CM Personnel

CM Personnel Picks Branch to Deliver a Seamless Paycard and Payments Experience that Puts Workers First‍

CM Personnel Services Inc. offers professional recruiting and search for job seekers and employers across a variety of industries, from manufacturing and contract engineering to on-site facility management. They currently operate nine locations in Ohio and Northern Kentucky, with plans to expand to additional markets over the next year. CM Personnel employs more than 3,000 employees who work hard every day in roles ranging from quality control and packaging to inventory, labeling, and beyond. 

Molly English is the Director of Operations for CM Personnel, and has been with the company for 28 years. We spoke with English about what made CM Personnel seek out a solution like Branch—and the impact it has had on the organization.

Seeking a Hassle-Free Way to Pay—Without Pre-funding Or Excessive Fees 

Paycards are a critical component for CM Personnel—it’s how they pay about 70 percent of their workforce, as many of their workers are unable to open a traditional bank account or have a direct deposit option set up. Prior to using Branch, CM Personnel used a different direct deposit and paycard provider that caused a lot of administrative headaches for both their business and employees. 

Their previous provider required CM Personnel to have a separate pre-funded account for off-cycle payments that they would have to load money into. This created huge hoops for English and her team to jump through. It also failed to provide a way to send off-cycle payments for paycheck corrections, last day pay, and other one-off needs.

“If a customer forgot to turn in payroll, for example, then we’d have 300 people that needed to get paid right away. And if we only had $20k in that [pre-funded] account, we would then have to instantly fund the account. It was a nightmare, to be quite honest.”

Their previous provider also came with steep fees for CM Personnel’s employees, which didn’t sit right with English.

“Many of the workers who come to us do not have a checking or savings account, and are living paycheck to paycheck,” says English. “The fees that they were incurring from going to the ATM or losing their card and needing a replacement were a big reason we wanted a change.”

Eliminating Pre-funding—and Putting Workers First—With a New Payments Experience

When CM Personnel switched to Branch, they were delighted that they had a solution that could not only give their workers a better experience, but would also remove the need to pre-fund an account, which meant they could say goodbye to hours of administrative hassle each week. This is because Branch floats businesses the money to pay out workers, eliminating the need for a pre-funded account and additional work.

“What Branch offered was tremendous,” says English. “We pay out our workers, you bill us, we send you the payment, and we’re good to go.”

English and her team were also thrilled that Branch’s paycard offered more fee-free options to their workers than their previous solution, since Branch is free from overdraft fees, card replacement fees, inactivity fees, and other fees.

Through Branch, workers for CM Personnel have gained access to a bank account* and digital wallet with free options where they can save, spend, or send funds however they please. The account comes with perks like cashback rewards, financial wellness tools, and free ATM transactions within the AllPoint network.

The employee response has been overwhelmingly positive, with workers feeling more empowered now that they have access to fee-free options and financial services.
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‍“Some of the people who start working for us have had a rough life; they may have been in prison [and are participating in our Second Chance program.] They love that they have an account and a virtual card, and they’re starting to use it as a bank account. It’s been empowering for them to have their own card and virtual wallet and earn cash back,” English says.

Plus, Branch offered CM Personnel recruiters flexible onboarding options that worked well with their high-touch, in-person onboarding process. Recruiters can receive Branch Cards to hand out on-site to new hires, allowing workers that don’t have an existing bank account or direct deposit option a Day 1 solution to start getting paid. In addition, the ease with which workers can self-onboard via their Branch App has made the entire onboarding process more seamless.
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And what about those off-cycle payments that were previously so stressful? CM Personnel can now use Branch to quickly process any off-cycle payments when needed, including payroll corrections, final paychecks, and more that could occur that day, rather than issuing and mailing out a paper check. This not only keeps morale high but eliminates a lot of administrative legwork from tracking down employees who may have moved, having to re-send paychecks, and constantly verify whether or not a paycheck was received.

Building a Payments Partnership Through Dedicated Customer Support

Finding a trusted payments partner in Branch, CM Personnel has been able to provide everyone involved with a smoother payments experience, saving time and administrative hassle, and eliminating excessive fees for workers. English credits Branch’s dedicated teams in helping ensure everything goes smoothly—particularly in an industry where every day presents new challenges.

“Every day is different; you might be dealing with someone who didn’t show up to work or dealing with a customer issue. Branch has always been very adaptable and understanding of that. There was no one I dealt with that was arrogant or had an ego—everyone was real.”

From start to finish, English says she and her team have appreciated the responsiveness Branch’s customer support and customer success teams, and how the partnership has helped bring important financial services and faster pay to CM Personnel’s hard-working employees.

“Branch took care of everything: they said: ‘we’ll learn who you are and what you need.’ For me, that was appealing. Exactly what they said is exactly what happened, when it happened,” says English. “It just ran like a well-oiled machine.”

*Branch is not a bank. Banking services provided by Evolve Bank & Trust, Member FDIC. FDIC insurance only applies for eligible accounts should the bank holding your funds fail. The Branch Mastercard Debit Card is issued by Evolve Bank & Trust pursuant to a license from Mastercard and may be used everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted.

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