ABR Blog

If your company is like most, you may struggle to find effective ways to reward employees without spending a lot.  Thankfully, when it comes to boosting morale in these unpredictable economic times, money isn’t everything.  Here are some creative ideas to keep your staff’s spirits high, while keeping an eye on your bottom line:

1. Keep employees informed.  Make sure employees understand your organization’s current “state of the union.”  Communicate what challenges and goals your company faces, as well as the factors that will contribute to your success. 
2. Let employees know what they can do to help achieve that success.  Explain how increasing customer service and loyalty, increasing efficiency, minimizing waste, etc. can help achieve company goals.  The more employees believe they can have an impact on organizational outcomes, the higher morale will stay.
3. Ask employees for input.  Before making decisions that impact their roles or work – and may possibly lower morale – ask employees for their feedback.  If you attempt to understand their perspectives and feelings, changes will be more readily accepted.
4. Respond to staff members’ questions and requests promptly.  Morale suffers greatly when employees feel their concerns are just ”swept under the rug.”  So if you don’t have one already, create a formal process for addressing employee issues in a timely manner.
5. Give employees a sense of ownership by increasing responsibility.  For example, one Philadelphia-based consulting firm creates voluntary employee committees to set up an annual health fair and ongoing food co-op.  The extra work makes employees feel good and allows potential leaders to hone their skills.
6. Consider alternative rewards to company picnics.  Believe it or not, many employees find forced company socialization a burden.  So instead of spending money on an annual cookout, consider awarding spa or salon gift certificates, movie passes, etc. to thank employees for their individual efforts.
7. Institute a peer-nominated employee recognition award.  An Atlanta business school awards employees for personal achievements as well as organizational contributions that go beyond job responsibilities.  This company finds that recognizing just one employee creates a huge boost in morale company-wide.
8. Offer more flexible work schedules.  For many workers, especially single parents and other caregivers, having the flexibility for personal time to handle family obligations is a huge morale-booster.  And often, your company can offer this perk without incurring additional expense.  Ideas include earlier/later start times; working four 10-hour days; working from home one day a week; and job-sharing.

Staffing as a Morale-Booster

Here are two more ways ABR Employment can help keep your staff’s spirits high:

• Treat an employee to a day off.  Allow us to provide a temporary replacement for the day.
• Reduce employee burnout.  Bring in our temporaries to help ease the burden of overtime.  Remember, you can avoid paying overtime by using our employees to handle the extra hours.

Well, it’s official – the recession is technically over.  The economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter this year, according to the BEA’s (Bureau of Economic Analysis) quarterly GDP report.

Sure, the recovery is going to take awhile.  Consumer spending is still down; unemployment is still high; the foreclosure crisis is still playing out nationwide.  And unfortunately, your business may still be stuck in a rut of stale, survival-mode thinking.

But as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, our economy will improve.  So get a jump on your competitors by planning now for the growth that’s around the corner.  These quick tips will show you how to leverage staffing to prosper in 2010.

Test new ideas.  Before you commit to hiring direct staff to implement a post-recession business concept, you can test your idea with temporary employees.  These temporaries can assume a direct role, or they can fill in for your staff members involved with testing the new idea.

Try before you buy.  Once your need for staff increases, temp-to-hire services can mitigate hiring decision risks.  You can literally try employees out on the job, to see how they perform and fit into your corporate culture – before extending an offer for direct employment.

Manage rapid growth.  A good staffing service can function as an extension of your human resource department.  By taking the time to learn and understand your business, they can help you quickly and cost-effectively recruit temporary employees and direct hires who will succeed in your work environment.  Establish a good relationship now, so that you’re ready to “explode out of the box” when the upturn hits.

Access the knowledge you need.  Staffing firms allow you to bring in the expertise you need on a short-term basis.  These experts, especially temporary technical and professional staff, can be used to complete growth initiatives related to anything from new business lines to system upgrades.  Alternately, these highly skilled temporaries can teach new skills to direct employees in your organization.

Meet immediate placement needs.  Most staffing companies maintain robust applicant databases.  They can often instantly identify candidates who have the skills, experience, and personality traits that match your work environment.  They can also supply competent temporary employees who can fill in until you’ve found the right people for immediate openings.

ABR Employment Services is ready to help your business grow.

Even if your business isn’t experiencing post-recession growing pains yet, now is the time to prepare.  Contact one of our staffing experts today to discuss your goals for 2010.  Let us show you how we can provide the staff to realize and exceed your expectations.

Superstars.  Overachievers.  High performers.

