 You’re probably well aware that there is a worker shortage in the United States right now. Companies are in need of more employees, and not all of them are able to hire the workers that they want to hire.
One possible result of this is more work for everybody else at the company. And more work can mean more shifts and longer shifts. Perhaps you find yourself in this particular situation at the present time, or you anticipate it happening in the near future. If either of these things are the case, then you must prepare for the reality of working these shifts. That’s why we’re presenting three tips for working longer shifts for your new (or existing) employer: #1—Eat regularly and stay hydrated. When you work a longer shift, you’ll be expending more energy. And when you expend more energy, you become hungrier more quickly. So it’s important to not only bring enough food with you, but also to plan when you’re going to eat your food. The last thing you want to do is skip a meal entirely because you don’t have the time or you didn’t plan adequately. #2—Take breaks to refocus. Specifically, you want to take breaks to refocus your attention and your energy. It’s when you’re unfocused and lethargic that mistakes are made, and in an industrial setting, harmful accidents can happen. More than likely, you’ll have scheduled breaks in your shift, probably multiple breaks. Make sure that you take them and that you use the time wisely. #3—Get enough sleep and recuperate. This should go without saying, but we’re going to say it, anyway. And it involves two things. The first is making sure that you get enough sleep on the night (or day) prior to your shift. The second is making sure that you rest and recuperate on your off days. If you work a long shift or back-to-back shifts, then you’ll probably have multiple days off during the week, as well. Use those days to your full advantage. 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! It’s no secret that companies of all sizes in nearly all industries are looking for employees right now. In fact, organizations in some industries are downright desperate to get them. As a result, successfully identifying and then hiring the right people for your company can be quite challenging in this current environment.
With that in mind, here are five tips for sourcing, engaging, and hiring top-notch employees: #1—Ask for referrals from current employees. If you’re looking for good employees, why not start with referrals from your existing batch of good employees? Many organizations offer referral bonuses to their workers who provide successful referrals. More than likely, if you trust the employee, then you can trust them to provide a referral who will also be a good worker. #2—Write a compelling job description. This is the starting point for attracting and engaging top-notch job seekers and candidates. Right now, there are a lot of companies looking for a lot of workers. That means the market is flooded with job descriptions. The key is to stand out from everybody else. So while you certainly want to include a list of duties and responsibilities in your job description, be sure to put some “sizzle” in there, as well. Give job seekers a reason to want to work for your company, as opposed to your competition. #3—Utilize social media to the fullest extent possible. Not every company uses social media in exactly the same manner. However, it can be an excellent way to not only brand your organization in a positive way, but also to gain exposure for your job openings. Simply put, you want to get your job openings in front of as many qualified people as you possibly can, and social media can be an important channel for doing just that. #4—Communicate consistently throughout the hiring process. This is the next important step in engaging top-notch job seekers and candidates. Once you get them into the hiring process, the last thing you want to do is allow them to drop out. Or worse yet, convince them to drop out because you haven’t communicated with them enough. Job candidates want to know two things. First, where they stand in the process. And second, what the next steps of the process are. Keep them apprised of the situation and they will be more likely to remain engaged. #5—Enlist the services of a reputable and experienced staffing agency. When workers are scarce, using the resources and expertise of an experienced staffing agency can help you in multiple ways. These ways include finding qualified job seekers and candidates and also helping to facilitate the interviewing and hiring process. If you haven’t yet worked with a staffing agency, this is the perfect time to do so! 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! Even though we’re in a tight labor market and job opportunities abound, that is no reason to “rest on your laurels.” If you want to get the best job possible in your field and grow your career the way that you want, then there are certain “soft skills” that can give you an edge over other job seekers and candidates.
Below are five critical skills that can help you get a good job in your field: #1—Communication This is one of the most sought after soft skills in the employment marketplace. Organizations everywhere are in need of employees who can communicate well and do so consistently. Lack of communication and miscommunications cost companies millions of dollars every year (and it may be more than that). Hiring employees who can communicate well is one way to reduce these annual losses. #2—Problem solving For employers, it’s all about solving problems. After all, that’s why they’re hiring people in the first place. They have a problem and they need to solve it. Problem solving is one of the most important skills, as well as one of the best forms of value, that you can offer to an organization looking to hire. Remember: there is an overabundance of problems in the world and a lack of solutions. #3—Initiative The desire to be a “go getter” is as important now as it was 50 years ago. Or 100. The last thing that you want to say to your boss or manager is “That isn’t my job.” Instead, in your never-ending quest to solve more problems—and provide more value to your employer—show initiative in tackling the problems that you do see. Regardless of whether or not they’re part of your official job description. #4—Adaptability (Resiliency) It’s quite possible that this is the skill employers cherish most of all. That’s because just like there are endless problems in the world today, adversity is inevitable. That certainly applies to the world of work and employment. As a result, if you’re able to show resiliency in the face of adversity and “bounce back” from setbacks, then you will offer more value and be more hire-able to companies. #5—Collaboration Not only do organizations want employees who can work well by themselves, but they want employees who can work well with others. If you can apply all four of the skills discussed so far to a group setting and use them to bring about favorable results on a consistent basis, then you’ve set yourself apart from others. And possibly put yourself on the path to a management or leadership position. 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! Hiring the right people is always a big concern for companies and organizations. After all, making a mis-hire can be extremely costly in terms of time, energy, resources, and money.
