Episode Overview:

In this episode, host Bob Pettke welcomes Charlie Saffro, founder and CEO of CS Recruiting, to discuss authentic leadership, company culture, and the evolving world of staffing. Charlie shares how her journey from a one-person startup to leading a thriving team shaped her belief that leadership goes beyond metrics—it’s about empathy, trust, and connection. The two dive into how flexibility, remote work, and human understanding have become essential in building strong teams and retaining talent in a changing workplace.

Charlie also previews her upcoming appearance at the Midwest Staffing Conference, where she’ll speak about empowering women in the workforce and fostering authenticity in leadership. She and Bob explore the role of recruiters as true career shapers rather than order takers, and why technology and AI can never replace the human touch in staffing. The conversation delivers an inspiring reminder that great leaders don’t just fill roles—they create cultures where people thrive.

Listen to the Episode:

Episode Transcript:

Bob Pettke: [00:00:00] Coming to you from the Ultra-Staff Studios in Chicago. Welcome to the Staffing Buzz Network with your host Bob Pettke.

Hello, loyal listeners, and welcome back to the Staffing Buzz Network. And if you’re tuning in for the first time, make sure you follow us. My name is Bob Pettke. I am the Chief Sales Officer here. Our company is called Automated Business Designs. We have an ATS platform called Ultra-Staff EDGE. It’s a full-service front office, back office, ATS CRM solution.

And we work with people in staffing. We provide a solution. We’re entrenched in the industry. 42-year-old company that provides a solution that’s allowing people to find workers in a faster, more expedited, quicker way. Some of our tools allow you to even have better retention, so you don’t have turnover, which helps you make more money.

So that’s who we are. But we have the staffing buzz [00:01:00] network. You can see it right over this shoulder. Right there. Yeah. And this is really all about staffing. I’ve got a history in staffing. We work every day in the staffing world, and this is our way to communicate some of the things that are going on in the staffing community.

And for today’s episode, a special episode. It’s probably like at least a, maybe a three or four part series. We’re gonna be talking about something that’s coming up soon. It’s gonna be the Midwest Staffing Conference, and it’s gonna be April 23rd and 24th. It’s in Oakbrook. It’s gonna be at the Drury Lane Conference Center.

Now, what’s nice about this is, the way that they promote it is they say it’s a highly anticipated two-day event that’s gonna be designed for staffing professionals from all over the Midwest to come together and share their expertise, collaborate, and learn from industry leaders. This it’s a very, it’s a very good event for people that are in the staffing world because we have a lot of partners that are in staffing. So if you’re looking for [00:02:00] different types of background companies or if you’re looking for anything as far as understanding WOTC or coming and visiting us to look at our ATS platform, so we can show you how that works,

There’s a great venue to do that, but we also have some tremendous speakers that are from the industry. We’ve got some keynotes that are gonna be more on the motivational side. It’s a great venue and something that I’ll recommend that you attend even if you’re not a member of this affiliation because it’s really a lot of the people from Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois. We have the ISSA, the Illinois search and staffing.

A lot of folks get noticed on that, but if you’re watching from somewhere outside, it’s one of the biggest conferences that’s out there. Besides some of the big ones that people attend on an annual basis. So I would recommend if you’re, if you are interested, check it out, go to the website.

You can go to ISSA, I think it’s dot com, or just do a search on the Illinois Search and Staffing Association. And you could even [00:03:00] email, info@issaworks.com, and you can just say, Hey, I’m interested in more information on it. But yeah, don’t miss out, if you’ve got that time open to come just outside Chicago, not far from the airport if you’re flying in.

But I’m gonna recommend that you give it a look at and we’d love to have you come out there. So with that said, I talked about how today’s episode is gonna be geared around that. So I’m excited today because our guest is Charlie Saffro. So you can see her popping in. Now I’m gonna give you a little information on her.

So, Charlie, she’s entrenched in staffing, but let’s talk a little bit about her and what kind of brings her here. Charlie empowers leaders to uncover their everyday power, embrace their influence, and create extraordinary outcomes. So she is the founder of CS Recruiting.

