Introducing our Q3 – Swooner of the Quarter, Danielle Schmidt!
Swooner of the Quarter recognizes one of our team members that went above and beyond for that quarter. Swooners submit nominations describing how that individual made the most impact.
Danielle Schmidt
Title: Major Account Manager
Location: Based out of Chicago
Why she was nominated: Danielle is the definition of a Swooner! She consistently demonstrates self-discipline, is very goal oriented and she has become well-versed in the staffing industry as a whole. She is always learning and cheering on her fellow Swooners and is constantly pushing herself to do more and it shows. She has put up the highest margin in the entire Sales organization for Swoon over the last quarter, grew to hit a new personal milestone during a pandemic and is constantly being recognized as a Top Duck at our monthly company meetings!
Quote from nomination: “Danielle continues to impress me more and more each day. This year, in the midst of a pandemic lead recession, she has grown her book of business to hit HUGE milestones and she does it all with grace. Danielle is incredibly thorough, she is truly a consultant for every manager she speaks to and delivers precisely on what they are looking for. She consistently has high quality performance for meetings, new reqs, interviews and placements. To top it all off, she does this while being a true team player. She wants to see everyone around her be successful – from the recruiters she is partnering with on each of her reqs, to her fellow Major Account Managers and beyond, she’s everyone’s biggest advocate and cheerleader. She embodies exactly what I want to see in a fellow Swooner.”
We are excited to announce that we have been named a 2020 Best and Brightest Company to Work for in the Nation for the 6th consecutive year!
What is this award and what does it mean? This award honors organizations across the nation that display a commitment to excellence in operations and employee enrichment that lead to increased productivity and financial performance.
“Through the first half of 2020, the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For have demonstrated leadership and forward thinking as they pivoted their business and workforce through Covid-19. As the conversation and focus has shifted, our Best and Brightest winning companies have also been a voice for important actions regarding Race. It is in these unique times, the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For excel and share their knowledge with others” said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO, Best and Brightest Programs.
Thank you to our team for their dedication, ability and willingness to drive our community efforts and overall making our company one of the best places to work!
Swoon has done it again! We’re very excited to announce our placement on the Inc. 5000 list for Fastest Growing, Privately Owned Companies in America.
What does this award mean? Well, Inc. magazine has been putting together the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest growing, private companies for over 40 years. This list features some of the most successful and innovative companies in the nation.
“The companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business,” says Inc. editor-in-chief, Scott Omelianuk. “From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.”
Recognition is given to those with the highest revenue growth and Swoon just so happened to achieve a 3-year growth rate of 94%!
To say we’re honored to make Inc. 5000’s annual list of fastest growing, privately owned companies this year is an understatement. Thank you to our team, contractors, clients and partners for always going above and beyond. We couldn’t have done this without you!
Introducing our Q2 – Swooner of the Quarter, Shanda Coppage!
Swooner of the Quarter recognizes one of our team members for going above and beyond. Swooners submit nominations describing how they made the most impact.
Shanda Coppage
Title: Training Manager, Talent Development
Location: Chicago
Why She Was Nominated: Shanda was nominated by numerous Swooners for Swooner of the Quarter – Q2 because she is constantly going above and beyond and has amazing work ethic and determination!
During the pandemic, Swoon invested in our team and hired 30 new Business Development Managers and summer interns. Shanda was an integral part in onboarding all of these individuals remotely – something Swoon has never done. She worked around the clock to make sure all the new hires received any and all support they needed. She did an amazing job and we are so lucky to have her!
Quote from Nomination: “Shanda has revamped so much of the training material to be remote. I also can’t imagine the DuckU (our internal training classes) weeks spent with all our new BDMs. She is always ready to help point the new recruiters in the right direction as well as provide resources for them to further their learning. Shanda has really gone above and beyond this last quarter!”
Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in Chicago
Press Release: July 2, 2020 – Warren, MI — Every year companies throughout Chicago compete to be named one of “Chicago’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®.” Only companies that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approach can receive this honor. These select companies will be honored on Friday, July 24, 2020 on a digital platform that the honorees will log into.
The winning companies will compete for 13 elite awards, one granted for each category. Also, an overall winner that has excelled in all categories will be honored with a “Best of the Best Overall” award. The elite award winners will be revealed during the digital presentation. All companies, no matter their size, can be a Best and Brightest Company to Work For®, resulting in Better Business, Richer Lives and Stronger Communities.
An independent research firm evaluates each company’s entry, based on key measures in various categories. They include Compensation, Benefits and Employee Solutions; Employee Enrichment, Engagement and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment, Selection and Orientation; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity and Inclusion; Work-Life Balance; Community Initiatives; Strategic Company Performance; and the Best of the Best Small Business, Medium Business and Large Business. (See the whole list of honorees here.)
“Through the first half of 2020, the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For® have demonstrated leadership and forward thinking as they pivoted their business and workforce though Covid-19. As the conversation and focus has shifted, our Best and Brightest winning companies have also been a voice for important actions regarding race relations. In these unique times, the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For excel and share their knowledge with others,” said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO, Best and Brightest Programs.
The annual symposium and awards program this year will be a digital event, due to the COVID-19 virus, and will begin at 12:00 p.m. with Keynote Speaker, John Ninkovich – Performix Group. The digital awards presentation is emceed by Pat Cassidy of WBBM 780AM Radio. The awards presentation will adjourn at 1:30 p.m.
Chicago’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® is sponsored by Baudville Brands, NOW Health Group, FONA International, Assurance — a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC company, Clark Hill PLC, Milhouse Engineering and Construction Inc., Switchfast Technologies, HR Source, uMap and Corp! Magazine.
