Agency uses respect to recruit best workers

After several years of working for large employment agencies, Michele Mummau and Karen Hobbs decided the best way to recruit workers was to give them respect.

In July 1999, Mummau and Hobbs established A-Plus Employment Agency Inc., 1929 Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County. APlus now employs five people and had revenues of $1.27 million in 2000, Mummau said.

Although it faces competition from much larger employment agencies, Mummau and Hobbs said A-Plus continues to succeed because it values the workers it recruits just as much as its clients.

"We're paid by the client, but the employees are just as important to us," Hobbs said. "The employees are not just numbers to us. They come from all walks of life, and we're here to help them."

A-Plus helps companies recruit employees for a variety of jobs, including construction and industrial production work.

The agency works with about 15 companies and recruited about 600 people last year, Mummau said.

A-Plus charges its clients fees that are based on how many hours the recruited employees work, Mummau said. The employees are then paid by A-Plus until a client chooses to hire them on a permanent basis.

Temporary employees are especially helpful to businesses that operate on a seasonal basis, Hobbs said. They can be used in times of economic slowdown, when companies may need additional employees but can't afford to hire them permanently.

However, temporary employees often feel stigmatized because they are not formally part of a company, Hobbs added. So, A-Plus provides these employees incentives to make them feel more comfortable, including helping to pay for bus fare and giving bonuses for good attendance.

"Other agencies will do those kind of things, but only once or twice," Mummau said. "For us, it's a constant process of helping employees feel like they're part of a company."

When employees feel accepted, they perform better at work, said Robb Dombach, production superintendent at East Petersburg-based Specialty Products & Insulation Co.'s plant in Lancaster. Specialty Products & Insulation started working with A-Plus earlier this year and has used about 25 of the agency's recruits.

"A-Plus is very easy to work with, and they make sure that people show up to their job on time and are ready to work," he said.

Mummau and Hobbs said they hope to start a program in October to help senior workers find jobs. The company's revenues are expected to increase by 10 percent this year. Mummau said A-Plus might open an office in Reading in the future.

"We're not going to add anything tremendous," Mummau said. "But we want to continue to grow."