What’s neat about Charlie is that in what she does is she [00:04:00] goes about her business and she’s more than just involved in staffing, but she’s got some other things that we’ll talk about. She’s learned to know and understand that leadership goes beyond metrics. It thrives on trust, collaboration, and engagement.

Charlie’s also a keynote speaker. She has given a TEDx presentation. She’s a thought leader. She inspires audiences to make a difference and foster cultures. Charlie, did I name everything?

Charlie Saffro: I think you got most of it. Okay. I am a mom of three boys, and now I feel guilty that like that never comes up.

And that’s probably my biggest pride and joy. But yes, I think you got most of my professional accomplishments. Thank you, Bob.

Bob Pettke: So, CS Recruiting, you founded that. What does the CS stand for?

Charlie Saffro: Good question. It’s interesting because my husband’s name is Chad, and we both work in the logistics industry.

A lot of people assumed CS was for him, and it was his [00:05:00] company, but it was actually for my initials. I started the business back in 2010. Actually funny story, if anyone’s ever considering entrepreneurship or starting something up, I advise to really think hard about the name, like naming a business is just like naming a child.

So when I first went out there, I didn’t know what to call my company. I wasn’t even planning on building a company, so I just called it Charlie Saffro recruiting because that’s what I did. And for about two years, we operated as Charlie Saffro recruiting and. I’d say every, I don’t know, 10 times a year, which was enough,

Someone would say, “Why did you name your recruiting firm after a hairstyle?” And I would be like, at the beginning, I was like, What do you mean? And they’re like, “Is it Charlie’s Afro? Like, why—Charlie’s Afro recruiting firm?” And so it was just a really big wake-up call, and it took some finagling, changing the logo, getting a new domain, but we are officially CS Recruiting. That represents my name, but [00:06:00] better than representing a hairstyle.

Bob Pettke: Okay, so this part of our conversation, ’cause we talked offline and I wanted to make sure that I was pronouncing your name right, and I said Saffro like Afro, when you had a little grin on your face, and now as I ask you that to confirm that it all makes sense.

I love that.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah. And this is 2010. I don’t know if people would even be bold enough to ask me that question these days, but yeah, it woke us up.

Bob Pettke: I bet. So, Charlie, we will talk a little bit about you’re gonna be at the Midwest Staffing Conference. People are gonna wanna listen to somebody who’s been in the industry and done some things and seen some success in that.

But there’s also another side of you where you’re spending some time, and you’ve branched out on the horizon a little bit. And like I said, you’ve got your TEDx, you’ve done a keynote. In part, it’s why we want you here. We feel that the Midwest Staffing Conference is a great venue for you to share your message.

And, as we talked a little bit and just looking at some of the things that you’ve talked [00:07:00] about, there are some things that you hit on. When I looked at some bullet points here that are related to you, one of the things that comes up is like you talk about authentic leadership and empowerment.

You talk about building culture in a workplace, recruiting and talent, branding, a mindless and self-care for leaders, empowering women in the workforce. I’m gonna hit on some of these here as we go. I think that some of these in the world and the space and the place that we are today are, because the world today does not look like it did.

We can go back four years ago to an incident that happened across the globe, but even further back, it’s just a different culture. The different groups come up, millennials and Gen Z, and Gen X, and everyone in between. But you talk about authentic leadership and empowerment, it’s part of your message.

Talk to me a little bit about what you see when it comes to leadership and being authentic. I’m interested to get your take on that.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah. My point of view, I think it’s [00:08:00] unique. I hope to meet other people at the conference who maybe are in a similar situation, but I have been leading my recruiting firm.

We are a direct-hire, permanent placement agency. We’ve been as big as 50 people. We’ve got about 22 on our team now. So I’ve been leading my organization, and at the same time, I love recruiting. I’m not a hands-on recruiter anymore, but I hung onto it for a long time, even with the CEO title. And what I realized, and this was around 2020, we went remote, and I just, really, I don’t know, recommitted to our company culture, keeping people connected, wanted to get creative.

