“We are now entering the human capital age as opposed to the industrial age. The key elements of tomorrow’s work environment will include:

• Access to talent is the differentiator
• Companies will be chasing the workers
• Driven by demand for skilled workers
• Employees will be dictating terms
• Workers living/working anywhere/remotely
• Talent will be in short supply
• Technology will be the liberator
• Migration common and open borders
• By age 40 most will have had 10-14 different jobs

“It will be important to align the human capital/talent plan with the business/strategic plan to provide the increase in productivity, the flexibility and effective cost controls required in tomorrow’s work world. The effective utilization of the contingent and flexible workforce will be a key ingredient.”

Jeff Phelps, COO of iWorkGlobal, was on the panel as well. He provided insightful comments regarding the compliance risks that firms must understand and address when deploying workers outside the US.  He stated, “The international employment laws, tax laws and culture of work is different, sometimes complicated and adds complexity to the talent relationships.”

NELSON FINANCIAL RESULTS – FIRST QUARTER 2012

Nelson’s total revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was up 10% from the prior year for the staffing units. Temp sales were up 12% over the prior year. Operating Expenses were kept under control at 7% under budget. Our temp sales’ increases are beating most of our reporting competitors.

ALAN SIMPSON’S WORDS CAUSE CONCERN AND WORRY

At the same Littler conference, we were privileged to hear Alan Simpson speak. Simpson was a co-leader of the Simpson-Bowles commission report to President Obama.

He feels that the US is at a “tipping point” that could raise serious economic issues in the next 6 months. The politicians are not prepared to address the debt issue facing the country. Reducing Federal expenses across the board, including defense, social security and Medicare and simplification of the tax code resulting in modest revenue enhancement is a necessity to balance our budget. He went on to say that the Paul Ryan proposal is a great start and he said Ryan has the best of intentions and is unique in DC. His comments ended with this warning… the most dangerous period is from November, post election through the lame duck session of Congress where anything can happen and could be extremely negative for us all. His advice: “be conservative in your investments and consider a strong cash position until January 2013”.

BACK HOME after Hong Kong, Dubai and London

It is always so nice to return home to Sonoma…YES, there is NO place like home.

Tidbits: Dubai was a highlight! Disneyland for the Middle East! A Shopping Mall with ski runs and an ice rink inside, a mall with an aquarium inside that compares in size to Monterey Bay. People shopping in high-end boutiques like there is no tomorrow; priced a piece of jewelry, a necklace, at $324,000. Did not buy nor take a second look!

Had drinks on the 126th floor of the highest building in the world…and the building moved…only slightly! Great to have Chase join us in London visiting our son, Justin, his wife, Maria, and our granddaughter, Allie aka Little Lu!

I saw several performances in London. Not to miss: “Top Hat” and “Dancing in the Rain.” Both were smashing good musicals with great dancing!!!

NELSON GIFT KICKS OFF THE NEW SONOMA VALLEY HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM

Marcia and I have provided a substantial donation/gift to the SVH capital campaign for building a new state-of-the-art emergency room serving the entire Sonoma Valley community. Marcia was a key speaker at the ground breaking last week. She stated, “Thirty years ago I brought my son Justin to the Hospital Emergency room barely breathing and blue. Quick access to medical care saved his life, then just three months old, from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). We have never forgotten how fortunate we were to have the hospital nearby.”

GIANTS AND NINERS 2012 UPDATE…

The injuries to Brian Wilson and Panda Sandoval , Freddie Sanchez and Aubrey Huff have decimated our San Francisco team…nonetheless STELLAR pitching is keeping us near the Dodgers so we can make a mid-year run at them!

My SF Forty Niners added some exciting players this off-season. Speed and quickness to our offense was a key “need.”  With the additions of Moss, Jenkins, Manningham and James, we have made tremendous strides toward filling that need. We may now be able to make third downs, move the ball and keep our defense rested. We have retained intact one of the BEST defenses in the NFL…and added significantly to our offense! Harbaugh is now prepared to take the team to the next step.

More later,

Gary

ONE: Nelson was named as a 2012 BEST STAFFING firm in the US by Inavero based on both their candidate and client surveys. This nationwide award is won by less than 1% of North American Staffing firms.

TWO: Nelson was named the BEST PLACEMENT SERVICE by NorthBay Biz for the 11^th consecutive year!

