Goodwill Industries expands staffing service to Rock Hill

On its 50th anniversary, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is expanding not only its role but also its locations.

Goodwill officials opened their fourth GoodWork Staffing office on Thursday, this one on North Anderson Road in Rock Hill. The office space once was part of the dining room of the Tropical Escape restaurant.

Changing lives through the power of work has been a foundational value of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont which serves 18 counties in the region, including York, Chester and Lancaster.

With the opening of the Rock Hill GoodWork Staffing location, the Southern Piedmont office is expanding its commitment to not only help people find jobs, but to help them find employment that can sustain their families.

Paying a livable, not minimum, wage has been advocated by some, largely without success. Goodwill officials are not calling their effort a livable wage because a sustainable wage “is different for every family,” said Robin Carson, senior vice president of employment services for Goodwill’s Southern Piedmont office.

The sustainable wage effort does represent a longer-term commitment to the people GoodWork Staffing assists, Carson said.

The initial focus of the Rock Hill office will be to find temporary jobs, primarily in the light industrial and office market segments.

The goal is to help their clients find family sustainable wages over time. The process could take several years or involve holding more than one job, Carson said.

To help people initially find employment, Goodwill is committed to helping people overcome the barriers to employment. The barriers can be job-related skills, especially the soft skills of showing up to work on time, how to dress and conflict resolution.

On other issues such as housing or transportation, Goodwill is seeking community partners, Carson said.

“We want to make sure life issues don’t get in the way of work,” he said.

Carson said each of the current GoodWork locations has developed its own identity and clientele.

At the main office in Charlotte the typical client is an African-American female in her 30s with two children. At the office in Gastonia, N.C., the typical client is a 50-year-old white male.

Carson said the office identity in Rock Hill will develop through word-of-mouth referrals as well as its relationship with other community partners.

Last year, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont placed clients in about 400,000 hours of paid work. With the addition of the Rock Hill office, the goal for 2015 is 500,000 hours.

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Goodwill Industries expands staffing service to Rock Hill."