 Not all job candidates are equal, and not all employees are equal. If that was the case, then you’d only hire superstar workers and your profits would be astronomical every year. While that sounds nice, that’s not reality.
For the purposes of this blog post, we’re going to examine the retention end of the personnel spectrum. Below are three ways to increase retention of your best employees: #1—Hire the right people and challenge them. This may sound flippant, but it’s 100% true. In many cases, poor retention on the back end is simply the end result of poor hiring on the front end. Legendary NFL football coach Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers was never one for giving big motivational speeches. He was once asked about that. His response: “If I have to motivate you, I’ll fire you.” Noll hired players who were already motivated to achieve great things. When you hire employees who are motivated to also achieve great things, then your biggest problem will NOT be motivating them. Your biggest problem will be properly challenging them. #2—Be flexible when it comes to their time. Some companies use rigid and inflexible work schedules in their attempts to ensure that work gets done, projects get completed, and goals are met. The best employees don’t need rigid and inflexible work schedules to ensure they do these things. They are already motivated to do them (see #1). What they need is the exact opposite: some flexibility in their schedules. Why is that? Because when you offer that flexibility, you are also showing that you trust them to meet their deadlines. Once they recognize that trust, they’ll be even more motivated to excel for the company. #3—Instill them with confidence. Instill them with confidence in themselves? They already have confidence. That’s why they’re top employees in the first place. No, your job is to instill them with confidence in the organization and its leaders. These employees want to feel as though the company knows where it’s going and how it’s going to get there, and they want to know where they fit into the plan. That means not only casting an exciting and enticing vision for the future, but also giving employees the assurance that the vision will be realized. Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the United States and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service and quality based entirely upon ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact Time Staffing today to find out more about our placement services for employers! Hiring the best job candidates available in the marketplace and turning them into productive, valuable workers is not easy. If it were easy, every company would be able to do it.
However, the things that attract the best workers differ from the things that attract other job candidates. The problem for many organizations is that they believe the same approach will work for both groups. That simply is not the case. Instead, a more targeted, more focused approach is necessary. Below are five steps for standing out to top job candidates: #1—Make sure everybody is on the same page. Standing out in the marketplace doesn’t just “happen.” It takes a concerted effort by multiple members of your organization and an investment of time and energy that will produce a return in the form of better candidates, more quality hires, and improved rates of retention. #2—Determine your employment brand. Quite simply, your brand is who you are as an organization, your identity, and the things you stand for and represent. These could also be described as your company’s core values. Whatever you call them, these things must be clearly identified and articulated by everyone involved in the hiring process. #3—Communicate your employment brand. There are numerous ways to do this, including on your company’s website and through social media. Find your most engaged employees and set them up as brand champions, allowing them to tell their personal stories. The most effective way to communicate your brand is through the stories of your champions. #4—Make the hiring process a great experience. You can talk about how fantastic you are all you want, but it’s more important to show candidates how fantastic you are, and the hiring process is a prime opportunity to do that. Remember, you’ve piqued their interest with your employment brand and compelling stories about your brand and culture. Don’t lose them now. #5—Emphasize the value that you offer. It’s all about value. Does your organization provide a flexible work schedule? Talk about it. Does it provide opportunities for continuous training and skills development? Mention that, too. Do employees have the chance to climb the career advancement ladder at the company? Make sure top candidates know all about it. At this level, anything could serve to tip the balance in your favor. Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the United States and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service and quality based entirely upon ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact Time Staffing today to find out more about our placement services for employers! Pretty much everything in the professional world—heck, in the world at large—comes down to value. People hold in high value those things and those people that are valuable.
The same holds true in your job. You hold a certain amount of value as an employee. Perhaps you’re reaching your potential, and your value is relatively high. Perhaps your value is high, but you’re not reaching your potential. On the other side of the spectrum, perhaps your value is lower than you would like (and it’s lower than your boss would like, as well). Regardless of your current situation, there are things that you can do to change it, i.e., make it better. Below are six ways to increase your value as an employee: #1—Do NOT feel entitled . . . to anything. Okay, let’s get this one out of the way. This has nothing to do with the Millennial Generation. This generation has not “cornered the market” on entitlement. Unfortunately, people of every age can fall prey to this professional malady. A culture of entitlement very rarely breeds innovation, and the ability to be innovative is key to increasing your value (see #4). #2—Work hard. You might have heard the phrase, “Work smarter, not harder.” While that sounds nice, it doesn’t actually get you anywhere. The phrase should be, “Work smarter and harder.” There is NO substitute for hard work, period. You must be willing to roll up your sleeves (sleeves optional) and do whatever is necessary to achieve the desired results (see #4 again). #3—Under-promise and over-deliver. You’ve probably heard this phrase before, too, but don’t think of it as “sandbagging.” It’s simply the practice of only promising what you know for sure that you can deliver. This makes you a person of your word, which makes you trustworthy and increases your value. And when you consistently meet your promises or over-deliver on them? That increases your value even more. #4—Focus on solutions and results. Value is tied directly to results. Employers want results, and they want employees who are intelligent enough and innovative enough to achieve those results, regardless of the obstacles involved. They don’t want excuses. They don’t want reasons why something didn’t work or a deadline wasn’t met or a goal wasn’t reached. Providing results (and of course, over-promising on those results) increases value. #5—Become an expert. You could become an expert about a piece of software or about a process. The important thing is to become the “go-to person” regarding this particular area. When somebody has a question about it, they should know to go to you because you almost always have the answer. That is valuable to a company. #6—View adversity as opportunity. This is a mindset, but it’s about more than just being positive in the face of adversity. Being positive by itself doesn’t do much to change the situation. However, those people who can look at a challenging situation, see the opportunities for growth, and then act on those opportunities are the ones who bring tremendous value to any organization. So—how much value do YOU bring as an employee? Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the United States and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service and quality based entirely upon ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out more about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! Unfortunately, summer is just about over. (After all, it is September 1.) As we head into the fall and winter months, perhaps you’re thinking about changing jobs and seeking out new employment opportunities.
If you decide to strike out in search of “greener pastures” at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2022, then you’ll need to stand out from everybody who’s doing the same thing. And that’s exactly what you don’t want to do: the same thing as everybody else. You’ll want to stand out to potential employers, and below are four tips for doing just that: #1—Be proactive. You can’t wait around for employers to post job openings. The best companies should always be on the lookout for great workers, whether they have an opening or not. That’s why you must be proactive in your quest to show your value as a worker and an employee. #3—Utilize ALL of social media. Finding a great new job isn’t just for LinkedIn. If you apply a strategic approach, you can use the other social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) to show employers your unique value. Each of these platforms have different tools and resources, and each should be researched and then implemented for maximum effect. #4—Get creative. In order to stand out, you have to do something that most job seekers do not. That is the very essence of standing out. (If you do what everybody else does, then you’re NOT going to stand out.) Put yourself in the shoes of an employer. What would make you sit up and take notice? 5—Play to your strengths. Remember, you want to illustrate the value that you can bring to a company. So it only makes sense that you’ll use your strengths in the form of skills and abilities when attempting to stand out. Your message should be, “This is how I could bring value to your organization.” And value is what it all boils down to. Companies want candidates who will bring them tremendous value as employees, so you must show that value before you’re hired and use the way in which you show it to stand out and grab their attention. Last year, Time Staffing won ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the United States and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service and quality based entirely upon ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Time Staffing received satisfaction scores of 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 from 75.4% of their placed talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45%. Contact us today to find out more about the employment opportunities that are available in your chosen field! |
