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Golden State Foods named 2009 Georgia Work Ready Business of the year
2009-GSF-Photo-GA-Work-Read
(Left to right) Richard Smith, DeKalb Tech, Deborah Skinner, DeKalb Tech, Glenn Sears, Conyers-Rockdale Economic Development Council, Gina Hartsell, CREDC, Larry McGill, Golden State Foods, Kim Donohue, Golden State Foods, Rahl Smith, DeKalb Tech, Mike Garrett, Georgia Power, George Israel, Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Golden State Foods in Conyers was recently honored by Governor Sonny Perdue and the Governor's Office of Workforce Development as the 2009 Work Ready Business of the Year, making it the second consecutive Conyers-based company to receive the award.

Golden State Foods was chosen for its successful implementation of the Georgia Work Ready Program to profile jobs, make hiring decisions and develop ongoing workforce development programs. It was the second

"Work Ready is helping make our state a top destination for jobs and investment," said Perdue. "Through the Georgia Work Ready Program, communities around Georgia have rallied together and committed to developing the talented workforce that business demands and the educational infrastructure to drive sustained economic growth and prosperity."

The Golden State Foods Conyers facility was awarded several new contracts in late 2008 and expanded its workforce. Kim Donohue, HR manager for Golden State Foods, said "As with any accelerated growth, our in-house infrastructure needed support to identify candidates with technical skills who were capable of handling key components of the position."

In collaboration with DeKalb Technical College and Conyers Rockdale Economic Development Council, profiles for two key positions were completed and used to screen and hire qualified candidates, saving the company time and money in 2009.

"These job profiles have allowed us to match skill levels with candidates for these job opportunites," said Donahue. "The Georgia Work Ready Program strengthened our hiring pool and improved our performance culture. The job profiles have been so successful that we have incorporated this as the initial phase of our job certification process that we are currently developing. "

Chief Executive Officer Larry McGill said, "This out of the box thinking within all of our departments is why we continue to raise the bar while investing in our most important assets, our people. A candidate whose profile is identified early on allows us a better success rate for hiring qualified workers and long term retention."