SEEK Careers/Staffing History

»Company: Start Up Years     »1975-1990     »1991-2004     »2005-Beyond    

Company: Start Up Years
Business experience was a requirement for teacher certification for Carol Ann Schneider, who, at the time SEEK was founded, was a business educator in the Port Washington Vocational School which merged with the Milwaukee Area Technical College. To fill this requirement, Carol ventured into starting a business partnership in temporary help services.

The temporary help industry was in its infancy in Milwaukee County and non-existent in Ozaukee County in 1971, when Carol Ann Schneider and her former partner and neighbor, Lurline (Lee) Johnston, decided to introduce the concept of having a temporary help service provide staff on an "as needed" basis to employers in Ozaukee County.

On February 2, 1971, CEEK Temporary Office Services was founded. It was renamed CEEK Office Services, Inc. at time of incorporation and then later SEEK Careers/Staffing, Inc. Much later the name was changed to SEEK Careers/Staffing, Inc. The original name was derived from a combination of letters from the original owners' names, with the "C" from Carol and the "K" from Kluth, Carol's maiden name and the two "E's" from Lee Johnston's nickname. Initial capital consisted of $500.00 of Carol Schneider's personal funds. The first location of operation was in the Town of Grafton, Wisconsin, in a spare bedroom of Lee Johnston's residence, which was conveniently located next to the Schneider's home. With no more equipment than a typewriter and a phone, the two entrepreneurs embarked on the task of teaching local businesses the advantages of using temporary employees.

It took several months before the first temporary employee was placed in May of 1971. Gradually, employers became convinced of the value of temporary employees, which have now become known at SEEK as assignment employees.



1975-1990
In 1975, the fledgling business, then located in the Schneider residence at 1074 Ulao Parkway in the Town of Grafton, was incorporated as a Wisconsin corporation under the name of CEEK Office Services, Inc. By this time, the first partnership was replaced with a new joint effort between Carol Ann Schneider and Natalie (Lee) TeSelle, with an infusion of $1,500 additional capital. The services of the partnership evolved from providing only temporary help through a secretarial service, speed printing operation and an exclusive answering service. In subsequent years, these additional services were sold off piecemeal with the temporary help service remaining.

During the initial years of the company's existence, Carol Schneider was involved on a part-time basis. Born and raised on her family's dairy farm in Clintonville, Wisconsin, Carol graduated in 1958 from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. There she met, and later married, Leon A. Schneider. After college, Carol was a business educator at several area high schools in Grafton, Random Lake, and Port Washington and at the Port Washington Vocational, Technical and Adult School. She also began graduate education courses through the University of Wisconsin Extension. In 1975, Carol was named the Business Division Chair for the Milwaukee Area Technical College-North Campus in Mequon, Wisconsin. Five years later, in 1980, Carol left the halls of education and bought out her second and last partner. She remained the majority stockholder, but split a portion of the common stock among the three sons that she and Leon have, Paul A. Schneider, Joel A. Schneider and Neil A. Schneider.

Under the management of Carol Schneider, SEEK has grown from a one-person temporary help service to a full-service human resource staffing organization, including services such as temporary help, direct-hire recruiting, payrolling, computer training/testing and on-site staffing management. Areas of specialties include clerical, industrial and technical (skilled trades). To provide better quality workers, SEEK has tutorial programs in word processing, data entry and spreadsheets. Carol's creativity has resulted in SEEK's hiring several employees in each branch as "staff assignment employees" to meet the growing need for quality assignment employees. These employees are guaranteed 40 hours per week and all of the benefits that regular staff members receive, but they work temporary assignments.

As the company expanded and staff grew, the business location shifted first to the Grafton State Bank Building at 101 Falls Road in the Village of Grafton and then to the lower level of the Manchester Mall Shopping Center on Highway 57 in Grafton. Staff expansions and shifts in the types of services offered by the company required another move to 1106 Washington Street, Village of Grafton, in a building leased from the Schneider's. With the Corporate Offices remaining at 1106 Washington Street, the growth of the Grafton Branch Office required relocation separate from the Corporate Offices. In December of 1992, the Grafton Branch moved to a building purchased by SEEK at 1533 Wisconsin Ave.

Continued growth at both the Corporate Offices and the Grafton Branch Office necessitated another move. In August of 1996, the SEEK Corporate Office combined again with the Grafton Branch Office and moved into its present facility along Interstate Highway 1-43, a beautiful 20,000 square foot office facility built by The Schneider Company, LLC and leased to SEEK.

