HMG Success - The Advance Group

Can You Afford Employee Recognition? (You Can’t Afford Not to!)

HMG Success on September 30, 2015

Employee recognition is such an important part of the business world today because it shows employees how much their time and effort are valued by their employer. It is such a valuable aspect of doing business that companies really cannot afford not to perform employee recognition in one form or another. You do not have to spend a ton of money to get your point across, but you definitely cannot ignore employee recognition either.

Think Outside the Box

One of the best ways to perform employee recognition is by thinking outside the box. With this method, you might have to spend a little bit more money than any other methods, but it will be well worth it. Get to know your employees inside and out so that when it comes time to reward someone, you know how to impress them. Learn who their favorite band is or favorite sports team and find a way to get the employee two tickets to a concert or game to show them how much you appreciate their hard work.

Reward Extra Time Off

Since a major discussion these days is work-life balance, why not consider rewarding extra time off for employees who have earned it? Employees don’t want to spend every waking minute sitting in the office. They want to enjoy life with family and friends as much as possible. Give an employee who performs well an extra day off or the ability to work from home at their choosing for a month.

Offer Opportunities for Growth

If you really want to show an employee how much they are valued, provide them with opportunities for growth within the company. This includes reimbursing them for a training session they attended, a conference they took part in or a seminar they visited. You can also assign them more high-profile projects to work on if their previous project work was exemplary. All of these methods will give the employee the recognition they deserve.

Day Out on the Town

Small businesses can do this more than large businesses since they have a smaller group of employees. If your team recently completed a major project or hit a milestone, consider going out as a group at the expense of the company. Go see a movie, attend a ballgame or even go shopping at the outlets together.

Employee recognition is not something to ignore. Your employees put in a ton of time each week and should be rewarded for a job well done.

How to Stay Off a Recruiter’s Blacklist

HMG Success on September 28, 2015

Trying to find a job today is not easy. Even with the help of the Internet and social media, landing a job you want can take months because hundreds of people apply for the same jobs as you. Turning your job search into a success can be done by working with a recruiter. One thing you must know when working with a recruiter is that you need to stay off of their blacklist. Being on a recruiter’s blacklist can ruin your job search, so follow these tips to stay off this list!

Exaggerating Skills or Claims

One of the biggest reasons why a recruiter will put you on their blacklist is because you have been caught exaggerating your skills or claims on your resume. It is understandable that people exaggerate a little bit on their resumes, but it can be very detrimental their job search. Recruiters will be able to see through lies on your resume because they read thousands of resumes per year. Avoid exaggerating about your skills or claims on your resume to stay off a recruiter’s blacklist.

Self-Employed Viewed as Unemployed

Even though this seems a little harsh, many recruiters view self-employed job seekers as unemployed job seekers, even if the job seeker has been running a successful business independently. It is difficult to change this perception in front of recruiters, but it can be done. Make sure you include some stats about your independently owned business that proves you have been working for the past five-to-ten years, and not just sitting around the house.

Aggression Does Not Work

Even though being an aggressive job seeker can be better than being a passive one, it can get you blacklisted by a recruiter if you work with one. Contacting a recruiter multiple times per week via phone or email will get you blacklisted for sure. There is no need to constantly bother a recruiter about an open job or an interview you had with a company. If the company liked you, the recruiter will reach out to you when necessary.

Failure to Fit the Culture

Job seekers could have an incredible resume and all the references in the world, but not fitting in with a company’s culture could cause you to hit the blacklist. This can be determined through screening processes, an interview with the company and much more. If this happens more than once, a recruiter might have to blacklist you to avoid wasting anyone else’s time.

Stay off of a recruiter’s blacklist by keeping aggression to a minimum, avoiding exaggeration on your resume and by fitting into a company’s culture.

Exit Interviews: Do you know why your employees are leaving?

HMG Success on September 24, 2015

Employees leave companies for many different reasons, but sometimes the HR team won’t be able to explain why past employees left. In some cases, employees leave for better advancement opportunities or because they are not happy with their current employer. The only way a company can know or learn why employees are leaving is by taking advantage of the exit interview, and then learning from this feedback.

