ABR Blog

Ever play “whisper down the lane”?

Also known as ”telephone,” this popular children’s game provides a simple, yet critical illustration of how important information can get lost in translation.

Great fun if you’re just playing around, but not so great for business.

When it comes to ordering on-time (temporary) personnel, many clients call in their job orders.  Sure, it’s quick and convenient, but did you know that placing your order verbally is not the most effective way to work with us?

The reason is simple – verbal job descriptions can change as they’re transmitted from person to person, resulting in a “whisper down the lane” effect.  Consider, for example, how many people are potentially involved in the “lane” of communication when a job order is placed.  A department manager contacts HR with a need; HR contacts a staffing service coordinator with the order; the coordinator speaks with the staffing firm’s recruiter; the recruiter then communicates the job description to an employee.

See the potential problem?  While a verbal approach may seem easier, challenges can arise when duties get added or subtracted, or if job titles change over time.  As a result, the staffing provider may not send you the best match for the assignment.

At ABR Employment Services, we highly recommend that you submit or approve a written job description to which everyone in the line (or “lane”) of communication can refer.  Doing so will eliminate miscommunications, misunderstandings and confusion, and ensure that you get the best employee for the assignment.

Improve your staffing success with ABR Employment’s complete Human Resource solutions.

In December, I wrote a post about improving your staffing results by strengthening your provider relationship in 2011.  Now that the New Year is upon us, here are a few additional ways to “take it to the next level”:

Set clear expectations.

Establish mutually agreed-upon guidelines for interacting with your supplier.  If you haven’t already, create processes for placing orders, conducting quality control checks, measuring results, and keeping in touch.  Setting these expectations up-front can prevent communication breakdown and ensure expedient service.

Provide feedback.

Once you’ve set expectations, it’s important to maintain an ongoing dialogue with your staffing service.  Keep them abreast of changes in your company.  Give your staffing rep useful, honest feedback on his company’s service and the performance of employees placed – unless he’s aware of a concern or problem you’re experiencing, your rep can’t do anything about it.  So make sure you regularly discuss what you can do, together, to improve quality of service and placements.

Take advantage of all your staffing provider can do for you.

Good relationships have fringe benefits.  Many staffing services offer valuable “extras,” at little or no cost, which could be beneficial to you, such as:

• computer software training for applicants
• detailed reports on your staffing usage
• applicant drug screening
• productivity analysis of your work processes
• assistance in developing position descriptions
• customized orientation and training for on-time (temporary) workers and new hires
• paycheck drop-off for on-time (temporary) workers

Ask your staffing rep what value-added services his company offers.  Then take advantage of the ones that make sense for your company.

ABR Employment Services is committed to developing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with client companies.  We want to help you save time and money, while making it easier for you to find the qualified people you need.  Contact us today to take your staffing relationship to the next level – we’ll show you how better staffing can make your company even more successful.

“It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises but only performance is reality.”

– Harold S. Geneen

If you’ve ever managed a single person, then you know that employees make excuses.  They procrastinate, miss deadlines and blame others when they fail.

So how do you get them to consistently perform to the best of their abilities?  Use these smart suggestions to get better results – and fewer excuses – from your staff every day:

Make performance management a daily activity.  Annual and quarterly reviews definitely play their part in gauging performance, but nothing replaces the day-to-day guidance you give to your staff.  So talk to them regularly, leveraging every opportunity to improve employee’s efforts:

• Give them honest feedback about what they’re doing right – and what they need to improve.
• Discuss new projects and the opportunities they present for employee development and growth.
• Talk about overdue assignments or project difficulties and how to resolve them.
• Reinforce the importance of consistently doing a great job.

Limit excuses.  Eliminate the external factors on which employees often blame their poor performance by:

• Ensuring employees have the resources they need to do their jobs;
• Ensuring employees are adequately trained to do their jobs;
• Setting clear, mutually agreed-upon performance expectations for each employee.

Ask the right questions when problems arise.  Uncovering the cause of poor performance is the first step in creating a plan to remedy it.  So when an employee is failing at work, ask the following types of questions to diagnose the reasons why:

• What about the work system (e.g., tools, time, training, support) is causing the employee to fail?
• Does the employee know exactly what you want him/her to do, as well as the expected outcome?
• Does the employee practice effective work management?
• Does the employee feel valued, recognized and fairly compensated for his/her contributions?

