{{Infobox company | logo = Logo_spherion.png | logo_size = 190px | foundation = 1946 | founder = Leroy Dettman | location = Atlanta, Georgia, US | key_people = Kathy George <small>(President)</small> | homepage = [https://www.spherion.com/ www.spherion.com] | industry = Recruitment | owner = Randstad NV }} '''Spherion'''<ref name=Spherion.NYT_index>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/topic/company/spherion-corporation |title=Spherion Corporation}}</ref> is a North American temporary work agency<ref name=yahoofin/><ref name=about/> headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that operates under a variety of brand names.<ref name=yahoofin/>
==History== Spherion was first known as City Car Unloaders, a Chicago<ref name=hist/><ref>{{cite book |title=Vault Guide to the Top Business Services Employers |author=Laurie Pasiuk |year=2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Consultis 4401 N Federal Hwy Boca Raton, FL Employment ... |url=https://www.mapquest.com/us/florida/consultis-373584744}}</ref> company created by Leroy Dettman and Joseph Perfetto in 1946.<ref name=yahoofin/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.consultis.com/barbara-fleming |title=Barbara "DragonFISH" Fleming}}</ref><ref name=HRBacq.SunSent>{{cite news |newspaper=Sun-Sentinel |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1990-12-18-9003030162-story.html |title=H&R Block plans to merge unit with Personnel Pool |date=December 18, 1990}}</ref> They initially placed manual laborers in temporary jobs loading cargo.<ref name=hist/> Filling temporary clerk jobs was a service the company only later added. <ref name=hist>[http://www.spherion.com/about_us/history.jsp History: Spherion: A Pioneer in Staffing & Workforce Management] Spherion Official Site</ref>
The company relocated from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale in 1969.<ref name=HRBacq.SunSent/>
By 1978, the firm was doing business as Personnel Pool of America, Inc, and was acquired by H&R Block.<ref name=HRBacq.SunSent/> In 1991, H&R Block acquired Interim Systems Corporation and combined it with Personnel Pool, creating a larger staffing services firm.
In 1992, the company changed its name to Interim Services Inc., and was spun off by H&R Block in 1994.<ref name=Cinda.Forbes/> Interim <ref>and successor-named Spherion</ref> acquired a number of other companies over the next few years.<ref name=Cinda.Sun/>
The company, which changed its name to Spherion in 2000,<ref name=Cinda.Forbes>{{cite magazine |magazine=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/1126/089.html |title=Desperate Times |author=Joanne Gordan}}</ref><ref name=Cinda.Sun/> was acquired by Randstad NV in July 2011.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times | url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/randstad-to-buy-sfn-for-710-million | title=Randstad to Buy SFN for $710 Million |author=Michael J. de la Merced | date=July 20, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.randstad.com/about-us/company-information/history | title=History |accessdate=July 9, 2013 |url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630044421/http://www.randstad.com/about-us/company-information/history | archivedate=June 30, 2013}} Randstad Official Site</ref>
==Brands== Spherion has done business under a variety of brand names. The following brands are more or less current: Emerging Workforce,<ref name=yahoofin/> The Mergis Group,<ref name=yahoofin/><ref name=about/><ref>[http://www.mergisgroup.com/About_Mergis/SFN.jsp Staffing and Recruiting Excellence SFN Group: Staffing and Recruiting Excellence] The Mergis Group Official Site</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130201055942/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS152089+21-Apr-2008+PRN20080421 Survey by the Mergis Group Shows Decline in Overall Confidence for Accounting and... | Reuters<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> SFN Group,<ref name=yahoofin/> Sourceright Solutions,<ref name=yahoofin/><ref name=about/><ref>[http://www.sourcerightsolutions.com/about_sourceright_sfn.html SFN Group: Industry Leaders for 60 Years] Sourceright Official Site</ref> Spherion, Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing,<ref name=yahoofin/><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Sun-Sentinel | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-08-03-0108020950-story.html | title=Spherion to tap Outsourcing | author=Marcia Heroux Pounds}}</ref> Spherion Staffing Services,<ref name=about>[http://www.spherion.com/about_us/co_overview.jsp About Us: Spherion: Recruiting & Staffing Excellence] Spherion Official Site</ref> Tatum,<ref name=about/><ref>[http://www.tatumllc.com/about/Tatum-SFN.asp Tatum & SFN Group: Tatum is a division of SFN Group, Inc.] Tatum Official Site</ref> Technisource<ref name=yahoofin/><ref name=about/><ref>[http://www.technisource.com/About/SFN_Group.jsp SFN Group: Built On A Foundation Of Strength; About SFN Group] Technisource Official Site</ref> Victor Temporary Services,<ref name=HRBacq.SunSent/> Professional Nurses Bureau,<ref name=HRBacq.SunSent/> and Today's Office Professionals.<ref name=yahoofin>[https://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=SFN SFN: Profile for SPHERION CORP - SGN Group Inc] Yahoo! FINANCE</ref><ref name=about/>
==Leadership== Cinda Hallman, a member of Spherion's board of directors beginning in early 1995,<ref name=BoardPR2001>{{cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2001-04-10/spherion-announces-dupont-executive-to-be-new-president-and-ceo | title=Spherion Announces Dupont Executive to Be New President and CEO | website=Bloomberg News |date=April 10, 2001}}</ref> replaced Raymond Marcy as chief executive officer in 2001, a role that Marcy had held for over a decade.<ref name=Cinda.Sun>{{cite news |newspaper=Sun-Sentinel | url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-04-11-0104100938-story.html | title=Spherion replaces CEO amid an earnings slide | author=Joan Fleischer Tamen |date=April 11, 2001}}</ref> Rebecca Rogers Tijerino became the CEO of Spherion in January 2019. Rogers Tijerino left the company and was replaced by Kathy George in February 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spherion Staffing and Recruiting Names Kathy George President {{!}} Spherion |url=https://www.spherion.com/press/news-about-spherion/spherion-staffing-recruiting-names-kathy-george-president/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=www.spherion.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Acquisitions and spinoffs== An "acquisition spree" that began in 1994<ref>26 firms, 1994-2001</ref> led to Spherion's 1999 acquiring of an Atlanta-based rival, Norrell Corp. Part of Fort Lauderdale-based Spherion's board of directors wanted to move corporate headquarters to Atlanta, a conflict that ended when Marcy was replaced by Hallman in 2001.<ref name=Cinda.Sun/>
In 2001 Spherion made an initial public offering (IPO) of its London-based ''Michael Page Group'', which it acquired in 1997. <ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/20/business/company-news-spherion-will-take-its-london-subsidiary-public.html | title=Spherion will take its London subsidiary public |date=January 20, 2001}}</ref>
Spherion sold its Saratoga Institute to PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/business/spherion-unit-is-acquired.html | title=Spherion Unit Is Acquired |date=March 5, 2003}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.spherion.com/}}
Category:1946 establishments in Illinois Category:American companies established in 1946 Category:Business services companies established in 1946 Category:Companies based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Category:Franchises Category:Temporary employment agencies