Encourage Honesty

The next time you hold an exit interview, make sure you encourage honesty on the part of the employee who is leaving the company. Few employees will be brutally honesty during an exit interview, especially when leaving smaller companies, because they do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Try to encourage honesty as much as possible so the employee explains the exact reasons why they decided to leave.

Ask These Questions

The following questions should be asked of the employee during an exit interview:

What will you get from your new employer that you didn’t get from us?
How do you feel things went here for you?
How are your career goals being fulfilled at your new job?
Can you give us any suggestions for improvement?
Would you like to be notified of any opportunities here in the future?
Is there anything we could have done to prevent you from leaving?
In what areas did we come up short?

Reveal Undiscovered Problems

For all you know, there could be some major problems hiding at your company. The only way you can find out about these problems is via the exit interview. The questions from the previous section could help to reveal these problems, which could include issues with the culture and competition that continues to aggressively recruit your talent. An outgoing employee will be able to shed light on these issues and much more if you ask the right questions and encourage honesty.

Make Appropriate Changes

Once you conduct the exit interview, you should begin to make appropriate changes to the company. This could include improving the company’s culture, offering better benefits, increasing salaries and offering more opportunities for advancement.

Companies need to know why their employees leave for other opportunities. They also need to know if an issue at the office led to the employee searching for a new job. The exit interview is the perfect time to find out this information.

All Resumes Must Answer This One Question

HMG Success on September 22, 2015

The next time you sit down to write a resume, you need to look at one important question and see if it answers the question. In fact, instead of waiting to write a new resume, edit your current one to make sure it answers the important question discussed here. If you can answer the one question all resumes should answer, it will help you stand out from the rest of the crowd, and this is important in such a tough business world.

Goal of the Resume

The ultimate goal of your resume, no matter which version, is to entice a company to contact you for one of their open jobs. You can put as much work experience and skills as you want on your resume, but these alone will not get a company to contact you about their open job. You must be able to turn all of your work experience and skills learned in previous jobs into the reason why companies call you. You must paint a picture.

The Question That Must be Answered

The question that all resumes must answer is, “What makes you a better candidate than all others who have applied for this job?” As mentioned above, you need to paint a picture in order to answer this question appropriately. The picture you paint must tell the company why you are the best pick for the open job and not someone else.

What Answers This Question?

So, what is it about you that can provide a stellar answer to this question? You need to think past the mundane tasks you perform each day, from the minute you arrive to the minute you leave. You need to think about your biggest career accomplishments, achievements, accolades, articles and awards. When you put all of these items on your resume, in an appropriate manner and location, you should have no problem answering the question and getting a company to contact you about their open job.

Hundreds of people apply for the same open jobs at companies across the country. Because of this, HR managers and recruiters come across mediocre resumes and applicants who are not worth a second look. This means that you will need to work extra hard to get your resume noticed. Make sure you answer this question as thoroughly as possible to get noticed.

American Staffing Association Recognizes Advance Staffing Solutions for Outstanding Communications Program

HMG Success on September 17, 2015

Advance Staffing Solutions, www.advancestaffingsolutions.com headquartered in Sylvania, OH 43560, was honored with a 2015 American Staffing Association Staffing VOICE Award. The VOICE Awards celebrate the best staffing industry marketing, advertising, multimedia, and public relations campaigns of the year—based on vision, originality, innovation, communications, and effectiveness (VOICE).

Advance Staffing Solutions was honored for 2015 ASA Staffing VOICE Award for Company Identification.

“We are excited to be recognized for this award. Our goal is to appeal to both our clients and candidates. In this challenging market, we have to recruit the best talent possible, which means being extremely creative in how we attract people to our company.” Stacey Bigelow, President of Advance Staffing Solutions.

ASA Staffing VOICE Award honorees will be celebrated at Staffing World^®, the annual ASA convention and expo, Oct. 27-29 in Nashville, TN.

For more information about Advance Staffing Solutions visit www.advancestaffingsolutions.com.

The annual awards program is sponsored by ASA corporate partner CareerBuilder.

For more information about ASA and the ASA Staffing VOICE Awards, visit americanstaffing.net.

