Want to try out a new employee before making a commitment to hire him or her?

If so, temp-to-hire services may be right for your business.  In simple terms, temp-to-hire (also known as try-before-hire) lets you try out a candidate on-the-job before extending an offer for direct employment. 

Instead of being hired as your full-time employee right away, the employee is hired by your staffing service, then assigned to work at your company as a temporary.  During a probationary period usually lasting around 10 weeks, you get to evaluate the temporary employee’s job performance and decide whether he or she should be hired full-time or let go.

Benefits of Temp-to-Hire

• Working interview.  Temp-to-hire allows you to evaluate characteristics that can’t easily be observed through a traditional interview, such as:  ability to follow directions; culture fit; quality of work; work ethic; ability to multi-task or work under pressure.
• Reduced hiring time.  Temp-to-hire candidates have been pre-screened by your staffing partner and qualified to match the needs of your opening.  This reduces your recruiting and interviewing time, so you can focus on your other priorities.
• No obligation to hire.  When you use try-before-hire services, you are not required to hire a candidate the staffing service sends you, even after you interview that candidate.
• Evaluate long-term hiring need.  If you’re hiring to address recent growth or a newly created position, temp-to-hire gives you the time to verify that the position is absolutely necessary – before adding to your permanent headcount.
• Decreased legal exposure.  If a try-before-hire candidate isn’t working out, you can end the assignment at any time.  Because the candidate remains an employee of your staffing service, your legal exposure is minimized.
• No advertising restrictions.  Using temp-to-hire services does not preclude you from advertising the position elsewhere.

Increase Flexibility and Security with ABR Employment Services

Our try-before-hire services provide your organization the flexibility to address market fluctuation.  They also provide the security of testing a worker in the field before making a full-time commitment.  Contact us today to learn more about this staffing service for Wisconsin employers.

You’re in an interview, dressed to impress and feeling totally in control of the situation, when the unthinkable happens – the interviewer asks a question that completely stumps you: 

“If you could have dinner with anyone from history, whom would it be and why?”

“Why is a manhole cover round?”

“Which fictional character would you say best describes you?”

If just reading these questions makes beads of sweat pop out on your forehead, you’re not alone.  In an interview situation, most of us would be stopped in our tracks by off-the-wall questions like these.  But that’s the point:  interviewers ask odd questions intentionally, to see how well job candidates thinks on their feet and respond to stress.

Because unusual interview questions can be about virutally any topic, they’re nearly impossible to prepare for.  Still, here are a few quick tips to help you handle them more effectively:

• Keep your composure.  The question was meant to throw you off your game – so don’t let it rattle you.  Keep your face neutral and recognize that this is the wacky question you’ve been anticipating.
• Take your time.  Smile, take a deep breath and avoid the temptation to blurt out an answer.  Don’t panic – if you have to take a moment to gather your thoughts, it merely demonstrates that you think carefully through a situation before responding.
• Relax.  When it comes to unusual interview questions, your answer is not as important as how you handle the situation.  In fact, most don’t have right or wrong answers.  So take the pressure off yourself.  You don’t have to be brilliant, you just need to answer honestly.

If you’d like some practice answering off-the-wall questions, consider the following popular ones:

• If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be?
• If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?
• If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
• If you were a _________ (insert:  car, animal, salad dressing – you get the picture), what kind would you be and why?
• If you won $50 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
• How would you rate me as an interviewer?

Be Prepared for Your Next Interview

Register with ABR Employment Services today.  Our team of staffing professionals will listen to your needs, match you with a perfect direct placement opportunity, and then prepare you to ace the interview.

But if your company uses large numbers of temporary employees, it’s easy for your direct staff to fall into an “Us vs. Them” mentality.  And although treating temporary workers as an entirely separate workforce may seem innocuous, the practice can have unintended consequences for your direct employees – and your company as a whole. 

For example, research from the University of Arizona has found that direct employees (particularly at lower levels) are less satisfied with co-workers and bosses when working with a higher proportion of temporary employees.  Why?  The responsibility of training and socializing temporary workers on company-specific processes is often assigned to direct employees.  As a result, having more temporaries can complicate full-time workers’ jobs.

