 Hello, this is Mr. Bezier with the show New America and we have Mrs. Cindy. Can you tell us, Cindy, what we're here? Sure. I'm Cindy Capeless. I'm the human resource manager for a company called Schlotter Beckenfoss and we happen to be sitting here today in our lobby in Westbrook, Maine. This company is over 150 years old, started in about 1866 by two gentlemen, last name of Schlotter Beckenfoss and they made extracts and flavorings and the company has developed over the years, was originally located in downtown Portland. In the early 2000s, the Dioli family bought the company and about 2015 moved the company to Westbrook to a very modernized manufacturing facility where we make premium private label sauces, marinade, dressings, things like that. The company was then sold in 2017 to a private equity firm in Chicago called Frontenac and we're here today because we, like every other employer in this area, always looking for new employees and looking for employees that want to start perhaps a career in food manufacturing and that's one of the reasons why I was thrilled that you asked me to participate. So how I can find out if I want to apply for the job, was the easy way to find a way to... So one of the things we found very helpful is to use local staffing agencies. Certainly we want to be open to any kinds of opportunities that people are looking for but by using staffing agencies they're able to try out a number of employers. One of the newest in staffing agencies we're using is a company called New Mainers Staffing which is helping that group of potential candidates to come in. One of the things people can do also is contact me via the phone, stop by our office between eight and five and pick up an application but the reason that we tend to start employees through a staffing agency is because then we can see if it's a fit for us and for them. Food manufacturing isn't for everyone so sometimes people want to come in have a tour and actually start through a staffing agency and complete their hours with that with that agency and then be hired on. The reason that that is a positive thing is because that way if it doesn't work out then there's no hard feelings on either side. The company doesn't affect the agency. That means you're giving the shot for that person. Absolutely. And I think the challenge today is people understanding that work is work and they have to come to work every day on time and that becomes a challenge and we work with people with regards to that and hopefully we can help them understand what it means to have a job that's Monday through Friday. We run two shifts right now a first shift and a second shift and so that can sometimes help with people's family life. If they have daycare challenges during the day they might want a night shift job but that's one of the advantages of having two shifts is that we're able to support different kinds of family needs. So what are the benefits if I became employment here what I can get according to I get a job the same other benefit includes that will after but when I be hired by the company. When you're hired on to our payroll we offer health insurance which the company pays about 70% of that premium we share the cost of the premium. We'll eat pays about 30% of it. We offer dental insurance, vision, life insurance, short and long-term disability and we have a very generous PTO paid time off package too in addition to holiday pay. For example this past week Monday was a holiday and all of our employees were paid eight hours of holiday pay. We also offer 401k that's a form of retirement where we match 50 cents on a dollar up to the employees contribution of 6% to help employees establish a way to save for their retirement. Well that's good that's that's like a pocket I look at it and according to that permission we're going to share with a lot of community I mean we have Africa in the state of Maine we have a lot of people from Iraq we have the U.S. show we have other people who came because America is the mother of the world I call it that's my own opinion I remember I call it the mother of the world because if you want to look at anybody in this world just came to United States sure that's the way I look at it so I'm happy to be in this idea and what else if somebody already hired by the company and got all this insured when we talk about the long-term and the short-term there's any benefit for that well I think one of the things that we're looking for from people is people who want to start out at an entry level job which our entry level job is typically in our packing department where they're putting these bottles and jars into a box putting a box on a pallet putting a glass until conveyor in hopes that as they progress they're going to want to move up we have opportunities in our cook kitchen where someone can be a cook assistant and then advance to a cook a cook to a master cook and of course with all of those kinds of progressions their salary goes up too with the idea being that the more they learn the more they're able to advance so that's one of the things I'm hoping for for anybody we all want to make more money we all want to have a career but this is a good place to start and give performance reviews so that then people can see how they're doing and that's how they get raises as well but I'm looking for people who want to advance as well one of the challenges with people who come to this country of course it's English not being their primary language so I would encourage all of our new manners to keep going whether it's Portland adult ed or some other venue to allow them to learn English basic according to to make them understand absolutely because one of the things we want to be able to do in order to advance you have to be able to communicate both verbally and written okay so you've got to be able to understand what a label is saying what an expiration date is you've got to be able to write instructions down when you're a food facilities strict regulations you want to make sure that the person who's reading something