The Secret Key to Employee Development

HMG Success on September 15, 2015

Employee development is an important part of a business being successful, and it is also a hot topic right now. Companies are constantly looking for new ways to develop their employees into leaders, so they can promote them to management positions. Having employees who can move up the corporate ladder at the same company is a major goal of companies today. There is a secret key to employee development that can help almost any company solve this problem.

Change the Employee Performance Review

A common way to improve employee development at your company is to change the employee performance review. You do not have to change the review entirely, but it should be edited or altered in a way that the review is not just about evaluating the employee.

Even though most of a performance review involves discussing what the employee did wrong, or needs to improve upon, it also includes discussing what the employee did correctly. During the part of the evaluation where you discuss the positive aspects of the employee’s performance, be sure to talk about how they can develop within your company.

What’s In It for the Employee?

If you are considering changing the employee performance review, you must ask this question: What’s in it for the employee? Based on the job the employee has now, the track they can take within your organization, and how much experience they have, you can now determine the best method of development for the employee.

Tell employees during their review that the company is dedicated to their development and will help them develop in their career. Have a plan ready to discuss, because the employee is going to want to know what’s in it for them. The employee will want to learn something right now that they will be able to keep with them and use the rest of their career.

Find Out What the Employee Wants

Another option you have during the performance review is to find out what the employee wants. Maybe they have been thinking about career development and have an idea, but have not spoken up about it yet. If this is the case, the employee will be able to discuss their development idea with management or HR during the performance review. It is quite possible that the idea the employee has is right in line with the plan the company wants to implement.

In order to better develop your employees, think about changing the performance review to include discussions about development with each employee. Outline goals during the discussion and make sure employees know they are valued.

Join us in honor of Lisa Greene!

HMG Success on September 12, 2015

As most of you know the Advance Staffing team suffered the loss of our dear colleague and friend, Lisa Greene, this past February. Lisa was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer in November of 2014. She faced her battle the way she did any challenge, with strength, bravery, a sense of humor and quiet dignity. Not a day goes by that we don’t miss her smile and warm spirit.

We decided that we wanted to participate in the 2015 Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure in honor of Lisa. Since many of you worked closely with Lisa we wanted to extend an invite to be a part of our team for Race for the Cure.

The race takes place on Sunday, September 27^th in downtown Toledo. The race is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am.

You can chose to walk or run the 5k or simply make a donation to our team.

Our team name is Greene Machine. Anyone who joins our team will be getting a team t-shirt.

There are several way to sign up to be a part of our team. The easiest way is to use the link the below and then click on the button that says “join team.” This allows to sign up for the race and also be put under our team. The registration fee for the race is $35.

http://nwohio.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/TOL_NorthwestOhioAffiliate?team_id=334422&pg=team&fr_id=5366

In order to have our team shirts done in time the deadline to sign up to be a member of team “Greene Machine” is Friday, September 18^th.

We also plan to participate in the Team Tailgate that takes place before the race. Once our team is finalized we will send out more info about that.

If you have any questions please contact our team captain, Andrea Ahlgren 419-882-7646. She will be happy to provide you any extra info that you may need.

Are You Missing Out on LinkedIn Endorsements?

HMG Success on September 10, 2015

LinkedIn has so much to offer its users, especially when it comes to finding jobs. One feature of the social networking site that has become very popular is the ability to endorse connections. Endorsements are something that almost everyone does nowadays on LinkedIn. The point being to “endorse” — or vouch for — a connection’s skill or trait they have listed on their profile, and often, to have them endorse you for yours as well.

Issues with LinkedIn Endorsements

As with every social network, there are some issues with LinkedIn endorsements. For example, many users of the site are encouraged to endorse some lesser skills of their connections instead of skills those connections are actually known for. For instance, let’s say that you are known for your sound editing skills. LinkedIn will likely encourage your connections to endorse you for something along the lines of Microsoft Word or Communication. Because of this, you are not being endorsed for your best skills.

Being able to endorse connections you truly know makes it easier for users to expand their profile, because it gets posted to the profile page when a user offers an endorsement. Many users reciprocate when their receive an endorsement from a connection, which also shows up on their profile.

An issue with this is that many users simply endorse anyone they want if they are connected to them on LinkedIn. This means that the person who filed the endorsement does not really know if the recipient has those skills, or is even somewhat decent when performing those skills.

