During the event, we also watched a video that highlighted the many ways C&A employees give back to the community. Working at a place that encourages this is an added bonus to being a member of the C&A team.
C&A employees have opportunities to give back year round but especially around the Holidays.

Some of the organizations that benefited from our employees contributions last year were: The Food Bank for the Heartland, Lydia House, Cooper Village, and Open Door Mission just to name a few. Seeing your co-workers giving back and creating strong ties in the community gives you some insight into what they are passionate about outside of work.

We recently kicked off our annual United Way Campaign and a company wide food drive benefiting the Food Bank of the Heartland. In the Human Resources and Benefits Departments we also typically help out with the Salvation Army’s intake for their Holiday programs as well as donating to Ted E. Bear Hollow.

Suffice to say, the giving spirit is alive here at C&A. And it’s great to be a part of it.

Bill is an experienced runner, having competed in three half marathons and a full marathon over the last three years. The Chicago and Omaha half marathons and the San Antonio full marathon are some of the races Bill has run in. He started running a few years ago to get back in shape. To keep himself motivated, he started signing up for races. While training, he runs 1-2 times a week and supplements his workouts with other cardio such as spinning and stairs. He also lifts weights a couple times a week.

Bill says that staying focused on the weekly mileage on a consistent basis is the most difficult thing about training, but that the amazing feeling of accomplishment when finishing a race keeps him going.

For those wanting to run any distance race, Bill offers, “Be realistic with your goals. My first race, my goal was to finish.”

While this will be Rory’s first race longer than a 10K, a half marathon is a challenge that he is ready for. Over the past few years, he has put a larger focus on getting in shape and living a healthier lifestyle. In that time, he has lost around 40 pounds! With the increase in cardio workouts, Rory was able to increase his running distance and set a goal of running a half marathon in 2011 and a full marathon in 2012.

Because of the Nebraska winter weather, most of Rory’s training has been mostly on the treadmill. Each week he sets a new goal for distance and time, aiming to stretch out his endurance a little at a time.

When asked what the most rewarding aspect is of training/running a half marathon, Rory said, “A couple of years ago I would have never thought I would be able to do anything like this. The high that you get from checking something like this off your ‘list’ is awesome.”

Both Bill and Rory have set a goal to finish within an hour and 50 minutes, which is about an average of 8:40 a mile. Good luck to both!

What does that mean for our own workforce?  Our summer hiring is in motion.  We’re adding internal staff to serve our clients’ hiring needs and we’re off to a great start! 

Here at C&A, we recently hired six new people for our healthcare staffing division, Aureus Medical Group and are on our way to hiring six or seven more to start later this month.  In addition, we’ve added several new employees in support roles and with various other staffing divisions as well. 

In years past, our team of corporate recruiters has typically spent the majority of our time filling Account Manager (sales) positions but is also responsible for all internal openings.  In the past two months we have had a wide variety of positions to fill from Payroll Specialist, to IT Support Analyst, to Staffing Assistants in addition to those in sales.

The time it takes to fill a position could be anywhere from 1-8 weeks depending on several factors.  Once we receive a job request, we speak with the hiring manager to find out what skills are needed for the position, pay range, assessments that need to be given, and what type of experience will be the best fit. 

We then write ads to appeal towards a person with a specific skill set encouraging internal applicants to apply.  We frequently conduct resume searches on Careerbuilder and LinkedIn as well. 

How quickly a job is filled depends on the quality of applicants that we have apply and how long it takes us to get them through the interview process.  We have been lucky to get some great additions to the C&A team!

Has your company recently experienced an upswing in hiring?

About Stephanie Witt:
Stephanie began her career with C&A Industries in January of 2008 as a Corporate Recruiter – Team Lead. In this role she is responsible for hiring for internal positions under the C&A umbrella of companies. Stephanie has a BS in Business Administration from UNL. Away from work, she is consumed with caring for her two little boys and trying to get back into a workout routine!

Congrats go out to the team of Amanda Sackett, Erin Bluml, David Dries, Penny Couch, Joel Gentile, Adam Ritter, and Ashley Guyle for capturing the championship.

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the tournament.

