Strictly Staffing

She’s been in business for just six years, but already Sherry Johnson has witnessed Strictly Staffing Inc. come full circle – candidates for whom she once found jobs are now asking her to help with their own staffing needs.

“Sherry was the one who helped me find my first job here,” recalls Angela Franklin, who moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario 13 years ago and turned to Strictly Staffing Inc. to re-start her office management career.

The company placed her successfully in several contract jobs and then Franklin started her own company, Black & White Bookkeeping, about two years ago. She’s since grown from two clients to more than 60.

“I have one full-time employee now and I’m hoping to have Sherry help me find another one, potentially two, very shortly,” says Franklin. “She’ll be able to find the right person for me. She knows me; she knows my temperament; she knows my business.”

In fact, Johnson makes it her business to know such things.

The president and owner of Halifax’s Strictly Staffing Inc. started the company in September 2004 after years in the workforce, including positions with two of the world’s largest recruiting firms.

While she loved the work, she yearned to be her own boss, in an environment where she could get to know her clients personally, and establish long-term relationships.

“I wanted to help small- and medium-sized businesses grow and that’s been the most rewarding thing,” says Johnson. “You find them a manager, and then they call you to find someone to do marketing, or human resources. I feel we get to spend a lot more time with our clients, and with our candidates, than a big company does.

“I visit every client we place someone with, so we can get to know what they’re looking for, their culture.”

When she first hung out her shingle, Strictly Staffing Inc. focused on placements in the legal field, a niche Johnson identified as needing attention. She initially set out to do executive recruitment and full-time positions only.

But she soon found clients coming to her for their temporary needs, and for assistance in fields including accounting, finance, engineering, administration, marketing and human resources. While most are from metro, Johnson has worked with companies across the Maritimes, in Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and even Bermuda.

“I’m all about the fit,” says Johnson. “I feel once you place people and they’re happy and they’re working out great, that’s your sales team right there.”

One of the ways she ensures that is through rigorous testing of candidates, in English, spelling, grammar, the latest software packages, proofing and editing, business editing, accounting and other areas.

Candidates also undergo up to three interviews, a minimum of three reference checks, and criminal background checks.

“When people are starting a new small business what tends to happen is they take the first person who happens by. But that’s not necessarily the person who’s going to help them grow. What Strictly Staffing Inc. does is find the person with the best skills and experience who will be immediately productive and therefore benefit the business.”

And Johnson is dedicated to helping the candidates who grace her office, as well, by offering advice on courses they should take to improve their employment chances, for instance. She has worked with the Metro Immigrant Settlement Association (MISA) and the Black Business Initiative. She often speaks to students in training and employment programs, and college classes. Johnson also accepts co-op students, whom she enjoys mentoring.

“I have a job where I come in every day knowing I can change somebody’s life,” she says. “And you don’t know if that person sitting in the chair across from you will someday be your boss.”

She also “gives back” through work with charities like the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (Johnson lost her sister to the disease) Feed Nova Scotia, and Nuts 4 Ribs.
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Her biggest gift, though, may be a knack for reading the marketplace. For instance, Johnson is sensitive to the recent shift that has seen employees focusing not so much on salary, but on quality of life – perks such as longer vacations, gym memberships, and casual days, not to mention professional development and opportunities for advancement.

She’s also keen to sign on more candidates – especially contractors – from the Baby Boomer demographic. That’s because companies are losing these “mentors” as large numbers of them retire.

Johnson, who employs a staff of four at her Chebucto Road office, even plans to write a book: What Employers Want 101, which will cover everything from body language and resume style to interview etiquette and job-search journaling.