Not all staffing companies are created equal. More often than not, the “cheapest” option is a red flag. To hit those price points, you have to wonder: which essential corners are they cutting? How are workers being treated? Do they really care about my success?
For President Brian Fricker, staffing is about doing the job right, and putting clients first. There are no shortcuts at Staffing Partners – just efficiencies and hard work. Brian’s approach is simple: listen, adapt, and use every lesson learned along the way to build an even better system. His leadership combines grit, humility, and an unwavering belief in showing up.
Here’s what Brian had to say about the principles that continue to guide him and the company.
We didn’t learn to deliver for our clients by following a straight line. I’ll give you an example. Early on, we needed to service our growing fleet of vans. My first thought? This is too big—we’d need to buy lifts, tools, build a shop from scratch. It seemed impossible. But that’s what we were prepared to do. It’s what our clients needed.
Instead, we asked around everywhere. Incredibly, one shop was already equipped to our specifications. All we had to do was move in and fine tune the process. What I thought was a monumental obstacle was actually relatively easy. Years later, that decision still saves our clients money and keeps our operation running smoothly.
That lesson stuck with me: problems that seem impossible usually have a solution hiding in plain sight.
Adapting Over Time
Similarly, some new clients think their staffing challenges will be impossible to achieve. I tell them with a smile that there’s nothing we haven’t heard before. This is true and also reassuring. We’ve solved for everything. I can say this with confidence because the systems we have are time-tested. But at one point, they were new. Time and time again, we’ve had to rise to the occasion to create solutions that didn’t exist. These weren’t always easy, but they were necessary, and essential for our clients.
“We’re better as a group than we are as individuals.”
Building the Right Team
Of course, no solution works without the right people. When it comes to staffing, we’ve met plenty of “professional interviewers”—folks who look perfect in the chair but fall flat once the job starts. We had to learn to look past surface impressions and focus on commitment, accountability, and teamwork. We’re better as a group than we are as individuals.
That’s how we built the culture we have today—one where people aren’t just working for themselves, but for each other and for our clients.
Growing With Clients
That team-first approach pays off when clients grow. Take QPI, for example. They started with about 50 workers through us. Today, we manage 500 in their facilities. That growth wasn’t just about sending more people. It meant putting staff on-site, tracking piecework in detail, and providing the data that helped them win bigger contracts with 3M.
Scaling with clients means sharing in their success and helping them solve challenges at every stage. Solving the growth blockers, and seeing them succeed—that’s what drives me. We don’t just provide workers; we create systems that help our clients grow.
Never give up, never give in.
Big or Small—We’ll Figure It Out
Our clients come in all sizes. We always watch for industry fluctuations. This enables us to help companies scale as needed. For example, we help companies in a pinch staff up essentially overnight. We also supply transportation to get workers from point A to point B without interruption. While the fixes may not always be glamorous, they work. That’s what matters.
I’ve learned over time that goals need to be ambitious but achievable. Push high enough to stretch, but realistic enough to win. And no matter how hard it gets, I tell my team the same thing I tell myself: never give up, never give in.
Not Just Clients, But Partners
At the end of the day, I don’t measure success by how many workers we’ve placed. I measure it by the relationships that last decades. The ones where I know if you call me on a rough Monday morning, I’m picking up the phone.
Staffing isn’t just about filling jobs—it’s about creating real solutions that keep your business moving forward.
Let’s Solve Your Staffing Needs
When you’re ready for staffing solutions that really work, let’s talk. Bring us your toughest challenge—or all of them. Whether it’s finding committed workers, solving transportation headaches, or making your workforce the best it can be, we’ll figure it out.
That’s a promise from me to you.