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Do You Have a Healthy Employee Recognition Program?

Raza Rauf on May 8, 2013

If you were to take the temperature of your current employee recognition program, would it end up hot or cold? In many workplaces, the addition of employee recognition programs become an afterthought – most often spurred by production challenges and falling retention rates. Yet, an employee recognition program can be a boon to your business for many other reasons.

When well-managed, an employee recognition program can support a workplace that is actively engaged in the betterment of all employees. This leads to higher levels of productivity, innovation, and collaboration. All of these factors help make a business grow strategically with the best employees who are on board for success.

To develop a healthy employee recognition program, here are some steps your company can take right now.

Evaluate the current incentive and recognition program.

Before you tackle the challenge of updating your employee recognition program, take the time to review what has been in place and what is being taken advantage of by employees. This should give you a good basis for developing an improved recognition program.

Conduct a 360 degree survey to find out what drives your employees.

Another way you can develop a healthier employee incentive plan is to ask your employees in a confidential way. Use a 360 degree survey to do this and you’ll be sure to get to the core of the incentives that your employees are looking for. After all, if incentives don’t mean anything to your staff, then they are not worth the time to implement.

Work with a staffing agency to improve your incentive plan.

If cost and time are factors in your hesitation to add more items to your employee recognition program, you can find support from a quality staffing agency. Ask what perks or bonuses can be obtained for contracting a temporary workforce. Ask for more ideas that will work well given your current employee population.

Look for low cost, easy to manage employee recognition ideas.

The best employee recognition programs are easy on the budget and your schedule. Find those that are simple and manageable. Focus on value and consistency rather than on dollar figures. Remember, employees like to be appreciated so make sure your management team is thanking them often in many different ways.

 Learn More from Advance Staffing Solutions: 

What is Your Competitor Doing? | Employee Compensation 

 

8 Interview Questions to Always be Prepared For | Job Search Tips

Raza Rauf on April 26, 2013

When it comes to getting the job, interview preparation is everything. Having a good picture of what the hiring company is about, and being able to confidently answer the questions thrown at you by the recruiter and management team can help you to stand out as the preferred candidate. Yet, how do you prepare to answer questions without sounding too rehearsed? The answer lies in being able to understand the most common interview questions and then developing an answer that sounds natural.

Here are some interview questions you always want to be prepared for as you get geared up for your next interview.

Tell me more about…YOU? This is generally an ice-breaker question that gives the recruiter a “picture” of who you are. Develop a brief elevator pitch that tells your story in 30-seconds or less. Start with where you are from, how you got into the industry, and where you’d like to see yourself in a year.

Why do you want to work here? When asked this, the recruiter is looking for what you know about the company and how this ties into your career goals. You may want to talk about your skill sets and how the company offers challenging assignments that are relating to these skills.

How do you handle difficult situations? Having the ability to manage difficult people and situations is a plus in most hiring managers’ eyes. Give a clear example of a past challenge that you were able to solve as an indication of the problem solving skills.

Why did you leave (or want to leave) your last job? This can be a somewhat uncomfortable question, but the key is to be honest…with tact. If you were let go, simply indicate that the company did not offer you the career opportunities you had expected.

What are your strengths/weaknesses? This is a common question that many recruiters lean on. Just give some relevant examples of your top three strengths and one weakness. Play up your strengths.

What would your previous employers say about you? When a potential employer asks this question, they may be either cross-tracking employment verification or hoping you’ll provide more information so they can skip this step. Acknowledge the question and then provide some reference letters to review.

Can you give me the salary you are looking for? While awkward, this question needs a good answer. Determine general salary ranges for the assignment you are applying for by visiting Payscale.com and O*Net to look them up in advance, then give a salary range instead of a specific number.

Why should we hire you? If you’ve gotten to the final round of interview questions, or have been invited back for more interviews, you’ll be asked this very bold question at some point. Be sure to focus on your background, your strengths, and your skills as they relate to the assignment and the company objectives to “sell” yourself to the hiring manager.

For support with your career search, consider the benefits of registering with a proactive staffing agency like Advance Temporary Staffing Solutions. You can get access to a wide range of temporary and contract assignments, and you’ll get plenty of interviewing practice too.

