 There’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything—including reference checks. In this current candidates’ market, the demand for high-quality candidates is great and the margin for error is small. As a result, any mistake could result in the loss of a top candidate for your organization’s open position.
So that’s why doing things the right way is so important. Different employers conduct reference checks in different ways. Some don’t conduct any at all. On the other hand, some employers go completely in the other direction. They ask for as many references as possible and attempt to contact them all. While it’s certainly good to vet candidates in your company’s hiring process, time is a precious commodity. So if the ultimate goal is to fill the position with the best candidate possible and reference checking plays a role in reaching that goal, then what are the best practices for checking them? The first step—and perhaps the most important—is that of preparation. You must have a process by which your organization checks references. This will allow you to streamline the process and save time during it. Specifically, you should know the following information:
One of the most important aspects of reference checking is who you call about candidates you’re considering for your organization’s open position. Ideally, you want to speak with the most unbiased people possible. Yes, the candidate submitted certain references because they believe those individuals will say positive things about them. Regardless, obtaining objective information should be a top priority. Below are some of the people you may be speaking with as references:
So what’s the key to obtaining balanced information during your reference checks? Asking the right questions, of course. Below is a list of such questions:
At the end of the conversation, you can also ask if there is anybody else with whom you can speak about the candidate who might provide additional insights. This is a great way to uncover more balanced and less biased information. While this process may seem comprehensive, remember that it should be done in an efficient manner. As mentioned above, time is of the essence during the hiring process. The longer it takes to check references, the longer the process will take overall, and the longer it takes overall, the more likely that candidates will drop out of the process. It just goes to show that not only must employers do things the right way in this current market, but they must also do things the right way quickly. 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! Organizations are always on the lookout for top-performing individuals, candidates who can become new employees and drastically impact the bottom line. However, what about current employees?
Of course, you want to retain your best employees. And once you hire more good employees, you want to retain them, too. But what if you have underperforming employees in your organization? How should you deal with them? First of all, how do you spot such employees? In actuality, that is rather easy:
And this is just a starter list. It’s plenty, though, if you’re looking to identify employees who are underperforming. Now, there are basically two types of underperforming employees: those that an organization removes relatively quickly and those that stick around for a while. You might wonder about the latter scenario. Why would an organization allow an underperforming employee to remain on the payroll for an extended period of time if they’ve been underperforming for nearly the entirety of that time? There is a litany of reasons, including the following:
However, all of these reasons are past considerations. What’s important is the present (and the future). That’s why management must deal with and address underperforming employees, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done in the past. With all of this in mind, below is a three-pronged plan of attack for dealing with underperforming employees: #1—Investigate. It’s always good to gather as much information as you possibly can about the situation. Perhaps the person is enduring a tough personal setback or something else about which you do not know. Sit down with the employee and have a conversation. Ask them if there’s something they need in order to do their job better and if they’re enjoying their work. They might just come right out and tell you what’s wrong. #2—Make suggestions for improvement. Try the collaborative approach. Secure their buy-in regarding the changes that are needed. If possible, put together a plan that both of you can implement and execute. #3—Challenge the employee to improve their performance. This is where you set concrete expectations for the employee, especially if you do assemble a plan together. They need to know what is expected of them. And it should also be inferred that there will be consequences if they do not meet expectations in a timely manner. There could be any number of reasons why employees within your organization are not engaged. If there appears to be many of them, perhaps there is a problem within the organization. It could indicate a troubling trend that needs to be addressed at a deeper level. 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! All manner of strategies and theories are bantered about regarding the best ways in which to hire top talent, as well as the best ways to manage that talent once it’s on your team. However, if you were to boil all of those strategies down, you’d discover that there are two elements at the core of each one. (If they’re successful strategies, that is. There are plenty that are not.)