And so I was thinking a lot just about how can we apply? I’ve observed so many leaders over 20 years of recruiting in my career. I’ve seen some really great leaders, but unfortunately, I’ve probably seen a lot more really terrible leaders and really terrible decisions. And so the way I’ve really focused on building my team in the last five years is applying best [00:09:00] practices like we, as recruiters, and I know you get this, Bob, like we are talking to thousands and thousands of job seekers every year.

We know what they want. We know why they go to companies. We know why they stay, we know why they leave. And just picking up these tidbits and really thinking about my team and how can I humanize my environment, and it’s not perfect.

But that’s really been my mission, is to just take everything I’ve observed and apply it, and then, where you’re talking about like a turning point, was, oh, now it’s working. How do I go share it? How do I take this information and spread it? And that’s part of the passion I have for speaking and sharing the message.

Bob Pettke: Yeah. And right along with that, what comes to mind is building a working culture and a workplace culture, it comes up it’s a keyword, right? It’s a hot topic word. It means different things to different people, I think, but at the end everybody, they say oftentimes people, one of the most common reasons people [00:10:00] leave their positions is because of the culture. So talk to me about how you see culture fitting in and fostering it and how, what the importance and relevance that you’ve seen, and how you deliver what’s part of that in your message?

Charlie Saffro: Yeah, and I’ll go back and answer the question you asked before that I skipped over about authenticity. ‘Cause I think they, they go hand in hand. Yeah. So I think what’s really interesting about company culture is it has to start somewhere. So if you look at these huge companies today, or even companies, you guys have been around how long?

40-some years?

Bob Pettke: Yes.

Charlie Saffro: Like, it is not the same as it was, and I’m gonna guess when your owner started the company, the culture was a reflection of them and their values and what was important to them personally and professionally. And that’s really how I started this business. And being a woman in a male-dominated industry, there were many times where I was told I was too nice.

I was told I was too empathetic. I was told that I’m never gonna be able to hold people accountable with such a friendly face. [00:11:00] And that is authentic to me, is to be a kind person. And I’m not saying it’s because I’m a woman, but what I’ve really learned is if I can be my most authentic feminine self, when that is appropriate.

And then also, lean into some of the masculine qualities that I’ve observed that I also possess. That’s who I wanna be as a leader, and I’m not gonna let anyone tell me that I need to be more masculine just because I’m surrounded by men. Okay. Really just encouraging, like show up as who you are.

I am the boss and I always have, but I wear ripped jeans and sneakers, and you’re gonna see me in a baseball hat, and if you have purple hair or green nails, I don’t care. Get your job done. I hired you because I trust you. And that’s just what I stand for. And try and spread is employees are humans.

That’s the bottom line.

Bob Pettke: Okay. So just to demonstrate that I’m a sales guy and I’m a guy guy, you talked about a baseball hat. We’re in the Chicago area. Are you a baseball fan, and do you have a favorite team?

Charlie Saffro: I do, but based on the color of your shirt, I’m [00:12:00] not sure if I should tell you. I don’t know if we’re gonna align here, Bob.

Bob Pettke: She’s a Cub fan.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah.

Bob Pettke: They’re everywhere.

Charlie Saffro: I know. I had a feeling. Are you a South Sider?

Bob Pettke: I’m South side, yes.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah, I got a diehard and my husband has waited his entire life for those Cubs to win that World Series, and he was at that game, and now he can appreciate White Sox because his team has done what they needed to do in his life.

Bob Pettke: There’s no need to be politically correct here. You’re, you showed your colors.

Charlie Saffro: All right. Moving on.

Bob Pettke: But, yeah. Being authentic, and I think that goes hand in hand with culture, is ’cause some people think pizza parties alone are gonna do it. Or you know.

Special events or talk to me more about that, ’cause I know it’s one of your bullet points, talk about building that workplace culture.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah. So I think, again, I’m not saying that the way I did it is the template for success, but I think there’s a lot to learn from this idea of [00:13:00] culture starting out as something that’s default.

It’s just what the owner or original leadership team really spreads into the company, or is a culture really designed? And so when I went out to hire my very first employee, her name is. Beth, she’s actually our COO today, 13 years later, which is wild. But I had three kids under the age of four, and I had no business starting a business.