 

Taking a Closer Look at Employee Performance Management

Raza Rauf on April 19, 2013

Employee performance management systems have long been considered a foundation for successful human resource management in the business world. Yet, some critics argue that performance metrics are not always the most accurate way to measure human capital ROI.

An interesting study, conducted in the summer of 2012 by Ed Lawler, George Benson, and Michael McDermott at the University of Southern California – Center for Effective Organizations, pointed out that, “Performance management systems are effective when they are based on goals that are jointly set and are driven by an organization’s business strategy.” The study revealed that as few as 10 percent of the 100 organizations surveyed for this study had updated their performance management systems in the last five to ten years. That means, there was a clear breakdown between the performance of their employees and the ways in which they are evaluated. In fact, some of the performance measurements were so outdated and inaccurate, they could not be relied upon to give a true picture of success.

Performance management is only as good as the way in which it delivers results in the increased engagement and productivity of employees. When employees are carefully recruited during the selection and interview process, they will be one step closer to being able to productively contribute to the organization. Likewise, when these new hires are trained well and provided with all the tools they need to succeed, they can perform up to organizational expectations. Herein lies the real issue.

Over-reliance on any performance management system will not motivate or inspire any employee. In fact, it will likely have the exact opposite effect. Negative feedback can seem like a stab in the back to employees who work hard and sacrifice personal time every day. Performance systems that are overly generic lack meaning to employees. Perhaps the worst case scenario is a performance management system that is not delivered in a consistent or fair manner, but instead is a tool used by managers to avoid rewarding employees who have demonstrated a commitment to the business. Favoritism still exists and it’s damaging to any business.

Despite these challenges, performance review systems are not going away. Rather, they are being viewed as one of many different tools that HR departments can use to measure the success and growth capabilities of their staffers.

If you are looking for top talent to manage your work force or join your team, contact the staffing experts at Advance Staffing Solutions today!

Demand Response Can Lower Cost for Your Manufacturing Facility

Raza Rauf on April 11, 2013

As a manufacturing facility in a struggling economy, you may be finding it challenging to meet expenses on a regular basis. It’s not uncommon with fluctuating costs in materials, shipping and transportation, and even the costs of recruiting manufacturing personnel. Yet, there is a way you can bring in extra revenues this year. Joining a demand response program can improve your cash flow, lower your facility costs, and help to maintain a thriving manufacturing business. Here’s how.

A demand response program is one that asks manufacturing companies to reduce their electricity use during certain peak times, in an effort to protect the electricity grid. To be compensated as a manufacturing company, it’s required to reduce electricity usage in return for financial compensation. This can be significant, considering that a large manufacturer may receive a grant payment of as much as $50,000 during a single demand response event, simply by cutting power usage by 1,500 KW.

On the back-end  the company will also save money by reducing electricity utility bills. For the average manufacturing plant, this can be in the thousands of dollars. This is money that can be invested in other aspects of running a business, such as staff training, equipment upgrades, and building maintenance. The rewards and incentives of demand response program participants are many, including the ability to be a leading sustainable company in the manufacturing industry.

Additionally, it’s possible to reduce damage and wear to costly manufacturing equipment during power grid down-times  During unexpected power surges and voltage fluctuations, these electrical pulses can cause damage to equipment and even internal computing systems. However, as a participant in the demand response program, your company will instead be alerted to potential brownouts and surges in the power grid, giving you the ability to shut down beforehand.

Be prepared to participate in a demand response program by understanding that your facility will have to be wait listed for a time before acceptance, and you must be flexible in order to meet each program. This means also having access to temporary contract workers who can manage second and third-shift working hours, when your manufacturing plant will be encouraged to be at full operation. However, the rewards for participating in a demand response effort can far outweigh the requirements.

Get more information about Emergency Direct Response programs in Ohio and Michigan !

 

Attract the Best Talent to Your Business with a Defined Brand

Raza Rauf on April 4, 2013

Your business thrives because of the good people you employ. But have you given much thought to how your company brand may be affecting the experience of candidates who walk through your doors? This is something you must plan for because of several factors taking place in the job market.