Those two elements are engaging in effective communication and the setting of clear expectations. Actually, when you think about it, these elements are integral to success in just about any and every endeavor that includes human interaction . . . from the workplace to marriage. The fact that they cross such situational barriers is an indication of the importance that must be placed upon them when hiring and managing the best employees available. Hiring candidates Let’s address the hiring process first, since it’s first in terms of chronological order. We’ll examine both elements as they pertain to the process. #1—Effective communication At the heart of effective communication is the ability to convey exact meaning to the other person. Most miscommunications that occur are the result of not enough information as opposed to the wrong information. That’s why you should attempt to “over communicate.” That usually ensures that you’re communicating just enough. That being said, the candidate should be aware of all aspects related to their participation in the interview process. #2—Clear expectations This refers to what the candidate would be expected to accomplish in the position you’re seeking to fill; in other words, their job description. Explicitly state what will be expected from the individual, on all levels, and make sure that there is no confusion regarding any details. Managing employees Once the candidate becomes an employee, it doesn’t stop there. Failure to continually address both of these key elements can have disastrous consequences. On the flip side of the equation, proper attention to them can help to increase retention rates. #1—Effective communication As you might expect, these elements become even more important once the person is an employee and not just a candidate, because now their performance affects the company’s bottom line. In this case, effective communication is consistent communication. Each employee must be touched on a consistent basis for the purpose of exchanging vital information. This could take the form of a regular meeting schedule, or it might not. #2—Clear expectations Employees who are unsure of what they should be doing, or more importantly, what exactly is expected of them, are the productivity equivalent of a ticking time bomb. Not only should they know beyond a shadow of a doubt what they are expected to do, they should also know why it’s important. This helps to further engage the employee in their job, once again increasing retention. 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!  Employees who have a passion for what they do are practically self-engaging. In other words, they seek out reasons to stay engaged in their job and with the company.
But what about those employees who aren’t quite as passionate, for whatever reason? The fact of the matter is that you can lead them down the road to engagement just by providing opportunities for them to do so. Many times, employees don’t need a reason to become engaged. What they really need is the chance to become engaged. Below are five ways in which you can provide opportunities to do just that. #1—Recognize the accomplishments of employees and celebrate them. Both parts of this initiative are important. By both recognizing and celebrating, you not only increase engagement and retention, you also build a greater sense of camaraderie among the members of your team. #2—Celebrate traditions within the organization. This is another way in which to increase both engagement and camaraderie. This could be an annual awards dinner, or it might be something as simple as a summer picnic or Christmas party. #3—Initiate a mentoring program. Once again, you’re accomplishing two goals at the same time. With this initiative, you’re facilitating a knowledge transfer between employees, in addition to bolstering engagement and retention. #4—Create a cross-training program. Most employees want to sharpen their skill set and increase their abilities. They also want to know that they have room for advancement within the company. This will accomplish both objectives. #5—Involve employees in decisions (whenever possible). Of course, this might not be feasible in all situations. However, by involving them in the decision-making process, they’ll feel more a part of the company. Evaluate your company and the culture that it offers. Are you providing opportunities like the ones listed above? Are there areas in which you should improve or make a more concerted effort? By simply providing opportunities for your employees to become engaged, you might be surprised by how readily and easily they do so—with no further prompting from you. 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 today’s challenging hiring environment, qualified job candidates are sometimes difficult to find and difficult to hire.
Just because you have a candidate in a face-to-face interview situation doesn’t mean that “you hold the cards,” so to speak. They have just as much right to determine you aren’t a fit for them as you have a right to determine they aren’t a fit for you. As we mentioned in a previous blog post, the interview is a two-way street, so make sure you stay on your side of the road. Part of doing that successfully is “painting the proper perception” during the interview. Remember that some candidates are looking for reasons to NOT work for your company, as opposed to looking for reasons to work for it. A misstep on your part can help them make a decision you don’t want them to make. With that in mind, below are three tips for “painting the proper perception” during a face-to-face interview: #1—Avoid exaggerations or generalizations. These can be perceived in an incorrect fashion, and you might not even be aware of it. Speak in specific, definable terms regarding the position, including about responsibilities, expectations, and other parameters. #2—Think of the interview from the candidate’s point of view. How would your questions sound to them? In other words, how would they perceive them? What possible misunderstandings or miscommunications could arise? It would be shortsighted to believe that thinking of these things isn’t your responsibility. #3—Don’t end the interview without gauging their perception. For certain, ask if they have any questions. Then ask about their thoughts at this stage of the process. Be sure there aren’t any misperceptions—about the position, the company, or anything else. One of the goals of a successful interview is to ensure that the candidate’s perception of the position accurately matches the reality of the position. If that goal is not achieved, it increases the chances that the candidate won’t want to work for your company. And in today’s challenging job market, if you have a good candidate who could become a good (or even great) worker, you don’t want to let them get away! 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! At no time, especially in this current market, is the interview process a one-way street.
