Short Staffed

What Short Staffed does

Short Staffed is a privately-held, founder-owned staffing agency headquartered in Sioux City, Iowa, operating regional branch offices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Mitchell, South Dakota. Founded in 2012 by owner Reed Burson, the company places workers in temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and seasonal/daily positions across at least ten industries, including production, construction, warehouse, shipping, welding, cold storage, garbage collection, maintenance, office, computer/electronics, and home health/nursing. It also operates a transportation service ('Cool Bus') that shuttles job seekers to employer sites and maintains a multi-lingual recruiter team with staff capable of speaking up to four languages.

The company runs on a Zenople-powered online portal that supports a self-service job board, online applications, an HR center, paystub and 1095 form access, and a job board for candidates, layered on top of the firm's primary in-person and phone-based sales-led recruiting motion. Three location-specific Facebook pages (Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Mitchell) and dedicated branch phone lines support direct, local engagement with both employer clients and job seekers in the Siouxland tri-state region.

Commercially, Short Staffed earns revenue through a transaction-fee model: it places workers with client employers and bills a markup on worker wages for temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire placements. The customer base is two-sided and horizontal, serving both employers seeking flexible staffing solutions and job seekers seeking employment, benefits, bonuses, and transportation support. Differentiators include the Cool Bus transportation service, multi-lingual recruiting, and bundled employer-of-record services such as payroll administration and workman's comp coverage.

Name

Short Staffed

Legal name

Short Staffed

Website

https://shortstaffedusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Short Staffed is a privately-held regional staffing agency founded in 2012 that places temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire workers across industrial, clerical, and healthcare roles in the Sioux City IA, Sioux Falls SD, and Mitchell SD markets, billing employers via wage markup and offering transportation and multi-lingual recruiting as differentiators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320), Professional Employer Organizations (561330), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Temp-to-Hire Staffing (BPACACAG), Light Industrial & Warehouse Temp Staffing (BPACACAB), Seasonal & Peak Workforce Staffing (BPACACAE), Healthcare Non-Clinical Temp Staffing (BPACACAO)

Keywords

• Temporary staffing services
• Temp-to-hire placement
• Employment recruiting agency
• Direct hire staffing
• Home health staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sioux City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Staffing Placement Services: Short Staffed provides staffing solutions to employers by placing workers in temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire positions. They earn revenue through markup on worker wages charged to client employers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Short Staffed is a regional staffing agency that recruits and places workers in temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and seasonal positions across industries including production, construction, warehousing, welding, shipping, and office work. It supplements placements with employee benefits, attendance and referral bonuses, and a transportation service (the Cool Bus) that brings workers to job sites. The company also operates a Home Health division providing per diem, contract, and long-term nursing staffing.

Product overview

Short Staffed is a staffing agency providing employment placement services through a core staffing platform complemented by supporting services. The primary offering includes temporary staffing, temp-to-hire placement, direct hire, and seasonal positions across multiple industries. Supporting services include a multi-lingual team, transportation to job sites, and an online employee portal (Zenople) for job applications, HR management, and payroll access. The company also operates a Home Health Services division providing nursing staffing. Services are delivered through offices in Sioux City, Mitchell, and Sioux Falls.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Staffing Services

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Randstad: Global staffing incumbent with North American operations in light industrial, clerical, and professional staffing — competes in the same end markets as Short Staffed, often at greater scale.
• Kelly Services: Major US staffing incumbent offering temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire across industrial, clerical, and professional — overlaps with Short Staffed's generalist placement mix at SMB and mid-market clients.
• ManpowerGroup: Global staffing leader operating Manpower (generalist) and Experis (professional) brands — competes with Short Staffed for large-employer temp contracts and sets market pricing benchmarks.
• Adecco Group: Largest staffing company globally with generalist (Adecco) and specialist (Akkodis, LHH) lines — broad incumbent competing on enterprise staffing contracts where Short Staffed also bids.

Direct peers

• PrideStaff: Privately-held generalist staffing company providing temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire across clerical, industrial, and professional — operates through a franchise/branch network analogous to Short Staffed.
• Express Employment Professionals: Largest franchised staffing network in North America providing temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire across light industrial, office, and professional — directly comparable to Short Staffed's generalist service model and geographic footprint strategy.
• Staffmark Group: Regional generalist staffing firm providing temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct hire across light industrial, office, and professional — comparable branch-based delivery model and customer segment.
• Labor Finders: Light industrial and general staffing firm focused on temporary and temp-to-hire placement — closely mirrors Short Staffed's warehouse/production/construction placement mix.
• Spherion: Franchised generalist staffing firm placing administrative, light industrial, and professional workers on temp and direct-hire bases — operates through local offices similar to Short Staffed's branch model.
• AppleOne Employment Services: Privately-held generalist staffing franchise offering temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct placement across administrative, industrial, and professional categories — comparable office-based service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ShortStaffed
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/short-staffed-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Short Staffed