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Nepal is a very special place to the Avionté family.  Not only is it a beautiful country with rich history, but two of the four partners are originally from Nepal and we have an office located in the heart of Katmandu.  So, it is exciting for us that part of the Avionté Hope Foundation’s mission is to set aside funds to help people and organizations in Nepal.

We are happy to share that we have recently sponsored 3 children from the Early Child Development Center (ECDC) in Katmandu, Nepal.  The ECDC was founded in 2005 by Pushpa Basnet and is working adamantly to break the cycle of crime and poverty in Nepal. The ECDC’s mission is to help rescue children who have, due to no other options, accompanied their mothers to jail.  In Katmandu, if a woman is sentenced to jail and her relatives cannot take care of her children, many times the children go with their mothers.   This puts the children in an environment where they have no access to education, nutrition, clothing and medical care.

The ECDC has set up 2 facilities for the children, a kindergarten center and a residential home. Depending on the child’s age they either live at the residential home fulltime with the ECDC or if they are under the age of 5, they attend the kindergarten center and spend the nights with their mothers at the jail.

The ECDC not only strives to improve the lives of children whose parents are imprisoned, but also helps to educate and stabilize their mothers once they are released from prison. They will teach the mothers income generating skills and stay in contact with the families to give them a greater chance at success. Currently, the ECDC is supporting 42 children in the residential home and 5-7 children in the kindergarten center. AHF’s sponsorship will help support the educational expenses for three of these children.

If you are interested in learning more about the Early Child Development Center visit  their website  at http://ecdcnepal.org/ or contact the Avionte Hope Foundation at ahf@avionte.com

A video was also recently published on CNN about the ECDC. Check it out here

Corey Cook, The Avionté Support Manager along with his son Jack (6 yrs) and wife participated in “Feed My Starving Children” yesterday.

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit organization committed to feeding hungry children around the world. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship the meals to nearly 70 countries around the world.

As part of the Avionte Hope Foundation  Initiative, Avionté gives each employee up to 3 “Hope Days” a year  to donate their time to a charity or organization of their choice.

Have you missed one of the past Tips of the Week?  Here are some of my favorites that our users have found to be helpful.

Counters are Cool

Who Changed That?

Match ‘em Up Automatch

Paycheck Voids/Reversals

Save Time – Shortcuts

Generating Resumes

Do You Document?

Forgotten Timecards

I’ve Got Skills

Sometimes Basic is Best

Search Options

Too Many Tabs

Favorites v2010

Keeping Track of Candidates

Start Sheets

Do You Inspect?

Ending Assignments

Tracking Sources

Quarter End Reports

Look What I Can See

My Favorite Child

Assignment Changes

Data Requirement Message

Mass Resume Parser

QuickPlace

Mass Mail

More Than a Message

Mass Mail

New Back Office Features

Search Options in Advanced Search

New Back Office Features

Adding Transactions to Orders

Agency

New Resume Parser Feature

Web Time Entry

Employer Health Reporting

Do you have an idea for the Tip of the Week?  Send me an email.

We kicked off the launch of The Avionté Hope Foundation with Operation See- A-Need as a surprise for Avionté employees at our Year End Party. Each employee was given a 50 dollar bill in an envelope with this message:  Operation See-A-Need

Avionté Hope Foundation:  Please use this $50 to make a difference in someone else’s life.   The only rule is that you can’t keep the money or give it to an immediate family member.  What we ask is that you have a story to tell and can communicate how this money impacted somebody’s life in a positive way.    You have one week to use the money and submit your story. Go make a difference!

Below are some of the inspiring stories employees shared with us.

• Tracy brought Beth to our attention who lost everything in a flood last summer. She was bouncing from trailer to trailer with almost nothing, dealing with insurance, she ended up losing her job. About 10 other employees pooled their money together to donate to Beth.
• Bart donated his $50 to Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.  This organization is very personal to Bart and his story.  10 years ago Bart’s sister ( a NICU nurse at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul for over 25 years) was preparing to file for divorce from her husband who had been in and out of drug rehab.  She had a restraining order filed against him, but on February 17^th 2003, her husband broke into the garage @ 1:00 am and murdered her and then turned the gun on himself, leaving behind 4 young children.    Bart and his wife adopted and raised the 4 children.
• Sachin, Tinu, Shekhar, Pradip and Suresh pooled their money and donated $250 to an organization for the blind in Nepal that Sachin’s uncle runs.  This is a large amount of money for them and will go a long ways.  His parents will be buying them blankets, clothes and other items they are in need of.

• Tony and Adam donated to Second Harvest Heartland, a program that provides food for families in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A $50 dollar donation provides up to 180 meals for needy families!
• Briana chipped in an extra $10 to evenly split her donation among 3 hardworking guys she met while getting her oil changed.
• Kevin donated his $50 to his server, Nadia, at Cracker Barrel. Nadia is saving to buy a new car, and with her tax return she hopes she can meet her goal.

