Command Center adds hotel and event workers

Although Command Center has been providing workers for the labor market in Corpus Christi for 10 years, a new branch manager was recently hired to focus on a growing industry in the city. 
“Especially this summer, we are focusing on the hospitality industry,” said Patrick Cage, who took over as branch manager in March. Cage’s hotel background gives him extensive knowledge of the challenges hotel and motel owners and managers face during peak times in a tourist community.
“Hotel owners are not able to flip the rooms fast enough for incoming guests,” Cage said. “You have 100 rooms checking out and 100 rooms due to check in just a few hours later, and it’s impossible with a regular staff.” 
Which is where Command Center comes in. Hotel operators rely on Command Center to provide temporary staffing on a day-to-day basis. Command Center operates 57 branches in 22 states, finding qualified workers for just about any business or industry in need. 
A relatively new company, Command Center formed in 2006 by rolling numerous independently owned staffing offices into one large publicly traded business. 
“It’s worked out very well, and the company is financially solid,” said Executive Vice President Ron Junck from the headquarters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “We have found over the years that if we concentrate on niches where companies need help on a short-term basis, it’s a real boon for those companies.” 
Which is exactly what Command Center is doing in Corpus Christi, with the help of Cage, who received extensive training in Coeur d’Alene before taking over the Coastal Bend office.
“Patrick is very well-connected in the Corpus Christi community and brings the kind of experience we need there,” Junck said. “We’re very excited about the things he can accomplish. I think he and the team there will be able to take our Corpus Christi office to a whole new level of service.” 
That is certainly Cage’s goal.
“Companies can invest a lot of money on their own trying to find just the right person for a job,” Cage said. “With us, you can have a person on your site every day.”
If that person works out, the company can hire him or her full time. If not, Command Center will find the company someone else. 
Although other Command Centers across the nation provide hotel workers, mainly for housekeeping, the Corpus Christi branch has mostly focused on the oil and gas industry. The service provides plumbers, electricians and construction workers at refineries and building sites.
“It’s the best part-time job a person can have,” Cage said. 
Many of his regulars like the flexibility of working when they want. They also say they never get bored going from job to job.
“It can also be the best full-time job,” Cage continued. Workers with 1,400 hours are considered full time and receive benefits just like the three employees that run the center. They are also eligible for bonuses after a certain number of hours worked. 
Assistant branch manager Amy Moore has worked at Command Center for two years. She started as a temporary worker herself. One of her strengths on the job is her perspective from the point of view of the worker. 
“I like helping people who might otherwise have a hard time finding a job,” Moore said. “We increase their odds of getting a job. We help them get noticed and connect them with resources. We help them overcome barriers.”
Command Center helps potential employees with résumès and training. The Corpus Christi branch is now training in serving and bed making for both the hotels and event work. It can also provide equipment such as hard hats, gloves and work boots if needed. 
“We’re not going to send out anybody who doesn’t know what they are doing,” Cage said. “Our workers are going to be trained in that area.”
One major need is professional banquet services. 
“We need banquet servers all the time,” Moore said. “I’ve never seen it like this. Corpus Christi is booming. There is something going on here all the time.”
The weekend of this interview was an especially busy one in Corpus Christi. Command Center provided many of the workers at Fiesta de la Flor and the Hooks game.
“We had to turn down requests for the Blue Angels air show,” Cage said. “We just didn’t have enough people.”
Which is why Cage was hired. His goal is to beef up the roles of trained event and hotel workers to keep the tourist industry in Corpus Christi humming. 
Anyone wanting to work through the Command Center should go to the website at commandonline.com and fill out an application. They can also visit the office at 2001 Staples St., Suite 100. Employees need to provide two forms of identification. Once approved, employees receive a Command Center ID card and a pay card. Pay day comes at the end of a day’s work, once hours are faxed in by the employer. The money goes directly onto the card, which can be cashed out at any ATM. 
Companies needing employees may contact Command Center at 361-500-3847. Command Center explains the conditions of service, gives a quote and does a credit check. Once that is approved, a final price is negotiated and the employees are dispatched as needed.
“We do dispatch every morning between 6 and 10 a.m.,” Moore said. 
Eager workers show up early to get the best jobs first. 
“We have plenty of work,” Cage said. “People that want to work can work.”