Brand Addresses Industrywide Labor Shortages with Automation to Support Human Workforces
- The iBoost Talent staffing franchise now offers a robotics solution to help clients augment their human workforces.
- Robots are well suited for highly repetitive tasks in hard-to-fill, entry-level roles such as cleaning and moving materials or supplies.
- Increased implementation of automation could boost U.S. productivity growth from about 1.8% in 2019 to 3-4% annually by 2030, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.
Persistent entry-level labor shortages have plagued industries in recent years, diminishing overall productivity and potential economic growth. The iBoost Talent staffing franchise has responded with a robotics solution aimed at supporting human workers and employers.
“Labor shortages aren’t going away, so we built a model that works with them, not against them. No one else within our industry is doing what we’re doing,” says Don G. King, founder of Impact Workforce Solutions, sister company of iBoost Talent and the newly created Impact Robotics.
King says the goal is not to replace the human workforce, but to augment it, particularly in jobs that involve repetitive activities such as cleaning and moving materials from one place to another. “If no one wants to do the job and you can’t hire for it, automation creates a better path forward,” he says.
How Robotics Enhance iBoost Talent Offerings
“Robotics is a differentiator for iBoost Talent,” says Bill Tasillo, executive vice president of franchise development. “It’s an additional service line that franchise owners can employ to solve challenges for their customers, particularly with highly repetitive, entry-level type jobs. We’re not just offering a staffing solution anymore. We’re offering a full gamut of solutions for the customer – some of it involves automation, some of it human capital – always built around the relationships that owners and their teams build with those customers and with their communities. And that’s what we find that our clients are looking for more than anything,” Tasillo says.
Chief Revenue Officer Vance Tiller adds that automation through robotics offers an additional revenue stream or “lane to accelerate our franchisees’ growth to help them become successful and profitable faster.”
While automation expands franchisees’ capacity and capabilities, it does not increase complexity in their operations, Tasillo says. iBoost Talent franchisees refer all customer requests for robotics services to sister company Impact Robotics, he explains. “Just as we take as many roadblocks out of the way for franchise owners that slow down their growth and day-to-day operations – including handling the back office, administration, workers compensation claims, compliance, I9 employment eligibility verifications and all those types of things – we manage the robotics through Impact Robotics.”
Labor Shortages, Diminished Productivity
Shrinking labor markets are a long-term trend that may continue, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, which estimates that gross domestic product in 2023 could have been 0.5% to 1.5% higher across advanced economies worldwide if employers had been able to fill their excess job vacancies.
McKinsey Global Institute analysis indicates that up to 30% of current work time could be automated by 2030, based on recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence, releasing worker time for more valuable activities. Combining all types of automation, from generative AI to robotics, could help drive U.S. productivity growth from about 1.8% in 2019 to 3-4% annually by 2030.
Robots in a People-First Model
King says the robotics solution aligns with his people-first, franchisee-first business model. “People are the difference between good and great operations. This isn’t about replacing people. It’s about giving teams better support systems so operations run smoother, cleaner and more efficiently. The future of operations will belong to companies that learn how people and automation work together,” he says. “If we can automate the work that no one wants to do, we can elevate people into better roles, better pay and better futures.”
As founder of the Impact system of companies, King applies more than 30 years of experience, including his tenure in a staffing franchise system and as founder in 2001 of Impact Workforce Solutions, a tech-enabled professional services firm. He founded the iBoost Talent staffing franchise in 2025 with a core value of improving the quality of life for others.
How Impact Robotics Implements Automation
Impact Robotics officials describe an “automation gap” created when companies make mistakes in implementing robotics, such as buying robots without first understanding organizational workflows, trying to automate everything all at once and failing to account for how people will interact with the technology. The result, company officials say, is low usage, frustration and wasted investment.
Impact Robotics follows a structured approach to implementation, which includes:
- Starting with a pilot, testing automation in a real environment where it can prove value.
- Validating what works, ensuring teams adopt it, use it and benefit from it.
- Scaling with confidence, expanding automation only where results are proven to reduce risk, improve adoption and deliver measurable return on investment.
The Robotics Solution
Robots are deployed in a wide variety of industries: healthcare, educational settings, hotels and hospitality, industrial and logistics environments, retail and public spaces, and food and beverage operations. “Automation works where people, processes and pressure intersect,” King says. “From high-traffic public spaces to complex operational environments, we design automation solutions by industry that integrate into real workflows, not ideal scenarios.”
Examples of where and how robots work:
- Cleaning high-traffic floors, including those in high-risk environments such as hospitals and schools, industrial facilities requiring navigation through tight spaces and changing layouts, restaurants and large public spaces where continuous cleaning is needed.
- Moving materials or supplies between locations, such as specimens and medications in hospitals, luggage and linens across long distances in hotels, finished goods and inspection materials in industrial settings, inventory in retail settings, and food, drinks and dishes in restaurants.
- Guiding people to their destinations, including patients and visitors in healthcare settings, and students on large campuses.
To learn more about how robotics solutions are being implemented to augment the human workforce, visit Impact Robotics.
Visit iBoost Talent for information about staffing franchise opportunities.
