The hiring industry, like every industry the world over, has been forced to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and find unique ways to come out of this unprecedented period stronger than ever. “The effect of this on the employment side has been, obviously, devastating,” said Bill Kasko, Frontline Source Group President and CEO. “This has been so much different than a recession that we can kind of see coming over the hill. As the clouds roll in, we can prepare for it, and we know what’s coming. This just hit us all out of the blue.” For Frontline, itself, that’s meant adapting to remote work requirements, assessing the implications of returning to the office across a wide range of industries, and more. While Kasko said the industry effectively “fell off a cliff” in the wake of the pandemic, six months later, there are signs of hope. “I’m happy to report that, six months into this, recovery is happening,” he said. “It’s slow, and it’s in different sectors. … But I will tell you that Texas is very strong. Texas is back on the right path, and it’s happening. It’s just not happening like we want.” In particular, the hospitality, restaurant and travel industries are still struggling to rebound, exemplifying a more widespread impact that previous economic events, which often targeted fewer sectors. To continue working toward recovery, Kasko said the emphasis needs to be on the portion of the population still working and on the people, processes and service that have enabled some companies to weather the storm more effectively than others. “There wasn’t a book on this, so we’re doing the best we can to get people back to work. … I told someone the other day, we’re at 11% unemployment,” he said. “That’s still 89% of the people working. We need to focus on that.”

People. Process. Service.™️

The Post-COVID-19 Future of the Hiring Industry with Bill Kasko

For Michael Gorton, summing Mt. Kilimanjaro was his second largest accomplishment while on his journey to Africa. That week-long trek to the top resulted in the formation of Teladoc, a telemedicine company that connects patients with remote physicians. Gorton joined Tyler Kern, Bill Kasko, and April Melton on this episode of People, Process, Service, a Frontline Source Group podcast. “In the beginning,[the idea] was that every downtown should have a room where people can walk in and see a remote doctor,” Gorton said. “We spent two years building and testing the model, because we knew it was going to be controversial.” Gorton noted how he and his collaborators tested the model for years, nailing down their processes. He admitted that they took the controversial perception very seriously. “We knew we were going to change the world. The board of medical examiners knew we were going to prison,” Gorton said. The Teladoc team decided to approach the various state boards of medical examiners by taking every concern as seriously as possible and consulting with the most talented and respected clinical physicians and doctors in public service. “We got some of the best doctors in the country,” Gorton said. Now, Gorton is focusing on much larger goals, literally. His current operation, Back To Space, is aiming to motivate young people to return to space the way they did in the heyday of the Apollo missions to the moon. He motioned that, to be an entrepreneur, one needs to be willing to clean the toilets in the morning, negotiate the million-dollar deal in the afternoon and, perhaps one day, even walk on the moon.

Entrepreneurship is About Cleaning Toilets and Negotiating Millions

Kyle Noonan is the CEO of FreeRange Concepts. FreeRange owns The Rustic, Mutts and many other restaurant concepts. He is a pioneer in the hospitality industry with a large social media following. FreeRange Concepts knows how to use its following to its advantage to bring in customers to experience their unique restaurant concepts. Noonan joins Tyler Kern and Bill Kasko, CEO, Frontline Source Group to talk about the history of his business partnership and running a successful restaurant experience. FreeRange Concepts now has restaurants open in three major cities - Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, Texas. Noonan said they are staying away from Austin, Texas at the moment because of the huge competition there. Noonan gave some advice when growing a business, saying that it is important to have good consultants and people. Early on in the business, they used their budget to pay people who know what they are doing and worried about making money, later. Noonan said that they modeled their work after the military’s structure and way of management. Another piece of advice he gave was that it helps to have top-level talent to promote the business, adding not to be afraid to pay extra for that promotion. Noonan talked about his business partner and how to cultivate a healthy relationship. He said that two partners have to have different skill sets and respect each other’s decisions. An issue the company constantly addresses is finding the right people to hire because of high turnover. The conversation turned to the fact that, at some point, this is just part of the industry. Noonan said to take time to write and rewrite the mission statement and let employees and customers know what it is.

Creating an Experiential Restaurant with the CEO of FreeRange Concepts, Kyle Noonan

TJ Mehta started MStone Stone and Tile Company when he was only 22 years old, and now the company owns some of the largest quarries in India and sources from China and Europe, as well. Mehta joins host Tyler Kern and guests Bill Kasko and April Milton of Frontline Source Group to talk about the history of MStone Stone and Tile and how he started a successful business in his 20s. Mehta was only 22 years old and going to medical school before he decided to go another route, but this was not without scrutiny. Mehta said, “when I declared to my family that I was not going to get into medicine, they just went into scramble mode.” His father was a doctor, and he had planned to follow in his father’s footsteps until he realized he didn't want to go through school and residency. After starting his business, Mehta quickly learned as he went. His first shipment of materials had him in a scramble and, when he asked advice from his family, they said, “We have no clue what you are doing. You started a business, figure it out.” He did not even have a place to put his materials or an office at the time. Eventually, Mehta hit his stride. His company now is very successful, and he has figured out where he fits in the industry. "The reason why someone like me has an opportunity in this industry is because people like to avoid dealing with people directly overseas," he said. Listen to the full interview for the rest of the story.

