Spherion Franchise Owner Ron Zarbock Named the Company’s 2016 Owner of the Year

Spherion Staffing Services, a local recruiting, staffing and workforce solutions provider backed by the resources of a $2 billion global workforce leader, recently honored Northern Utah franchise owner Ron Zarbock with the company’s 2016 Owner of the Year Award. The annual award recognizes the individual owner or ownership team who best symbolizes the Spherion pillars of business growth, leadership and community involvement during the previous year.

Last year marked the sixth consecutive year of collective growth across Zarbock’s Wasatch Front office network (including branches in Salt Lake City, Orem, Riverdale and Taylorsville), with a nearly 120 percent overall increase in combined revenue during that stretch. Zarbock extended his network further in 2016 as a co-owner of the Spherion Boise branch. Together, these branches added more than 100 new accounts in 2016, including a third On-Premise account, to better serve the workforce needs of local light industrial, administrative, call center and professional businesses. As a result, a Zarbock-led branch twice earned “Office of the Month” honors last year.

“Every year, Ron Zarbock and his teams continue to set the standard for exceptional customer service, which has resulted in consistent and significant growth,” said Sandy Mazur, Spherion Division President. “Their drive, innovative thinking and commitment to go the extra mile are reflected both in their sales results and glowing partner feedback. We are thrilled to honor Ron with the 2016 Owner of the Year Award, and are fully confident that he and his teams will continue to succeed moving forward.”

In addition to the Owner of the Year Award, Zarbock and his team also received the company’s annual President’s Award, which recognizes the six owners and supporting staff who have best demonstrated continuous growth and an overall dedication to community and local workforce improvement during the preceding three years. Of the six President’s Award recipients, one ultimately is recognized as the Owner of the Year. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Zarbock and his team have earned this honor.

Zarbock celebrates a decade of partnership with Spherion in 2017, while maintaining more than three decades of local business leadership experience in total. He shares his expertise as a frequent contributor to recurring human resources industry publications, including Staffing Matters, HR Matters and Talent Talk. Additionally, Zarbock is the chairman of TIFIE.org Humanitarian (Teaching Individuals and Families Independence through Enterprise), a non-governmental organization committed to expanding worldwide career training and development for those in need. 

Both Zarbock and his Utah team remain active in their respective communities, namely through frequent service projects and engagement with local Chambers of Commerce and local Society for Human Resources (SHRM) chapters. Zarbock also recently instituted the “Step Up Scholarship,” which awards a quarterly grant to a regional Spherion associate for use on educational programs.  His involvement includes helping the Deptarment of Worforce Serices Refugee Services Office (RSO) develop refugees. "Ron Zarbock was the first to stand up and provide financial support, through Tifie Humanitarian, to help refugees living in Utah become trained in an in-demand occupational skill," said Asha Parekh, director of the Utah RSO. "He understands the vision and sees the positive impact public private partnerships can have to help refugees improve their lives through family-sustaining employment."

Outside of the staffing space, Zarbock serves as a Scout leader who has mentored more than 100 boys through their educational and professional careers. Bob Roylance, founder of the Jungle Refugee Scout troop in Utah says “Ron is a major force in moving these refugees from Myanmar forward. His was an inspiration not only to the boys but to the other men and women that were associated with Troop `1262, In addition, he also had a very positive impact on the young women of the corresponding age. Ron efforts in securing funding for these programs was critical which allowed the various activities to flourish and become a magnet that brought many of the youth into the program. He was especially effective in connecting with the boys in an individual way and dedicated many hours to this effort. He was also very much involved in the high adventure activities that left lasting impressions on the boys. We are very grateful for his contribution to the success of this program.”