Manage HR Magazine: Specials Magazine
For more than two decades, Waquis Global Staffing has built a reputation as a trusted partner in the world of staffing and business process outsourcing. With headquarters in Portland, Oregon, and White Salmon, Washington, along with a dedicated processing center in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the company has grown steadily by combining American oversight with international expertise. Its presence across these locations highlights the global reach and the longevity of the company’s relationships, both with clients and within its own teams. Longevity is central to Waquis Global Staffing’s value proposition. With more than 22 years in the industry, the company has refined its ability to serve multiple sectors, beginning with IT, then branching into mortgage and real estate, and now expanding further into human resources. This broad experience means Waquis Global Staffing understands the risks companies face when outsourcing back-office operations. For clients, choosing a BPO partner represents a major investment, and trust is essential. The company’s track record of adapting to industry shifts and sustaining long-term client relationships underscores its reliability and consistency. For instance, many clients have stayed with Waquis for well over ten years. Creating a Positive Culture Part of Waquis Global Staffing’s strength comes from the stability and dedication of its leadership and staff. In Colombo, the senior management team has been with the company for more than 17 years. Their deep experience shapes both the company’s internal culture and its ability to deliver seamless service. The workplace environment emphasizes respect and professionalism, and this translates directly into external reliability. When employees remain with a company for that long, clients benefit from continuity, accumulated expertise, and a level of care that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. This alignment of experience, service, and stability has been the cornerstone of Waquis Global Staffing’s growth. By combining more than 20 years of industry knowledge with a culture of employee loyalty, the company has positioned itself as a dependable partner for handling critical operations with accuracy and consistency. Joe O’Neill, president and founder of Waquis Global Staffing, notes, “When people are willing to stay that long, it means that we’ve really created a positive culture that people want to be part of.”
Leadership Development
Leadership isn’t just about what you do; it’s about how people experience you. Traditional leadership development focuses on skills and strategies. Behavioral coaching, on the other hand, explores why leaders react under pressure, how they make decisions, and which subconscious patterns influence their communication. Subtle habits like avoiding confrontation, over-controlling, and failing to listen can quietly derail careers, even when technical expertise is strong. Behavioral coaching brings these blind spots to the surface and replaces them with self-awareness, emotional agility, and intentional action. Yet, there are surprisingly few coaches who specialize in this space. Paul Sylvester is one of the rare exceptions, and he is also perhaps the best. As president and executive business coach of Sylvester, he helps leaders understand their own behavior, decode the behavior of others, and lead from a place of clarity, trust, and emotional intelligence. His approach blends business acumen with behavioral insight to create lasting changes that extend far beyond the boardroom. “Most leaders don’t fail because they lack strategy. They fail because they underestimate behavior, including how people think, react, avoid, or resist when the pressure is on. My job is to bring that into focus so change actually sticks,” says Sylvester. That practical, grounded approach stems from lived experience. For most of his career, Sylvester was making high-level decisions, navigating organizational complexity, and leading major transformation efforts as Chief Information Officer for a multi-billion-dollar company. He helped take the company public and stood on the NYSE floor, ringing the bell in celebration. But even in that moment of triumph, something didn’t sit right. While stock tickers flashed success, he saw a different reality: a leadership team riddled with tension, mistrust, and misalignment. Despite financial wins, the culture was quietly eroding. That disconnect became his turning point. What came next wasn’t retirement, but reinvention. Having witnessed firsthand how blind spots held leaders back and how poor team dynamics silently sabotaged results, Sylvester set out on a mission to help people lead and work better, together. Today, he is one of the few in the field of behavioral business coaching, blending leadership development with the science of behavior, communication, and emotional intelligence. Working with executives, directors, and teams, he helps them solve challenges and uncover the behavioral patterns and internal drivers behind those challenges.
Top Corporate Relocation Service 2025
For nearly a century, Allied Van Lines has been at the forefront of the corporate relocation industry, offering businesses a reliable partner to navigate the complexities of workforce mobility. As part of Sirva Worldwide Relocation & Moving Services, the company has earned its reputation as an industry leader by placing a customer-centric approach at the heart of its services. Eric Reed, Corporate Moving Services VP, emphasizes relocation as a dual responsibility that must deliver ease for HR leaders while ensuring a seamless and stress-free transition for employees. Every day, Allied fulfills its mission by moving people and businesses forward with reliable and scalable relocation services. Whether local, long-distance, or international, the company brings the expertise to manage each move with precision—earning lasting client relationships and a 97-year record of success. A core reason businesses choose Allied is its ability to meet the diverse and evolving needs of corporate relocations. Companies often turn to Allied to facilitate critical moves—whether expanding operations, addressing workforce gaps, or supporting talent development. The company offers a robust suite of services that not only meets but exceeds the demands of today’s dynamic corporate environment. Allied’s offerings are founded on six key attributes that businesses value: dependability, trustworthiness, quality, global reach, scalability, and comprehensive service. The company’s dependability is a direct result of its longevity and consistent performance. Having served numerous clients for decades, Allied’s continued success demonstrates that its services are not merely transactional, but rather long-term partnerships founded on mutual trust. Reed notes, “At Allied, we believe that true success in the service industry begins with a deep commitment to our customers. That’s why we place the customer’s needs at the center of everything we do.” This commitment is reflected in the company’s impressive track record for quality. Allied boasts a 98 percent on-time delivery rate, a low claims ratio and consistently high customer satisfaction ratings. A comprehensive quality management system, including the Quality of Service Audit (QSA) and the Allied Master Mover Program, ensures that every move is executed with meticulous attention to detail. Allied provides clients with integrated mobility solutions that extend beyond just moving household goods. Through their extensive service network, businesses gain access to a range of valuable relocation services. These offerings help streamline the relocation process and provide employees with the necessary tools to settle into their new environments smoothly.