on a piece of paper is exactly what they have done and that their penmanship is legible that they can communicate to the person next to them and that that's one of the ways they'll grow is by learning to communicate both verbally and read good I'm happy to be here and then I'm thinking too through what we're talking now we've got to make sure we reach out to the community more know about you guys I'm not feeling just because the people is going to be enough but my personal idea I will push to to speak about you guys and engage you with the community like you know a couple months ago we're thinking about you're going to be one of a show is going to come up we're going to go somewhere to eat African food to encourage that sure yeah and and I just want to make sure this interview is not going to be the end we're going to have you engage to other stuff that's the way the company became part of the community with community became part of the company and especially the the long term you've been here it's awesome and it's making me impact for me I look at like it's my company I'm a guy who believed anybody who succeed and open the door to other I just feel like I'm part of it I don't know why that's that's where I think and does everybody know that you also work here nobody know yeah the funny thing me and Cindy since I came to the interview who became good friend and that's good and almost I have a plan when I get hired by the company I want to be here for a long time and even I know I have a big dream but one of the thing I was talking about because I have my daughter in Cairo I want to be able to travel to see how even every six months I was one year and that's the little challenge for me but it's it I can work thing out and I'm glad I've been here maybe right now it's close to one year it is yeah my concern was to show who I am what I can do right yeah because almost I make a job I don't like to do story when I do story write books so I can't make story so I'm happy to be here and I'm one of the employment and today I'm doing an interview with how and I think it's good to know that you started out in the packing department yep and now you work in the sanitation department which is a very important department in the food industry right making sure that all of our equipment is properly cleaned and sanitized that is part of Anthony's position which is very very important and we're pleased that you're part of that team thank you and then I'm picking to when he came to clean that's a good thing so we're doing the best we're all the the crews we have we're doing the best to make sure in the end of the day when we're coming in we clean everything down on the morning shift coming in they'll be able to get things very clean and they can move on to the next second shift most recently I'm not sure if you and I had talked about this through the new manor staffing group they connected me with Catholic Charities okay and they brought in probably eight or nine people who had never heard of us of course oh wow met with me in the conference room we took several supervisors and took small groups and and gave them a tour tour that's good of the PAC department and it was great we actually have a couple people I think from that tour that are currently working working here the challenge with that is because if their English isn't enough we're looking for level three oh wow of course four and five or better we want to make sure that number one we're keeping them safe okay and that they're understanding the instructions of the job okay and by having at least that level English I think that's really helpful so I think people who have gotten at least to that English level of three and are continuing to work on their English is very important yeah I'm thinking I'm gonna add something to the welcome center to because we have a lot for the computer skill computer but I think what you just say it's important to get the basic of English you can understand and talk of reading the basic so I'll try to talk to the team in the welcome center because right now with these challenges a lot of people they want to have a job but they have a banning of the language sometimes it's hard to deliver good afternoon today we own four new American show today when we have the shows talking about the friend of ours the mazo he's his own company who does to help people to get a job and we need to see what he does for the people and he would talk about him and he would tell us since he have this company how many population he done to help and we're promoting him to get more people so the muscle can you tell us about you my name is damas rugaba I live in South Portland in here almost 22 years done a lot of work in different fields from manufacturing to starting a nonprofit to opening new businesses but I think today we're here to talk about the new man on that's a staffing agency so we work with small companies here in the greater Portland area we go we are focused mostly on immigrants so I could companies we get employees and place them with different companies on this then the migration of the the new man that's new people coming from different background I mean that's what you say yes we cover a variety of fields we have light manufacturing we have cleaning services we have home care direct support professionals what about Cindy the one you guys happen yeah so Cindy she's the human resources manager she's works with shoulder back and forth okay very great woman okay and very supportive and so we've been working with her it's been three months now and we placed 11 employees with her so and things are kind of because of the supply chain issue so we haven't expanded with her as far as we wanted but so but she's been great and so are you willing to to do more with her through the the agents that's you more interest okay so it's all up to whatever she needs right so we've said and she's great at communicating if she needs somebody she gives us a call and our plan we we are not we don't live in traditional way where we place ads and something