Case Study

Chief Operating & Financial Officer

Staffing & Executive Placement

A staffing & executive placement firm was losing money annually on revenue of $5 million. The owner, a passive investor, hired a Chief Operating & Financial Officer to assess the company, and if determined to be viable, position it for growth and eventual sale.

The company had a poor, uncooperative work environment with unhappy, unproductive employees.
There was no accounting system. All activity was managed through Excel spreadsheets.
Reporting to the investor was inaccurate, insufficient, and consistently late.
There was no industry software to manage staffing placements.
The General Manager was found to be embezzling funds, contributing to unprofitability.

Assessed company viability, determining that it should remain in operation and be turned around.
Installed QuickBooks and a staffing industry software package to control accounting and placements.
Developed the company’s first budget and variance reporting process.
Intentionally turned over 100% of staff in 6 months as part of the effort to create a new, productive culture.
Restructured services agreements to be more profitable.
Created positive cash flow from operations to stop monthly investor funding of operations.
Expanded the executive placement division, which had much greater profitability than general staffing.

Over three years, sales grew from $5 million to $12 million, with positive cash flow and annual profits.
The company sold to a larger staffing company with a significant return for the investor.