• Malik stopped to help a man change his flat tire in the snow.  He noticed his car was on empty, so he asked him to follow him to the nearby gas station.  He filled up his tank, got him a car wash and bought hot chocolate for his wife and kids.  The man was absolutely flabbergasted as to why this was happening, Malik just said, “Today you, tomorrow me.”
• Angela used her $50 to help a family pay for daycare for a child whose  hard working parents  just found out the dad has a brain tumor and are having a very difficult time.
• Josh bought diapers, pacifiers, and warm baby clothes for a young unemployed mother trying to find a job and go to school.  In July 2011 Karisha Clifton was homeless and pregnant and had just lost her job working concessions at Target Field. Not content to only look for a job, she also joined a program to help young people pursuing productive academic and work lives.  She attended a Customer Service class through Saint Paul College and also found stable housing. Karisha had a baby girl one month ago and is still looking for employment. She is in most need of simple material goods that you or I would take for granted.
• John and Brenda went to a grocery store with the intent of donating $50 to an employee, and $50 to help someone in need buy groceries. Instead they were touched by the story of Maureen, an employee, who tries to work as much as she can, but gets limited hours, is all on her own, walks to work  and suffers from cerebral palsy.
• Katherine donated $50 to a high school student.  He was left by his parents, works every day to pay for his gas, and struggles to find money to pay for lunch. Operation See-A-Need bought his ticket to his senior brunch.
• Darien donated $50 to the parents of an enthusiastic 2 year old girl suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  Due to so many hospital stays and visits, her parents are struggling to pay her hospital bills to ensure she fully recovers. This $50 will at least remind Violet and her parents that there are people out there who do care and are willing to help out in any way, shape, or form.
• Jessica and Corey pooled their money to buy Target gift cards for the homeless downtown.
• Jason G. helped to feed the poor by purchasing five pre-bagged food shelf donations at Cub foods.
• Alaric donated his $50 to Melissa, a single mother whose husband recently left her, leaving her with two very young children.  She recently had to give up her home because she couldn’t make ends meet.  She was ecstatic that someone, and a company would be able to help her out in a difficult time.
• Jason gave $10 to his daughter to choose how to donate. Madeline chose to buy new books for her preschool class. The other portion went to Breaking Free. Breaking Free is a non- profit organization helping women and girls escape abuse, exploitation, and prostitution/sex trafficking.
• Heidi donated $50 to a family who uses the same daycare provider she does and has many struggles due to losing a job and then a back injury that restricted the dad’s ability to work.  The Dad explained that he never thought he would need something like this and was happy to accept it.  They had typically always been the family that gives to others.
• And so many more. great stories..

The reaction we received from the Avionté team was amazing. This experience really opens your eyes to how many people are struggling, and how 50 dollars can make a difference in someone else’s life. We hope that by doing our part of paying it forward, others will be equally inspired.

If you’d like to contact the Avionte Hope Foundation, email us at  AHF@avionte.com

I experienced the best introduction to Avionté Staffing Software. I have been with Avionté for about a month, and much discussion concerned the Year End Party. “Katherine make sure you are free January 21, you do not want to miss this!”  The stories I heard about the past year’s party only added to my anticipation and excitement; hypnotists, dancing, coveted prizes, tigers (only kidding) and lots of dancing.

I am the sales and marketing assistant and part of my responsibilities include event planning and party prep. So the couple of weeks before the big event were spent covering every aspect of the Year End party in great detail. We needed prizes, games, munchies, transportation, name tags, booze (and lots of it), music (the Avionte band debut), and surprises! After all that planning and buying we pulled it off.

We held our gathering at the Dakota Lodge in West St Paul. The Dakota Lodge was a quintessential place to host a party. The night started off with a cocktail hour and many introductions. Just to put it in perspective, Avionte hired about 25 employees in the past year. Our Year End party guest list was double that of the previous year. After some initial mingling, everyone took their seats for dinner and a short presentation by our CEO, John Long. One of the best surprises of the night was the revealing of Operation See-A-Need, which was the launch of our Charitable Arm, The Avionté Hope Foundation. That topic deserves a blog all to itself!

We catered in dinner, enjoyed cocktails, played some highly competitive yet socially awkward team games, raffled prizes, listened to the Avionté band (New Order Wizard and the Worker Comp Claims), danced and sang.  While all of that made for a great party, it was really the amazing group of people that came together to celebrate what they had accomplished as a team over the past year that really made the night special.  There was camaraderie within this company that I had never experienced before in my previous positions and it was truly amazing to be a part of it.   Here’s to an amazing 2011 and looking forward to all that 2012 has to bring!

