A Thank You to Contemporaries CEO Donna Fitzgerald (From The Staff)
On February 2, 1998 Contemporaries, Inc. quietly celebrated its 24th year anniversary. The Boston-based staffing firm began as the vision of President and CEO Donna Fitzgerald who spent a decade in the industry before launching her own small business. Rather than using a standardized model, Fitzgerald created a staffing boutique based on what she knew worked and what didn’t.
Contemporaries would be a unique partnership designed to assist clients as well as candidates. The mantra would not be just getting as many bodies out the door as possible, but rather, getting the right person in the right position where both parties would benefit from the new relationship. The matching process would be much more personal and holistic rather than the customary and generic resume based model.
Perhaps the greatest evidence of her keen insight was how Contemporaries became the “go to” agency for many hiring managers in academia, government, non-profits, and small, medium, and large sized businesses throughout Boston. Most times, nine out of 10 temporary workers went on to become permanent employees in the venues they were placed in.
To ensure the agency was not only off to a great start, but consistently delivered the best quality candidates and services, personal and professional sacrifices had to be made. Whether it was working 65 hour weeks, sleepless nights in the early years to ensure payroll was made or working tirelessly to ensure clients were satisfied and candidates had a new beginning to their careers, Fitzgerald did so effectively and literally for decades.
As a CEO, the Boston native has been an exceptional leader. She not only tackled her own job responsibilities, but also jumped in whenever or wherever she was needed, all while instructing staff to make right matches rather than meet weekly or monthly quotas. Through the Great Recession of the late 2000s or the more recent pandemic of 2020 and beyond, Contemporaries has weathered these and other storms, mainly because of Fitzgerald’s guidance and oversight.
Her objective for the last three decades has been making the kind of staffing matches where everyone was a winner.
We all recall her traditional words of wisdom, “Always set the person up for success, never place them in positions where they may fail.”
Some of Fitzgerald’s accomplishments include:
- Helping thousands of local residents throughout the Greater Boston area secure employment opportunities they’d otherwise miss.
- Becoming the first Boston temporary employment firm to offer a $15 minimum hourly wage to all its employees.
- Assisting hundreds of private and public entities meet deadlines and achieve their own business goals.
- Launching a non-profit, Heartank (pronounced heart tank) as a means of giving back to the community and providing financial assistance to new and would-be local entrepreneurs.
The Contemporaries Team would like to thank our CEO for creating a business model which has worked for decades, and for setting a powerful and positive example showing us all what can be accomplished through hard work, perseverance, and the will to make life better for everyone.
This posting is brought to you by Contemporaries Inc., one of the best temp agencies in Boston MA. Also available for payrolling employees in Boston and Greater Boston
Recent Posts
Finding Your Own Best Work-Life Balance
As the end of the work week draws near, today we’re continuing our theme of the week, Balance, by exploring even more approaches to establishing and maintaining the right work-life balance for you. Just as each person has their own unique set of professional...
Wednesday Wellness: Balance
Happy Hump Day! You’ve made it to the week’s midpoint--aka a perfect time to consider ways to best achieve a professional sense of balance. Achieving that balance is something that takes practice rather than occurring overnight. If you find yourself stumbling along...
Achieving Your Best Work Life Balance
Continuing this week’s focus on balance, today we’re looking at ways to best achieve a healthy work life balance. This tips tackle approaches that address both the “work” and “life” components of this concept, helping you to find your footing both in the workplace and...
Monday Mood Booster: Balance
Welcome back! This week we’re focusing on maintaining balance in your workplace and beyond, bringing the sense of rest and the recharging you did over the weekend into your professional environment and spreading that sense of balance out all the way through the rest...
Feel Good Friday: Pause
Happy Friday! You’ve made it to the end of the week again and can soon lean into the peaceful pause the weekend offers. Let yourself enjoy it! While we’ve reached the week’s end, we’re also at the month’s mid-point--and there’s no better time to press pause and...
Helping Yourself and Others During Downtime
It can be easy to feel down and disconnected during this time of uncertainty. And especially during this week of April showers! While there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel shining, we know that you may be feeling like you’ve had to put your life on hold. But...
Wednesday Wellness: Pause
You’re halfway through the workweek. What better time is there than to pause and think about both where you’re going and where you’ve been? There will inevitably be lulls during your workday--take these as opportunities to breathe before plunging back into your tasks....
Making the Most of Slower Times at Work
Continuing our theme this week of making sure to implement variety in your professional routine by hitting the pause button from time to time instead of always proceeding full steam ahead, today we’ll be examining ways to make the most out of slower times in your...
Monday Mood Booster: Pause
Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful and restorative weekend. Our focus lately has been on ways to keep moving forward. And while you’ll want to make sure you’re maintaining a positive trajectory, it’s also important to take time to slow down: to hit the pause...
Feel Good Friday: Weathering the Storm
Congratulations! You’ve pushed through the maelstrom of everything your professional environment may have thrown your way and made it to the end of the week. And that is truly something to celebrate! We’re excited to see you back here. And want to give you one last...
Boost Your Workplace Energy Through Movement
Today we’re continuing our focus on developing holistic ways to keep going in any professional environment, no matter the figurative or literal weather conditions you encounter along the way. Both your mind and your body are part of the workplace equation! And it’s...
Wednesday Wellness: Weathering the Storm
Happy Wednesday! You’ve made it the midpoint of the week--the eye of the storm, to continue our metaphor. Take today to remember and appreciate the calm you can find in the world, to steady yourself and get ready for the rest of the week’s figurative strong winds. No...
Give Yourself Energy Boosts in Any Professional Environment
As we continue to navigate storms both literal and figurative, it’s important to keep your body and mind in tip-top shape, whether you’re working from home or onsite. Taking this holistic approach will help you persevere through any circumstances you encounter in any...
Monday Mood Booster: Weathering the Storm
Welcome back! While the forecast for this week may have lots overcast days in store, and it might feel easy to let that get you down, remember that it’s thanks to the rain that the spring flowers all around us can blossom even more beautifully. This week, we’re here...