President, Spherion Staffing Services
Spherion Corporation

Loretta Penn is president of Spherion Staffing Services, a division of SFN Group (NYSE:SFN).

As president of Spherion Staffing Services, Penn leads the company’s largest business and is responsible for service delivery, sales and operations across hundreds of company-owned, licensed and franchised offices across the U.S. With 1,000+ recruiters, Spherion Staffing Services focuses on addressing client needs for direct hire and flexible workforce solutions for administrative, clerical, light industrial and call center positions.

Penn was promoted to her current role in December 2008. Penn most recently served in an innovative role as Spherion’s chief service excellence officer, directly responsible to the CEO for advancing a culture of service excellence throughout the enterprise. Key elements included measuring and leading the drive to ensure high customer satisfaction; promoting best practices across the company; leading initiatives focused on candidate and client retention; ensuring Spherion’s position through effective marketing and public relations; and effectively communicating Spherion’s service excellence differentiation to clients and candidates.

Previously, Penn was vice president of national accounts where she managed some of Spherion’s largest client relationships. During her 18 years with the organization, she has also held field leadership positions in the commercial staffing business and was the executive in charge of Spherion’s legal staffing division.

Prior to joining Spherion, Penn spent nine years in the recruiting and staffing industry with Olsten Services and with Temporaries, Incorporated, where she served as vice president of East Coast operations. Penn was previously associated with IBM for 10 years in sales and marketing and regional executive management.

Penn holds a Bachelor of Science degree from North Texas University and a Certificate of Studies from Harvard University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for TECO Energy and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, a division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

With 25 years of experience in the staffing industry and a keen understanding of the U.S. workforce and the issues that drive performance, Penn is a compelling and articulate speaker. She has shared the findings and implications of the Spherion Emerging Workforce^® Study with numerous business groups. Conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion and reflecting a decade of research, the Study provides a comprehensive look at changes in the American workforce in the context of ongoing social and economic events.