A 30-year HR veteran opened a Springfield office in 2006

By Elaine Morris Roberts Staff Writer, June 7, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — Miguel Ten learned about labor outsourcing by accident, but has managed to turn an unexpected conversation into a successful business.

Ten is the president and CEO of First Diversity Management Group, a labor outsourcing, temporary employee-to-hire and direct-hire firm at its new location at 560 E. High St.

A few years ago, the 30-year veteran of the human resources field was looking for a trainer for his Delaware company and ended up talking to a CEO whose entire labor force of 300 was outsourced.

Labor outsourcing allows a company to have employees onsite that are paid and managed by the outsourcing firm, which may also cover other expenses like worker’s compensation, medical benefits and federal and state taxes.

While Ten was surprised to find a well-staffed business with few employees on the payroll, he also saw a great opportunity to find people jobs while saving companies money.

“Labor outsourcing saves companies money because it removes the direct cost of benefits, insurance and taxes,” he said.

First Diversity covers other expenses including medical benefits, worker’s compensation, payroll taxes, drug testing, background checks. The employers pay him wages and a premium for his service.

In one year, Ten said he saved a large client over $2.5 million. “Even if a company contracts for 50 employees, I can save them about $500,000 a year,” he said.

Growth

Ten, a Puerto Rican native who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., opened the First Diversity office in Springfield in 2006.

He started his company in Maryland in 2002 with 20 outsourced employees. He now has more than 650 outsourced employees and 21 corporate employees.

He came here, he said, at the insistence of his son George, who was then a Cedarville University student. George is now the company’s senior vice president of human resources.

Last year, Ten decided to look for a new location after the addition of two partners left everyone sharing offices.

George Miller, former regional president and CEO of Community Mercy Health Partners, joined the firm in August 2008 as the chief operating officer. Erick Collins, former president and owner of Springfield Ford, came on board in December as vice president of sales and marketing.

“When I met Miguel, we never talked about business. He just wanted to establish a relationship,” Miller said.

Miller’s expertise has been integral to the establishment of First Diversity Health Care Group, which provides employees for clients including CMHP, Cleveland Clinic and a hospital in Fayetteville, N.C.

First Diversity helps hospitals hire dietary, housekeeping and parking lot employees. Soon, Miller said, they will be doing physician recruiting with a hospital in Texas.

Collins is establishing a sales team to tell First Diversity’s story, share its business plan and show employers the benefits of working with the company.

Collins oversees two sales reps, one in Cleveland and one in Atlanta to service client Georgia Pacific.

The company is branching out, even beyond health care, moving into government and higher education. They are currently courting Montgomery County, Ohio State University and University of Cincinnati.

“What’s exciting about this is it’s like a start-up company. Only more than a year ago, it was just Miguel and his son. It’s challenging to put new programs in place to expand the business,” Collins said.

Outsourcing in action

Dole Fresh Vegetables, 660 Benjamin Drive, has about 800 hourly employees. More than 500 hourly employees are provided by First Diversity.

Locally, Dole supplies Walmart, Kroger and Meijer; the plant ships products to many Eastern states and Canada.

“Managing that many temporary employees can be a daunting task. First Diversity does it very well and very effectively,” said Jim Graham, the Springfield distribution center’s human resources manager.

Dole’s unique working environment — the plant is kept between 34 and 38 degrees — can be a challenge because the produce needs to stay cold. There are wet areas, too, as the produce needs to be washed and machinery sanitized.

“Ours can be a tough environment to work in for eight to 10 hours a day. And, the nature of the work means employees are always rushing because the inventory is highly perishable. I admire the people who do this work,” Graham said.

Jobs at Dole include lettuce trimming, cutting, washing, drying, packaging and shipping. A separate quality assurance team works third shift every day, performing maintenance and sanitation.

Graham, who has been at Dole for about a year, has been impressed with First Diversity’s ability to tap into the local labor market.

“There’s never a dry period. They are always able to find good employees,” Graham said.

Even though Graham is pleased overall, day-to-day issues do come up.

When there are problems, Graham finds First Diversity’s responsiveness to him as a client the thing that makes the difference.

“They are the best at customer service,” he said. “If I have a request or an issue, they are immediately responding not only in word, but in deed. ... I’ve been in the HR business for more than 25 years in different industries. I’ve worked with many other temp and contract labor agencies and this group is the best.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0371 or elroberts@coxohio.com.

Miguel Ten is president and CEO of First Diversity Management Group, which provides labor outsourcing and temporary employees for companies across the United States.

Staff photo by Marshall Gorby.