The Kforce Story: 50 Plus Years of Great People Delivering Great Results

What the two cultures had in common was a strict code of ethics, a source of pride for both. John Allred left his position as vice president at Source in 1993 and started A.R.G., Inc., a professional staffing firm specializing in the placement of physicians. While serving on the Source Services Board of Directors in 1997, “a broker approached us about merging with Romac,” he recalled, “and none of us wanted the merger. We were honest and ethical and we were sure no one could be as good and professional as we were.” Given an opportunity to meet Romac’s management team, however, he changed his mind. What he discovered was a management team with the same ethics, the same values Source had. In addition, they had experience with acquisitions, experience that was lacking at Source and inhibiting their own growth. There were difficulties, to be sure. “Source was home grown,” John observed, “and there was a lot of loyalty to the brand. We didn’t want to change our name and Romac didn’t want to change their name. Everybody was very proud of their own organization.” In fact, many of the Source offices retained their name, a move that mollified many among their leadership but eventually created challenges within the larger organization. Ultimately, John was one of three Source board members who joined the Romac Board of Directors, including Wayne Emigh, Source’s chairman of the board at the time of the merger. John has served on the Kforce Board of Directors since 1998. Andy Thomas, who is now senior vice president, National Champions at Kforce, joined Source in the Boston office just two months before the merger. He recalls the anxiety over territorial rights in the Boston market where the Source and Romac offices were literally next door to each other. In his position with another firm, Andy frequently held meetings with representatives from both Source and Romac. “Within a span of four months we were all working together.” There was also concern as to how a smaller company was going to handle the absorption of so many new offices and employees. His concerns abated when he participated in one of the summits held in Dallas—team meetings held with representatives from both companies to learn about the other’s culture and then serve as ambassadors. “I remember meeting in the Source Services training room,” Andy recalled. “I’ll never forget it. Awhite van pulled up and there was Michael Blackman, Joe Liberatore, and Paul Winters. I still get chills thinking about it because as the merger happened, I felt like I was going home. I identified completely with the Romac culture.” What he discovered was a more kinetic culture than he’d known previously, a difference with which Jackie Finestone, field training manager for Kforce who joined Source in 1994, concurs. Source still emphasized their permanent placement business and maintained a hiring profile restricted to industry specialists. “As a result,” she said, “it was a more up-tight, buttoned-up kind of culture.” From her perspective, the contrast with Romac was striking. “When we merged with Romac and came to one of the first meetings, there was a company band and the CEO was playing in it; we were all looking at each other wondering what kind of company this was!” In an ironic twist, Jackie found more structure at Romac compared to the more entrepreneurial, locally managed Source offices. Having technology at her disposal was also a contrast from Source where they still faxed resumes,

Source Services Corporation ®

Andy Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer.

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