In other words, at no time should a job candidate’s time be considered less valuable than yours, especially if you’re having difficulty hiring the workers that you want to hire. Remember, the candidate is interviewing the company at the same time that company officials are interviewing the candidate. Below are two tips for ensuring that the interview process is a two-way street: #1—Make a connection. A common mistake is to assume that there’s urgency on the part of the candidate, that they’ll be grateful for whatever time you can give them. That might be true of those candidates who are unemployed. However, there has been a paradigm shift in the marketplace, thanks to “The Great Recession” and other factors. When you interview a good job candidate, you should strive to do more than just accurately assess their skill set and their potential for fitting into the company culture. You should also strive to make a connection with the candidate and build a sort of camaraderie or rapport with them. The reason? The candidate needs a very good reason to work for your organization. #2—Give them a good reason. As mentioned above, job seekers and candidates have the upper hand right now. Many of them have multiple job options and career opportunities. As a result, companies and organizations have some work to do, especially during the interview process. With that in mind, be sure to analyze your interview process. Are you marketing yourself to each person interviewed? Are you giving tours of your facility to those candidates who stand out from the rest? What reasons are you giving to top job candidates to convince them to take advantage of your opportunity? Your answers to these questions might just be the deciding factor in how prepared you are to tackle an employment marketplace filled with challenging conditions for employers that need workers. 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! Effective hiring is an intensive process. It requires a certain amount of time, energy, and effort. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so difficult to do.
After all, many hiring authorities and hiring managers have other responsibilities and duties. They often don’t have the time to devote fully to the acquisition of new employees. As a result, things can “fall through the cracks,” so to speak. And when you’re trying to hire the best job candidates and workers, you can’t afford for that to happen. Below are six important questions to ask about the next person that your company hires: #1—How has the job description changed since the last time we hired for this position? There’s a good chance that the last person in the role altered the job description while they were in it. Without identifying the ways in which they altered it, you run the risk of making a mis-hire. That’s because you’ll hire a candidate who matches the old job description, as opposed to the new and updated one. Consult everyone associated with the position to ascertain how the description should be changed prior to advertising it. #2—What does the ideal job candidate look like in terms of personality and soft skills? Hard skills and experience are just one side of the equation. Personality and soft skills are the other side of it. That’s because more than likely, the candidate will have to interact with other people. This includes co-workers and possibly customers. How well they interact with both groups will help determine their success. #3—What are the specific steps of your hiring process? If you haven’t identified these steps, then you increase the chances that you’ll miss a step or that there will be miscommunication between the people involved. Not only that, but it will also be more difficult to let candidates know where they stand in the process if you don’t know exactly what the steps are. Knowing the process inside and out is mandatory for generating optimal results. #6—Which members of the organization will be part of the hiring process? Knowledge of the people involved in the process is just as important as knowledge of the process itself. Not only should you know who is involved, but you should also know why each person is involved and what their individual roles are. This serves to increase the effectiveness of the communication between team members, which will lead to better decision making regarding which candidate or candidates you ultimately decide to hire. If you’re pressed for time, a staffing agency can help. An experienced staffing firm with a track record of success can help you identify and hire the workers that your organization needs to excel! 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 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 solid job candidates who offer a lot of value, make 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 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. However, 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, candidates are likely to simply close their Internet browser and look elsewhere for possible employment opportunities. When you factor this into the equation, it shrinks the size of your talent pool even more. Now your talent pool consists of only candidates who are actively looking for a new job and who successfully made it to the end of your online application. Does that sound like a talent pool that is both wide and deep? Sadly, it does not. This is why using an experienced staffing agency with a track record of success helps to “cover all the bases” when it comes to hiring. A trusted organization like Time Staffing has not just the experience necessary, but we also have the connections. So contact us to today to find out how we can help your company hire the best workers and employees! 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! Imagine this scenario:
