Executive Spotlight: Andrew Thomas

Do you aspire to be in an executive role? For Kforce Chief Marketing and People Officer Andrew Thomas, leading others has always been his calling. Learn about Andrew’s passion for serving, his gratitude for those he leads and his advice for success in our first-ever Executive Spotlight.

A day in the life

What’s it like being Kforce’s Chief Marketing and People Officer?

As Kforce’s CMO, I enjoy leading our marketing and corporate communication initiatives. I share ownership of being responsible for the final outcome of each project coming from our Field Services Organization. In addition, I’m responsible for leading our Proposal Services and Training & Development teams.

My role has recently evolved to include our talent organization. As Kforce’s CPO, I…

You’re responsible for a large organization. How do you stay connected with those you lead?

I conduct quarterly sessions to provide transparency about our firm and answer any questions people may have. The leadership team keeps everyone informed and connected while balancing that with some fun. We go out of our way to bring our employees into the bigger picture of what's going on in the firm through initiatives like our Kforce Live series. That’s when our employees get insight into what’s most important, and how we’ve performed recently with our earnings calls.

We have such a creative group. The way Dave Dunkel and Joe Liberatore lead and drive our firm has encouraged us to stay in front of innovation and understand the right technology for our business. Each person incubates ideas and shares their expertise about industry developments and how technology is evolving.

What gets you excited to lead, inspire and mentor Kforce employees each day?

As a member of our executive team for the past 14 years, I’ve been fortunate to do what I love most—lead, inspire and mentor our teams to achieve their professional and personal goals. This has allowed me to leverage my positive energy and a gift for servant leadership to help Kforce have a meaningful impact on the lives we serve. I consider my 21 years with our firm to be more than a career; it’s a lifestyle.

“I love the firm, the business and being a leader. I believe it’s my calling.”

Making a difference

What motivates your desire to serve our customers?

I’ve always had a servant’s heart. In my 20s and 30s, my pure love for my profession motivated me. I started as a recruiter and loved helping people find jobs, telling clients about what we did and growing a business. As I got into my 40s and early 50s, a selfless love took over­—for people and serving.

How is Kforce taking steps To Have a Meaningful Impact on All the Lives We Serve®?

Our employees are so selfless and share the same passion that I do to give back to our community. It's inspiring to see our Kforce family wide-eyed to help others.

Serving others is the foundation of what we do. We help people make one of the biggest decisions they can make—finding a job. Over 36,000 people yearly are finding work due to Kforce. Additionally, we’re adding value as a company by ensuring our people feel energized, fulfilled and productive.

What drives our employees’ passion for serving the community?

Good begets good, and it’s in the hearts of our Kforce family to have an impact on our society. One of our greatest passions is to give back through our corporate social responsibility efforts. We’re helping people above and beyond our business offerings through our mission of Empowering People Through Knowledge Sharing^SM.

Kforce stands for KnowledgeForce®, and we use our gifts to educate others through events like the Junior Achievement career fair. In this day and age, children have so many educational opportunities at their fingertips. Places like Junior Achievement are special in fostering that by motivating the younger generation to prepare for their life and career while in school.

Driving our brand forward

Congratulations on being American Business Awards’ 2019 Silver Stevie Winner for Marketing Executive of the Year! What led to you receiving this award, and what does it mean to you?

Thank you! I’m so honored to receive a Silver Stevie® and proud of all the people who contributed to the success of our brand refresh—which is what led to this award. Our brand refresh core team, led by Crystal Early and Kimberly Bird, crowdsourced our new brand elements via workshops and surveys with our associates. They facilitated walk-throughs to seek input and get buy-in from our senior leaders.

We also created four original content pieces tied to each of our brand elements. The remarkable work completed by our Digital Strategy team, led by Karissa Sachs, and Creative Services team, led by Krystle Trankito, brought our new brand elements to life. I’m grateful for this award because it’s a statement by the American Business Awards’ judges that our brand is heading in the direction we want it to.

