Arizona Labor Force, Inc. dba Labor Systems & Allied Forces
Pros
The workweek is M - F, with some branches open on Saturdays. The work/life balance is good. Pay is reasonable for the branch staff: between 14.50 - 18.00/hour. Putting people to work through temporary labor assignments can be very satisfying, particularly when you are able to help someone to get back on their feet. Financially stable company.
Cons
Culture - The founder is no longer involved in the business beyond occasional visits to the Tempe corporate office. Leadership no longer recognizes employees for loyal service to customers and the temporary work force, as he regularly did. Leadership does not support the stated 7 Core Values, which were introduced in 2016 by the current president (founder's nephew). Like too many companies, the values do not extend much further than a poster on the wall. The values have no place in the selection, onboarding or performance management processes; nor are they contemplated in strategic decision-making. Leadership likes to promote the fact that the company has been in business since 1985, is financially stable, and leads the Arizona market in the temporary industrial labor sector. All of these facts are true, but none of them make it a good place to work. Executive Leadership - Ownership is generally disengaged from the front line other than through reports and key metrics provided by their CRM systems. The company president spends no time in the branches, and regularly defers to the viewpoint of, and decisions made by, a more dominant, autocratic Senior VP - an accountant with a zealous focus on controlling costs, who has no passion for servant leadership, and little experience in operational execution. There are no team-building activities. And other than the quarterly stockholder meeting the management team does not meet regularly to review and discuss the operational well-being of the business. The company owners take pride in their employee tenure, but the environment protects a pernicious status quo. New ideas and/or change are not welcomed with an open mind. Communication - Email is the primary method of exchange (even within the same small corporate office where people can just walk down the hallway). Gossip is very normal across the company. It is not uncommon to hear senior managers and owners discuss employees, customers and temporary workers with cynicism bordering on contempt. Front Line Management - Operations managers are proficient technicians or skilled sales people, but they have limited leadership or management skills. Dusty, picture-framed quotes from Ken Blanchard's book, "Gung Ho!" adorn the walls of branch offices and the lobby of the corporate office. But long gone is the practice of providing managers the tools, coaching and mentoring needed to competently lead others in the way Blanchard prescribed in his writings. Benefits - The employee cost for health insurance is: $150/month for single coverage and $1,560/month for family. And there is no company match for 401K contributions.