But the service I was offering as a side hustle just had a high demand. I had a lot of opportunities. So it was a moment where I was like, I’m either, I can’t just wait till my kids are two years old, or I’m gonna seize this now and gets some help. And so I hired Beth. She lived in the city.

I promised her at our first interview that the day she started, I would get business cards and an office, like I didn’t even have an office. And so got an office close to my house in the suburbs, and then she started commuting a couple weeks in, and it was just brutal for her. And she’s taking a train to a [00:14:00] bus and then walking.

And I wasn’t even there on Wednesday mornings or Thursday afternoons because I’m driving carpools, or I’m volunteering at my kids’ preschool. And don’t get me wrong, I worked more than 40 hours a week, but I did it on my “mom” schedule that first year. So the point in my story, Bob, is that my schedule ended up becoming part of our culture.

And the deal I made with Beth was, why don’t you come in three days a week, and I will commit to being here those three days, and the other two days, you know where to find me, and we’ll reconvene back in the office. And that was 13 years ago. And even up until the pandemic,

We still had that policy for every employee. After you were trained, you got three days at home. So, like we were hybrid before anyone even talked about hybrid. But when I think back, why? It was because it was important to me. It was important to me to have freedom and flexibility, and to work when I was best.

And it was important to me to be able to recruit good talent like Beth and [00:15:00] not have the location be a deal breaker. So that’s, and it’s become part of our DNA, like we are a company that trusts our employees. We pride ourselves on the flexibility. But that was not. I never started a company and said, This is gonna be our culture, and this is how we’re gonna do it.

It was like, oh wait, you’re here coming out to the suburbs, but I’m actually in a carpool line two miles away. That doesn’t do any good. So yeah, that’s just how it develops over time,

Bob Pettke: And I would imagine over time, and that’s the very first move, right? Being able to change and adapt.

‘Cause I think sometimes companies get stuck in a space where they’ve done things, now I’m gonna go in a different direction for a second. They’ve done things for so long while the world is changing, and they continue to just do them the same way because maybe that’s what got them there.

And sometimes that philosophy, although it got them there, could also be the cause of their demise if they don’t change and adapt.

Charlie Saffro: You know what?

Bob Pettke: Outta the gate. Go ahead.

Charlie Saffro: I was gonna say, you, you probably can laugh at this with me. A lot of people don’t get it. But if I didn’t [00:16:00] change.,

Do you know where I’d be recruiting from Craigslist today? Okay. Do you think resumes and good people are on Craigslist in 2025? I don’t know, but I say that because when I started in a really scrappy, non-tech-forward environment, like that was my source. Could you imagine if that was still my only source of resumes today?

Bob Pettke: I remember utilizing Craigslist. Absolutely. Yeah.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah. It was just, we had to be scrappy.

Bob Pettke: Yeah. And again, I’m sure this is not the only change and adaptation you made, what, just a couple of days into your you already had to make a change. You started it, you got your office. No, it’s I think that’s oftentimes what makes or breaks an organization is they can build it, but in order to maintain it and then even go again and have another springboard jump, I think that, being flexible and having that culture and, and again, you didn’t mention a pizza party along there, just so you know, so.

Charlie Saffro: Exactly. Yeah, and I think in the beginning it was a little bit of a risk because what if we [00:17:00] hire people who take advantage of us, or they’re doing something shady on those days at home. But what that did to us was make us.

Just further strengthen and really solidify our hiring strategy, right? And so we could still hire entry-level, but we looked for people who were mature, responsible, reliable, and just shifted our skill priorities because we knew you can’t let half the team work from home and not the other half.

Like the equality part of it was really important to us that everyone had the same perks.

Bob Pettke: No, I, yeah, I couldn’t be more on board. My sister from another mister.

Charlie Saffro: Exactly.

Bob Pettke: Charlie Saffro, like Afro.

Charlie Saffro: Exactly.

Bob Pettke: Yeah.

You mentioned a little bit earlier about being a woman being in the workforce. And I know another one of your key points that you like to hit on is empowering women in the workforce.

And you’ve got a message that kind of relates to that. It’s a big deal. It’s half the population. [00:18:00] And with that said, talk to us about how you approach that and maybe even what your message is to some degree. We want people to be able to come in and learn things from the Midwest Staffing Conference, by the way.