THREE: Nelson was ranked among the BEST PLACES to WORK in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times

FOUR: Nelson was selected as one of the 2012 BEST PLACES to WORK by the San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal

FIVE: Nelson was named the TOP STAFFING SERVICE in 2012 by the PACIFIC SUN of Marin County

NELSON opens new SAN DIEGO OFFICE

In mid May, we will open the San Diego office with an Open House for local business and interested job candidates. The ribbon cutting ceremony followed by food and drink for the guests will introduce our Nelson staff to the Sorrento Valley/ San Diego community.

FANTASTIC RESULTS at GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE in SAN FRANCISCO

Connections were made with 100 artists, 20 sound/audio engineers, 65 programmers/engineers, 52 design/production professionals many more interested in the gaming/interactive industry…a Nelson specialty!

START UPS DRIVE DEMAND for TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

Nelson Technology (NT) Staffing continues to grow very rapidly as they are up 75% in 2012 revenue compared to the same period last year. The gross profit also continues to grow as pay rates and bill rates surge! According to Melanie Quandt, leader of NT, the emerging tech market is expanding as evidenced by interest at the CloudForce conference this past week. New Job Opportunities at attractive early stage ventures are driving demand for quality technical talent!

SIA (Staffing Industry Analysts) conference UPDATE from Vegas …YoY growth STABLE TO IMPROVING

According to Paul Ginocchio of Deutsche Bank,

*“he believes that revenue growth is stable at mid to high single digits so far this year. The positive comments we heard on better permanent placement trends are indicative of increasing business confidence at this point in the cycle.” He adds, “Since the trough in employment in Feb 2010, 17% of all incremental jobs have been temp vs 7% for the comparable period in the last cycle. We believe temps have now become a more permanent component of the workforce.”

* “Talent scarcity continues in professional staffing, particularly IT…Light industrial jobs are requiring more skills which are proving difficult to find in the workforce.”

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CRACKDOWN could be positive for staffing

In an effort to collect taxes, the Federal and State governments are going after and cracking down on independent contractors, 1099 workers. It is estimated that the 1099 employee market is 1x to 3x the size of the temp staffing market in terms of number of workers. The US is placing additional audit attention on 1099 workers. The most recent budget proposed by President Obama allocates $14m to the Department of Labor focused on misclassification of staff.

The 2012 NOVEMBER ELECTION is a MAJOR DECISION POINT!!!

The presidential and congressional election results this fall will be critical for all workers and business for years to come. We recognize the importance of taxes on individuals and businesses like ours and the impact on your take home pay. The current Federal and State debt we have & continue to run up is frightening and the tax payers will eventually have to pay the piper! I am advocating we take a very serious and prudent approach to resolving our US financial situation and urge each of us to consider your vote as very important come November. Listen to the candidates and the review the key issues carefully!

RECOMMENDATIONS:

“Separation”…a film from Iran that is well acted and a compelling story line. Best Foreign film and winner of the 2012 Oscar! See it!

Watch the SF Giants come out swinging with more offense and solid pitching as the new baseball season gets underway. I will miss the home Opener for the first time in many years!

Try to attend the 2012 Littler Employer in Scottsdale on May 9-11!

I will participate on a panel …on “The Future of Work” a special session!

I AM OFF to Hong Kong, Dubai and London…in that order

Five weeks to get away from email and phones! Marcia (and I) will babysit Allie, our 14 month old granddaughter for two weeks while in the UK. See you in early May!

More later.

Gary

The combined revenue from Nelson Staffing, Nelson & Associates and Nelson Technology increased 17.7% this past year compared to the 2010 period. The same groups were up 13% in January 2012 over 2011 when normalized for the extra holiday. Individual performance in January was led by Nelson Technology up 79%; Nelson & Associates up 14%, and Nelson Staffing up 7% over the prior January.

Tony Bartenetti, Sara Boyd and Melanie Quandt all deserve recognition for this success!

Direct Hire Openings at 8-year high…and more

Recent input from the Nelson business unit leaders provides interesting insights…

Though clients have very specific requirements, the 8-year record level of job openings is a positive indicator that demand is gaining momentum and good for business.

Nelson Technology has experienced a 57% increase in January placements year over year (KUDOs Melanie Quandt)… and customers are predicting a 50–300% increase in new hiring!

Nelson Staffing in the Central Valley, ably led by Beth Noseworthy, has experienced tremendous increase in demand. The Fairfield, Sacramento and Modesto offices have benefited from this significant increase in new orders.

Goodbye WorkforceLogic… and THANKS!