Top Corporate Workshop Solution 2025
Many companies try to address burnout and disengagement with external fixes like more PTO, remote work or the occasional wellness webinar. But these well-intended HR initiatives miss the deeper point. Real change happens only when employees feel physically grounded and emotionally supported in their environment. As their nervous system begins to settle, the stress that drives burnout starts to ease, making it possible for them to speak up, take creative risks and bring their full selves to work. Jamie Lovelynn, founder of her namesake company, brings this same physiological experience to the workplace as a certified life coach, breathwork practitioner and fine-art photographer. In her corporate workshops, she uses coastal imagery, photographs she has captured herself, as purposeful tools for nervous system regulation. Thoughtfully woven into each session, these images act as emotional anchors. They invite employees to pause and reconnect with a calmer version of themselves. Once the body is gently shifted into a state of ease, Lovelynn introduces breathwork and somatic tools that guide participants out of mental tension and into present-moment awareness. That gentle shift unfolds so softly that people hardly notice until stress has slipped away, leaving clear awareness and internal spaciousness. “Companies don’t bring me in for a one-time wellness session,” says Lovelynn. “They come when they’re ready for meaningful transformation, when they want to shift how people feel, lead and connect in ways that strengthen culture and performance over time.” Breathwork: The Power of Breath to Reduce Stress and Mindfulness Practices to Create a Life You Love, her flagship workshops, are tailored for teams navigating chronic pressure or cultural disconnect. These sessions help participants release stress and stored emotional tension from the body. Breathwork shifts brain chemistry and physiology, creating the internal conditions for change to happen more quickly. By calming the nervous system and reducing mental noise, employees experience a measurable shift from reaction to presence and from survival to engagement. Guiding this transformation is her “Make Moments Magical” philosophy. It’s about teaching employees stuck in the “just get through the day” routine to create intentional pauses that help them slow down, notice what truly matters and choose how to move forward with purpose.
Executive Recruiting Firm Company of the Year 2025
Matching the right talent with the right seats is no longer optional in contemporary global commerce, and for more than three decades, Protis Global has built its reputation on doing just that. Based in Florida, this executive search powerhouse is known for driving transformative talent moves that keep the world’s most beloved consumer brands thriving. Step into Protis Global’s world, and you find a company that refuses to reduce people to checkboxes on a résumé. It champions a rare conviction in the talent sector: business transformation is born at the individual level. Refined through decades in the consumer goods sector, the firm’s approach always puts people first, ensuring each search is a partnership rooted in personal connection as much as business transformation. “We get to know each person, their personal, professional, and financial motivations, their wants, and how they make decisions that shape every aspect of their lives. Whether you are a client or candidate, you are treated as an individual,” says Bert E. Miller, Chairman and CEO. The Cost of Misalignment and the Power of Getting It Right The modern hiring landscape rewards speed but punishes misalignment. Vacant leadership roles can trigger a chain reaction: teams lose momentum, workloads spike, and strategic initiatives stall. The opportunity cost compounds across quarters, eroding morale and weakening performance. Many firms respond by filling seats as quickly as possible, only to pay a higher price when the placement fails to deliver or worse, damages culture. Protis Global rejects the false tradeoff between velocity and precision. It treats each vacancy as an opportunity to recalibrate direction, clarify purpose, and strengthen the leadership fabric. What sets the firm apart is its ability to translate human nuance into business advantage. Rather than relying on generic competency models, it probes the drivers that determine sustained performance—how leaders make decisions under pressure, what they value when priorities collide, and the conditions that enable long-term impact. Its philosophy: success is engineered where aspiration, capability, and context meet. By committing to this level of understanding, Protis Global avoids the costly mishires that result from surface-level matching. The results endure where others fray. “To lead in this business is to understand that every hire reshapes a company’s future. Behind each decision is a human story that drives impact beyond organizations, to industries and society at large,” says Miller.
