What Staffing Inc. does

Staffing Inc. is a privately held, 100% employee-owned (ESOP) staffing and workforce solutions firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, founded in 1988 by Dan Barcheski. The company operates four regional offices across West Michigan (Grand Rapids HQ, Holland, Ionia/Lansing, Greenville) and serves employers and job seekers across light industrial, skilled trades, manufacturing, professional/executive, event services, hospitality, fulfillment, and retail sectors. Its offerings span four service lines: (i) temporary staffing via traditional recruiting, (ii) trial-to-hire evaluation, (iii) direct placement of full-time hires, and (iv) on-demand staffing through its proprietary WorkShift platform launched in 2025. The Axios Professional Recruitment sub-brand extends the firm into mid- and upper-level executive placements.

The company's economic engine is a mix of managed-services revenue (temp staffing, where it employs workers and bills clients for hours at representative bill rates of $16.50–$25.00/hour), professional-services fees (trial-to-hire and direct placement fees), and a usage-based stream via WorkShift. Approximately 300+ active employer clients are served, with operational scale evidenced by 10,000+ job seekers placed locally, ~30,000 documented successful placements, and 6,500+ permanent placements over the past 10 years (200 in 2024 alone). Distribution is hybrid: a regional direct-sales/account-management team handles enterprise and mid-market clients, while WorkShift and an online job board serve SMB and individual job seekers on a self-serve basis. Marketing relies on a content engine (The Recruitment Rundown newsletter, 16+ blog/case-study assets), community engagement, referrals, and social channels (Facebook, LinkedIn).

Distinctive operational evidence points to deep local-market specialization rather than technology differentiation: case studies cite a 40% reduction in monthly turnover for a manufacturing client, average fill-rate improvement from 14 to 3 days, vendor consolidation from 6 staffing partners to 2, and a labor-rate-bonus program in which 70% of employees met performance thresholds. The ESOP structure — with 33% of the company allocated to temporary employees — is unique among staffing firms and underpins the firm's retention, culture, and Silver Certified Employer positioning. The firm resolved an EEOC investigation into alleged hiring bias via a settlement, the terms of which are not disclosed.

Name

Staffing Inc.

Legal name

Staffing Inc.

Website

https://staffinginc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Staffing Inc. is a privately held, ESOP-owned staffing firm founded in 1988 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It provides temporary, trial-to-hire, direct placement, and on-demand workforce solutions through its WorkShift platform to employers across West Michigan in manufacturing, skilled trades, events, hospitality, and retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (56132), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Light Industrial & Warehouse Temp Staffing (BPACACAB), Manufacturing & Production Line Staffing (BPACAEAC), Seasonal & Peak Workforce Staffing (BPACACAE)

Keywords

• Temporary staffing services
• Workforce solutions
• Direct placement hiring
• On-demand staffing
• Professional recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Temporary Staffing Services: Core revenue stream providing temporary workers to businesses for flexible workforce needs. Workers are employed by Staffing Inc. and assigned to client companies, with Staffing Inc. handling payroll, benefits, and HR administration.
2. Trial-to-Hire Placements: Temporary-to-permanent placement service allowing employers to evaluate candidates on a temporary basis before making permanent hiring decisions, reducing hiring risks.
3. Direct Placement: Full-service recruitment where Staffing Inc. identifies, screens, and hires top-tier full-time employees for client companies, charging a placement fee.
4. WorkShift On-Demand Platform: Gig-economy style platform connecting businesses with ready-to-work individuals for flexible shift-based work, particularly in hospitality, events, and retail sectors.
5. Professional Recruitment (Axios): Executive and professional recruitment services for mid- and upper-level management placements through the Axios Professional Recruitment division.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Staffing Inc. provides staffing, recruiting, and flexible workforce solutions for employers and job seekers across West Michigan. Core offerings include Temporary Staffing, Trial-to-Hire placements, Direct Placement for permanent hires, and the WorkShift on-demand platform for gig-style shift matching. The company also operates the Axios Professional Recruitment division for mid- and upper-level management placements, handling payroll, benefits, and HR administration for placed workers.