so we go into the community we talk to community members find out who is looking for a job what kind of job they are looking for and then we place them and some of them are really newcomers so they don't even have transportation so we do provide transportation oh that's good to work and back and how they they know about you guys the companies you do through the internet how you do you promote in you so okay so we have a website it's wwwnewmenandstaffing.com that's one thing the other we do is through door to door knocking we approach businesses we leave our fliers there say if you ever need some employees give us a call that's how we got to Cindy or we do it through referrals like Cindy can we find somebody else turn on the company and then reach out to that company yeah what about the bearing language when some people they can't even feel the application it's your company helping through because I know everything now became online sometime there's a regular form yeah so we have an application online but those who cannot do it online they call us so they come in the office and we help them fill out the application so we have people who speak different languages French Swahili Kenya Rwanda Kiran so we haven't we don't have all the languages but at least we have like five languages so we help them and when we place them like through Cindy if someone doesn't speak English very well okay because they need to understand especially due to safety issues and stuff they need to understand instructions so we try to place them an individual who speaks their language okay so they can translate and say this is what you're talking about is how you should do it so that's mean you can do some kind of orientation to make the person on the Sun what the request for the company if they have a problem in the language so we have a good system with sure back and forth through Cindy so when she wants employees so they come we fill the application we have them through the application and then we have a tool so they go there and see what they do and explain to them this is what we do so I require there's our requirements this and this and then the person chooses oh I think I can manage this so that's this is unique with sure back and forth but that is very helpful because people when they go there they understand exactly what the job requires and what they will be asked to do so what about the nursing home how you get people involved to be working on the nursing home or houses yeah so we as I said we reach out to these companies with any employees so we first ask the companies what type of training you require some of them the ones that we work with they require the DSP certification the CRMA which is the medic the training to provide the medication CPR training so we look at all the information the training that any so we provide the training and then working through group home there's a list of background checks that you have to do so we do the background checks once they pass them then we send them to this company so that's when you prepare everything for the employment to make sure he be qualified to any company when you guys like agents yes that's how we do so if we ask the requirements from the company what do you need exactly training voice background wise and then we go through all that before it can place so that's mean you get the benefit from the company to pay your time in the agents to prepare that well how you get paid I mean your agents okay we don't get paid for some companies they prefer to do the training themselves okay which is fine that's less cost to us cry but other companies especially small companies they want us to give them trained employees but that's a cost to the fall on us but we try to be flexible depending on the company that we're working with there's anything Pacific like because I have a lot of experience to do what I've been main here maybe eight years when employment came through you guys and he get issue just say he got hot in the company are you guys still support that employment to see why he get hot in the company or maybe the company ignore them I mean if the the person came through your agents and he get hot in the company so the first thing our agency we have a worker workers compensation insurance okay so that's one thing but in addition to that before we place employees to through a company so we have this training the safety training that we take them through and this safety training are provided by the workers comp insurance company while we work through mimic okay so we have these videos that would make noise before they go into work to go through all those safety training and then we continue communicating with companies and we make sure we tell our the employees that we place into the company if the company is not taking serious the safety issues they should report back to us and then we can talk to the company okay because sometime when people in United States first of the new common and you need to have a job and sometime you have a problem in the language and sometime you scare of losing your job because you get hot so that's issues kind of sensitive and there's many companies have issues with that our understanding the new people who come into the state and even sometime they don't even go through what they understanding but it's happening no the first thing we tell them about their rights okay they shouldn't make you do something they not comfortable with okay and that's not gonna cost you a job okay it's something so when we place them we know exactly what they will be doing okay if them and in our contract it's well if it's well written that our employees that we place there they have to work within the the the zoom or if they say the job will be this and this right that's what I have to do if they have to make them work something else something else they have to go through us oh they have to go back to you guys have to go back to us and say we want to change this employee to do this different type of job but they have to go through us they cannot change