This week, we are celebrating the 2011 TOP PERFORMER VMS/MSP award from SIA with a get together with the WFL compliance and development groups! These two groups have worked fabulously behind the scenes and contributed significantly to the many years of success of the WorkforceLogic enterprise. Special thanks to Todd Trask and the development team he hired, managed and nurtured since 2001. Jeff Phelps led ABE, then WFL compliance from the late 1990s and was instrumental in hiring Melissa Oliva and many other compliance team members. That WFL compliance group is a well-respected industry leader in the human capital marketplace.

As these two groups move on to the ZeroChaos entity, the Nelson family wishes them all the very best in this new combined ZC/WFL venture!

SIA 2012 Executive Forum to be represented by Nelson management

Craig Nelson CEO, Monty Houdeshell Chairman, Tony Bartenetti VP Nelson Staffing, and Jeff Phelps COO of iWorkGlobal will attend the Staffing Industry Analysts conference on March 13-16 in Las Vegas. They will meet with industry leaders to discuss strategic issues, trends, opportunities and current challenges facing the industry and staffing firms today.

Staffing Industry Analysts February trends report summary notes

US Labor Department states number of job listings at highest level in years

Buyers are afraid of ICs because of legal risks and that is giving the staffing business and the compliance division a boost

US temp staffing is up 17%

US permanent staffing is up 34%

The unemployment rate has dropped to 8.3%

Mild but widespread economic growth is anticipated.

Payment terms for staffing firms have improved whereby 48% of staffing firms require payment in 30-60 days. And yet, ECRI stands by its earlier recession prediction…stay tuned!

SF 49ers provide January excitement!

As a longtime (50 plus years) 49ers fan, I can say that the playoff games against the New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants were two of the greatest games I have ever experienced…NO QUESTION; entertaining, exciting, and riveting! Just like the old days. Thank you Jim Harbaugh, his coaching staff and players for a GREAT year!

Now we approach 2012 and 2013 with high expectations! Did I mention I have booked New Orleans for next year’s Super Bowl????

Celebration with RW Baird in Sonoma

Bret Schoch, Brian Cole, John Gallagher and Haseeb Ashraf will be joining the extended Nelson family this week in Sonoma to celebrate the closing (which took place on January 1) of the WFL/ZC transaction! As all can attest…it was a SLOG, sometimes very frustrating, and required infinite patience, but the Baird team represented our interests to the end. A great deal of patience was required during the absolutely fierce negotiations… dealing with me was no walk in the park.

Steve Furtado deserves accolades for the many extra hours he and his accounting team worked while pushing the envelope as our financial “insider” during this transaction!

Thanks to Bret and Baird, Steve and the rest of Team Nelson …one and all.

Gary’s Recommendations/Predictions:

Academy Awards…

Best Movie: The Artist…must see it! Unique film and a great cast!

Best Actor: Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy…See this too!

Great Must Read: The Art of Racing in the Rain…a dog’s story that explores humanity in a funny and insightful way…a very quick read because you absolutely can’t put it down!

More Later…

Gary

by Gary Nelson on January 6th, 2012

Nelson sells majority interest in WorkforceLogic to ZeroChaos

On Monday, a press release will go live announcing the sale of a majority and controlling interest in WorkforceLogic to ZeroChaos and its financial partner Snow Phipps. The Nelson Companies retained R W Baird as our exclusive Investment Advisor/Banker for this transaction.

When combined, WorkforceLogic and ZeroChaos will provide clients with an expanded menu of workforce solutions as well as a formidable supplier network with quality talent. The release will quote me as follows: “In a consolidating market that demands ever more in terms of value and services offered, the combination of WorkforceLogic’s top-performing VMS and MSP services with the strength of the 1.5-billion-dollar-strong ZeroChaos company will increase our capabilities both domestically and internationally.” The Nelson Family will retain a minority interest in the combined company. The three Nelson Staffing groups, HRhome and iWorkGlobal will continue to be owned and operated by the current Nelson management teams.

Craig Nelson, new CEO at NFC & Candland Joins ZeroChaos

With the sale of WFL, Catherine Candland, our CEO since 2010, is moving to ZeroChaos. I’m pleased to announce that Craig Nelson will replace her assuming the role of CEO for the Nelson companies, effective January 12, 2012. Craig has been with the company over ten years and has established strong relationships with staff, clients, and community members at all levels. He personifies the Nelson core values which have sustained this company for over 40 years. I am confident this succession transition will be smooth and the company will thrive under Craig’s leadership. Special thanks to Catherine Candland for all her efforts related to this transition.