The History of MStone Stone and Tile with Founder TJ Mehta

Dr. Cortney Baker is an award-winning entrepreneur, the host of the podcast "Women in Business: Inspirational Stories of Women Entrepreneurs with Dr. Cortney," a TEDx speaker and a nationally recognized authority on women’s leadership. Baker is also the CEO of KidsCare Home Health, a multi-million-dollar healthcare organization with 12 locations across Texas, Colorado and Idaho. She stopped by Frontline Source Group's, People, Process, Service, podcast to talk about her journey and her passion for entrepreneurship and mentoring future women leaders. Asked about the No. 1 thing she’s learned when it comes to working with people, Baker said, “Hire smarter than you. The people you surround yourself with in your organization are so important, and they need to be intelligent, driven, and determined.” Baker wants to hire people who could work for any healthcare organization, but choose to work for KidsCare Home Health. In the past several years, Baker’s company has grown to multiple locations and more than 650 employees across several states. What was the secret sauce that made her company so successful, while similar, more established companies did not experience the same growth? Baker attributed success to several factors, including the company’s process of hiring the best people and providing the best service. Baker’s passion is entrepreneurship, and she takes pride in mentoring women to become the leaders of today and tomorrow. “What are the challenges we face as women in the workforce?,” Baker said. “When I looked at the research and the four most common factors contributing to these challenges, the common denominator was confidence, (and) 80% of the women I talk to say they lack confidence.” That's what drives Baker to help other women start and scale service-based businesses. Entrepreneurship is Baker’s jam, and she may have the perfect recipe for success.

Entrepreneurship is My Jam with Cortney Baker

This week’s episode of People, Process, Service found hosts Bill Kasko, President and CEO of Frontline Source Group, and Tyler Kern, Publisher at MarketScale sitting down with economics professor, Bob Lawson, Director of the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at Southern Methodist University. Lawson’s book, Socialism Sucks, was the topic of conversation. Lawson and his fellow economist, Benjamin Powell, set out on a world tour of socialist countries to find out what works and what doesn’t about them. The results? Lawson appreciates the economic opportunities of America, and he won’t be teaching in Venezuela anytime soon. But the most important discovery for Lawson was, the beers in these socialist countries are terrible—and such few options. To spice up the pot for this lively conversation, Kern, Kasko, and Lawson drank their way through the episode, sampling a dozen beers, while they each guessed what country from which each beer came. Kern’s strategy: guess Heineken®️ every time, and eventually, he’d be right. So, what exactly makes a country Socialist? Lawson dispelled some myths for Kasko and Kern. Sweden and Canada may have socialized medicine, but they still have a free market economy. Even China enjoys the benefits of the free market, albeit with government control. Lawson described the process of writing Socialism Sucks, and he shared his stories of visits to socialist countries such as Cuba and Venezuela, where government economic control results in limited choice and freedoms. And one constant remained above all—the beer in the socialist countries Lawson visited, sucked.

What a Country's Beer Selection Can Tell You About Its Economics

Joe Oblas, Co-CEO of Stryve Biltong, joined People. Process. Service.™️ to discuss his company’s mission to bring people healthier snacks. The product is Biltong, a high protein, low sugar snack made from a centuries-old process of drying and preserving meat that originated in South Africa. The product may seem similar, but it is anything but beef jerky. One instant convert was co-host, Bill Kasko, President and CEO of Frontline Source Group. Kasko had a bag of Biltong with him in the studio, and after a few bites of Biltong, he wasn’t sharing with anyone. Oblas’ excitement about Biltong stems from the fact it is a snack that is healthy. Biltong doesn’t contain all of the processed sugar and additives similar meat-based snacks have. It’s high protein, with minimal processing, air-dried, and not cooked. “You rarely find a product that is truly good for you,” said Oblas. “Name another snack that is actually healthy for you. It’s really a challenge.” How did Oblas begin his entrepreneurial journey? Oblas and his friends, at 12 years of age, bought and sold baseball cards at card conventions. Shortly after graduating college, Oblas and friends started a successful fruit smoothie chain. As he grew his business and needed capital to expand, Oblas learned a harsh lesson in moving away from doing the things that made his company successful in the first place. A re-branding effort, with no research, testing, led to plummeting sales and the end of the venture. But Oblas took this lesson to heart and used it as a reminder to be true to the mission of the future company’s he went on to start. “A combination for success is a competent entrepreneur teamed up with very experienced complementary pieces,” said Oblas.