Use LinkedIn Endorsements

Despite the issues with LinkedIn endorsements, it is still a good idea for you to use them, but at your discretion. Whenever you log into LinkedIn and endorsement suggestions are presented, only approve the ones that are well known to you. Do not endorse connections who you have never met in person or whom you have never worked. This does not help you and you truly cannot speak to their skills.

The great thing about LinkedIn is that you can circumvent the issue with endorsement suggestions appearing on your login screen. If you truly want to endorse someone you know, go to their profile page. Here you will be able to choose the skill you want to endorse instead of endorsing the skill suggested by LinkedIn.

The next time you log into LinkedIn and are greeted with endorsement suggestions, visit the profile pages of those people and endorse the skills you know that person is truly great at performing.

Where Are All the Temps Going? How to Make a Hiring Plan After Peak Season

HMG Success on September 8, 2015

As the busy season comes to a close, seasonal and temporary employees may be leaving to head back to college or to take other permanent jobs. This can reduce your staff dramatically, which can take a toll on the business and the employees who are left behind. How can you design a hiring plan after the peak season that supports year-round growth and new opportunities to bring on at least a portion of your temps? Here are some helpful tips to accomplish this.

1. Communicate with your temp agency in advance of your hiring goals

The sooner you can let your temporary agency know you intend to hire some of your seasonal workers on permanently, the better. This helps the temp agency screen all employees to find out if they are looking for something for now or for the long term.

2. Provide rewarding projects that challenge seasonal workers

One of the ways to identify employees who may be suitable for long-term hiring needs is to assign tasks and projects that challenge them. This often brings out the leaders in each group of temps, who may be looking for better work opportunities in the future.

3. Understand the skill and knowledge gaps you have

Your seasonal employees may possess the right skills and knowledge that you need to plan your staffing after the peak season passes by. Conduct a thorough analysis of the present skills of your team to find out where there are gaps. Then offer employment opportunities to your seasonal workers who have the right skills to close these gaps.

4. Offer to rehire seasonal workers for next year

You can plan your hiring by offering to rehire the seasonal workers who perform well and who express an interest in coming back again next year. Consider that some of your seasonal workers will be college students who will be looking for careers once they graduate. The sooner you can get them to commit to coming back, the better for your business.

5. Give seasonal workers an incentive to stay employed

If you want to hire at least a portion of your seasonal workers who have done well, you can also offer a sign-on bonus for those who accept permanent placement with your company. Try offering some employment perks too, like benefits and a new office environment to work in.

Use the above tips to help retain your best seasonal workers and boost your company growth as part of a smart recruitment plan. You can secure top seasonal and temp workers from Advance Staffing Solutions.

Want to Stay in Your Temp Job? Start Building Relationships!

HMG Success on September 3, 2015

Building strong relationships at the office is not just for permanent employees, but also for temporary workers. Even though you might only be working at a temp job for two weeks or a couple of months, it is still imperative to build strong relationships. When temporary workers build strong relationships, it puts them in a better position to remain at their temporary job for an extended period or as a newly hired permanent employee.

Drop Criticism from Conversations

An excellent way to build stronger relationships with your co-workers at a temporary job is by dropping criticism from your conversations. It can be very easy to criticize co-workers for what they do, or don’t do, but it should not be done. When you criticize people on a regular basis, it makes it very difficult to get along with those people. You must remember that everyone makes mistakes, so be sure to focus on the positives when talking with co-workers.

Smile and Speak with Enthusiasm

Smiling when you speak with co-workers will go a long way when trying to build stronger relationships. You should also speak with enthusiasm, and not in a monotone that bores others. Co-workers will warm up to you when you greet them with happiness and a smile. Even if you do not get the opportunity to speak with them for a prolonged period, a quick smile when passing in the halls can help improve relationships.

Compliment Co-Workers

A compliment can go a long way toward building better relationships with co-workers. Compliments should never be backhanded, but should be sincere whenever you give them. People love to receive compliments, especially at work. The next time you talk with a co-worker, try to compliment them on a job well done on a recent project or about something from their personal life they told you.