The day of the brand refresh rollout was so much fun. We had a live webcast with a special guest: Zoë Diamadi, the head of employee advocacy at LinkedIn. She talked about the success of our employee advocacy program and encouraged all of us to share content tied to our brand refresh. Kye Mitchell and Allison Kruse did a live walkthrough of how to post content on LinkedIn, showing how quick and easy it is.  

Can you tell us more about Kforce’s employee advocacy program?

Our Shareable Content Program packages up high-quality content that is sent to all associates twice a week in user-friendly templates. It’s an excellent way for our firm to create brand ambassadors and share relevant content that resonates with our customers and the industries we serve, ultimately putting us as an authority in our space.

“Our employee advocacy program is advertising that helps people.”

The program exponentially increases our brand reach as our associates can communicate with thousands of people at just the click of a button, which is absolutely incredible. Essentially, our employees are getting wisdom delivered directly to their inbox—helping them become knowledgeable resources for our candidates, consultants and clients.

Research from LinkedIn shows that 82% of consumers are more likely to trust a company whose leadership team engages on social media. What steps have you taken to elevate your personal brand?

It’s important for executives to engage on social media. Participating in online conversations, reading and sharing content is instrumental at empowering us to stay up to date with trends impacting our customers. Sharing relevant content on a consistent basis demonstrates that we are plugged in, helps our firm remain relevant and progressive, and enables us to serve as knowledgeable resources for our networks.

As far as enhancing my personal brand, I work with Allison Kruse, my mentor on social. I learned years ago, don’t trust that you’re going to become an expert just by trying something. Go to experts and have them teach you. So, Allison helps me improve in that area.

Getting to know Andrew Thomas

What are your favorite hobbies?

I love traveling. When I first came to Kforce, I was probably on the road for 46 weeks a year. I did over 1,000 flights in eight years, getting out to our different offices and coolest clients across the country. I was like a kid in a candy store. It gave me a feel for the firm as a whole. I spent the miles I’ve earned bringing my brother and dad to all the different ballparks around the country.

We’ve been to every major league city. The rule is that the three of us have to go together for it to count. I’m a pure Clark Griswold, and around March of every year, I will send my brother and dad an itinerary, where we will hit about three ballparks in a week.

Currently, we’ve done 35 parks and there are three more to go. My family and I also love food, so I plan out all the different restaurants we visit. It’s a chance for my brother and dad to just have a blast. It’s nostalgic for us.

Where does your family’s love for baseball come from?

From my dad. He was always there to play catch with me. Growing up in Boston, I was the kid throwing a ball off the steps or playing catch with my dad. I wanted to play baseball professionally—but quickly realized I wasn’t talented enough for that. So, I found another competitive outlet in the staffing industry.

Who is your pick for the World Series this year?

The Red Sox, of course! They are hunting down their third parade in a row with the Boston Bruins. I also love football and got to see the Patriots play in the Atlanta Super Bowl. It was so amazing—I sat right behind the bench and actually got to take some confetti home with me to commemorate the game.

Paving the road to success

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

It's essential to see the silver lining in the challenges that we have. Let's embrace and adopt the problems that come with achieving our goals, success and accomplishments. Make the tough phone calls, do the extra work and go beyond your comfort level.

Can you name three habits of successful leadership?

• Hire people who are inspired. Surround yourself with people who are passionate about what they do, and who they serve. Every day, I’m inspired and motivated by the people I work with and those I lead. If you hire people who are not as committed, you fall behind.
• Take time to know your team. The best way to be a true servant leader for your people is to know your people. Make sure you’re in touch with what motivates them and what they need to find fulfillment both professionally and personally.
• Learn from others. In my 30 years in staffing, I’ve had 16 different leaders and gained knowledge from each one. I saw them all as role models that helped me grow in the business. In my current role, I continue to learn a great deal from my team. It’s important to remember they have expertise to share.