Yeah. On April 23rd and 24th. But yeah, talk to us about that a little bit.

Charlie Saffro: So when I started my business in 2010, we were a little more advanced than Craigslist, but LinkedIn was like new to the scene. I think I got my first LinkedIn account in 2009. My point is, when my business went from a side hustle to like a real business and started making that effort and reaching out to prospects and really focused on the business development, what I realized is that I truly believe I landed a lot of meetings because the recipient thought I was a man.

So my given name is Charlie. Another name story for you, but my given name is Charlie. And I would write them an email: I saw you were hiring, we could help you find a perfect fit. Do you wanna chat? They would [00:19:00] respond, dear Mr. Saffro, yes, let’s chat. And then I just didn’t correct them.

Like I never lied, but I was just like, okay, sounds good. Thursday at two. Best regards, Charlie with a smiley face emoji and a hundred exclamation points like, and. When I would walk into these meetings or show up on the phone or on a Zoom, always surprised, like they never ever picked it up until LinkedIn became the thing you cross-referenced immediately, or my picture started appearing in my Gmail.

But I really believe, and I hate saying this, but I don’t think I’d be where I am today if my name was Jessica. I hate to say it, but I do think my name—it was like, oh, a man recruiter. He knows what he’s doing. Like he can get in here and be rough and tough with us.

And then I just had a chance when I met these people to really throw ’em for a loop by being a feminine female, like what we talked about before, it was like, I’m not gonna, you were the one who misjudged me or made an assumption, but I can still do everything you thought [00:20:00] I could do as a woman, maybe even better or in a different way because I have this softer or more empathetic approach to me.

Bob Pettke: No, I think that it’s on point. I understand it. I’ve seen it myself. I’ve seen, yeah, I’ve seen, for lack of a better word, the challenge that could happen when somebody comes in and it in a world that might be dominated on the male side of things.

It’s a good recipe. Yeah. Maybe. Good. Very fortunate. You seem like a talented person. I know you are. You might underestimate yourself, Jessica.

Charlie Saffro: Thank you.

Bob Pettke: But no, I think that you’ve got it going on.

Charlie Saffro: And it’s something I had to reflect on, like we talked about names in the beginning.

Like, I did not like my name growing up. I always stood out. I hated the attention. And then I feel like I was like, oh, okay, I see how I can use this to my professional advantage. So yeah, I think what I would tell my younger self now is stand out whenever you can, you don’t wanna fit in. But that was a mindset shift for me as a professional.

Bob Pettke: I think it’s [00:21:00] a cool name. Thanks. Absolutely. But you otherwise would’ve wanna have been Jessica. That’s ’cause that was the first thing you went with.

Charlie Saffro: I know, ’cause everyone is, “What is it, Charlene or Charlotte?” And then I say neither, and then they’re like, Oh, Charles. Or is it Chuck? No.

Like my name is Charlie. That’s it. Just Charlie. My parents were hippies. Let it go.

Bob Pettke: That’s hilarious. Let’s go into staffing. A little change of gears, a little swing here. And you’ve demonstrated that you are successful. You’ve built something from a side hustle into a thriving, surviving organization. When it comes to the staffing world, what do you think is the biggest misconception that hiring teams will have about a candidate experience, per se?

I think you mentioned this at the beginning of this conversation, and I think AI is gonna get really interesting from a generational standpoint. And so I’ll share an [00:22:00] example. LinkedIn is coming out with this like AI recruiting assistant. I don’t know if you know the listeners see it ’cause it’s a beta, but their whole thing is I can send you a dm,

Hey Bob, you know I have a job for you. If you don’t respond, then two days later, I can schedule my assistant to nudge you, but it would say, Hey Bob, this is now Charlie’s AI recruiting assistant. She wanted me to remind you that she still wants to talk. And so LinkedIn did a lot of research and data around this, and they shared some data that the younger generation has no problem with this.

Like they actually would prefer to negotiate their salary with a robot. Like they were like, I ended up exactly where I thought I would’ve ended up at the same place with the humans, so let me just take the anxiety out of it and play ball with this robot.