the employment to them by what they sign the contract oh that's a good point to know it's really I've been listen a lot of stuff but I don't want to call different name of the company but if your agents be doing this it will help us even not just in the level of the TV what we're doing here to promote in you we're gonna direct them really to you because really we have a lot of people who with a friend of mine or to my other stuff I'm just like you I do a lot of stuff I do African United I do project busy so I get some different issue but we all serve the same community for me I look at it if you have your own agents I have my own agents or other but I look at it we all doing the same surface but for these three months ago does complain happen a lot and especially people who was really working under Albert company and and the way the agents treat them I don't even I was one of the people who worked there and I see some stuff it was not really in purple of company to treat people like that and and one of the thing I find out when I was there because the bearing of the language sometime okay I'm not familiar with their work practice but I with us we what's what's special that is we've been through that I went through the same process that the newcomers are going through so you understand it better I understand the muscle of newcomers or new Americans they don't understand their rights as they're coming from different background countries that have been oppressing them for generations and they don't understand it so here when they come I say you have the right to do this you have the right to do this you have the right to say no you have and if you have any questions please come back to us and tell us that this is happening and I don't think it's right and I'm not gonna mention names but we've had companies that we started when we started and then they didn't respect the terms or contract they started changing our employees putting them in different but then we have to pull all our employees from there and we had this from our employees they said hey they're making me do what we do not the one we agree for the address that a few times they didn't change it then we had to pull our employees from that company from that company yeah really that's the that's a good way to look at it because really we love and when you go back to American culture we we are multi-people in this country we love new people to be welcome to the United States to be welcome to to walk to build them live in a good way so I think your company is doing good and we'll be happy to keep that in your mind and remind yourself and tell other people about your agents because we really were concerned to make sure United States it doesn't matter if it's you in Portland in Boston it's all America we need anybody who get to this country to get him right on the right channel sometimes we understand when they came back from whatever the background maybe they don't have the good strong system but here we have to try to organize them all in the way we used to make a joke in back in Africa they say if you go to the party do not dance sit down I know sometimes we're brother and sister when they get here they like to get dancing quick and sometimes they do some mistake and and and we hope through this interview anybody who listen this interview to know what you guys doing is a good job and we have to promote that better and better and we hope to to see you many time and we have some things coming up and I already talked to Cindy maybe you're gonna love to to be there we're gonna have something in one of the restroom alitia or soupion restaurant the reason we have this coming up just to have like business like you like Cindy we're gonna be there like relax I've been time to try the soupion food because we are we're idea of the new common of America for the new American to be learning from what they came from what they eat what they do and what we know here to teach them so it's gonna be like to it and I believe in that time was happened let me let you know too and I'll be glad and first of all sorry I forgot to say this thank you for having me today and I'll be glad to join that too and in my case I've always defined integration as a two-way process I've never taken it as when you Americans come we have to go and try to learn the culture it's it's a communication between both the host right and the newcomers so you know they have to know who we are where we are coming from what we can offer the same thing with us we have to know where they came from and what now they've been living we have to know we have a lot to learn from them of course but they also have to learn about us because we are here to stay that's correct and the nice joke you you just make it to tell a lot of people and I used to tell them when we get here we think like tomorrow we're going back I almost had that I don't know about what you say you're going back but you can visit I'm not saying did not visit but we already here yeah we already here so the mother nice to meet you in this program and I'm happy to see you and we'll hope to see you again in the future so whatever who watching this show today it's welcome about for new American and we have the mother being here new American too because even if he'd been here 20 but it still is a new America yeah welcome for your company and anytime can you tell us if somebody want to look for you what the direction they can take so if you're looking for us the website is called www new manners staffing dot com and the phone number is 207-699-8870 give us a call anytime or visit you but on the website is another number I can remember it that's the office number and is an email where you can reach outside my email is damas d a m a s at new manners staffing dot com and I want to congratulate you for having this platform I really appreciate you giving us a platform where we can share what we're doing thank you again and welcome we'll see you again at the time all right this is damas see you in the future thank you all right thank you