#DefiantOriginStory

I missed the deadline for my #DefiantOriginStory, but better late than never. Thank you, Jonathan Yeomans for nominating me.

News Flash! I did not grow up dreaming of being in the staffing industry. I told my parents when I was young that I wanted to grow up and put people on hold. I was fascinated by the front desk lady at my dentist's office. She was so pretty, and every time we were there, I would sit in the lobby and listen to her pick up the phone and say, "Good Morning. Can you please hold?" I was hooked. ??

I’m a proud University of North Dakota graduate with a Communications Degree. I wanted to move to Minneapolis, but unsure of what I actually wanted to be now that I had grown up. I called my best friend, Toni Christensen , who had just gotten her first job in Minneapolis, and asked if she had any ideas. She said, "YES, come and work here; we have an opening!" She reminded me that she worked at Kelly Services, a temporary staffing agency. I had no idea what temporary staffing was, but four days later, I was interviewing in the branch manager's Amy Koroll office in downtown Minneapolis. I will never forget one of her first questions: "What makes you interested in HR?" My reply was, "What is HR?" I was clueless. Thankfully, she gave me some grace, explained, and hired me! Thank you, Amy, for giving me my first break in this industry.

There is nothing more rewarding than working with your childhood best friend. It didn't feel like a job. We were on a mission and had the best time. We managed four massive call centers and had over 800 temps on billing. We were young and unscathed by the industry, which can be exhausting, as we all know. We showed up early every day, worked late every night, and loved every second of it. Toni moved to Duluth after a couple of years to start her family and new career path, but I stayed in the industry. Here I am, 25 years later.

Reflecting on my career, the word that comes to mind is grateful. I have been blessed with talented leaders who took me under their wings and taught me the ropes. Undoubtedly, I'm the person I am today because of the leadership I had and the opportunities I experienced.

Al Sowers was the "Chief" of the Minneapolis market of Kelly Services, and he saw something in me early on. He was my biggest cheerleader. He would get as excited as Toni and me when we would call him together to tell him that we just got 500 or 800 orders. I have so many funny stories with Al at the center, and I still think of them to this day. He made me a Branch Manager at 26 years old, which was humbling, to say the least. I remember when he came to the branch to teach me the ins and outs of a Profit & Loss statement. Let's just say that I have many gifts, but math wasn’t one of them. I certainly have gotten a lot better over the years, but at that time, the math wasn’t MATHING! He was so patient, never got frustrated, and stuck with it.

What's the biggest lesson I learned in that role? Take out the garbage!! I cringe thinking about it to this day. My team and I let the garbage pile up in the back of the office for over a month. Al made a surprise visit. I was on the phone, but I could hear the door opening and closing. As I sat there on the phone, I knew exactly what was happening and felt panic come over me. Al, the Chief, my mentor, was taking out our garbage in a three-piece suit! Let’s say that I’ve never let that happen again. Leadership is about doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Being a leader isn’t just about empowering people but being a good example. I have never forgotten that moment. There are times to this day when I’m too tired to do something or don’t want to, and the memory of the garbage piled up in the back of the branch office comes to mind, and I push through.

I went on to be the first hire of the Kelly Services Ninja Team and traveled the U.S. for a year. I then transitioned to the MSP side of the house with KVMS, now KellyOCG. I continued my MSP adventures when my previous boss at Kelly, Tracy Scheid , hired me to oversee the 3M program for Procurestaff. Tracy was and still is my mentor, my friend, and someone I truly am inspired by. Working for her again, but now in the MSP space, was a fun experience. She was and still is a great leader from whom I have learned so much.

I spent almost a decade with the organization, growing my MSP portfolio and taking on more responsibility and leadership opportunities. In late 2019, I entered the new world of Direct Sourcing. Having been in the MSP space for so long, I knew the gaps in that solution and the clients' biggest challenge: ACCESS TO TALENT! I thought I could solve that gap by building a Direct Sourcing solution specifically to optimize an MSP program.

Amit Somaiya gave me my shot, and we created IMS Oneworld together. While we had all the pieces and parts, DS was so new, foreign, and misunderstood by many. Then the global pandemic hit. Certainly not an excuse, but I still have regrets about it to this day. Everything would have been different if we had just started this two years later. However, Amit taught me so many lessons, one of which is never to have regrets. Acknowledge what happened, and keep moving. Most notably, Amit taught me that leadership is grace; I will never forget that.

For the past two years, I have continued my Direct Sourcing journey and architected a solution that is the culmination of my experiences throughout this entire journey. Arthur Knapp vacated retirement to come back to the industry as our CEO. I knew of the OG as a competitor but had never formally met him. The past eighteen months under his leadership have been nothing short of transformational for me personally. One of the things Art is most proud of is his time as a girl's/women’s basketball coach. There is no doubt that coaching is in his blood. He is patient and kind and takes the time to get to really know the person behind the person. Art knows when I need a cheerleader, a therapist, a fire lit under my arse, etc. He is my life coach, mentor, and friend; I have dedicated this Direct Sourcing journey to him. As I always tell him, “I will be damned if you ride off into the sunset for Retirement 2.0 without this Direct Sourcing thing being a complete success!” I’m proud to say that we are really doing the damn thing! We have taken flight, and there is no looking back.

I could only highlight a few people and opportunities during my 25 years in this industry. However, I am so grateful for each and every person who has touched my career in so many different ways throughout the years. There are so many clients who are still friends, so many co-workers who have touched my life in so many ways, and so many people who have become part of my story without even knowing it.

I'm happy to nominate Toni Christensen , Amy Koroll , Al Sowers , Amit Somaiya , and Arthur Knapp to tell their #DefiantOriginStory

Bryan Pe?a

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