A Healthy Recipe for Success with Joe Oblas

It was story time on this week’s episode of People, Process, Service, as a true professional in the field of broadcast journalism came into the MarketScale studio to chat with hosts Bill Kasko, President and CEO of Frontline Source Group, and Tyler Kern, MarketScale publisher. Mike Snyder is head of communications at the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Still, residents of Dallas, TX, might know him better from his three decades as a News Anchor and Correspondent at NBC-5 (KXAS). Snyder shared his career filled with stories of people and the changing process of delivering news to the community. Snyder viewed his role as a reporter as providing a service to the community, and he realized early on that storytelling was the key to success in reaching people and delivering relevant information. And in that effort, Kasko and Kern were not to be left disappointed. From his early start as a disc jockey to his eventual role as a news reporter, Snyder spent the podcast telling stories of his career in news, which took him to Russia during the collapse of the Soviet Union, and his long-term friendship with Jerry Lewis. “It’s the people I’ve met in life along the way who have helped me make the transition from amateur news reporter to a professional storyteller,” Snyder said. What about the state of news today? Snyder provided a lot of thoughts and insight. “What passes for news today is a convenience in between commercials,” Snyder said. “We need to get back to real reporting (and) dig into things that are important and matter to people.”

The Process of Storytelling with Mike Snyder

What does it take to run the 32nd tallest building in the United States? On this week’s episode of People, Process, Service, Adam Bernhardt, VP, and Senior General Manager at JLL discussed the process of servicing people working in a 1.85 million-square-foot office tower, noted for its iconic green lights outlining the building. Naturally, this doesn’t happen alone. Bernhardt said he relies on the efforts of a team of many people to keep day-to-day operations running smooth. Because of the changing nature in the way businesses work today, Bernhardt said the building has more business tenants then they used to have. “As technology comes in, one employee can do more and be more productive with fewer resources, so we have more tenants, but they are taking up the same amount of space as when we had fewer.” The advantage of having more tenants, Bernhardt said, is more diversity in the types of businesses sharing the building space. This diversity creates a sustainable environment that not only benefits the community of businesses but the building as well. As for the type of people Bernhardt looks to help manage a building of this scale, “they have to be service-oriented,” Bernhardt said. “What we’re trying to do for our tenants is make it a great environment. It’s having the right people trained to provide the right service and teaching them to see how that’s important to create that environment.”

How to Run a City in the Sky with Adam Bernhardt

Jan Murfield, President, Junior Achievement of Dallas joined host Tyler Kern, and Bill Kasko, President and CEO, Frontline Source Group, Inc, to discuss her passion for Junior Achievement. The Junior Achievement organization is the world’s largest non-profit dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through hands-on training. Kasko’s excitement about this topic stems from his journey as a kid in the Junior Achievement company program. Murfield noted, “kids who go through the Junior Achievement company program are two and a half times more likely to start their own business than the general population.” Murfield’s passion for non-profit work and teaching financial literacy led her to her current role with Junior Achievement of Dallas. “What a great thing,” said Murfield, “to go to kids who are from underserved communities and show them about budgeting. Think of the difference this could make in the lives of these kids.” Volunteers are essential for the success of Junior Achievement. Murfield said they need 5,000 volunteers this year to service 55,000 students in the greater Dallas area. The types of volunteers Murfield looks for to support Junior Achievement’s mission are people who want to give back to the community, but also love kids. All kinds of entrepreneurs from the Dallas area are needed to help teach children, even for just a single one-hour class. This program makes a huge difference in children’s lives, and Lopez said, students who enroll in the Junior Achievement program increase their odds of attending college after high-school graduation.

The Journey of Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs Begins with Junior Achievement, with Jan Murfield

Everyone's journey to success is different, but learning about these journeys can be educational, uplifting, inspirational, and informative. Frontline Source Group's podcast "People. Process. Service" aims to highlight these inspirational people and the road, often unconventional, they took to get there. Today's guest is Bobby Barajas Chief Revenue Officer at GuideIT. It was just one simple call from an old friend that sent Bobby on a journey building a sales organization from the front end, a new approach at the time for the IT industry, in the early 2000s. Today, he finds himself in charge of all the revenue for GuideIT. Barajas looks back to his own journey and how it affects how he chooses team members and what qualities stand out to him, like the ability to create and sustain relationships. Though not a stand-out student, Barajas had other attributes that lead him into a natural role excelling in sales. "The fundamental foundation of consistently delivering in business is process," said Barajas, harkening back to seeing the success of the process in a franchise like McDonald's. Today, a consistent, written process is what keeps GuideIT churning along with success, from making sales to hiring new team members. Barajas even touches on family life, and how the patience and flexibility developed on the job are qualities that can and should bolster home life. Barajas’ perspective on people, process, and service exudes the wisdom of a person with years of experience working closely with people.