  1. Specialized skill sets are getting harder to find in the candidate pool.
  2. Baby boomers are retiring at the rate of 10,000 employees per day.
  3. Industries need talent with advanced technology skills to maintain innovation.

A brand is the message that you communicate to the rest of the world about your business, what it stands for, and the culture of the workplace. Do this right and your business can attract top performance candidate. Do this wrong, and you’ll encounter an overflow of unqualified candidates.

In a special report released in the third-quarter of 2012, LinkedIn ‘s The State of Employer Brand indicated that many employers are concerned with their employer brand as a way to attract better talent. The figures in this report, gathered from over 3,000 global employers, revealed a recruitment brand strategy.

  • 83 percent of the polled employers said that a well-defined corporate brand can attract higher quality candidates.
  • The leading factor in the decision to invest in corporate branding is efficient candidate acquisition 61 percent of the time.
  • More than half of all employers in the report are actively taking steps now to improve their corporate brand strategy to attract candidates.

There are several ways to define your brand so that it becomes an effective candidate magnet. These social branding methods can give you access to the cream of the crop in terms of future employees, which can give your business a leading edge in your industry.

Create consistency with your brand – Your brand should be the same across all outreach methods and online marketing campaigns. Keeping a brand message consistent proves that you are in touch with candidates and the objectives of your company.

Establish your brand as the best – A well-defined brand also speaks volumes about your company leadership as the experts in your industry. Make sure all corporate communications reflect this to impress high performance candidates.

Demonstrate your corporate culture – One of the ways your brand influences targeted talent pools is by giving a glimpse into what daily life is like within your business. This is especially important as new generations of workers are looking for fun and collaborative workplaces to build a career.

The Candidate Experience – Why It’s Important | Recruiting Best Practices

Raza Rauf on March 29, 2013

Now that the marketplace is seeing some signs of life and businesses are hiring once again, it’s important for business owners to position themselves in a manner that appeals to the top quality candidates. Your business may still receive hundreds of applications and resumes for available positions.

However, if you’re after employees that represent the cream of the crop, understand that these top candidates are in a better position to be more selective in their job search activities. You’re going to have to impress them with the entire candidate experience if you want to successfully recruit them to work for you.

These are just a few of the reasons the candidate experience is so important for the sake of recruitment today.

Business is Happening and Businesses are Hiring as a Result

For the first time in nearly a decade, we’re seeing real growth in the job market. Companies are finally hiring again. That means that your competitors are probably competing for the top talent in the same limited pool of qualified workers.

While candidates today may be willing to work for less pay and even fewer perks than yesterday, they are still focused on finding positions that offer a good work environment. Their experiences as candidates provide them with a quick glimpse into what life will be like as an employee with your company compared to all the other companies out there that are hiring as well.

It’s Easier to Encourage Your Employees to Recommend Talented Friends

Employee references are one of the best ways to bring bright, talented people on board. Chances are your employees aren’t going to recommend people who aren’t going to pull their load and do their fair share of the work. More importantly, as your employees, they have a vested interest in the success of your business. They’re going to recommend people who will help make your company as successful as possible. However, they’ll only recommend their friends to come work for you if they are confident that you’re going to provide a welcoming candidate experience for them.

First Impressions Only Happen Once

There’s a lot of truth to the saying that “you only get one chance to make a first impression”. Those are words to live by when it comes to your impression on candidates as much as it is true about any given candidate’s first impression on you.

You can provide a seamless process for candidates to apply for positions within your organization, letting them know you run your company like a well-oiled machine. Or, you can create a process with many fits and starts along with no clear-cut directions concerning what comes next. These are all things that reflect poorly upon your business. Take care that you’re providing the first impression you intend to with job candidates.

You don’t have to go out of your way to change the way you operate business in order to improve your opportunities to make a favorable first impression. However, if you take a little time to show job candidates that you’ve put a fair amount of thought into the application and selection process it will prove to be a much better overall system for you both. This will honor the candidate experience.

Enjoy our related post on the topic of recruitment for success.