Whatever you call them, you know your company’s success depends on hiring and retaining them.  The following list will help you identify what sets the best and brightest apart:

1. They have found their focus.  High performers know their strengths and have found an expression for their talents in the workplace.
2. They are forward-thinkers – about projects and their own careers.  To thrive, they need to know how what they’re doing now will impact the future.
3. They are accurate appraisers – of peers, projects, and themselves.  They can spot talent in co-workers and chinks in their competitor’s armor.  Likewise, they recognize their own weaknesses and strive to improve them.
4. They are self-managers.  Research has shown that high performers consciously apply a systematic approach to every project they tackle.  This disciplined approach makes them more organized, productive, and fulfilled.
5. They are intrinsically motivated.  While money is undoubtedly important, high performers are fueled from within.  Their need to attain personal and organizational goals is often as great a reward as compensation.
6. They are optimistic.  High performers see the glass as half-full.  They tend to treat obstacles and setbacks on the job as temporary and therefore surmountable.
7. They respect other high performers.  Rather than focusing on hierarchy, high achievers operate within a society of mutual respect.  As a result, they will lend a hand to others with talent and help them flourish.
8. They are results-oriented.  These individuals won’t sit quietly and do a job just because they’re told to.  Top performers need to know how their efforts affect the organization’s “big picture,” and measure their efforts in terms of bottom-line results.
9. They take risks.  “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” is a personal mantra among high performers.  They do their homework, accept change easily, and are calculated risk-takers.

ABR Employment’s staffing professionals are experts at identifying high achievers who will perform well in your organization.  We offer a variety of recruiting and staffing services to deliver the best and brightest for you.

Congratulations – you’ve been invited in for an interview with a great employer.  This opportunity really has potential, and you want to nail the interview.  Now what?  Review this list of tips to make sure you have all your bases covered:

• Revisit your resume.  Make sure you know dates of employment, responsibilities, professional accomplishments, etc. for each position.
• Practice your answers to common interview questions, enlisting a friend’s help if necessary.  Common questions include:

           – How would you describe yourself?

           – What is your greatest strength/weakness?

           – How do you define success?

           – Why do you want to work here?

           – Why should we hire you?

• Conduct a self-assessment.  Make sure you can clearly communicate your current skills, strengths, weaknesses, motivations, interests and work values.
• Go online or visit the local library to learn all you can about the company’s mission statement, financials, organizational structure, products and services – so you can speak intelligently about them during the interview.
• Bring along extra digital and paper copies of your resume.
• Select an appropriate outfit, bearing in mind both the position and corporate culture – then dress one notch above what would be expected.  When in doubt, go with a business suit.
• Call a day or two ahead of time to confirm directions, parking, interview time and interviewers’ names.
• Do a practice run to make sure you know the route.  See how long it takes to drive there, factoring in rush hour traffic if applicable.
• Prepare a list of professional and personal references.
• Bring along breath mints, a small note pad and a pen – just in case.
• A day or two after the interview, drop off hand-written thank you notes to each person who interviewed you, thanking them for their time and emphasizing your specific qualifications for the position.

Share Your Experience

What interview questions have stumped you?  We’d like to know.  Leave your comment below, or contact us via e-mail.

Need More Interviewing Help?

We at ABR Employment Services want to do all we can to help you land the perfect opportunity.  If you need assistance or would like additional resources to help hone your interviewing skills, please contact us directly.

Just as you’d prepare a list of questions to interview a job applicant, you should also take the time to interview a potential staffing provider.  When selecting an agency, the American Staffing Association recommends that you consider several factors.  The following list will help you choose the right staffing firm for your needs:

1. Reliability.  Is the company well-established with a good reputation in the community?
2. Recruiting.  Is the agency’s recruiting program aggressive?  What kind of database does it maintain?
3. Testing.  What are the company’s testing and evaluation requirements?
4. Retention Programs.  How long do employees stay with the company?  If the company retains employees for a long time, you’re more likely to be sent qualified workers when you need them.
5. Professional Permanent Staff.  How experienced are the company’s permanent staff members?
6. Knowledge of Your Needs.  When you talk with the staff, do you feel confident that they truly understand your needs?
7. Prompt Service.  How quickly can they fill your needs?
8. Quality Control.  What type of quality control procedures are in place?  Does the company check back after your order has been filled?
9. Insurance Protection.  Do they have adequate insurance to protect you against workers’ compensation claims and other problems that might arise?
10. Guarantees.  Does the company offer any type of guarantee?  What happens if you are dissatisfied?

Now it’s our turn to ask you a question:  What is the most important factor you consider when selecting a staffing service?  You may leave your comment below, or contact us via e-mail.  The more we at ABR Employment know about your needs, the better equipped we’ll be to meet them.