Here are a few suggestions for improving the working relationship between temporary and direct employees to achieve even better staffing results:

• Make temporary employees feel included.  While temporaries are, in fact, a separate part of your workforce (and must be treated differently because of co-employment laws), you and your staff can still make them feel welcome in your organization.  By encouraging social interaction (e.g., formal or informal introductions) among all workers, you can foster social ties that are essential to a cohesive workforce.
• Educate your direct staff.  Take the time to clearly explain the role and value of temporary workers.  The better your direct employees understand the benefits temporary employees provide, the more likely they’ll be to work productively with them.
• Take advantage of training.  If you use large numbers of temporaries, many staffing services will develop customized orientation and training programs for specific positions.  This shifts the time-consuming burden of getting new temporary employees up-to-speed off your direct employees’ shoulders.
• Consider strategic staffing options.  If your direct staff is burdened with the administration, training and management of temporary employees, consider implementing a strategic staffing option.  From primary partner staffing to VOP to planned staffing services, these solutions can optimize the relationship between your direct and temporary employees - saving you time and money while improving worker performance.

Bottom line, there are a number of steps you can take to keep relations between temporary and direct employees positive.  And the more positive their working relationship, the better your results will be.  Contact ABR Employment Services today to learn more about our strategic staffing solutions for Wisconsin employers.

With the barrage of data pouring in from newspapers, TV, the internet, social media, RSS feeds, e-mails, voicemails and good-old-fashioned face-to-face meetings, finding the critical information you need amidst all the “white noise” can be exhausting.

Take the BLS Monthly Employment Situation, for example.  It contains monthly employment estimates for over 1,000 industries from its Current Employment Statistics program.  However, the changes in these overall employment levels tend to be delayed in the monthly labor reports – making it a lagging indicator of economic trends.

Sound like a lot of white noise?

Not entirely.  Temporary help employment numbers, which are part of the monthly BLS report, are generally considered to be a coincident indicator for overall employment.  This means that changes in temporary help employment tend to forecast subsequent changes in overall employment and coincide with changes in economic activity.  Why?  Many companies use temporary staffing as a means to quickly adjust their operations to meet fluctuating demands for their products and services.

Here’s how to get current data for temporary help services in the BLS report:

1. Go to the BLS Current Employment Statistics home page.
2. Then select either the HTML or PDF version of the “Employment Situation Summary.”
3. Data for temporary help services can be found in Table B-1 (page 30 of the report’s PDF version).

 Effectively manage the economy’s highs and lows with ABR Employment Services.

Our full spectrum of staffing services for Wisconsin employers can help you run lean – while providing on-demand access to the talent you need to meet surges in demand.

Continuous improvement should be a goal of any business relationship – your relationship with your staffing provider is no exception.  Help your staffing firm deliver better results by providing them with frequent, measurable feedback.  By letting them know what they’re doing right, as well as how they can improve, you can make your staffing function even more efficient and cost-effective.

Ask internal staff who supervise temporary employees to periodically fill out a simple report card for your staffing service.  It can evaluate quality of fills, ease of working with the staffing specialist, timeliness of service, etc.  Then, share the feedback with your staffing provider.  They will use the information to identify opportunities for improvement, to further customize the service they deliver, and to make your job as easy as possible.

Here are a few sample questions to consider:

The Staffing Firm

1. How well does the staffing firm demonstrate an understanding of your business?
2. How well does the staffing firm meet your expectations?
3. How would you rate the staffing firm’s service, as compared to other services you’ve used?
4. How would you rate your staffing service representative?

The Employees

1. How well do the employees fit the assignments?
2. How would you rate the employees’ attitudes toward their work?
3. How punctual are the employees?
4. How prepared are the employees (i.e., how quickly do they get to work)?

How well are we doing?

At ABR Employment Services, we pride ourselves on the quality of both our service and our employees.  We want to know what we’re doing right and where we can improve.  Please contact us with your feedback, so we can deliver even better results for your organization.