But the older generation got so. I shouldn’t say older. I wanna be very clear to the listeners. I am the older generation, so I fall right in there. [00:23:00] But they’re turned off by it. Oh, so you’re, I’m good enough for you to reach out to once, but just because I didn’t respond, now you have your robot chasing me?

And that’s when they delete, they block me. They disconnect with me. They don’t have any respect for my company. And so I think that is gonna be a big shift, is you have to determine what’s important to your audience and our audience. Some of the audience is gonna retire, and we don’t even know who’s coming in yet, and what these new skills will possess.

So I think it’s gonna be very interesting to see how this all shifts and the candidate experience. I mean that, it goes right back to that. You see so many automated interviews happening right now. I don’t know about you, Bob, but like I wouldn’t accept a job without talking to a human.

Bob Pettke: No, I’m with you on that.

Yeah.

Charlie Saffro: Like, at some points, and I think a lot of these companies are just like, wow, like we can do this en masse, and especially staffing-type work. Like, just make the call, record the answers, tell ’em to show up for [00:24:00] onboarding on Monday. And we could fire our entire recruiting team and our staffing agency.

And I’m here to argue that is not true. Like, you will still need the human recruiter, the human talent advisor, as far as I can see.

Bob Pettke: It’s funny ’cause this has come up on other podcasts of the Staffing Buzz Network. Make sure you subscribe now. And I am of that older generation.

Charlie Saffro: I’m with you.

Bob Pettke: And I am always gonna think, and you alluded to it, I think staffing is forever. And maybe someday they’ll go to the archives and find us. It’s a people. It’s a people industry that you need to have the people involved. I understand the technology is there, and I understand there are things that we don’t even know are gonna come out in six weeks or six months.

Definitely six years. They’re gonna have a big effect on how we do it.

Charlie Saffro: And just really thinking about staffing specifically. That, that is where people feel like [00:25:00] numbers. Like that forklift driver or that unloader, like they are the ones who feel like they’re a cog in a machine, and they could leave tomorrow and no one would notice.

And so when you talk about the employee experience, that little touch of human connection could be the reason that individual stays or brings over their friends, or accepts the opportunity in the first place. So there’s so much to think about, and a lot’s gonna change, and there’s a lot of variables.

Bob Pettke: For sure. Another little change in gears, and when it comes to recruiting and filling jobs, there were times in history, maybe even in your history, where instead of being a recruiter, you were an order taker. In other words, you had so many people that were looking for work, hungry for the job, had the talent, somebody would call in and say, I need this person to do this job.

You could go to a database or going way back to a Rolodex. And you could [00:26:00] find somebody, and that has shifted, and maybe we’ll be one day we’ll get that again, would be great.

But as of now, people have to show up and actually recruit. They’re not just filling jobs. In other words, they’re shaping the careers of these folks. What do you think is one way that recruiters can reframe their role and make that deeper impact? Not only just instead of being an order taker, to a recruiter, but even shaping the careers of some of the folks that they work with.

What are your thoughts on that?

Charlie Saffro: Yeah, I think recruiting is very misunderstood because I think there are a lot of candidates out there, so active or passive job seekers that think either one, that they would pay a recruiter to represent them, which is not our model. Like, we are being paid by the hiring company.

Or they think that just because a recruiter reached out to them for one job with [00:27:00] one company, that recruiter now owes them something, like, now you have to get me a job. And I think that we are very big on candidate advocacy and really pushing for that candidate. But I think a lot of that also just is misunderstood, and people really need to understand, like, this is what a recruiter does.

And it’s those little things. It’s closing the loop. It’s not ghosting them. We really encourage our team. How many times do we not hear back from a client? So it’s not a reflection of us. We’re trying, they signed our contract, I swear. But like they’re ignoring our emails. They won’t give us feedback on your interview.

And instead of just not responding or lying, like this is where we’re at. And if that turns the candidate off from us or for the from the hiring company, like it’s the truth, and we owe them that transparency. And I think those are the candidates that remember recruiters like, oh yeah, she didn’t get me the job, but I just remember like she was the only one that actually closed the [00:28:00] loop or told me why I was rejected or cared enough to hunt down that hiring manager for feedback.

