Appreciation With a Pink Pen – by Stephanie Miller This week marks the last ILC where I will walk across the circle stage with my mentor, my mom, a s Franchisee of Bend, Oregon. I know this is not my last ILC. I will continue to participate in this annual event of excellence. But none will be like the 2021 ILC. Watching the familiar faces, we know and love appear on screen as Connie and I reflect on our 24 years of working side-by-side. We shed a tear at the change that is both exciting and sad as this chapter in our lives comes to an end. I listen to the pearls of wisdom imparted by our leaders and I am immediately driven to write this message. I have lived by two truths: cherish your now and understand change is inevitable. Recruiting and Retention! This is on HOT topic facing us all today. How do we? Where do we? All questions I have been tasked to tackle. I spent hours researching what , when, and where to begin. Ultimately, I have decided to start right where I hope for you to start … one simple change that will lead to significant impact. Please know, this is a small stepping stone that I hope to bring you and your offices as we build our recruiting and retention strategy. This strategy will require us to make changes both big and small. With a call to action on technology, process development, training, and usable tools we will continue to claim our “employer of choice” reputation. As my first step, I am going to take one of Connie’s greatest lessons and implement it today. Most of Express has heard of the Bend office or the “Connie” name. What you might not know is that our legacy was not just a function of production, but rather the authentic connection Connie made in her career to every person she could. She did it with a handwritten note, written with a bright pink pen. Today, I want to express my gratitude and recognition of her astounding impact of positivity. I want to do it with a handwritten note, in a bright pink pen. I have contemplated this idea. Should I use a pink pen, is it right? Is it hers, not to be replicated? Then I came to this conclusion. Express your gratitude by emulating today what you want from your tomorrow. Show respect to those you admire today so they feel your appreciation. You see, Connie is retired but continues to work on projects with Express and our community. Some might even say she hasn’t retired … just adjusted her schedule. The time to show appreciation is now, not tomorrow when it could be too late. So, I write with her pink pen today! I start my first card to her so that she knows firsthand my appreciation. This message is my first of many recruiting tips that will come. Send appreciation today! Elevate the regard of our associates to customers so that they feel our mission to help them find a good job. Send a thank you note to every associate you place this week. Send a thank you note for those associates who work assignment after assignment in our temporary positions. Send a thank you note to those candidates that we could not help immediately, but rather in appreciation for choosing us. Care for them and they will care for you in return. Here is a stat from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics on tenure: In January 2020, wage salary workers in the public sector had a median tenure of 6.5 years, nearly twice the median of 3.7 years for private-sector employees. One factor behind this difference is age. About 3 in 4 government workers were age 35 and over, compared with about 3 in 5 private wage and salary workers. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employee Tenure Summary 9/22/2020 3.7 years for most of the associates we place! This is a remarkable statistic. It means we will see them again. Their candidate experience is critical to retaining them. Recruiting is a hard, often expensive endeavor ; retaining costs less and gains more. As your offices interview candidates, take these steps to retain them from the beginning of their experiences with us. Interview with purpose : Not just for the job openings today, but for the orders and the clients we want tomorrow. Connect with them : Social media is a part of our business today. Add everyone to your LinkedIn account and invite them to our Facebook page. Request to add them to Emma. These small steps create connections with them today that allow you easy connections to them tomorrow. Work on their belief : Don’t forget the MPC call is not just a c lient sales tool, but a candidate sales tool, too. Let’s be honest, the good candidates get the job anyway. Don’t you want to be the one who places them? Become memorable : Even if you cannot help them today, if you create a positive experience, they will remember you. Connect to them by being genuine, following through, sending thank you notes or emails, etc. Don’t forget … Today’s Associate may be tomorrow’s Decision Maker! Most importantly , don’t lose them : Dedicate someone in your office to manage the associate pipeline. Know who we interview and who’s available to work. Set a placement goal based on your interviews. If you interview 40 people, our goal should at least be 50% placement rate. We are onboarding these candidates now and ma y only place 25 – 35%. If we all raise our expectations to 50% placement rate, our gross margin will grow without investing one more cent!
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Stephanie continue the Pink Pen legacy?
Stephanie picked up a pink pen on her own — not because her mother asked, but because she'd watched Connie write notes in pink her entire life.
What does passing the pink pen to the next generation mean?
It means the values stuck. Connie didn't write a succession plan — she wrote thousands of notes in pink ink, and her daughter noticed.
How do women entrepreneurs pass values to their children?
Not by lecturing — by living. Connie just did it, every day, for decades. Stephanie absorbed the lesson by watching.
What is Stephanie Miller's role in the Pink Pen story?
Stephanie represents the next chapter — proof that Connie's way of doing business can be passed forward.