Make performance goals SMART goals.  This goal-setting acronym is still widely used for one simple reason:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound goals are more likely to be achieved.  So as you work with your employees to set higher standards for the next quarter or year, teach them how to create SMART performance goals that will get them there.

Create a “performance mentality” among team members.  Football players won’t play their hardest in a game where nobody keeps score.  Likewise, your employees won’t deliver superior results when they merely see themselves as “doing a job” everyday.  Foster a “performance mentality” by showing your team why their efforts matter – and what’s at stake.  Make sure employees understand your mission, how their jobs fit into the “big picture,” and what they need to do to help your company win.

Improve Performance with ABR Employment Services

Performance management is a vital component in your organization’s continued success.  Ensure that success with ABR Employment’s full complement of staffing solutions.  Whether you need to improve productivity, increase operating efficiencies or streamline your staffing function, we can custom design a solution to fuel exceptional performance throughout your company.  Contact us today to learn more.

Throughout 2010, the issue of work / life balance has been in the nation’s spotlight. 

In March, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) participated in a White House forum on workplace flexibility; the following month, SHRM also testified in a Congressional hearing to support legislation that would recognize employers who implement innovative work / life balance policies.  And in August, StrategyOne conducted an online survey of 1,043 Americans which showed that:

• Work / life balance is a problem in the U.S., according to 89% of those surveyed.
• The recession has upended work / life balance for 31% of workers.
• 44% of men ages 34-54 say they do not have adequate work / life balance.

For more statistics and suggestions for ways employers can improve work / life balance, follow this link to the HR News article Survey:  Work / Life Balance Off-Kilter in U.S.

Can Hard Work Be Unethical?

The economy is pushing many employees to work longer and harder – or (in their own minds) risk losing their jobs.  But while many of them are succumbing to this pressure, Bruce Weinstein (a.k.a., The Ethics Guy) warns that “burning the candle at both ends” won’t save employees’ jobs – and it’s unethical, to boot.

To learn more, read this article on the ethics of work-life balance.  It makes a great case for setting limits when it comes to work, especially in a tough economy.

Work / Life Balance an Issue in Your Organization?

If you or your staff is working too hard, ABR Employment Services can help.  Use ABR’s staffing solutions to offload non-essential activities, reduce overtime, minimize burnout and reduce turnover due to overwork.

If you’ve ever been on an interview, you’ve probably heard this one:

“Tell me a little bit about yourself.”

Sounds innocuous enough, but in reality this is an extremely important question.  Interviewers ask it for a number of reasons:

• to get a sense of what you feel is most important about yourself;
• to see how well you’ve prepared for the interview;
• to find out why you think you’re the best candidate for the job;
• to see how you handle yourself in an unstructured situation;
• to see how articulate you are;
• to find out what type of first impression you make.

There is a lot riding on your response to this question, so make sure you knock it out of the park.  Here are a few quick tips for answering the “tell me about yourself” interview question the right way:

• Be brief.  Keep the answer short – no more than two to three minutes.
• Develop and include your USP.  Your Unique Selling Proposition, also known as a personal branding statement, is a one-sentence description of who you are, what you greatest strength is and the major benefit that a potential employer will derive from this strength.  Plenty of help for developing your USP is available online.
• Practice, practice, practice.  Write your answer out, then rehearse it until it’s second nature.  The better you know your pitch, the more poised and confident you’ll sound.
• Cite examples.  When you develop your answer, include one or two examples that best demonstrate why you’re well-qualified for the available postition, or highlight your most important accomplishments.
• Stay focused.  When an interviewer asks you about yourself, he or she doesn’t necessarily want to know where you were born, what your hobbies are or a laundry list of your job skills.  Make sure your response clearly focuses on the experiences and accomplishments most relevant to the available position.

The “tell me about yourself” interview question offers a great opportunity to set yourself apart from your job competitors.  So don’t waste it.  Take advantage of your time in the driver’s seat by selling yourself, creating a great first impression and setting a positive tone for the rest of the interview.

ABR Employment Services is committed to the success of your job search.  With offices throughout southeastern Wisconsin, and a great team of seasoned recruiting and staffing specialists, we have the resources and experience to match you with the ideal on-time or direct hire opportunity.  Contact us today or Search Jobs online.

Has technology taken the ‘human’ out of Human Resources?

