Spotlight on SBTDC

In 2004, Dan Hickson was working for a staffing services company helping to recruit, screen and place employees in short- and long-term positions for client companies. 

He was good at his job.  He knew he had the ability to recognize talent in others and to match the competencies of individuals with the needs of employers.  He began to think about putting his experience and energy to work for himself as a small business owner but the state of the economy was worrisome.  “At the time, all indications pointed toward an economy that was heading into a serious mode of downsizing.  I questioned whether the market could support a new staffing services business.”

Hickson also recognized that by contract or conscience, many employers hire “outplacement” consultants to assist in managing employee termination situations.  Specialists in this area can offer client companies assistance informing employees of impending lay-offs and then provide numerous services designed to help employees transition into new positions with new employers.

Hickson did some research and discovered that there were opportunities to launch such a business. He began evaluating programs that were comprehensive enough to handle the demands of a diverse workforce with an emphasis on producing immediate results.  As a result, he chose an established program with a history of offering impressive results at an economical rate for employers. 

Armed with an idea of where he wanted to go and very motivated to get started, Hickson turned to the Macomb SBTDC for guidance and was placed in the capable hands of Certified Business Counselor Bob Madigan.

According to Hickson, “During our first meeting, Bob listened quietly as I explained my ideas for making this business a success.  Before the end of that first meeting, he helped me to identify my immediate priorities and helped me develop a set of goals and objectives for achieving the successful launch of my business.”

ENRG Consulting Inc was officially launched in 2005.  Specializing in outplacement services, they offer a full-spectrum of customized “Career Transition” services for businesses of all sizes.  ENRG counselors provide on-site separation assistance and work individually with employees from the day of separation up through re-employment. Their services help each employee shorten their job search by preparing a professionally written resume within 24 hours, preparing a personal marketing strategy tailored to their search, providing interview training to help each employee ace their next interview and providing research skills necessary to help them identify potential employers.

Their program offers a 12-month guarantee to each employee and a satisfaction or money back guarantee to the hiring company. Services are reasonably priced, especially considering their impressive results:

• 77 percent reduction in post-employment litigation
• 71 day average return-to-work rate

Today, ENRG Consulting is able to provide services through offices in 47 states and 4 in Canada.  “We feel very fortunate to have the support of the SBTDC along with their combined knowledge base to help us grow our business in both good and challenging times” says Hickson. For additional information Dan Hickson can be reached at 248.519.2310 or logging on to www.MyEnrg.com.