What is Your Competitor Doing? | Employee Compensation

What is Your Competitor Doing? | Employee Compensation

Raza Rauf on March 22, 2013

When it comes to boosting employee compensation, it’s a good idea for businesses today to be very aware of what the competition is offering their employees. The labor market is growing tighter by the hour and if you want to stay ahead of the competition, you need to be bringing top talent into your fold without concerns over losing them to your competitors who have sweeter compensation packages.

The rub in all this is that most businesses today still aren’t ahead of the recession enough to have endless reserves of money and benefits to throw at candidates. More importantly, uncertainty over taxes and health care coverage has many businesses reluctant to overextend themselves by offering too much in the way of compensation and benefits.

So, where does that leave you as a business owner? The bottom line is that you need to find out what your competitor is offering so that you can remain competitive without getting into an outright wage war that only damages both businesses. But, how can you learn this information?

Consider Third-Party Salary Survey Resources

These resources offer a wide range of options to research when checking out your competition. What you’re looking for, in this particular situation, relates completely to the compensation your competition is offering employees in the way of pay and incentives. Don’t forget, however, to factor in other considerations that can impact the salary, job satisfaction, and total compensation such as these:

  • Job Description – in some cases this is the game changer that takes someone from a five-figure to a six-figure salary without a fancy title to go along with it. Companies use tactics such as this all the time in order to tilt the compensation scale wildly in their favor. That’s why it’s so important that you’re making apples to apples comparisons when comparing jobs and salaries.
  • Commitment Expectations – some companies prefer so many hours of work each week at a minimum. These expectations are factored into salary offerings rather than offering overtime pay and keeping records of the hours worked. This practice is something else that can make the compensation packages of competitors seem so much more than what they really are.
  • Localized Salary Figures – some companies include salaries from around the world in their facts and figures as well. While that may work in your favor if your office is located in one of the traditionally higher paying regions (California, Hawaii, or New York City, for example) this could actually work in your favor. However, for most of the country, the averages make the companies look like they’re offering larger salaries and/or compensation packages.

Employee compensation is so much bigger than salary alone. It’s always in your best interest to avoid trying to create a dollar for dollar match of other company’s compensation plans. Keep in mind that there are too many additional ways your business can be the superior company to work for. For more information about employee compensation planning and providing the best to your staff, be sure to review our previous posts on this topic here.

Attract Candidates with Socially Responsible Company Policies

What Workers Want from their Bosses this Summer

Effective vs. Ineffective Methods – How to Approach Your Job Search

Raza Rauf on March 15, 2013

At the beginning of the Great Recession, when the tides turned for the job market, suddenly there were more candidates for jobs than there were jobs available. The small business market got hit the worst. For the first time in a very long time, it became a buyer’s market.

Despite improvements and signs of recovery on the horizon this year, it seems the changes of yesterday have forever changed the way hiring is conducted. That is why it’s so important to avoid using outdated and ineffective methods and tools to assist in your job search.

As a job seeker, here are the most effective and ineffective ways to conduct a job search, to help you make the most of your efforts to land a great job.

Sending Resumes

  • Ineffective Method: Sending out a single, stock resume to all jobs you apply for. While it is the simplest solution when there are so many jobs available, it’s not the most effective use of your five-second resume “pitch” to get the attention of potential employers.
  • Effective Method: Instead of sending out a standard, one-size-fits-all resume to companies interested in hiring you, consider making a few changes that personalize and customize the resume before sending it each time. It doesn’t take a major investment of time and it can provide a great return on investment for your job search efforts.

Applying for Jobs

  • Ineffective Method: The simple way to apply for jobs, with most businesses, is through mass job boards or company websites. The bad news for job seekers is that this puts them competing with the other thousands of candidates in need of a job who have seen, and responded to, the same advertisements.
  • Effective Method: Invest a little time to find out who the hiring manager for the company happens to be and send a personalized resume complete with cover letter to that person. It shows ingenuity on your part and ensures the right eyes find your resume so that it isn’t lost in the shuffle of so many others. Contact local staffing agencies and get support with finding assignments in the organizations you want to work with. Connect with hiring companies using social networks.

If these methods are so ineffective, why is it that people are still using them by the thousands? The answer comes down to a few primary factors.

