The days of using temporary employment agencies or buying recruitment ads are over for Brian Tabaczynski, operations manager at Besroi Roofing & Siding. For the past decade, he has experienced the troubles of finding, hiring and retaining labor – a widespread issue for those in Western New York’s service and skilled labor industries. But one phone call earlier this year changed that.
Tabaczynski was introduced to Joblio, a global employment market place that directly connects employers with qualified applicants from around the world. He quickly hired one Ukrainian refugee and then added two more.
“My teams were fighting to get them on their crew,” Tabaczynski says. “If I moved them, they’d throw a fit. As soon as the two new guys came in, their crews won’t give them up either.”
The partnership has been so successful that three more are on their way from overseas, and by the end of 2024, Tabaczynski hopes to have at least 20 refugees in his workforce.
“For any service industry, it’s a game-changer,” Tabaczynski says. “We haven’t had the influx of people wanting to work in the trades. These guys come to work and want to work, make money and do better.”
Besroi Roofing & Siding, McGard and Perma Tech are three of about 30 Buffalo area businesses that are working with Joblio to solve a desperate need for skilled and ready-to-work talent by hiring refugees who are authorized to come to the United States.
Founded by CEO Jon Purizhansky a refugee himself who has a law degree from the University at Buffalo – Joblio is a platform and service that eliminates the middlemen by providing transparency to the hiring process.
The number of local companies Joblio is working with is growing weekly, Purizhansky says. So is the range of fields, which includes construction workers, auto technicians, engineers, electricians, carpenters, plumbers and more.
“It did take a few weeks for paper work to be processed and for them to make it to Buffalo,” says Don Smith, comptroller at Perma Tech, “but the quality of the individual that’s been here has far exceeded the quality of any other individual we hired in the last year or two. Right off the bat, he became a rockstar.”
What differentiates Joblio from employment agencies starts with its global network of ambassadors, which have access to talent in places like Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Next is its Applicant Concierge Experience (ACE) program. Joblio staff provides wrap-around services for refugees – vetting candidates prior to employment, preparing them for relocation and providing continuous support to overcome language, housing, transportation and other barriers.
“By working with them all the time, we’re mitigating the stress and the PTSD which inevitably comes with moving to a new country,” Jon Purizhansky says. “And by doing that, we’re creating better employees and contributing to employment success.”
Lastly, Joblio’s investment in technology and an accessible user interface results in faster applicant processing, higher employment satisfaction and lower employee attrition.
Joblio works with some of the largest companies in Canada – such as Sofina Foods, PCL Construction and Sobeys Supermarket – where Jon Purizhansky says retention rates are in the 95th percentile. Its goal is to bring that same level of success to Buffalo, its first U.S. market.
“The fees that they charge are extremely competitive with placement agencies,” says Shawn Thompson, vice president of operations at McGard. “I was skeptical and cautious at first, but the wrap-around services they provide show me it’s not a temporary job or a passing position. They’re in it for the long haul.”