The first expansion branch office was opened in Milwaukee in June of 1984, and located on Blue Mound Drive and 120th Streets. Almost a year later the Milwaukee Branch Office moved in May of 1985 to One Park Place in Milwaukee, alongside of the Highway 45 Freeway. In March of 1989, SEEK purchased a building at 7645 North 76th Street, Milwaukee and transferred the Milwaukee operations there. The City of Milwaukee now has three locations. The Downtown Branch now at 414 East Mason Street started operating on January 15, 1992 at an earlier site at 2457 North Mayfair Road, Suite 200. Then on November 1, 1994, another branch opened first at the Loomis Centre, 3555 South 27th Street, Milwaukee, as a recruitment center and now has grown to a full-service office to service the south side of Milwaukee at larger quarters at 2603 West Morgan Avenue. There are four team members at the Downtown location, six team members at the Milwauke North location and six at the Milwaukee South office. In October of 1977, the Milwaukee market expanded into the adjacent Waukesha area. Four staff in the Waukesha Branch Office provide full service to industries and service businesses in a fast-growing industrial area which includes Brookfield and New Berlin.

Shortly after SEEK initially expanded into Milwaukee, another branch office was opened in West Bend during the Fall of 1984. In February of 1987, the West Bend Branch Office moved into its own facility, leased from Leon and Carol Schneider, at 418 South Main Street, West Bend. An adjunct recruitment site located in Hartford at 45 Hilldale Plaza served the West Bend Branch Office. On October 1, 1995 a new recruitment site was opened in Menomonee Falls at N88 W16848 Main Street to replace the Hartford office in serving the West Bend Branch Office. Both the Menomonee Falls and Hartford recruitment sites are currently closed. In November, 1998, needing larger office space partially because of the closure of the other two satellite offices, the West Bend Branch moved to a leased location on Highway 33 at 2311 W. Washington Street. The West Bend Branch has grown to a team of seven staff members.

Further expansion took place to the north in Sheboygan at the beginning of June, 1987. Two rented locations were used in the start-up years and on January 4, 1989, the first SEEK owned office facility was purchased to house the Sheboygan Branch Office at 618 Michigan Street. A more visible location for the Sheboygan Branch Office was desired.



1991-2004
The Sheboygan Branch Office building was sold, and the Sheboygan team of six staff members moved to a leased facility l316 N. Taylor Drive in November of 2000. The Sheboygan branch now consists of seven team members.

The Lake Shore District opened its Green Bay Branch Office in February, 1997. Servicing the booming city of Green Bay required more staff than first anticipated and by September 1998 the office space was enlarged to 1 1/2 its original size and then more than doubled its space in February of 1999. There currently is a team of four staffing the Green Bay Branch Office.

Midway between Sheboygan and Green Bay, in Manitowoc, another SEEK Branch Office was opened in January of 2000. The Manitowoc Branch Office surprised everyone with a spurt of fast growth toward the end of 2001, being the first sign of end of the economic downturn. It is staffed by a team of four. The Manitowoc branch moved April of 2008 to a new leased location at 210 Washington Street.

On June 1, 1994 the Fond du Lac Branch Office was opened, located at 107 South Main Street in the City of Fond du Lac. The Fond du Lac Branch grew more quickly than any of SEEK's other locations and by its fourth month of operation was already turning a profit. The operations team in Fond du Lac has five staff members. Larger quarters were needed in less than four years and a move to 17 Forest Ave occurred in 1998.

The success of the Fond du Lac Branch spurred the opening of an Oshkosh Branch Office on June 5, 1995 and an Appleton Branch Office on May 13, 1996. The Oshkosh office has a team of five staff members.



2005-Beyond
In March 2008, the Oshkosh branch moved to a new location at 460 N. Koeller Drive. The Appleton Office operates with a staff of four.

The opening of the Manitowoc Branch Office in the Lake Shore District brought the total SEEK locations to 13 full-service branches in a span of 16 years. Support services for these many branches are housed in the SEEK Corporate Office facility in Grafton.

With the advent of national business, SEEK opened an office, 2700 Mill St., Reno, NV in July, 2004; at 107 Henry St., Beaver Dam, WI in September, 2004; 729 IL Route 83, Bensenville, IL in September, 2004 and 77 Center Dr., Charlotte, NC in January, 2005. In March, 2006, a client on-site location was established in Napa, CA.

SEEK is the 11th largest staffing service in southeastern Wisconsin. SEEK is also ranked as the 5th largest woman-owned business in Wisconsin. On February 2, 2007, SEEK Careers/Staffing, Inc. celebrated 36 years in business.

Adding to the continued systematic growth, SEEK Careers/Staffing the purchased Cornwell Staffing, Inc., a Milwaukee, Wisconsin full service staffing provider in October 2007, for $5 million dollars. SEEK Careers/Staffing's future is excellent with growth plans of 2 additional branch openings each year for the next 5 consecutive years.

SEEK Franchising, LLC., was created by managing partners Carol Ann Schneider and Joel A. Schneider in October 2007. SEEK Franchising anticipates awarding 10 franchise locations in 2008 and plans for an additional 30 locations each year through 2013. Initially focusing growth to the Great Lake States in the US and broadening out to the entire domestic United States after regional brand recognition is achieved.






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