Nelson was founded in 1970 by Gary D. Nelson, who served as CEO and chairman of the board until this past January when he handed the reins to his son, Craig S. Nelson. In 40+ years, the company has seen great expansion and currently has 17 offices throughout California and into Texas. Nelson is made up of separate business units, each specializing in a specific industry. Those include Nelson Staffing, providing talent to a broad range of careers such as winery operations, technology, game software testing, legal, engineering, office administration, hospitality, light industrial, customer service, marketing, nonprofit, human resources, business development and sales; Nelson & Associates, which places talent in finance and accounting positions; and Nelson Technology, which places software and IT support professionals in positions such as product/software development, testing and deployment. Working in conjunction with NelsonJobs.com, its premier job board, all business units place consultants in executive, full-time and temporary positions.
Nelson is also opening up new offices in Southern California, including San Diego and Los Angeles. It will also have a new engineering staffing division—Nelson Engineering—which nicely rounds out its current offerings. After 11 years of working with his father and running the staffing side of the business, Craig Nelson says, “Our future looks bright as we continue to expand into new industries and geographies.”
Asked what he thinks makes the company stand out from other staffing agencies, Nelson replies, “I attribute our success to the way we respect our staff. As a company, we embrace the values of excellence, innovation, empathy and integrity in interacting with one another as employees, and also out in the world with clients and candidates. It’s a high standard we hold ourselves to, and it’s being recognized in the community. We’re thrilled to have won Best Job Placement Service.” Already in 2012, Nelson won Inavero’s Best of Staffing lists for client and candidate satisfaction (a national award won by less than 1 percent of North American staffing firms). Additionally, it’s also won three other awards in 2012 from prestigious organizations around the Bay Area.
Nelson’s focus on long-term relationships with clients and candidates differentiates the company from others in the field. Many of its competitors focus on closing the deal at the best possible price, which works in the short-term, but doesn’t create lasting relationships. Nelson says, “We’re looking to provide long-term value and have our clients’ business for 10 or 20 years. Thank you for helping us put people to work in the North Bay. It’s what we’re passionate about, and we appreciate being recognized for what we do.”