So it’s simple stuff, Bob, like it’s just. It’s not doing nothing. It’s doing a little something.

Bob Pettke: Right. Charlie, in our last segment, and I call this segment, prove Bob wrong.

Charlie Saffro: Ooh, love it. Let’s do it.

Bob Pettke: Okay. I am. Of the belief for my staffing brethren, ’cause remember I told you offline, this is the world I’ve lived in for years.

Bought houses, paid bills, put kids through college because of the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into the industry and finding people jobs.

Charlie Saffro: Oh yeah.

Bob Pettke: I’m gonna share my premise, and you’re going to, if you can prove me wrong.

Charlie Saffro: Uhhuh.

Bob Pettke: I believe that in staffing, you didn’t choose staffing. Staffing [00:29:00] chose you.

In other words, when you were little, you didn’t place staffing with your siblings or friends down the street. You didn’t put people on assignments and then get mad when they didn’t show up for work.

You didn’t study it in high school, you didn’t study it in college, but somewhere, somehow, along the way, some staffing reached up and grabbed you and brought you into the industry. I could be wrong. This is your chance to prove me wrong. So my question to you is, Charlie Saffro, how did you get into staffing?

Charlie Saffro: I’ll prove you wrong. I don’t disagree with what you said, but I did.

Bob Pettke: Be prepared for a counter go.

Charlie Saffro: Okay. I did fall into the industry. But when I look back, it was what I was supposed to do.

And the reason I know that is because I’ve always been a connector. And Bob, when we hopped on the phone this morning, you told me where your office is. Like the first thing I start throwing out are like restaurant recommendations. I didn’t introduce you to a [00:30:00] person, but I’m like, Ooh, let’s see. I know something about you now, and I wanna help you.

And when you go to that restaurant, even though you’ve already been there many times, like you’re gonna think of me. And be like, wow, that was a great recommendation. And she didn’t have to even mention that. And that’s a connector. I am the person who probably staffed my entire neighborhood with nannies when I had my first kid because I had a nanny.

And then everyone’s does your nanny have friends? I didn’t make money. It was just, I’m a natural connector and I love to pay it forward and share interesting people with interesting people and interesting information with interesting people. So that’s my counter is. Anyone.

Bob Pettke: You haven’t proved me wrong.

I wanna know how you stumbled into it. I wanna know how you find it. This is serious stuff that we’re talking about.

Charlie Saffro: I made it up, honestly. I was in advertising for a few years outta college. My husband was in the logistics industry, and he left his corporate job, started a technology company.

I had my first son. I went back to my [00:31:00] advertising job. It was a grind, and I said to my husband, You don’t even have to pay me. I just don’t wanna stay at home. Let’s figure out a way for me to help you grow the business. So for the first probably two or three months, like I was an office manager. I stapled papers, I got coffee, and I was loving it because it was just different from what I’d been doing.

And then they brought in a partner, and this is 2006, who really had big growth plans. And the first thing the partner said is, Okay, we need to hire, and who here is gonna do it? And I was the one available resource. And so I raised my hand. I said, I’ve never recruited a person, I’ve never been interviewed, but I bet I could figure it out.

And then that goes back to the Craigslist days and the days where I would, you know, make a flyer with my name and number on the bottom so people could just rip it off a tear sheet at a Dunkin’ Donut.

And that’s why I say I made it up. I don’t think I’m the first person to staff or recruit, but I knew at that moment that I had no resources available, no [00:32:00] budget, but I needed to help them find a hundred entry-level employees. And at this point, I’m already in my thirties, so I have no network. I just, where are these people? What would I do if I was looking for a job? Where would I be? What would I pay attention to?

So that’s how I fell into it. Like I, I say I made it up, but like I, I did, and then I adapted, LinkedIn came out. I saw value, I invested time and energy in it, and money. But yeah, it’s that adaptation and just constantly, like, what would they do? There’s gotta be a solution.

Bob Pettke: So let me see if I, in summary, if I could still prove you wrong.