Product overview

Staffing Inc. operates as a workforce solutions company offering a suite of staffing services rather than a traditional software platform. Its core portfolio consists of three staffing service lines — On-Demand Staffing (gig-style flexible labor via the WorkShift platform), Trial-to-Hire (temporary-to-permanent evaluation), and Direct Placement (full-time recruiting) — supplemented by Axios Professional Recruitment, a sub-brand focused on mid- and upper-level management placements. The company does not appear to offer separate software modules, add-on products, or a developer platform; its offerings are service-based.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WorkShift: A flexible workforce platform designed to connect businesses with dependable talent on-demand. It enables employers to access pre-screened local workers and allows workers to find and choose immediate, flexible shifts through the app.
• Axios Professional Recruitment

Products and services

• WorkShift On-Demand Staffing Platform Flexible workforce platform connecting businesses with pre-screened local workers for on-demand shift coverage in event venues, hospitality, fulfillment, warehousing, retail, and country clubs. Features instant shift posting, real-time matching, and a mobile app for workers to select flexible shifts.
• Temporary Staffing Core staffing service providing temporary workers to businesses for flexible workforce needs. Workers are employed by Staffing Inc. and assigned to client companies, with Staffing Inc. handling payroll, benefits, and HR administration.
• Trial-to-Hire Temporary-to-permanent placement service allowing employers to evaluate candidates on a temporary basis before making permanent hiring decisions, reducing hiring risks by assessing candidate performance, skills, and cultural fit in a real-world work environment.
• Direct Placement Full-service recruitment service where Staffing Inc. identifies, screens, and hires top-tier full-time employees for client companies, charging a one-time placement fee upon successful hiring.
• Axios Professional Recruitment Professional recruitment division of Staffing Inc. that assists with actively placing mid- and upper-level management candidates for companies seeking executive and professional talent.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced monthly turnover by 40% for a leading manufacturing company client
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Axios Professional RecruitmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAxios Professional Recruitment is a division of Staffing Inc. that assists with placing mid- and upper-level management candidates. This strategic addition expands the company's service offerings beyond traditional temporary staffing to include executive and professional recruitment.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Adecco: Global staffing and workforce solutions company with broad coverage in industrial, office, professional, and on-demand (Adia) staffing. Comparable broad-based service portfolio at significantly larger scale.
• ManpowerGroup: Global staffing leader offering temporary, permanent, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), and on-demand gig work (Magnit/Gig). Comparable across all service lines but with vastly greater scale, geographic reach, and technology investment.
• Kelly Services: National/international staffing and workforce solutions provider with strong industrial, professional, and contact-center offerings and an on-demand 'Kelly Direct' platform. Overlaps heavily on WorkShift-style on-demand and manufacturing staffing.
• PeopleReady (TrueBlue): National light-industrial and on-demand staffing provider under TrueBlue with a large footprint in general labor, hospitality, events, and retail. Comparable service lines — especially the WorkShift on-demand platform — but operates at national scale.

Direct peers

• Express Employment Professionals: Franchised staffing firm with strong presence in light industrial, commercial, and professional placements across North America. Comparable service mix and target SMB/mid-market employer base.
• Aerotek: Specialized staffing firm (subsidiary of Allegis Group) focused on industrial, technical, and professional placements. Comparable in skilled trades, manufacturing, and engineering/technical staffing verticals that overlap with Staffing Inc.'s Axios division.
• Beacon Hill Staffing Group: Regional staffing firm specializing in temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, and executive search across administrative, professional, and technical verticals. Comparable mix of light-industrial-adjacent and professional/executive recruitment (similar to Axios).
• The Reserves Network: Regional, family-owned staffing firm operating across the Midwest and Eastern U.S. with light industrial, skilled trades, office, and professional placement services. Comparable regional generalist model with similar in-office, sales-led approach.
• Trillium Staffing: Michigan-headquartered regional staffing firm providing temporary, temp-to-hire, direct placement, and on-demand staffing across industrial, clerical, and professional roles. Direct comparable in geography, service mix, and mid-market manufacturing client base.

Emerging players

• Indeed Flex: Tech-enabled on-demand staffing platform for hospitality, retail, warehousing, and events — directly comparable to Staffing Inc.'s WorkShift offering, but with a digital-first, multi-region model and deeper venture backing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/staffinginc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/staffing-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Staffing Inc.