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently published a report on technology trends in the sector, and the overall conclusion was unsurprising:  today’s HR departments leverage IT to benefit almost every aspect of their daily operations.

Continual technology improvements, coupled with declining costs, have fueled a surge in HR’s usage of technology:

• Software is being deployed to manage areas such as internal mobility, appraisal management, succession planning and personal development.
• E-recruitment and performance management software are dramatically improving HR’s ability to effectively execute PRM (people relationship management) and further solidify their organizations’ employer brands.
• Applicant tracking and hiring management systems are streamlining processes and driving down costs.

But will this IT success come at a price for some HR organizations?  While technology can reduce the administrative burden associated with HR and enable them to focus on more strategic issues, HR will always be about people management – which requires human interaction and face-to-face contact.  As a result, HR organizations should attempt to strike a balance between systems and the human element.

As Jeff Phelps, President of WorkforceLogic/ABE Services says, “We can’t ever begin to think of treating people like equipment or some sort of inanimate commodity…The best of all worlds is a holistic solution that combines technology with the human element to facilitate putting the right person in the right job at the right time.”

HR technologies making the biggest impact:

• Employee self-service
• Workflow technologies
• Vendor management systems
• Applicant tracking systems
• Hiring management systems
• E-recruitment software

Learn more.

Find out more about the evolution of IT in HR, as well as key findings from the SHRM’s HR technology survey, by following this link to the HR Management article “Technology aids the human touch.”

When it comes to staffing your business effectively, both IT and the human touch are critical.  ABR Employment Services leverages state-of-the-art technologies with distinctly personal service to deliver customized solutions that maximize your staffing ROI.  Contact us today to learn more about our Comprehend, Fulfill, Achieve Philosophy.

When it comes to a final hiring decision, the right references can make or break your next employment opportunity.  Use these ten tips to ensure you do everything right when an employer asks you for references:

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

When you hear this saying, you may envision a nervous job seeker, compulsively straightening his suit and repeating his 30-second “personal sales pitch” before an interview.  But quite honestly, the saying is just as relevant for the hiring company.  Why?

When you mainstream and orient a new hire, you set the tone for his work experience with your organization.  The more positive that initial experience, the more welcome and prepared the individual will feel in his new position.  This will, in turn, give him the confidence and resources to quickly begin making a positive impact within your company (which is why you hired this person in the first place, right?).

So make a commitment to create a great first impression on your new hire by implementing a thorough and effective onboarding process.  Use these tips to make him feel welcomed, valued and prepared to hit the ground running:

• Welcome a new employee with a letter.  Before the individual’s first day, send a friendly and informative letter to welcome him and review his first day’s schedule, helpful tips for parking, to whom he should report, etc.  Alternately, you can post new employee schedules, materials, benefits forms and a FAQ on your company Intranet, and make it accessible from a link in a welcome e-mail.
• Prepare a corporate “family tree.”  Familiarize new hires with your company’s “who’s who.”  You can make photos, names and job titles available on your company’s Intranet, or maintain a simple bulletin board with the same info to facilitate the getting-to-know-you process.
• Pre-orient existing staff members.  Provide employees with your new employee’s résumé and job description before he starts.  Advise each team member to conduct a meeting with the new hire in which he shares a description of his own position, reviews the ways their roles interact and covers how they might work together in the future.
• Approach the process from the employee’s point of view.  The onboarding process can be complex and overwhelming for your new hire.  To keep your new team member feeling valued, try to create orientation procedures that make the process fun, interesting and as painless as possible.
• Provide and review a written plan of employee objectives and responsibilities.  This step will eliminate confusion about job functions and will open the floor to discuss concerns or new opportunities.
• Give the new employee your undivided attention.  Be careful not to let e-mails, phone calls, or other employees distract you during orientation sessions, because this sends the unintended message that the new hire is not worth your time – a real morale-killer.
• Make day one personal.  Prioritize interpersonal relationships with key colleagues as soon as your new employee starts.  Make sure you welcome the whole person – not just a set of job functions – from the outset, and you’ll be sure to make a great first impression.

ABR Employment Services works to make new employee transitions as successful and simple as possible.  Our stringent screening process ensures that the candidates we refer (whether on-time or direct) have the skills, experience and traits necessary to integrate seamlessly with your existing workforce.  Contact us today to learn more about our staffing solutions for Wisconsin employers.