Aureus Medical Group employees Matt Neel and Abby Hansen received the Patriotic Employer Award.

Congrats to Matt Neel and Abby Hansen, Account Managers for the Medical Laboratory division, for being awarded the “Patriotic Employer” award from the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. One of their contract employees, Brian Tyler, nominated both of them. Colonel Retired John Bryan presented the certificates to Matt and Abby at the monthly Allied Health meeting in April.

Here is what Brian wrote in his nomination.

“I have been employed by Aureus Medical for over two years now. The position takes me all over the country to work at different hospitals to fill in gaps they might have. My 2 account managers Matt Neel and Abby Hansen have been very supportive of my current military service obligation and make it well-known with every contract that I enter that time will be needed to serve, including travel time to my unit. They also encourage that I refer my military medical professional friends and contacts to the company. They understand how important it is for us to serve and deeply respect that. I believe that they are great employers and deserve recognition for treating myself and other soldiers that are employed by Aureus Medical, above and beyond what the federal law requires.”

Tell us the reason for your visit to Thailand?
I went to see all of my mom’s side of the family who lives in Thailand, including my half-brother who was raised there by my grandmother. Until three years ago, all of these relatives were strangers half way across the world. When we met during our first trip to Thailand, I really fell in love with those I met and felt a real connection with them, despite the language barrier. I just couldn’t wait any longer to see my niece and nephew, who are very bright, sweet kids. While we were there, I also did some professional training and took traditional Thai massage classes. I’m so grateful that everything worked out so we could go with my Mom and step dad.

What family members do you have over there? 
I have three uncles who live in eastern Thailand – Tay, Piya and Teng – two of whom have families. Of my several cousins, I have met seven. Bo is my age and is married to Chan and they’ve had a baby in the past year. It was fun to realize that Bo was much like me in the way we “handle” our husband’s actions. My half-brother, Werasak (Vee-la-sock), his wife, Suoy, and two kids, Pay and Fang, all live in Bangkok. 

A group of students from Stephanie's nephew's English class.

Explain what you did with the money raised at the breakfast sponsored by the Nursing division.
The money was used to purchase a laptop which will help Pay’s 6^th grade English class write papers and do research. The laptop proved to be easy to transport and share between classrooms. It was a little difficult for my mom to translate ‘pancake feed’, but the kids were very thankful for the gift! Pay’s English teacher and classmates were very excited when we came. They were especially drawn to my tall, blue-eyed husband and had fun practicing their English on him. We weren’t allowed to be in the classroom while class was in session, but while we waited in the courtyard, we felt like we were the objects of show and tell with the younger kids! It was a riot! 

How long were you there?
We were in paradise for 20 days. It’s the ‘cool’ season right now, which means 80 to 90 degree weather and little rain.     

Stephanie and her husband in Phuket.

What is the culture like in Thailand?
Thailand is very exotic and independent. It’s pretty common to see monks, elephants, and small monkeys on the street on a daily basis. Most people are Buddhists and many display devotion by visiting beautiful ornate temples and paying respect to ‘spirit houses’ that are at every dwelling. Spirit houses look like ornate birdhouses decorated with flowers, knickknacks and small dishes of food and water. The Thai language is complex – the word ‘cow’ can mean ‘white’, ‘smelly fish’, ‘news’ or ‘rice’ depending on your intonation, so you have to be careful when you practice Thai! The majority of people are very gracious and humble – they say hello, thank you, and farewell by bowing to the other with their hands pressed together. It’s really neat to use this gesture as a form of gratitude and respect, even when you know little Thai. The food is probably the most interesting. You can get everything from grasshoppers to fresh papaya to duck gizzards from vendors pushing food carts on the streets. The strangest items that we tried were seaweed chips and pickled mango (which wasn’t very good). We also had barracuda and shark that was all very fresh. And for “dessert” one night we had what appeared to be ground pork wrapped in marshmallow. The meat inside was a surprise, as it was not like your typical American sweet dessert.

Thailand is an amazing country that I recommend visiting! Although it’s still an upcoming third world country, it’s very beautiful. It makes you appreciate the luxuries we have here in the U.S., but is also humbling to see how happy many Thai people are despite living without a lot of material things.