Ignore the Rotten Egg

It goes without saying that there will be one rotten egg in the office who will attempt to make life miserable for those around them. Even though this person will make it their job to make your life miserable, you must ignore them as much as possible. Do not take it personally: Instead, build better relationships with the rest of your co-workers in an attempt to ignore the rotten egg.

If you enjoy the temporary job you are working right now, make an effort to build stronger relationships with co-workers there so you can have your contract extended or picked up permanently.

Your Perfect Hire is a Special Bond – How to Nurture It

HMG Success on August 27, 2015

It is not often that a company comes across a perfect hire, but when it does, it is important to nurture the relationship with that hire from the start. The company must build a bond, making it as strong as possible, so the employee stays with the company for the long haul. Nurturing the relationship with a perfect hire can be tricky, but it can be done.

Here, we will discuss three great ways for your company to nurture their relationship with a perfect hire.

1. Share Mutual Passions with the Employee

The old adage “opposites attract” really does not apply when a company is looking for the perfect hire. Companies rely on their employees having the same values and beliefs when it comes to business in order to succeed. When employees do not share the same views as the company, the culture and bottom line will suffer. Because of this, companies must look for employees who share like passions in order to turn them into perfect hires.

In terms of sharing like passions, two important ones are culture and the job opportunity. This can be determined during the job interview. If the candidate does not show enthusiasm for the job, they likely won’t change if hired. The same can be said for the office culture. If the candidate does not seem receptive to the company culture now, there’s a strong chance it will remain the same if hired.

2. Paint a Realistic Picture of the Company

The job interview is the first time you will present your company to a potential employee. It might make you a little nervous at first, but the more realistic a picture you paint, the more receptive the candidate will be to what you have to offer. As the interviewer, you cannot lie about the company or the job because eventually the truth will be set free. If you put on a front or lie, the candidate will likely decline your job offer and even warn others about applying in the future.

3. Seek the Whole Truth

Do your best to seek the truth when screening job candidates. This will help you down the road when cultivating relationships with any perfect hires. It is not uncommon for job seekers to tell tiny lies on their resumes or in their cover letters. You can check their honesty by looking into their social media profiles and other information found on the Internet. If none of it matches up, then you have an issue with honesty. If the candidate boasts how strong their communications skills are, and they submit a strong video resume, then you likely found a truthful candidate.

As you can see, it takes quite a bit to cultivate a relationship with a perfect hire, but the steps are well worth the positive outcome. By making this effort, your company will reap the rewards of a long and positive working relationship with your new hire and will get a good ROI from this.

Open House – NEW jobs in Monroe County!

HMG Success on August 26, 2015

Job Fair/Open House

Thursday, August 27th 2015

9am-4pm

35 E. Front St. Monroe, MI 48161

734-457-0056

www.advancestaffingsolutions.com

Along with the many General Labor, Assembly, & Press Operating positions available in Monroe, Dundee, Carleton, & Temperance, we also have the following open positions:

Extrusion/Machine Operator, All shifts, Monroe $13.65-$14.55/hr
General Laborers, 1^st shift, Carleton, $9/hr
Welders, 1^st shift, Carleton and Dundee, $10-$15/hr
Warehouse/Forklift/Quality, 1^st/2^nd shift, Monroe, $10.60/hr
Machine Operator, 1^st shift, Milan, $10/hr + Overtime
Delivery/Warehouse, 1^st shift, Monroe, $10-$12/hr
Industrial Cleaner, 3^rd shift, Flat Rock, $10/hr
Maintenance, 1^st shift, Temperance, $ Based on experience
Part-Time Bookkeepers, 1^st shift, Milan and Temperance $11-$13/hr
Part-Time Office Clerk, 1^st shift, Monroe, $10/hr
Data Entry/Customer Service, 1^st shift, Carleton, $11-$12/hr

Bring 2 valid forms of ID and a resume, Must be at least 18 years of age, Have a Diploma/GED and Verifiable work experience in the last 12 months.

*Not able to make it to our Open House/Job Fair but would like to be considered for a job opening? No problem! You can either send us your resume at monroejobs@advancestaffingsolutions.com or go to our website and apply online. Recruiters review resumes and applications on a daily basis and will contact you within 48 hours of receiving your information.