February 2025 Edition

A Word from Our Partner

February reminded me of the power of adaptability and preparation—qualities that are essential as we navigate the demands of peak seasons and the uncertainties ahead. At KO Business Solutions, we’re not just here to support you through busy times; we’re committed to being a steadfast partner when it matters most. Whether guiding the financial services industry through tax season or offering tailored disaster relief strategies in anticipation of seasonal disruptions, our team is ready to provide the expertise and reliability you need to navigate these critical moments.

Thank you for placing your trust in KO as a partner in your growth and success. Let’s move forward with intention, resilience, and a shared commitment to excellence!

A Focus Group to Enhance Hiring Success in 2025: Our Commitment to Continuous Improvement

In February, we conducted a focus group with top small to medium business leaders and owners from various industries (from environmental consultants to health and fitness experts) to better understand the most pressing hiring challenges in today’s job market. Our attendees overwhelmingly pointed to two key obstacles when trying to hire internally:

1. Time: Hiring the right candidate takes significant effort—posting job listings, reviewing resumes, interviewing, and onboarding. Attendees noted that this process can take weeks or months, delaying productivity, diverting essential business resources from more critical priorities, and stretching internal resources.
2. Cost: Hiring expenses extend beyond salaries, with costs for job ads, background checks, and pre-employment assessments. Attendees highlighted how poor hires can be even more costly, leading to high turnover, additional training, and lost productivity. Companies need a solution that reduces financial risk while providing access to top talent.

Through these discussions, we uncovered additional opportunities to enhance our Hourly Recruiting Model, ensuring it truly reflects its value and better serves our clients.

Unlike traditional firms that prioritize speed over precision, often leading to rushed hires that may not be the best long-term fit— we're proud that our model goes above and beyond for our clients. Our attendees highlighted several key benefits of our approach, especially for small businesses looking to maximize their hiring budget with cost transparency:

• Culture Fit Evaluation: We go beyond just filling roles by assessing candidates for alignment with our clients’ business values, resulting in stronger, more committed hires.
• Cost-Effective Hiring: Unlike traditional firms with large upfront fees, our pay-as-you-go model ensures clients only for the actual time used in the search process.
• Budget Flexibility for Small Businesses: Our transparent pricing structure allows businesses to better allocate their hiring budget, making high-quality recruiting services more accessible.
• Significant Cost Savings: By eliminating expensive placement fees, our clients save thousands while still gaining access to reliable, top-tier talent.

With these insights in mind, we are rebranding our model to better represent its impact. The new name will be revealed in our March edition newsletter - keep an eye out!

Looking for your next great hire or want to test our services for a month to support your hiring efforts? Contact Scott at (630) 230-6766 or Christian at (630) 278-3837 to get started.

Expanding Our Impact: HR Services on the Horizon

One of the biggest takeaways from our focus group with our trusted business leaders was a strong interest in HR support services, particularly among small to medium-sized business owners.

Many companies struggle with critical HR tasks that extend beyond hiring, and two key needs stood out:

• Bridging the Gap from Hiring to Onboarding – Businesses want a seamless transition from offer acceptance to onboarding, ensuring new hires feel supported and productive from day one. With this growing demand, onboarding services may soon be on the horizon at KO Business Solutions.
• Ensuring Compliance with Hiring & Employee Records – Businesses recognize the importance of keeping their employee files compliant with state regulations and governance and see the need to keep their internal processes aligned with regulatory changes through regular external audits. This is an area where KO already has proven expertise.

A great example of this is a project we completed for a staffing agency, where we conducted a compliance audit of 20,000 I-9 forms. Our team’s efforts resulted in a $1.5 million reduction in client liability, ensuring full compliance with federal regulations and helping the company avoid costly penalties. This not only protected their business from risk but also strengthened their internal hiring and documentation processes for the future. Read our full case study: here.

With this valuable insight from our focus group, KO Business Solutions is exploring ways to expand our HR service offerings to provide even greater support for businesses.

Be the first to know when we launch our new HR service offerings—join our list by emailing [email protected].

Disaster Relief Management: Simple KOnnect for Crisis Support

When disaster strikes, effective communication is critical for both businesses and the communities they serve. Whether it's spring flooding, severe weather events, or unexpected crises, timely information and coordinated response efforts can make all the difference.

At KO Business Solutions, our Simple KOnnect call center outsource services provide a trusted solution for disaster relief management, ensuring businesses, municipalities, and emergency organizations have the support they need when faced with urgent challenges.

Ways Simple KOnnect Supports Disaster Relief & Emergency Response

1. 24/7 Call Center Support: Our trained agents ensure that vital information is communicated promptly, assisting residents, customers, and businesses with real-time updates and resources.
2. Crisis Communication Management: We streamline inbound and outbound calls, helping organizations manage inquiries, coordinate responses, and distribute accurate information quickly and efficiently.
3. Scalable Assistance During Emergencies: Whether it’s an influx of claims, service disruptions, or urgent customer concerns, our team scales to meet demand, reducing wait times and ensuring seamless support.
4. Business Continuity for Companies in Affected Areas: Businesses experiencing staffing shortages or operational disruptions can rely on Simple KOnnect to handle customer inquiries, appointment scheduling, and service coordination—allowing teams to focus on recovery efforts.

Partnering for Impact

Through proactive disaster preparedness and responsive support, KO Business Solutions works alongside businesses, municipalities, and relief organizations to provide dependable communication solutions that keep communities informed and businesses operational.

When emergencies happen, you need a partner who can help navigate uncertainty with confidence. Learn more about how Simple KOnnect can support your business and community during critical moments. Contact us today to explore customized solutions.

Expanding Our Network & Reach in 2025

Committed to growing our network and strengthening relationships to better serve businesses across industries, part of our 2025 sales strategy, is to lean into each team member’s individual strengths to drive success—one of Christian’s being relationship building and lead generation.

That’s why we’re excited to share that Christian Leal, our Business Development Manager, is now an Ambassador for the GOA Regional Business Association (GOA Website). As an Ambassador, Christian plays a vital role in connecting with local businesses, fostering meaningful partnerships, and supporting economic growth within the GOA community.

By leveraging Christian’s networking expertise, we are expanding our presence in 2025, tapping into new markets, forming strategic partnerships, and strengthening our ability to help businesses thrive.