The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® is a program that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices and demonstrate why they are an ideal place for employees to work. This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole. It is presented annually in several markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and West Michigan, as well as Nationally.
Introducing our Q1 – Swooner of the Quarter, Miranda Sullivan!
Swooner of the Quarter recognizes one of our team members for going above and beyond. Everyone in the company submits a nomination describing how they made the most impact.
Miranda Sullivan
Title: Human Resources Manager
Location: Chicago
Why She Was Nominated: Miranda was nominated by numerous individuals for Swooner of the Quarter – Q1 and rightfully so. She is constantly upbeat and is always willing to go the extra mile to help whoever needs it. She really goes above and beyond every day and wears a ton of hats. We are so lucky to have her at Swoon!
Quote from nomination: “I know she gets shout outs all the time, but they are always so well-deserved. When I think of someone who really goes above and beyond to get the job done, I immediately think of her. She is proactive and thorough in everything that she does, and if she doesn’t know the answer to something, she will go the extra mile to figure it out. She is someone I have consistently relied on – for a wide variety of things – and she always pulls through. She is a true asset.”
May’s Contractor of the Month is Jordan Chan, a Quality Control Monitoring Specialist for Swoon’s mobile payment client in San Francisco.
Jordan had his resume posted online and Kaylie reached out to him as she thought he would be a great fit for the role. He wants to give a huge thank you to both Kaylie and Krisanta as they have helped him tremendously throughout the process.
“Working with Swoon was an easy process. Kaylie and Krisanta prepared me for the interviews, gave me all the necessary tools to succeed, and helped me know what to expect every step of the way,” Jordan said.
In his role, Jordan is part of the collections team where he reviews and monitors cases and merchant communications to make sure all is in accordance with the company standards. He loves the collaborative culture of the company and has met a lot of great people and teammates so far.
Jordan said he will continue to put his best foot forward for the duration of the contract and would love the opportunity to be converted to the team full-time.
Fun Fact: Jordan majored in Graphic Design but is now working in finance. Also, he is ambidextrous!
April’s Contractor of Month is Adam Jennings, a Digital Asset/Rights Manager at Swoon’s business and employment-oriented service client in San Francisco.
Adam was first Swooned by Maggie when he was on the job market in Sunnyvale, CA. She reached out to him about a role at our client, which just so happened to be a company he had wanted to work with for quite some time.
“Working with Maggie has been great. She is my first point of contact for everything, routinely helping me and pointing me to the right people when I have questions,” said Adam.
He started at the client as the Head of Registration for their flagship conference, then joined the Center of Excellence team, and ultimately landing his role as the Digital Asset/Rights Manager where he is currently working.
In his role, Adam has worked to help develop and launch two internal tools that work and help to store and share the photography, videos and other collateral for all marketing campaigns. His hard work has led him to talks with his team about the opportunity for his role to convert to a full-time position this summer.
His favorite part about his job and the company is the culture;
“It is the first place to truly feel like home. Culture and integrity are bred and instilled by the leadership in place. Some companies use it as a tag word or selling point, but here, they really own their culture and respect peoples’ values. We really are in it together,” Adam says.
FUN FACT: Adam enjoys golfing and loves attending music festivals. He went to the Stagecoach country music festival this month, and frequents southern California to continue his love for surfing.
Congratulations on all your achievements, Adam!
February’s Contractor of the Month is Stacey Hou, a Financial Analyst turned Data Analyst at one of Swoon’s clients, a consumer credit reporting agency in Boston.
Stacey started her Swoon journey when she applied to a role online and started working with Beth Suchocki. Beth and team offered advice, provided sample questions to ask during interviews, and checked-in throughout the process. In fact, Stacey was deciding on concurrent offers and Beth negotiated a more favorable package, ultimately sealing the deal for Stacey.
When starting as a Financial Analyst, a typical workday for Stacey included data entry and reporting, financial journaling, auditing and transactions. As she became more familiar with her role, Stacey realized due to her background in coding, that she was able to automate a lot of her work. Her boss was very supportive and began to assign Stacey additional tasks in business intelligence, coding and data analysis fields.
Stacey was then offered a full-time position with the client as a Data Analyst and her new position started this month! She now supports the business in quantitative data and coding to improve efficiencies.
“My favorite part about the job is the flexibility to identify the optimal way of doing a project and being able to run with it. I am not set to doing everything by a certain set of rules, and this empowers me to go a more creative and passionate route,” Stacey said.
We at Swoon would like to congratulate Stacey on her success and wish her well in her new, full-time role!
Fun Facts: Stacey has a three-pound toy poodle named Luna and a rescue Chinchilla named Bubbles! She loves music and works as an event pianist and church organist in her spare time.
January’s Contractor of the Month is John Santaguida, a Business Analyst at one of Swoon’s social media and mobile application clients. During a typical day, John checks the workflows he has set up and runs project requests. He also works on building these workflows for ad products and started a targeting incubation program where he and his team run new target requests and monitor the results.
Swoon recruiter Tyler Parks connected with John and helped him to land this role that he says he otherwise would not have applied for because he didn’t know he had the required skillsets. John loves working at Swoon and with his current company. He said he is never left out because of his contractor status and he loves the open-book, cross-functional nature of his team.
John hopes to become a product manager with the company down the line and continue to grow with the team. There have been conversations about converting him to a permanent employee this year.
Fun Fact: John knows how to make balloon animals!
Congratulations on being our Contractor of the M