1) Not so blissful ignorance – Until recently, this is the way people were taught in business school, and beyond, to conduct job searches. The problem is that these methods were perfected in a different world when it comes to businesses hiring employees.

2)  The path of least resistance – Most people today will opt for the simple solution every time – even if they know it’s not the right one. In their minds, they are at least accomplishing something in an effort to find employment.

3)  They haven’t evolved to the new job search reality – some people are simply old school with their job search. They haven’t faced facts and really come to terms with the fact that the job search process has changed forever.

Keep these things in mind as you conduct your job search and you should have few problems securing the job you want.

For access to a wide range of temporary and contract employment opportunities in the Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan areas, be sure to visit Advance Staffing Solutions’ career portal today.

Job Fair!

Raza Rauf on March 14, 2013

Advance Staffing Solutions has 50+  immediate openings in Lucas and Wood Counties for experienced Production Associates.

Our job fair will be held March 18 & 19 from 8am-1pm at 5800 Monroe St., Bldg F, in Sylvania.  Please bring 2 forms of ID.

419-882-7646

Social Tools to Improve Employee Onboarding

Raza Rauf on March 7, 2013

The first few days and weeks at a new job are critical for each new hire. This experience can leave a lasting one that either gives the employee the encouragement to be productive or the disappointment to become just another cog in the wheel. The Aberdeen Group released the Onboarding Benchmark Report which advised that 90 percent of all employees make their decision to either stay or leave a job during their first 6 months of employment. That means, the onboarding experience is your first chance to impress employees enough to stick around.

How well you manage your new hire onboarding processes depends on the methods and resources your HR team uses. Automating these processes can be helpful, especially if you are recruiting on an ongoing basis. Since so much of the onboarding experience is tied to the social culture of the workplace, one of the many possible ways you can create a positive employee onboarding experience is through the use of social tools. Let’s learn more.

Making the Workplace More Social

There are several ways that the HR and recruitment team can provide an environment where social connectivity tools are encouraged. First, the recruiter can reach out to potential candidates by way of social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, which helps the candidate to feel a connection to someone at the company. This same person can facilitate any applications, telephone screening, and on-site visits where this becomes the personal point of contact for a future employee.

Once a candidate has accepted a position, there’s likely to be several weeks while they are getting adjusted to living in a new city or learning about the culture before their first day. The recruiter can provide access to a wide range of resources using social tools. Consider that the new hire will appreciate being introduced to others on the team, having information about the local community, and advice on the best places to shop, dine out, and even social hotspots to make this a smoother transition.

On the employee’s first day, make this as social of an experience as possible. Introduce the new hire to key personnel and give them access to the resources they’ll need to be successful. This can include being set up on the company’s intranet and email systems, as well as corporate instant messaging. Have the new hire’s team mates send invitations to connect on the IM platform, and take the new hire out to lunch using a social app to send out a reminder.

New hires are generally eager to get started on their tasks, yet they are nervous about this prospect. Ease their mind with frequent social synching using company email, in person meetings, and access to an internal help community. In fact, you should encourage all employees to share resources and tips for doing the job more effectively using a secure community environment, where employees can set up personal profiles and connect.

Managing New Hire Tasks with Social Tools

As for the paperwork and training that goes along with onboarding, social tools can be a great way to streamline things. Set up a web-based document system that allows employees to complete and upload their new hire paperwork. Use this same portal as a central resource with a downloadable employee handbook, access to benefit enrollment, training materials, and general company information.

You’ll find that using social tools can be a very helpful aspect of managing all your employee onboarding activities. Choose the resources that provide the most value to your company and your new staff.

Enjoy a previous post on this topic from the team at Advance Staffing Solutions:

It is Time to Fully Embrace Social Media for Your Business | This is no Time to be Shy

Big Data Intelligence to Help Your Business

Raza Rauf on February 28, 2013

The IT sector is all a-buzz about big data. Even so, many businesses are finding it hard to actually use big data analytics in their organizations. There is no doubt executives want to beef up data management, as many worry it will lead to problems such as lost revenue. Many are interested in putting new strategies in place to minimize this risk.

Who Needs Big Data Intelligence?