Bobby Barajas' Journey to IT Success with Bill Kasko

When it comes to Marketing, there’s perhaps no more worldly of a digital specialist than Amine Bentahar, author of “Voice Search: The New Search Engine,” and COO of Advantix Digital, a full-service marketing agency. Bentahar joins host Bill Kasko, CEO of Frontline Source Group, for Frontline’s “People. Process. Service.” podcast to recount his exciting global career and divulge what continues to drive him as an entrepreneur. Much like Frontline’s three pillars, “People, Process, Service,” Bentahar too has his backbone for success, siting mentorship, diligence, and providing value as some of his guiding principles. As a Moroccan immigrant and son of a freedom-fighter farmer, Bentahar’s story is rich with grit, determination, and spirit. The multi-lingual digital specialist got his start with Hyatt, quickly moving around to global companies like Microsoft and Hilton Worldwide. Bentahar finally found his ideal role when signing on as a partner with Advantix, and completely restructuring the agency from the ground up. It is here, at Advantix, that Bentahar’s brainchild “Digital Due Diligence” was born. Bentahar claims he acquired invaluable knowledge from his experiences, attributing much of his holistic knowledge of marketing to working all over the world. “I don’t think I’ve ever had bad experiences,” Bentahar said, “Some are better than others. But I think everywhere I’ve gone I’ve learned something.” Bentahar brings his wise and worldly perspective to Advantix, in both creating teams and providing digital consulting to companies all over the world.

The Story of a Global Marketing Entrepreneur: A Conversation with Author and Marketing Guru, Amine Bentahar

What do the Graha Tower in Indonesia, the Golden Tulip Holland Resort, the Amsterdam Bridge, and the Omni Dallas Hotel all have in common? They’re all projects completed by 5G Studio Collaborative, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Joining both Bill Kasko, President and CEO of Frontline Source Group, Inc, and Daniel Litwin, the Voice of B2B, for this podcast episode, Scott Lowe, Partner and Co-Founder of 5G Studio Collaborative, discusses why a talented team of people is his company’s key to success—generating inspiring designs through dedication and determination to serve the needs of real estate. 5G is a collaboration between five partners (hence the name) from diverse backgrounds who brought their ideas, vision, dedication, and love of architecture together to form a company committed to excellence. But what makes 5G so successful? “Finding the right people is everything to our practice,” Lowe said. What type of people does Lowe look for? Smart, talented people—certainly; but Lowe needs people on the team who are also motivated, self-starters that don’t require micromanaging. The end result may be buildings of beautiful architectural significance, but design alone is not enough. “Design really matters,” said Lowe, “but the other side of our profession is to produce an economically viable asset.” The goal is to design the coolest space possible that generates the most money per square foot, and Lowe relies on his people to find that unique balance between the two.

The Secret to Designing Award-Winning Full-service Architecture with Scott Lowe

Bill Kasko, President and CEO, Frontline Source Group, Inc, joined host Tyler Kern for the premiere episode of People, Process, Service: A Frontline Source Group podcast. The focus of this episode was on the three pillars of success Kasko uses for both his professional and personal life: People, Process, and Service. This mantra came to Kasko 15 years ago when he worked with Fortune 500 staffing agencies and was searching for a different approach. The formula Kasko came up with is: The right people, with the right process, and the right service is a winning combination that leads to success in a business setting or one’s personal everyday life.Kasko spoke about the first pillar: people. Kasko thought about the people we come in contact with both in business and personal lives, the connections we make, and the connections we lose along the way. People are everything to a company, and hiring the right people is paramount.But how do you get the right people if you don’t have the right plan? Kasko recognized that the process is an important next step. Everyone has a process in their life, and the right process must be in place for businesses to acquire, onboard, and retain employees. Once the proper business process is in place, and the right people are on board, companies must have the right service model for success. Kasko believes the right service must take an additional step to look at how a business, or individual, gives back to the community or empathizes with another person’s struggles or changes in their lives.As the conversation continued, Kasko offered examples of these three pillars in practice.If you enjoyed the debut podcast episode of People, Process, Service, subscribe to more episodes focused on this topic coming soon.

Defining a Winning Formula for Business and Life with Bill Kasko

No matter the industry, leaders need to hold these things dear: Who we serve. How we serve. Why we serve. This is "People. Process. Service.," a Frontline Source Group podcast.

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People. Process. Service.™️

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