You walk into work on Monday morning. Your boss comes to see you, and he says this: “I want to meet in five minutes to discuss the career goals of every member of your team. Oh, and one more thing. If you don’t know what they are, you’re fired.” What would your reaction be? Turnover is almost impossible to prevent 100% of the time, despite the latest and greatest retention techniques and tools. It’s always tragic when a supervisor loses a key player on their team. However, it’s the reason behind the loss that can turn a tragedy into a catastrophe. Not knowing your employees’ career goals and ambitions and not helping them to achieve those goals and ambitions should absolutely, positively never be a reason that a key member of your team leaves to go to another company (quite possibly your chief competitor). It all comes down to what you can influence and what you can’t. There are some reasons an employee leaves that you have no influence over—say, they move to the other side of the country to care for an elderly parent. But you can and should have a direct influence over how an employee perceives their position with your company as an avenue to reach their goals. This is an effective retention technique, but one that requires you to be pro-active. More than likely, employees aren’t just going to come into your office and start gushing about their long-range career goals. For one, they probably don’t know how you’ll react. It’s your job to “break the ice” and get to the heart of the matter. It’ll be better for both of you in the long run. The old adage that you’ll never know until you ask is certainly true in this instance. And the information you gain by asking is crucial to the retention process. Not only that, the fact that you’re asking your team members about their goals will help to cultivate loyalty with those employees, simply because you’re showing that you value them and their careers and that you’re interested in investing in their future. And the more loyal they are, the less likely they’ll leave. So here’s your assignment: meet with every member of your team individually. Broach the subject of their career and the goals they’ve set for themselves. Brainstorm ways that the company can help them to achieve those goals. Make sure that the employee is fully participating in the process, and make sure that you’re showing enthusiasm. If you’re excited about how the company can help them, then they’ll be excited about how the company can help them. Remember, non-excited employees become former employees. If possible, set a concrete plan of action. For example, perhaps the employee would benefit from additional or different duties, ones that more accurately fit their plans but would still benefit the company. You’re only limited by your imagination, and since the employee is fully vested in the process, ideas should be plentiful. (So long as you create an environment that’s conducive to sharing, that is.) Retaining key employees becomes easier when you identify what they really want, and one thing they want is to know that the company they work for considers them valuable enough to invest in—now and in the future. Don’t let a golden opportunity to increase retention pass you and your company by. Find out as soon as possible what your employees’ plans are—before you find out the hard 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 Time Staffing today to find out more about our placement services for employers! Quick--what are your company’s core values?
How quickly were you able to list them? Were you able to list all of them? Or just some of them? Your answer to the above question is crucial to your company’s ability to attract and retain great workers in today’s market. Money, compensation, challenging work, and opportunities for advancement are all important factors for job candidates when they’re making their final decision, but how much they identify with a company’s core values often seals the deal. Workers are looking for an all-around fit. What they really want is a place where they feel comfortable, a company that fits as well with them as they do with it. There are companies all around the country that are having trouble hiring because the candidates don’t believe they’re a “core values” fit for them. So where do you start? By finding out exactly what your company’s core values are. If you already know because they’re practiced and preached on a regular basis, congratulations. You and your company are ahead of the curve. However, if you’re only partially certain or if you’ve never even heard the words “core values” spoken at your company, it’s time to find out what they are. This might involve some investigation, but it will pay off in the long run. Remember, these are the criteria against which many applicants are measuring you. If a candidate asked during an interview if your company offered health insurance for its employees, “I don’t know” wouldn’t be an acceptable answer. The same principle applies to core values. The second step is to ensure that the company is living out its values at every level of operation. This entails, of course, making sure that everybody in the organization knows exactly what they are and how they’re expected to be carried out. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including through the company newsletter, signs and posters, and even in a “core values” employee booklet. And it’s essential that they’re also listed, in some form, on the company’s website. What it comes down to is this: if you don’t believe in your company’s values, how do you expect a current—or prospective—employee to believe in them? What do you need to do differently? To do more of? Less of? How can you weave the company’s core values into its everyday transactions and activities? Asking these questions and formulating answers to them can dramatically increase your chances of hiring better in today’s challenging job market. 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! |