Part 2:  Co-Employment Tips for Success

Last week’s post featured a link to a brief quiz on co-employment laws.  How well did you do?

If your score was less than perfect, don’t worry.  This week’s post contains practical tips to maximize the effectiveness of your co-employment arrangement, while minimizing the potential for problems:

• Let the staffing firm do its job.  When co-employment problems occur, they often stem from situations in which a client company unnecessarily assumes employment responsibilities over on-time (temporary) or contract workers.  So remember that when you pay an on-time (temporary) or contract employee’s hourly bill rate, included in that rate are the services the staffing firm provides – recruiting, interviewing, testing and selecting candidates.  Head-off potential problems by allowing the staffing service (who is the employer of record for these workers) to perform these tasks.
• Take advantage of on-site coordinators.  If you have a large contingent workforce, ask your staffing service to provide an on-site representative.  This individual can reinforce the staffing service’s role as employer, by carrying out administrative functions, handling performance counseling and addressing disciplinary action.  Although there may be a charge involved, the benefits usually far outweigh the costs of an on-site coordinator.
• Give the staffing firm specific feedback on their employees’ job performance.  If performance issues arise, it may seem natural for you to speak directly with the on-time (temporary) or contract worker assigned to you.  But to steer clear of potential co-employment problems, you should instead speak with your staffing representative about your concerns.  That way, when the individual is subjected to disciplinary action, the staffing service will be able to provide him or her with the performance-related reason for the action – making the individual far less likely to consider the action to be discriminatory, or to file a charge.
• Allow the staffing firm to handle employee termination.  If you are dissatisfied with an on-time (temporary) or contract worker, ask your staffing provider to handle disciplinary action and / or termination and replacement.  Provide information about the individual’s work performance to your staffing representative, and then allow him or her to handle the rest.
• Review your benefit plan descriptions.  Ask an expert to make sure that the language in your benefit plan effectively excludes on-time (temporary) and contract employees.  To guard against lawsuits that stem from ambivalent wording, be sure to incorporate exclusionary language that makes benefit entitlement dependent upon your employment classifications – regardless of common law definitions.

Ensure Successful Co-Employment with ABR Employment Services

As a leading Wisconsin staffing firm, ABR Employment’s staffing experts can work with you to develop effective co-employment procedures from both a legal and operational standpoint.  Give us a call to learn more.

With unemployment near record highs, you may question the value of direct placement services.  If job applicants are plentiful, can recruiting services really help you?

In a word, yes.  Here are just a few of the ways search and placement services can simplify your job and help both you and your company be more successful:

• Save Time.  Posting jobs, screening résumés, scheduling and conducting initial interviews, testing and reference checking are extremely time-consuming activities – especially when candidates are abundant.  Use a direct placement service to eliminate both the time and cost associated with these processes.
• Increase Focus.  Use the extra hours you gain (by offloading time-consuming recruiting activities) to focus on other key HR priorities or revenue-generating activities.
• Access Top Candidates.  The market may be flooded with job seekers, but are they people you really want to hire?  Recruitment specialists are experts at sourcing the best talent.  They use extensive candidate networks, internal and national databases, direct recruiting techniques and referral sources to identify individuals – even highly desirable “passive” candidates – with the skills, experience and personality traits to succeed in your organization.
• Shorten Your Time-to-Hire.  Because staffing firms maintain such robust candidate databases, they can dramatically reduce the time it would take to find the right person on your own.  And in cases where immediate placement is required, most staffing services can provide an on-time (temporary) replacement to handle the workload while conducting your search.
• Reduce Your Hiring Risks.  Our tough job market has caused a rise in résumé fraud, as desperate job seekers feel compelled to stretch the truth in order to get hired.  Unfortunately, the employer pays the price, when a new hire who has misrepresented himself has to be replaced.
  Direct placement services reduce the risk of a bad hire in two ways.  First, the referred candidate is thoroughly screened, interviewed, background and reference checked to verify skills, experience and work history.  Additionally, most staffing services guarantee the quality of their direct placements for several months – and will find you a replacement if you’re not satisfied.

Save Time and Money with ABR’s Direct Placement Service

ABR’s search and placement service saves you time and money because we do the searching, screening, and preliminary interviews for you.  We can identify a large group of candidates via our web site, our extensive database and numerous other web partners.  You interview only the most-qualified candidates who can have an immediate impact on your organization.  Your hiring decision is made with confidence, guaranteed!