Hiring is an investment, and you want to earn a return on that investment. The best way to do that is to hire a great job candidate who offers a lot of value, makes numerous contributions to the organization, and ultimately boosts its bottom line is a big way. That’s why the size and the depth of the talent pool from which you draw your job candidates is perhaps the single biggest factor affecting the quality of your hires. As you might imagine, if you want to hire the best job candidate possible for an open position, you must make sure of the following two things:
What’s the difference between the two? In terms of a wide talent pool, that means drawing quality talent from as many different places as you can. This can refer to geographical regions or to sourcing methods. In terms of a deep talent pool, that reflects how many quality candidates you’re able to identify. In other words, you want both a diverse talent pool of quality candidates and you want a high volume of quality candidates. That’s the best possible outcome. Some might call it an unrealistic outcome, but it’s what employers should strive for. It should be their ultimate hiring objective. So this is where a problem enters the picture. If you’re an employer and your only strategy for sourcing job candidates for your open positions is to use online job advertisements, then your talent pool becomes instantly smaller. But wait, there’s more. Do you believe that every single person who starts to fill out an online job application actually finishes the application? Of course not. That’s unrealistic. Many online applications are not easy. They’re cumbersome and time-consuming. They can even be confusing. When that’s the case, job candidates are likely to simply close their Internet browser and look elsewhere for possible employment opportunities. In today’s marketplace, employers must be proactive in their hiring efforts. You might even say that they should be aggressive. Sure, you can use online job advertisements. You can post your jobs on the company website and also post them through the various online job boards. However, this is why using an experienced staffing agency helps to “cover all the bases” when it comes to your hiring. 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! 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! In a previous blog post, we discussed the value of soliciting feedback within your company. One of the reasons we presented for doing so is to improve the retention of your employees, especially your best employees.
(Let’s be honest for a second. You probably don’t shed a tear over every employee who leaves your organization. The truth is that some are more valuable to the company than others.) There is hardly any doubt that you’ve heard the phrase “The Great Resignation,” in the news or otherwise. That’s because a staggering number of people are quitting their jobs in the employment marketplace. There is a myriad of reasons why, the COVID-19 pandemic being one of them, as workers have begun to analyze their lives with a “big-picture perspective.” So what can you, as an employer, do to combat the forces that are currently driving the employment marketplace and resulting in the mass resignation of workers? In addition to soliciting feedback, which we covered previously, below are four keys to improving your company’s retention of its employees (especially its best employees) and avoiding the fallout from “The Great Resignation”: #1—Strive to over-communicate. Why over-communicate? Because when you strive to over-communicate, you usually end up communicating just enough. Unfortunately, with as important as communication is within the professional setting, many people are not as proficient or as skilled as they need to be. #2—Recognize your employees. Most employees simply want to be recognized for the good work that they do. This can just include a kind word, something akin to a “pat on the back.” If you recognize the employee in front of their co-workers, that’s even better. They want to know that what they do for the company is both noticed and appreciated. #3—Provide adequate compensation and benefits. This should go without saying, but we’re going to say it, anyway, since we’re in the midst of the greatest mass resignation event in this nation’s history. Not only is good pay and benefits a strategic way to attract workers, but it’s also an effective way to keep them. #4—Provide opportunities for growth and development. Employees—especially your top employees—want the chance to learn new things and continue to add to their skill set. This is a win-win proposition for your company because not only will providing these opportunities improve retention, but your employees will also put their newfound skills to work for the organization. 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! In recent blog posts, we’ve addressed the topic of being a team player and thinking of putting the customer first in just about everything that you do.
There’s a mindset that’s involved with doing this correctly. That mindset involves being proactive, and part of being proactive includes showing initiative. The problem—or the perceived problem—is that showing initiative translates directly into more work. And as a general rule, people avoid more work. It’s been said that some people are like water. In other words, they “take the path of least resistance.” The problem is that people who “take the path of least resistance” rarely excel at work to the point where they advance in the form of promotions. However, if you want to enjoy more success at your current job and also set yourself up for more career success and satisfaction, then you should consider showing more initiative. To help with this, let’s engage in more visualization. In this instance, think about what it’s like to be your boss or another member of management at your employer. Would they be more likely to recognize and reward somebody who shows initiative often and volunteers when needed to get work done in order to complete projects and meet deadlines . . . or somebody who doesn’t do these things? You probably already know the answer to that question. Something else to keep in mind is that there are two ways to show initiative:
You’ve probably heard somebody say, “That’s not my job” at some time or other during your career. Hopefully, you were not the person who uttered that phrase. If you’ve never said that phrase before, then good. But if you have, realize that it reflects the type of attitude that will help you stand out . . . But not in a good way. 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!. |
