ABR Blog

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!

Everybody makes mitsakes (oops, that should read “mistakes”).

But while a blog typo may be easily forgiven, other mistakes on the job can have serious consequences – for you, your boss, or even the company as a whole.  And frankly, the way you handle your slip-up can be just as critical as the mistake itself.

So what should you do when you make an error at work?

• Assess the situation.  As soon as you realize your misstep, take a minute to consider the ramifications, as well as whether or not you can correct the mistake yourself.  If you can solve it, do so immediately; but if not, take a moment to brainstorm possible solutions.  This way, when you approach your boss you’ll appear proactive and responsible.
• Own up to it.  Never try to cover up your mistake.  If a boss finds out later that you hid a problem, it can permanently damage your credibility.  So take the initiative and bring the situation to your supervisor’s attention.  When you’re honest from the outset, your boss won’t feel the need to underscore the situation’s importance to you.
• Take responsibility.  Don’t make excuses, act defensively or place blame elsewhere.  Negative reactions like these will cause equally negative reactions from your boss.  Instead, use your mistake as an opportunity to step up to the plate and demonstrate your responsibility and problem-solving abilities.  If someone else is involved in the mistake, encourage him or her to follow your lead and do the right thing.
• Explain what happened and what you plan to do about it.  Once you’ve acknowledged your misstep and apologized, you must present a plan for correcting it.  You can say something like, “I’ve made a mistake and I apologize for the error.  I’ve come up with some possible solutions and would like your feedback on how to best resolve the situation.”  It’s fine to ask for help developing and implementing your solution – the key here is to not simply ask for your boss to bail you out.
• Demonstrate that you’ve learned from your mistake.  When a mistake occurs on the job, it’s not enough to just solve it and move on.  Once you’ve resolved the problem, you need to determine what caused it in the first place – and discuss your plan to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.  Explaining to your boss what you’ve learned from your mistake demonstrates that you’re conscientious and have the organization’s best interest in mind.

You’re human.  You’ll make mistakes from time-to-time (we all do).  And if you handle a mistake at work correctly, you can turn a difficult situation into a learning experience – an experience that actually provides an opportunity to demonstrate your honesty, integrity and problem-solving ability.

Handle Your Job Search the Right Way

Don’t make the mistake of going it alone in your job search.  Contact ABR Employment Services today.  Whether you need a flexible opportunity, or are searching for full-time employment, we have rewarding clerical, light industrial, technical and professional opportunities with leading Wisconsin employers.  Finding a job through us is fast, easy…and free.

Feeling a little overworked? 

While some would say that “too much to do” is merely a sign of job security in today’s economy, it won’t do you any good if you can’t cope with the stress.  Sure, everyone is trying to do more with less these days.  But over time, being chronically stretched too thin can take a toll on your job performance, state of mind and physical health.

So if you feel like the pressure is too much to bear, here is some advice on effectively broaching the tricky subject of job burnout:

• Make sure you’re not part of the problem.  If you procrastinate or have other bad work habits, your boss may not be sympathetic to your plight.  So before you go pointing fingers, examine your own performance to see if you could make changes that would improve your situation.
• Do your homework.  Before approaching your boss, document your situation in writing.  Detail what your job entailed originally and contrast it with what you’re doing now.  Track the hours you work (both at your company and home).  Preparing yourself with these details will provide a clear picture of your workload and keep you from sounding like a complainer.
• Broach the subject gradually.  Your concerns will be better received if you introduce the topic of feeling overburdened as part of a series of discussions with your boss.  Keep him or her informed of your current responsibilities as well as additional work requests.  Once your boss understands what’s truly on your plate, he or she will be less likely to add more.
• Enlist the help of others.  If co-workers are also feeling the pressure, approach your boss as part of a team.  Develop and present a plan to remedy the situation by:  bringing in temporary employees or increasing headcount; reorganizing responsibilities; delegating outside your department; streamlining processes.  Offering well thought-out solutions may help you gain your boss’ support in alleviating the problem.

Fight Job Burnout with ABR Employment Services

Our staffing services for Wisconsin employers can remedy the problems caused by overwork, such as increased turnover, higher employee absenteeism and lowered productivity.  Whether you need a single employee to assist your team for a few days, or a more comprehensive staffing solution, we have the highly skilled office, professional, technical and light industrial talent you need.

Help your staffing service help you.

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.

