How Acloche Expanded Beyond Staffing Into Skills Training, HR Consulting, and Community Development

Kim Shoemaker is the CEO of Acloche, a Central Ohio staffing institution founded in 1968 that now places roughly 8,000 workers at any given time across contingent staffing, direct hire, and HR consulting. She joined the company in 1999 to run the accounting department and spent a decade learning every corner of the business before being asked by the board to step into the CEO role following the sudden passing of her mentor and predecessor in 2010. More than fifteen years later, she has expanded the company's reach well beyond traditional staffing into skills training, community development, and educational partnership work that most people in the industry aren't doing.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Joining Acloche in 1999 to manage accounting, then spending a decade absorbing operations, IT, marketing, sales, and HRMentor Bobbi Ruch taking Kim under her wing and coaching her into public speaking and strategic leadershipStepping into the CEO role in 2010 after Bobbi passed away suddenly, managing grief and company continuity simultaneouslyMoving offices roughly a year into the transition as a way to help the team physically move forwardThree lines of business: contingent staffing across all 88 Ohio counties, direct hire across North America, and HR consulting and trainingPiloting a virtual skilled trade certification program with Northview Trade School offering HVAC, appliance repair, and machine operator coursesRunning an eighth-grade career awareness program through BPA to teach resume writing, cover letters, and interviewingWorking with the College Board to pilot cybersecurity and financial AP courses at the high school level for college creditBuying and building out a 1,500 square foot dedicated training center at Acloche's new Groveport headquarters in 2025Over 30 years of NWBOC and WBENC women-owned business certification; 17 years of Acloche for the Cure at Susan G. Komen's Race for the Cure🌟 Kim's Key Mentors:Bobbie Ruch (Former CEO): Mentored Kim for a decade, brought her into strategic leadership, pushed her into public speaking, and built the legacy Kim continues todayBetty Lou (Founder): Acloche's founder and emeritus board member whose original vision set the company's community-first standardsAnserteam Network: National staffing organization Kim serves on the board of, expanding her view of how the industry can change public perception and workforce outcomesHer Internal Management Team: Long-tenured leaders averaging 15 years who have helped Kim evolve from the one with all the answers to the director of an orchestraHer Daughter: Told Kim directly that not every problem needs to be fixed, only listened to, a lesson Kim carries into her leadership and community work👉 Don't miss Kim's account of being asked to take the CEO role while the entire company was still grieving, the letter from a woman who had been living in her car with two children, and why she believes the staffing industry is bigger than the movie theater industry but far less understood.🔗 Connect with Kim Shoemaker:Website: Acloche.comPhone: 888-608-0889📋 Transcript Available: How Acloche Expanded Beyond Staffing Into Skills Training, HR Consulting, and Community Development📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com