 Best Revenue Performance Ever for the company

In 2011, our total revenue—all NFC/WFL business units included—was $435.7 million. That’s a 9.5% increase over 2010’s revenue of $398.1 million!

The Staffing Divisions fared extremely well. Their revenue in 2011 was $118.0 million, which is an increase of 17.8% over 2010’s revenue of $100.1 million.

Net Operating Expenses rose significantly last year as well as we continued to invest in the future…with additional staff, expanded our geographic and office presence and made major enhancements to the WFL application/technology. This has resulted in a decrease in net income/profitability compared to the prior year.

Nelson’s Values rolling out in 2012

Following on the kick-off of our Values initiative announced at last year’s All Hands meeting, a steering committee has worked on the definitions of Excellence, Integrity, Empathy, and Innovation as they exist within our Nelson Culture – much more work than it sounds. This week, an expanded group of Values ambassadors met to further vet and move along this critical initiative. You’ll hear more about this from Craig Nelson and Anna Norgueiro when they bring the 2012 Strategic Plan and Values initiative to the branches in January and February.

How ‘Bout Those NINERS?

With the 2011 addition of leadership by Head Coach Jim Harbaugh (and the Nelson-Niner staffing relationship) the 49ers are heading into the NFL playoffs after fulfilling my prediction they would win the NFC West! They will host a game at Candlestick and WIN…as they make plans to play in the 2012 Super Bowl.

Movie Reviews by Gary

“Descendants” with George Clooney is a wonderful film with Hawaii scenes at its best and a compelling family story line. Funny spots and sad!

“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is a GREAT movie…MUST SEE! Gary Oldham plays the retired UK spy/agent perfectly. Great cinema! Keeps you on your toes!

More Later, Gary

WorkforceLogic has received top ranking as a VMS and MSP Overall Top Performer in the 2011 customer satisfaction survey conducted by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).  WorkforceLogic is the single MSP provider in the United States to have received top ratings from the 2000 buyers and staffing providers surveyed.  This is the second consecutive year that WorkforceLogic has been ranked as a top performer.

According to Bryan Pena, Vice President at Staffing Industry Analysts, “In order to be considered for the ‘Top Performer Overall’ list, vendors had to score in the top quartile for both staffing providers and buyers.  Only one managed service provider rated in this year’s survey scored high enough with both key audiences to qualify.” WorkforceLogic!

“This recognition is a testimonial to the high level of customer service  our professional staff has provided to our clients and is a trademark of our company.  Since we established the company ten years ago, we have successfully serviced clients like Yahoo! and NetApp.  Our reputation for quality service has been the differentiator and this ranking supports that success,” said Gary Nelson, Founder and Chairman of the company.

SF 49ers WIN NFC West and Head to Playoffs

Since Nelson became the official staffing partner for the SF 49ers and Jim Harbaugh became head coach, the team has wrapped up the title and will head into the NFL playoffs come January!  The talented leadership we have in place once again speaks volumes…. it is all about the talent you have at the top of the organization.  The 49ers have one of the best coaching staffs in football.  As you may recall, I predicted that SF would win the West title before the season began!

NELSON DIRECT HIRE is Smashing Records!

Compared to last year the Nelson Family of Companies (NFC) Direct Hire results are outstanding!  The Nelson Company Direct Hire is up over 80% year-over-year through November!  Special note of congratulations to Nelson Search up 70% year-over-year; Nelson Technology up 300% year-over-year and Nelson Associates over last year by 90%!

Leadership from Tony Bartenetti, Todd Witkin, Melanie Quandt and Sara Boyd deserve special kudos!

iWorkGlobal Hires Kay Ring

Kay Ring joins iWorkGlobal… leading the US business development activities domestically.  She joins Paul Voakes, our London based CEO, and Jeff Phelps, the San Francisco-based COO in developing this new compliance/risk mitigation and payroll services offering internationally.

Kay transfers from WorkforceLogic….. and will be selling to US-based multi-national firms and PEO’s.  iWorkGlobal is covering over 50 countries currently and expanding to other jurisdictions monthly.  Paul Lloyd and Jessica Wessley from the UK office both spent time with us recently in the US working with staff and customers.

Happy Holidays to One and All!

As we enter the Christmas season, we have a great deal to be thankful for… an extremely solid year in our 40-year-old staffing business, establishing our new iWorkGlobal business with wonderful UK based partners, and WorkforceLogic bouncing back adding LinkedIn and Salesforce.com to our list of top quality new logos. 

May your holiday time with family be special and the New Year a healthy and prosperous 2012.

Cheers!

Gary