Staffing firm relocates to historic, downtown building

Business Today

POPLAR BLUFF -- In order to have more space and a better location, the owners of Productive Staffing have restored a historic building at 502 Poplar St. in downtown Poplar Bluff.

Janet McNece and her husband, William, who handles the payroll accounting department, established Productive Staffing in 1996. The agency was located on South Broadway for five years and then was next to Wal-Mart for 3 1/2 years.

"My husband completely remodeled this historic 1878 building. It was built as a funeral home," Janet McNece said. "It took him eight months to do all the remodeling work. He saved all the beautiful woodwork."

They chose the new location to be closer to downtown and the industrial park. A private parking lot is available. The 8,000-square-foot building has recruiter offices, training rooms and a large storage area for the payroll department.

"I'm real excited about this location. It is easier for prospective workers to stop here. It is across Fifth Street from the Post Office," said McNece, who began working in personnel management in 1992. They moved to the new location on May 1.

"We are a full-service staffing agency, specializing in temporary, part-time and full-time employment," Janet McNece said. "We obtain employees for jobs ranging from clerical to light industrial to management. We also take care of payroll for several companies."

Productive Staffing is largely involved in helping companies find full-time permanent employees.

"We conduct interviews, perform drug screening and criminal background checks on potential employees and check past work references," said McNece, who added the firm recruits 75 to 100 people every week.

"We provide services 24 hours, seven days a week. Phone calls are transferred to our home," she said. "If clients need workers for the night shift or if an employee is sick, we can provide workers for them."

Productive Staffing's temporary division has lists of students, retirees and others with a flexible schedule. They indicate what hours they are available to work and are available at a moment's notice to go out to work.

"Many employees we placed in 1996 are still on the job today. It is a very gratifying feeling for us. Some started at entry level and in nearly 10 years have management jobs," McNece said. "We have two major customers -- businesses and workers. Our business takes care of the needs of both."

"Our business fluctuates depending on the needs of our clients. Manufacturing employment is going up in Poplar Bluff. We want to keep the jobs in this area," McNece said. "We work with more than 100 companies at one time."

Productive Staffing focuses on serving Poplar Bluff clients, but has expanded over the years to cover Dexter to the east, Piedmont to the north and Corning, Ark., to the south.