Big data is something that is attracting the attention of many, including those in the areas of finance, sales, marketing, operations management, and within compliance roles. Within these areas, executives hope to use this data to:

  • Help to drive down overall costs
  • Improve the company’s cash flow
  • Improve revenues
  • Drive sales
  • Reduce the risk of compliance errors.

While many executives want this information, many use methods that are prone to errors to managing data. That’s just not cutting it.

What’s Coming and Why Does It Matter?

Many experts believe that a meshing of business intelligence and big data analytics is one the way. Many IT leaders are working to tap into these large data fields and use this information to benefit themselves.

Some experts looked at the similarities found in business intelligence (which is also known as applicant-drive intelligence) and in data-driven intelligence (more commonly known as big data.) What they found is that there is a wide range of similarities already in play. In application-driven intelligence, the data fills a very specific type of need. An example of this is in supply-chain management. It also applies to online transaction processing or to customer relationship management.

In data-drive intelligence, the software aids in the management and the analyzing of huge amounts of already collected and processed data. This difference, in the data used, does not limit the overall importance of using this data properly. Bringing the two forms of data together could mean big things for any business.

A third option is already on the table. Some news sources are using what is known as data-centric data. This type of data is a hybrid of the two. In this method, it is possible for business decisions and IT decisions to be made with a combination of capabilities, including big data analytics and business intelligence. In this manner, it is possible to determine which solution offers a better fit for the business based on the current functions.

In short, businesses need to consider what big data means to their needs and then implement the best methods for utilizing information to achieve business goals. Doing so could mean reducing risks and increasing profits across the board. That is something that all business leaders are working towards implementing.

 Enjoy a related post from Advance Staffing Solutions:

Why Your Manufacturing Company Should have a Blog

It is Time to Fully Embrace Social Media for Your Business | This is no Time to be Shy

Raza Rauf on February 21, 2013

Social media isn’t going anywhere. There are a lot of small businesses out there that have been hoping social networking is just a passing fad that will eventually go away. That isn’t happening however. Business owners who don’t rush to embrace social media run the risk of being left behind by those who have invested in this course for their businesses.

Why is Social Media a Business Must?

If you’ve waited this long to join in, there’s probably a small part of you that thinks it can’t be all that important. For some people, their understanding of social media is that it is nothing more than playing games on Facebook or some giant online chat room where former high school friends and “frenemies” get together to compare notes twenty years later. There are a lot of myths out there about using social media in the business world.

The truth of the situation, however, is that social media represents so much more than chatty encounters and unwelcomed distractions for employees. It’s a tool for building relationships with your customers that goes far beyond anything that’s ever been available to business owners before. It’s a means of giving your customers access to you as the business owner so their voices can be heard. More importantly, it gives your customers access to you so that they can feel as though their opinions, questions, concerns, and even complaints matter to you.

Why Doing Nothing Doesn’t Work

Doing nothing has been the “go to” choice for many businesses in the past. It has worked – to some degree. Now, however, customers expect businesses to offer a social connection of some sort. If you’re not actively participating in some form of social media that’s widely accessible to your customers, then you’re likely to lose some of your customers to businesses that are available to them via social media.

It’s also becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to build a significant web presence without the boost social media provides. The bottom line is that your business can’t afford to skip social media. It’s too important for your success.

How to Make Social Media Work for You

Of course, walking blindly into the world of social media could completely backfire on you. That’s why you need to set goals for the social media outcome you’re interested in achieving. Then you need to come up with a substantial plan designed to help you achieve those goals. These are a few things you can do that will utilize social media in a meaningful and positive way for the sake of your business:

1)   Raise awareness about causes, campaigns, products, and services.

2)   Start conversations about important issues and upcoming events.

3)   Ask customers what solutions they’d like to see from your business.

4)   Point out worthy causes and influential people in your industry.

Perhaps the most important reason for you to take the reins and control the social media conversation about your business is that if you don’t control the conversation, your competitors will. No business today can afford to let its competition control its social media presence.

 Enjoy a previous post from Advance Staffing Solutions on this topic here:

Attract Candidates with Socially Responsible Company Policies

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