“I understand that not every job is for every person. Working in staffing kind of allows me to assemble the jigsaw puzzle each day. Each puzzle piece being the employee has different features. And the company has a puzzle that they’re looking to fill and they need different features. So, I’m trying to find the right person for the right puzzle, the right piece to go along.”
McCollum Staffing, a 100% woman-owned agency, was founded in 1997 by Gay McCollum. YOUR Chamber sat down with Office Manager Kelly Sheppard to learn more about the company.
Tell Us About McCollum Staffing
Miss Gay McCollum worked various jobs in Monroe including in banking, at the radio station and in staffing. Her heart was always and always has been focused on helping other people. After being out of the staffing industry for a few years, she followed her heart and opened an agency that is now McCollum Staffing. Opening the business was a way for her to help employees find the job that best suits them long-term and also assist companies and clients and managing their workforce. She opened the business because she got to do everything she loved to do at work; spend time with people, help employees find employment that they loved, and help clients staff their business.
McCollum Staffing offers temporary placement, permanent placement, and short-term employee assignments. Since we’re locally owned and operated, we can cater our services to the needs of our clients. We focus on making a strong working connection with our clients by finding employees who are a solid match for their needs. Each company has its niche that it needs to fill.
We are headquartered in Monroe. We were built and developed in Monroe. We have a satellite office in Wadesboro, which we opened so clients in Anson County don’t have to travel an hour to fill out an application in hopes they would get a job.
What Can Clients Expect Working with McCollum Staffing?
We work with the employees on what they want and what is going to make them happy versus just throwing them out there. The coolest part of the business is seeing employees who come in after working an assignment for us who go full-time. Then, for whatever reason down the road, they’re looking for something different and they come back to us. I recently had a gentleman come in who we had placed 25 years ago. He was still with the same company but was looking for something new. We were able to place him in a new job pretty quickly, and he starts tomorrow.
I was at a recent networking event, and a woman came up to me to say I had placed her a while back. And she had worked her way up from assembly into the office. Those stories are so rewarding to hear. Knowing that we are helping feel happy and confident where they are.
We are likely one of the largest organizations that still takes applications by pen and paper. We just believe that that’s very important to know people are writing their application and they’re making an effort to come in and write their application and not just do it behind a computer screen. We get to know them to learn where their priorities are. We screen them for over an hour. If there are skill areas where we can help, then we can set them up to do a good job.
We can help a wide variety of organizations who are looking for employees. For me, one of the best parts of working in staffing is that I never knew what my job is from day to day. I get to work for various clients. And again, they all have different jobs that they’re looking to fill, particular people they’re looking for, and so it breaks up my job. One day I’m looking for a maintenance technician and then another day I’m looking for a CNA. You never know what you’re getting.
At McCollum Staffing, we focus on humble giving, which is a scripture-based decision for us. We work with nonprofits locally, across the state, across the nation, and worldwide. Our soft spots are always for children – especially when it comes to making sure they’re fed and have access to activities outside of school with impactful mentors.”
Who would you choose as a celebrity to represent McCollum Staffing?
Dolly Parton would represent us well for so many reasons. The cool thing about Dolly is that she is going to go on her heart and that’s it. She’s also an example of what hard work will do. She was raised in poverty, with no electricity and no running water. And now she’s one of the most successful people and she’s still going hard at 77 years old. She finds a way to make yourself relatable to everyone. She works hard even at 77. She goes with her gut decisions and stands true to her principles. She takes ownership for her choices and doesn’t place faults on others, which I think is just it’s amazing. If she wants to come on out, we’d be happy to take pictures with her!
Last modified: January 25, 2024
