Name: Sheldon S. Sollosy
Occupation: President of Manpower Incorporated of Providence
Backround: Has served 45 years as president of Manpower Incorporated of Providence. He started the franchise, which was only the third franchise at the time for the international company. His business has five offices: Warwick, North Attleboro, North Dartmouth and Hyannis, as well as Providence.
Education: Attended Boston University and Northeastern University
Age: 73
Residence: Cranston
Family: Married, one child
SHELDON S. SOLLOSY: Businesses have to work with professors to help them teach tthe students.
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PBN: Tell me how the company started?
Sollosy: My wife and I started it in June, 1954. I ran it for a couple years with my wife, then she eased out. Before this I spent my life in the retail business and I knew I didn’t want to go back to retail. I used to look at the help wanted ads all the time and saw an ad advertising for help at Manpower. My wife went and applied and she was a temporary for the Boston office. Then I saw an ad for franchises available. I looked into it and eventually met with the president of the company. It seemed like a good business even though many people didn’t know what it was back then. We ended up buying the franchise for Rhode Island.
What makes your company stand out?
I think number one we are an international company. We always spent time and money training temporaries, keeping them up with the skills needed to adapt with the changing technologies. Our desire to become an integral part of the community has also been vital. My wife and I have been active in the community over the years. I have held many presidencies and chairmanships, including being past president of my temple, honorary president of Providence Hebrew Day School, past chairman of the board for the Providence Public Library.
Where do you expect growth in your field?
There is a tremendous amount of outsourcing and that is what we do. We have a technical division, where we have engineers, computer people and software people. Of course with the Year 2000 (problems) that put a demand on those fields. What people have to realize is many of the jobs that people got laid off from don’t exist any more. Those jobs didn’t necessarily call for skills. Today you need skills for everything, which you didn’t need years back. For example, when we first started the big area for us was supplying people with file clerks, today there are very few file clerks. Then it went into key punch operators. Now they have data entry. For industrial work we used to have people who would string beads. Those position don’t exist anymore, because the jobs (went) off shore years ago. People who want to work in the jewelry industry need to work on computers today.
What are the skills lacking?
It runs the gamut. Unfortunately we have an illiteracy problem in the state and then you have people who have had no training whatsoever. We are worried about them not having keyboard skills, elementary skills to be used on the computer and a basic understanding of data entry. Not everyone has to become a programmer or engineer, but people have to find the niche that is needed. Many of the companies do a great deal of training to meet the needs that are out there. We do as much as possible to train our people.
I think in Rhode Island we have done a good job. The Human Resources Investment Council gives grants to companies who want to do training for their employees. I think we need to work with more consortiums of companies so we don’t duplicate efforts.
You have been active in workers’ compensation issues in the past. Tell me about what you have done and what still needs to be done?
I’m chairman of the board for Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, which is the insurance company that writes the workers’ comp in the state. I was very involved in the reforms of workers’ comp. I was one of the point men for the business community. It was through my efforts, joining with labor and others, that the state was able to make the changes to workers’ comp.
I think we are watching it constantly to see if things have to be tweaked. I think we have a model system as far as our courts are concerned as a result of that – along with Beacon — we have brought the costs down tremendously. In 1993, the average premium was $3.93 for a hundred dollars of payroll. In 1998 it was down to $1.83. The system is working.
What do you think educators in the high schools and colleges should be doing to prepare people for the workforce?
We have a couple examples of very good vocational school: Davies Vocational School and the Cranston Vocational School. The other good setting that is working is the Chamber school, the Textron School. Those places are finding people’s niches and training them. Unfortunately, vocational education has had a stigma attached to it: If you don’t know what to do with a kid you can send them to vocational (school). Those days are gone. The vocational schools have to become upgraded and work with industry so they are training people for the jobs that will exist, not the jobs that no longer exist.
In the colleges, I might be a little over-critical, but I think some of the things being taught are being taught by well-meaning, educated people who have not upgraded their skills. So they are teaching people things they know very little about. There has to be an effort by everybody in education to upgrade their own skills. What has to happen is businesses have to work with professors and have the professors in the businesses to see what is going on so they have a better idea what to teach the students and how to train them.
Over the years you have worked closely with politicians and have been successful in promoting pro-business legislation. What is your secret?
I have been active in the Chamber for some time. At one time I was president of the Chamber federation, which used to exist. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years at the State House as a lobbyist for the business community. I have a different view of the so-called politicians than the people in the business community have. The political situation is a process and you have to understand and learn to work within it. I have found that most people up in the legislature are well meaning people. They’re there with the idea of doing things that help the community. The problem is people have not learned how to disagree without being disagreeable
One of my strengths has been my ability to work with labor. It has always been we and they. You have to understand where labor is coming from. We are very fortunate in the state that we have leadership in labor that we have, like George Nee, secretary-treasurer of AFL-CIO. Their goal is to have people work. They understand if there are no businesses there will be no people working. Business has to understand that they have constituency and you have to be able to sit down and work these things out. The workers’ comp was a perfect example of that.
What kind of economic initiatives in the state have worked in terms of job creation and so forth?
I think that it is a pretty difficult thing to generalize. Alpha Beta went down the tubes so everyone says that’s something that you should not do. That is not so. That is one of many things the state got into. Was it a bit speculative? Stepping back today maybe you would say we should not have done it. But at the time it was the thing to do. The changes we have made in the laws to make it more attractive for the banks and companies like Fidelity have been good things. You almost have to take it on an individual basis based on the needs of the company at a given time. What we did last year in starting to phase out a tax on automobiles and inventory tax are movements in the right (direction).
I think if government relates to business and vice versa it is going to be a lot easier for things to happen. Things have to happen before they get to the State House. For example, when labor and business go to the legislature and say this is what we think should be done that is a wonderful thing for the legislation. They are going to go along with it, because you have the both sides agreeing rather than going with an adversarial position.
What is your take on what is happening in downtown Providence, particularly in your Weybosset Street neighborhood?
I made an investment in this neighborhood. I have been on this end of Weybosset Street for 40 years. I think this part of the city is going to really develop. It is going to find its niche. You will find a lot of people coming here to live and you will find a lot of boutique shops. Not all businesses are the type that can be in a mall. This is definitely going to develop. I expect a tremendous change in this neighborhood.
We have seen such a revitalization with the mall, with the skating rink for instance. This is going to be a great, vibrant community.
At age 73, do you have any plans on retiring?
No. I wouldn’t know what to do. When people ask if I’ll retire I say, “What for?” I am very fortunate to have a wonderful staff, including a wonderful general manager. I see no reason to retire. You can only play so much golf and plus my wife will get sick of me being in the house all the time.