But even when you can’t offer a job applicant the position, you can still end the interview process on a positive note.  Here are some quick tips for writing candidate rejection letters in a constructive way, to build good will with candidates and position your company as an employer of choice:

• Send out the rejection letter promptly.  If you’re certain you will not be hiring the individual, let him know that he was not selected as soon as possible.  Even when the news is bad, your timely follow-up will convey a high level of professionalism.
• Always use formal company letterhead for a rejection letter and never handwrite it.
• Address your candidate by name.  Further customize the letter with the position for which he applied, as well as a supportive comment about the applicant’s qualifications, experience or enthusiasm.  Although a rejection letter is basically a form letter, your candidate shouldn’t feel as though it is.
• Be direct, but gracious.  Make it clear that there were other candidates more qualified for the job, but do so in a respectful way.
• When appropriate, encourage further action.  If the candidate is a good culture fit, and may be qualified for other openings with your company, say so.  Encourage him to stay in touch and apply again.
• Always end on a positive note.  Thank the candidate for applying and interviewing.  Wish him good luck in his career development.  Remember, this may be the final impression this individual has of your company – make sure it’s a favorable one.
• Close the letter formally with “Sincerely,” or “Best wishes,” and sign your name.

Don’t want to write rejection letters? 

Call ABR Employment Services, a leading Wisconsin staffing firm, with your direct placement needs.  We’ll handle every step of the process – from recruiting to testing and initial interviews - and only present you with the most qualified candidates.  If you decide not to hire an individual we refer, just let us know and we’ll take care of the rest.

• Even if you’re currently employed, you never know when an attractive job opening may present itself.  A current résumé can help you capitalize on an unexpected opportunity – before someone else has the chance.
• Over time, your important achievements and contributions may be forgotten.  Regular updating ensures that critical, measurable accomplishments are accurately recorded.
• In many cases, your résumé creates a first and lasting impression on a potential employer.  Make sure it’s a good one.  By periodically reviewing and honing your résumé, you can create a more powerful marketing tool that accurately and favorably represents you as a professional.

Use these tips to make your résumé update simple and comprehensive:

1. Review personal information (address, e-mail, LinkedIn URL, etc.) to ensure everything is up-to-date.
2. Review your oldest job.  If it’s no longer relevant, and you have at least 10 years of documented work history without it, remove it.
3. Update your responsibilities and accomplishments.  Consider the following:  special projects; new expertise developed or job responsibilities awarded; knowledge or skills enhancement from special training or professional development; awards or other recognition; challenges you faced and solutions developed; measurable results you helped achieved (e.g., eliminating process inefficiencies, increasing productivity or sales, improving staffing or operational performance, etc.).
4. Revist your objective statement.  If it is not in line with your current career aspirations, rewrite it.  The statement can be general, but should show some direction toward the field in which you want to work.
5. Reevaluate your references.  Verify that these individuals still work where you have noted and that contact information for each is correct.  If you have developed new contacts who can attest to your recent achievements or heightened responsibility, consider replacing them with outdated references.
6. Update your résumé format.  Check online sample résumés to see if yours looks outdated and revise accordingly.  Additionally, you should create an electronic version of your résumé if you don’t already have one.
7. Proofread everything.  Sloppy spelling, grammar and punctuation may take you out of the running immediately.  If you’re not proficient in proofreading, ask a trusted friend or associate to help.

Looking for a better career opportunity in Wisconsin?  Give us a call.  ABR Employment Services has a wide variety of temporary and direct hire opportunities in the office/clerical, professional, light industrial and technical sectors.

Should you pay your current employees overtime, or bring in temporary help?  Consider the following sample cost analysis.  It is based on an annual salary of $40,000 ($20.51/hr.), vs. time-and-one-half overtime, for one employee:

Cost Analysis

Although this is just a sample exercise for illustration purposes, it clearly demonstrates the economic rationale for using temporary employees.  When you need additional productive hours on a temporary basis, staffing services can lower costs, reduce burnout and improve the productivity of your direct staff.

ABR Employment Services – Wisconsin’s Staffing Economics Experts

Need help assessing the cost of a staffing strategy?  Contact ABR Employment Services.  Our experts will work with you to determine the most productive and cost-effective way to get your work done.

