Spherion

Kathy George

Collaborative Growth Catalyst

Leading through Industry Evolution

One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that great leaders must be willing to evolve. I’ve seen firsthand how much our industry has changed over those three decades. When I started in staffing and recruiting, the height of technology was shiny curly fax paper! I was the only person in our New York office with a computer and we all shared it. Work always felt fast paced even then and we could not have even imagined the cadence of today. But even as technology accelerated our pace of productivity, we worked hard to keep people and our relationships with them at the heart of our business.

Those experiences taught me the importance of stepping back and asking whether the approaches that have worked for us for years still serve us today. Technology has opened so many doors for our industry, but I still believe its greatest value is in allowing us to spend more time building the personal relationships that make our business so special. 

Building Alignment through Transparency

It starts with transparency. I’ve seen how quickly trust can erode when franchisees are left to guess at your motive. At Spherion, we proactively and consistently communicate our strategic priorities to ensure alignment across the organization. When relevant, through one-on-one conversations, franchisee committees and our franchise advisory council, we invite feedback and input to help inform key decisions. By offering clear context around key initiatives, we create opportunities for our franchisees to understand their role in advancing our shared vision.

“Technology’s greatest value is in allowing us to spend more time building the personal relationships that make our business so special.”

In addition to the one-to-one guidance our franchisees receive from the Strategic Growth Partners on the corporate team. I also make it a priority to have direct conversations with our franchisees throughout the year. In fact, one of our long-term strategic goals for 2026 is an idea that originally came from one of our franchisees and it’s a growth-focused KPI that I now report to our North American and global leadership. I love that example because it shows how much we can learn when we listen to the people closest to our local markets.

Of course, our franchisees bring different levels of experience and face different challenges, so their individual goals won't always look the same. That’s where consistent communication and transparency help us understand how we can support them along the way.

Building a Culture of Shared Success

At Spherion, we’ve worked hard to build a culture where franchisees feel comfortable learning from one another and having honest conversations about their businesses. We do that by creating regular opportunities to connect through peer groups, community calls, breakout sessions and in-person meetings, including our Spherion National Meeting. One of the things I love most is hearing about franchisees reaching out to each other on their own to work through challenges or celebrate wins together. They frequently share best practices and practical support with each other. For example, two neighboring franchisees recently let me know that they co-hired a candidate I had recommended. Since neither franchise owner was prepared to take on a senior market leader on their own, they partnered up to jointly invest in hiring the applicant, a prime illustration of effective collaboration and shared responsibility in action.

We also routinely publish performance metrics on our franchisee intranet. Sometimes those metrics prompt a little tough love, but it stems from a genuine desire to see each other succeed. The tools we use give us better insight into location performance and allow us to take a more proactive approach to supporting our franchisees with the right resources for their market.

Developing Leaders through Continuous Learning

I've always believed that great leadership takes a willingness to keep learning, whether you're leading a franchise or a company-owned office. Especially in a sales-driven industry like staffing and recruiting, we must give our leaders the coaching and support they need to bring out the best in their teams.

One of our biggest areas of focus is change management. Even the most experienced leaders can find it challenging to incorporate one new system into their workflow, let alone two or three at the same time. Change fatigue is real! That’s why we are intentional about providing the right training and support to our franchise owners upfront so that they can feel confident about guiding their own teams through business transformations.

At the same time, we have a tremendous opportunity to learn from the next generation of talent, who may bring a different perspective and greater comfort with new technology. That dedication to multi-faceted learning is what enables us to stay competitive for our clients and local talent.