Employer Backup Care Benefits of the Year 2025
Winner of the 2025 Employer Backup Care Benefit of the Year award, CorporateCARE Solutions is transforming how companies support employees with caregiving responsibilities — and turning a once-overlooked benefit into a measurable business advantage. CorporateCARE Solutions is setting new standards for supporting today’s workforce. Its modern, tech-powered, scalable Backup Care model transforms family care benefits into a competitive advantage by combining the industry’s best technology with full transparency. Employees can stay focused at work knowing their loved ones are well cared for. From child and adult care to tutoring, pet care, and unparalleled concierge services, CorporateCARE ensures everyday family responsibilities are handled. The result: reduced absenteeism, higher productivity, and a valuable edge in recruiting and retaining top talent. CorporateCARE’s flexible, pay-as-you-go daily or hourly model maximizes the value of resources allocated to Backup Care benefits. Employers of all sizes can deliver meaningful support without overextending budgets or adding administrative burden. Powered by an intuitive care-tech platform, the service delivers unmatched convenience and connectivity. Its fully integrated national network of rigorously vetted providers is held to the highest standards, ensuring quality, consistency, and trust for employees. “Our platform enables the full ‘Uberization’ of Backup Care, connecting all stakeholders in a frictionless way,” says Sharon Lurtsema, CEO and founder. Employees can book care and receive real-time updates, while employers and care providers can view, edit and approve requests from any device. The platform connects employers, employees, care providers, caregivers and CCS in one cohesive platform that automates literally everything from booking to billing! “This technology has driven exceptional growth — nearly doubling our business in the first half of 2025,” she adds. Lurtsema’s unique leadership perspective elevates the experience for both employers and employees. A former nanny, child, and adult care agency owner, working parent, and now tech innovator, she has worked in every role within the care ecosystem. This lived expertise directly shaped CorporateCARE’s model, built for flexibility, usability, and transparency.
Recruitment
Technology's Influence on the Modern Human Resources Practice
Suzanne Coll, Director of Human Resources, Toray Advanced Composites
Talent Management
Adapting to Talent Pool Shifts with Innovation
Kristy Haider, Director Human Capital, Talent Strategy, MNP
Recruitment
Navigating Hospitality's Evolving Landscape: The Quest for Empathetic Leaders in a Shrinking Workforce
Kenrick Burkholder, Director Of Recruiting, MINA Group
Recruitment
Corporate Relocation - Move from Success to Significance!
Bruce W. Waller, Vice President, Corporate Relocation, the Armstrong Company
Recruitment
Strategic Enforcement of Workforce Evolutions
Heather Wheaton, Senior Director of Human Resources, Kellanova
IN MY OPINION
Recruitment
Does the Success of Crisis Management Depend on Preparation or Leadership
Quentin SaLay, Vice President Human Resources, Comcast
LAST WORD
Recruitment
Building a Modern, Strategic Talent Acquisition Function
Kristen Guffey, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition, AtriCure, Inc
IN FOCUS
Investing in Care: How Backup Benefits Drive Employee Engagement and Retention
Employer backup care boosts workforce resilience and productivity by offering on-demand care.
Building a Resilient Workforce: The Importance of HR Expertise
HR and staffing services boost talent management and resilience to support business goals.
EDITORIAL
Ushering in a New Era of Human Resources
Human resources is shedding its traditional back-office image and stepping into a transformative role—shaping not only how people experience work, but also how organizations succeed and evolve.
In this edition of Manage HR, we delve into the forces reshaping modern workplaces, examining how evolving expectations, emerging technologies and innovative people strategies are redefining the future of work.
Today’s organizations are realizing that employee experience is no longer a peripheral concern—it shapes performance, innovation and retention at every level. Corporate workshops, for example, are no longer one-size-fits-all seminars; they are immersive, adaptive programs that combine leadership development, emotional intelligence training and scenario-based problem solving, enabling teams to effectively respond to complex challenges. These programs are helping employees build skills that matter in real-time, preparing them to navigate the unexpected demands of modern work.
Equally significant is the way companies are rethinking support systems for their workforce. Benefits like backup care are evolving from simple perks into integrated solutions that address the unpredictable realities of modern life, acknowledging that employees perform best when personal and professional responsibilities can coexist with minimal friction.
Talent acquisition and development are becoming more strategic and insight-driven. Executive recruiting and staffing services are increasingly focused on understanding an organization’s culture and long-term goals, using data and behavioral insights to connect companies with leaders who can drive both performance and innovation. Leadership coaching, meanwhile, is moving beyond standard skill-building to tailored programs that help executives navigate complexity, foster collaboration and inspire high-performing teams, ensuring that leadership pipelines remain strong and capable.
Together, these shifts reflect an HR landscape that is less transactional and more transformative. By embedding human-centered strategies into every aspect of the employee journey, organizations are fostering environments where talent can thrive, leadership can evolve and the workforce can adapt to an ever-changing world.
We hope this edition of Manage HR helps you find the right partner for your business requirements.