So you’re in this logistics company, and the staffing Gods send this new boss in who says, I need somebody who can help me staff. Now you didn’t, right? And they said to Charlie, You raised your hand and said, Okay, so maybe it’s a draw on this one. Maybe it’s a draw.

Charlie Saffro: Yeah. I was like, I could do this.

That sounds fun.

Bob Pettke: Yeah.

Charlie Saffro: [00:33:00] Helping people find their dream jobs. I also believed in the company, and that’s another perspective; it was my husband’s company. It was our future. And so I’m gonna show up and hire the best people. I’m not just doing this to clock out at 5:00 PM, and I think having that like fire behind you and just that actual genuine support for the organization you’re recruiting for makes a big difference.

Bob Pettke: No, it’s great. And I think you reap what you sow. And the fact that you’ve gotten here and you’ve built your company to where it is, and you’ve ventured off into being able to make these connections with other people, and really, you’re paying it forward, right? I love that comparison.

You’re like, how you like to connect with people? I know folks around here very close that it’s a unique talent and and it’s probably just so natural to you. It’s effortless, right? That’s why you are where you are. And it’s also why we’re going to complete the circle and say you’re gonna be at the Midwest Staffing Conference [00:34:00] on April 23rd and 24th.

Charlie, any parting words before we send you on your way?

Charlie Saffro: Oh, no, I enjoyed the conversation. I love I’ll tell you, I’ve been in this industry or recruiting 20 years and I’ve spent the majority of my career networking, speaking, mingling with logistics, supply chain, transportation professionals, and I’ve just started to lean into these other networking opportunities and communities of recruiters or people that are in positions around company culture or the people.

And I went to a culture conference a couple months ago, and I remember coming back, and I said to my husband, he is like How was it? And usually I’m like, it was another trade show. I was like, it was fun.

Like I liked it. And he’s you liked it because those are your people. Like those, they were recruiters. They are like-minded. They care about people. They care about paying forward. You can’t always guarantee that distribution [00:35:00] center director is gonna care in the same way. And so I’m really excited to go to the conference, is what I’m trying to say.

Just to be around like-minded people. Clearly, I love talk and shop, and yeah, just excited to share some of my story and learn about the other attendees and how we can synergize.

Bob Pettke: Great. I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to meeting you.

Charlie Saffro: Same. Same.

Bob Pettke: So yes, Charlie Saffro, CS Recruiting. Thanks for being here, and we will look forward to seeing you in April.

Charlie Saffro: In April. See you then, Bob.

Bob Pettke: Thanks. Thanks so much for being on the Staffing Bus Network.

Charlie Saffro: Thanks for having me.

Bob Pettke: Yep. Charlie Saffro, she’s great. She’s got a good message specific to the staffing industry, I think, very relatable. She’s got a proven track record. She understands that this industry takes a unique kind of person to get things done, and I think we should be excited to hear her message live in front of a studio [00:36:00] audience. And yeah. Just another reminder that you can go ahead and register for the Midwest Staffing Conference. You can email info@issaworks.com. You’re at a point now, I believe, that you can still register for the early bird.

Discounts as well. If those are there, if you’re looking for accommodations, there’s a place in space that it’s probably notated on the website where you can stay. It’s at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook, Illinois. And, go ahead, make sure you go, this is a great opportunity for you to really be with, like Charlie mentioned, like-minded people.

So with that said, just you remember for The Staffing Buzz Network, for the first time listeners and watchers, and viewers make sure if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to our Staffing Buzz Network. Tell your staffing friends, your buddies, to go ahead and subscribe to our platform.

Watch us on YouTube or on all of the major [00:37:00] platforms. And if for some reason you wanted to know a little bit more about what I talked about earlier, our platform, our front office, back office, ATS CRM, we really are providing a solution where people are finding jobs for their associates, faster, better retention.

Reach out to me. I’d love to have a conversation with you. We could even set up a time to do a demo. That information could be found here in this link as well if you’re looking at that. But with that said. Stay tuned for our next podcast coming soon, where we’re gonna have another speaker from the Midwest Staffing Conference that we’ll be attending.

And until next time, thanks everybody for watching the Staffing Buzz Network.