Avionté, a rapidly growing staffing technology firm, is seeking a dynamic, high energy Customer Care Rep.  Avionté’s Customer Care department provides exceptional customer service and support of our proprietary software system to our nationwide client base.

Avionté is a firm believer that our most important asset is our customers.

Customer Care Department Responsibilities/Specializations:

The customer care team has many facets and variety allowing individual team members to focus in specific areas.

• Customer Care/Account Management: you will be in charge of managing customer relationships with our clients that utilize our proprietary software.  From providing regular check-in calls to assisting with development requests or customizations, you will be their main point of contact.
• External & Internal Training:  this position requires the aptitude to learn a comprehensive software inside and out.  This department provides training on work flow, processes, new functionality, etc. to internal employees as well as external customers.
• QA: as we are constantly developing and improving the software, new functionality is always being added or changed.  This position will be responsible for driving quality assurance and testing functionality to increase efficiency and usability with version releases.
• Documentation:  Updating and maintaining documentation for the software.
• 3rd Party Integrations:  We integrate and partner with many other industry vendors to bring further efficiencies to our clients.  Relationships with industry vendors need to be maintained as well as future endeavors and customizations with other 3rd parties.
• Overflow Implementation & Sales:  As we are experiencing tremendous growth as a company, there will often be times where other departments need additional resources.  Avionté operates as a team and it will be expected that everyone steps in to ensure the best possible experience for our clients and prospective clients.   The Customer Care department has a great depth of knowledge and will be asked to use this at times to assist with sales demonstrations and implementation support services.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Staffing Industry experience (3-5 years)
• Extremely detailed oriented and very organized
• Great multi-tasking and follow-up
• Ability to work and thrive in a fast paced environment
• Bring an enthusiastic energy, drive to create lasting relationships
• Technical aptitude and motivation to learn a comprehensive software program
• Bachelor’s degree
• Previous account management experience a bonus but not required
• Excellent customer service skills, written and verbal communication skills

Perks:

• Work for a high growth, energetic organization
• Competitive benefits including retirement plan, company paid health insurance and profit sharing
• Work with others that share your drive and commitment for excellence
• A career with extreme advancement opportunities that will take you as far as you want to go!

Avionté is based in Eagan, Minnesota.  While there are other offices nationwide, the candidate must work from the Eagan, MN office.  This position is not ideal for timid, measured, slow thinking, coasting individuals.  This position is hard, fast and intense but also very rewarding.  If you currently are employed with one of our customers, we will require approval from the company before we could officially offer you the position.

Please email your cover letter and resume along with salary requirements.

Section 179 Deduction limit increased to $500,000 for the 2011 tax year

Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment (including staffing software) purchased or financed during the tax year. This means if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income.

So, if you’ve been thinking of making a change, you won’t want to miss out on this significant tax savings.

Simplify your Year End Process- Online printing and reprinting of W2′s
What is it costing you in resources and product to print, mail, re-print and in many cases re-print W2′s? Allowing your employees to access and print their own paystubs and W2′s, not to mention the ability to re-print those W2′s for years to come, equates to an enormous cost savings for staffing firms.

Set the stage for the company you want to have in 2012
Have you already started thinking about what you want to change for 2012? How you want to improve your business, become more profitable, change processes to be more efficient, be more competitive and set the stage to become a leader in your market? Does your current software provide you the tools needed to make all of that happen and truly make a change in the right direction for 2012? If not, it could be time to re-evaluate. 

To learn more about Avionte Staffing Software, please give us a call at 651-556-2121 or send an email to info@avionte.com

MNRSA is dedicated to giving back to the communities in which our members own and operate their businesses. This winter we are collecting clean, gently used coats as part of the One Warm Coat community service project, and we need your help!

All of the coats collected will be donated to local individuals in need to ensure that nobody in the communities where we work has to go without such a basic necessity as a warm coat this winter.  Coats of all sizes are welcome, and coats for elementary aged children and men were identified as a specific need in our community this year. Hats, mittens and scarves are also needed and gratefully accepted.

Avionté Staffing Software has set up a drop box in our office to collect donations through January 6, 2012.  

Please stop in to drop off a coat to help keep another person warm this winter.
1270  Eagan Industrial Road  Suite 150  Eagan, MN 55121

Is it possible to create a report that will not only help your staffing company improve sales and service, but save you nearly $100,000 a year at the same time?  The answer is yes!  BONNEY Staffing Center is Maine and New Hampshire’s largest independently owned and operated staffing company.  One of the many ways it maintains the high level of service the company is so well known for is through ongoing follow-up and onsite visits that keep them connected with current clients. 

Read about how BONNEY took advantage of the Avionte Staffing Software reporting features to save the company a substantial amount of money each year while continuing to provide top quality service to its clients and employees.  FULL CASE STUDY