nintendo 64 or other
hot toy, but their real challenge this holiday may be finding a
store clerk to ring up the sale.
Worker shortages are forcing wages up for seasonal retail clerks
in many cities. A sign at the intersection of Shawnee Mission Parkway
and Lamar in Overland Park asks for workers at $7 an hour. Close
inspection reveals that the $7 is a sticker that covers two other
stickers at $6 and $5 per hour, says Shane Jones, president of Ace
Personnel.
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| The In-House Lottery |
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Want to make sure your employees understand your business? Shane
Jones, CEO of Ace Personnel, Inc., in Overland Park, KS, found a quick
and fun way to test and strengthen his staff's skills. The personnel
agency, which had 1995 revenues of more than $7 million, holds an
in-house quiz and lottery twice a week. Each staffer is given a ticket
with a question about Ace's business
Especially important questions
are asked repeatedly until the entire staff gets them right.
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| 1994 Blue Chip Enterprise
Companies |
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the road to a successful business is paved with
impediments. No entrepreneurs know this better than the leaders of
this year's businesses selected as Blue Chip Enterprises
..Wilson
Building Maintenance, Inc., Wichita; KTVA-TV/Northeast Broadcast Service,
Topeka; Ace Personnel, Overland Park; Cottage Care, Inc., Prairie
Village
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| Ace Recrute Des As Du
Combine (translated) |
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Weary of hiring apparently tested and brilliant people who
later prove to have inadequate customer service skills, Shane Jones,
the president of Ace Personnel, an American staffing service of 35
people, developed a creative solution for this typical problem in
the service industry
"When filling an opening, we employ a three step interview process,"
stipulates Jennifer Craig, Director of Operations. "For our purposes,
we role play difficult customer service situations and customize the
process to meet a client's specific requirements
"
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| Role Play for Hire |
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Shane Jones, owner of Ace, discovered that the best way to
find employees who are truly customer-focused is to screen applicants
over the phone early on and engage them in role playing. Jennifer
Craig, Director of Operations for Ace Personnel explains, "A
business like ours is centered on serving our customers. We found,
over the course of time, the best way to find customer-friendly people
was to put them in actual situations and role play over a telephone
interview. We decided to cut to the chase early on rather than finding
out they don't fit in later." |
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