Cost Analysis Assumptions

* Temporary staffing rates vary by market, but the relationship (ratio) between pay rates remains the same.

** Fringe benefits include:  holiday pay, sick leave, vacation pay, personal days, insurance, F.I.C.A., S.U.I., F.U.T.A., worker’s compensation, etc., based on a national average of 31%.

*** Based on U.S. Chamber of Commerce national average statistic of 12%, which includes firms that pay no benefits.  For small firms with moderate benefits programs, this cost is typically 40-45% of payroll, and for larger firms with extensive benefits programs, the cost can be up to 100% or more of payroll.

• Facilitated onboarding.  Mentoring speeds up the process of bringing on new hires as well as redeploying existing employees into new lines of work.
• Increased employee satisfaction and retention.  Research has shown that employees who participate in mentoring programs have higher job satisfaction and reduced turnover.
• Improved employee productivity.  When employees are mentored, they can get answers to common problems quickly – without wasting time on rediscovering or re-inventing solutions.
• Effective career growth / succession planning.  Mentoring programs help employees reach their full career potential, grooming them to fill key roles as part of an organization’s succession plan.
• Knowledge management and retention.  Mentoring promotes effective knowledge sharing, to reduce the risk of losing critical skills and knowledge when employees leave.

Obviously, mentors can play an important role in ensuring your company’s continued success.  But while identifying a budding protégé may be straightforward, identifying a potential mentor can be more complex.  Whether that person is you, one of your managers, or an outside expert, a mentor should possess the following professional and personal attributes:

1. Senior-level business experience.  To provide guidance, the expert should have several years experience working in senior corporate positions.  At a minimum, the expert should be a professional peer to the protégé.
2. Interpersonal and political “know-how.”  The expert ought to be proficient in handling all sorts of complex interpersonal dynamics within the context of office politics.  To be an effective trainer, the expert must be able to help the protégé navigate the tricky political waters of his organization.
3. Integrity and confidentiality.  Professional development involves discussing high-level, strategic, off-the-record information, as well as sensitive personal issues.  Honesty and discretion are essential when broaching these confidential topics.
4. Organizational and personal insight.  The expert must have an in-depth understanding of the company’s objectives, needs and hierarchy.  Equally, he must also appreciate the protégé’s strengths, weaknesses and goals.  To achieve professional development goals, the trainer must align both the company’s and the protégé’s interests.
5. Flexibility and ingenuity.  When egos, ambitions and agendas collide, sparks fly.  What works for an organization one day may be thrown out the window the next.  An expert trainer must be able to shift gears, develop solutions on the fly, throw out tactics that prove ineffective and come up with new ones – fast.  He must be comfortable dealing with uncertainty to navigate a corporate environment rife with change.

Need a promising protégé?  Looking for your next mentor? Contact us today.  As a leading Wisconsin staffing service, ABR Employment can provide the talented individuals your organization needs.

If your personnel needs are short-term, seasonal or project-oriented, consider working with a staffing service.  A staffing firm can provide access to the talent you need, while eliminating many employment related expenses, including:

• Recruiting.  A staffing service can assume responsibility for advertising, posting positions online, screening résumés, interviewing and checking applicant references.  Most will also administer drug testing, when required.
• Training.  Temporary employees come to your firm armed with the skills and experience needed to do the job.  If necessary, many staffing firms will custom-design training and orientation programs to meet your needs.
• Benefits.  A temporary worker is an employee of the staffing firm.  As such, the staffing firm assumes responsibility for any benefits their employee may receive.
• Administration.  By using temporary employees, your HR department eliminates the added headaches associated with payroll processing.  The staffing firm handles all legal and administrative responsibility for payroll processing, paying workers’ compensation and unemployment premiums, and managing tax and government reporting.
• Bad hires.  If you aren’t happy with a temporary employee’s work ethic or performance, you have the right to end the assignment any time.  And if you need a direct hire, consider starting potential employees as temporaries.  This way, you can find out if a new employee has the skills and attitude you need before making a hiring decision.

For more information about our temporary staffing services for Wisconsin employers, please visit ABR Employment Services’ website.