These days, with a greater number of candidates vying for the same openings in your company, you may find yourself having to say “No” more often.  Needless to say, writing rejection letters can be an unpleasant and stressful part of the hiring process.

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.

You’ve just won a three-month contract with a major new client – congratulations!  Now, you need to figure out how to get the extra work done. 

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.

An effective mentoring program provides a wide range of business benefits:

• 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.

Have you ever noticed that some people always seem to end up climbing the career ladder faster than everyone else?  While it could be because Mom or Dad is the boss, more than likely it’s because they work hard and follow these five tips:

• Always display a positive attitude.
  Your attitude can be a powerful self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you have a negative attitude, 9 times out of 10 you will fail.  But, if you bring a positive attitude and display confidence, strength, and determination, you WILL be successful.
• Stay educated.
  The best way to ensure success is to stay one step ahead. Research your industry. Know what’s happening and what the experts say will happen. Look for trends. When you find them, start to train yourself in these areas. Knowledge is power.
• Create a personal elevator pitch.
  First impressions mean a lot.  If you only had 30 seconds to convince someone you were a hard-worker and a leader, what would you say and do?  Plan this ahead of time; you never know when it will be needed.
• Learn to network.
  Unfortunately sometimes it’s not what you know, but who you know (at least to begin with).  Learn to network. You can even network within your own company. Invite co-workers to lunch. Take the time to walk by someone’s office to say hello. And actively seek out opportunities to network outside of work by joining organizations, groups, etc.  You start by seeking out your local chamber of commerce to learn of upcoming events.
• Be open to new opportunities.
  Read trade publications. Listen to people in your network.  When a new opportunity presents itself, don’t sit back and wait.  Take the initiative to inquire more–and don’t be shy!

And speaking of new opportunities, if you’re in the market for a new job or just curious about what is out there, please call us today.  As a leading Wisconsin employment agency, we offer a variety of excellent jobs.

When used strategically, temporary staffing can improve productivity, increase capacity to handle spikes in workload, and provide access to specialized skill sets – all without increasing your fixed expenses.

To help ensure your temporary staff is as efficient and productive as possible, be sure to follow these 5 key steps:

Step #1: Determine the type of person you need and define required skills.
Meet with managers and those who will be working with the temporary employee to determine which skills are ideal for the position you are trying to fill.  Examine top performers you already have on staff to determine what skills have made them successful.  And finally, work closely with your staffing agency and provide as much detail as possible.

Step #2: Work with an experienced staffing agency.
Find an agency that has experience in your industry.  Not only will an experienced staffing agency know where to look to find the right person, but they will also be able to help you determine things like an appropriate pay rate for a particular position.

Step #3: Provide a solid orientation and training program.
Include information such as working hours, breaks and lunch schedules, any safety regulations or company rules, and contact information for direct supervisors.  You may also want to assign a core staff member or supervisor to help orient the temporary employee.  Also, find out what type of training and orientation your staffing agency can provide.  Good staffing agencies will offer guidance on how to best bring temporary employees up to speed so they can hit the ground running–and they may even conduct initial training and orientation for you.

Step #4: Communicate clearly and openly.
Make sure your temporary employees understand what’s expected from them.  Encourage employees to ask questions and make sure they know to whom those questions should be directed.

Step #5: Check in regularly.
Be sure to take a minute or two at several points throughout the first day to check in and gauge progress.  Set specific days/times you plan to check in throughout the week to answer any questions and monitor progress.

Bringing a temporary employee on board at your company can offer a host of benefits – as long as that employee is managed properly.  And from our experience, hard-working and properly managed temporary employees often become leading candidates for full-time openings.

If you’re interested in hiring temporary employees or just want to learn more about how temporary employees can help your company, contact ABR Employment Services today.  As a leading Wisconsin staffing firm, we can deliver the flexible staff you need without increasing your permanent workforce.

According to a worldwide survey of senior managers, years of staff cutbacks have undermined trust in the workplace.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s new report, titled “Companies at the Crossroads,” recommends that to restore that trust, companies must put their employees first  - or risk experiencing deep talent erosion and sustained underperformance as the global economy recovers.

Here are some key statistics from the December 2009 report:

• 29% of business executives surveyed said employee engagement is low – and that they expect to lose key people as talent demand grows.
• 41% of respondents cite a shortage of talent in their organization.
• 44% of executives surveyed said they find it increasingly difficult to recruit talented employees.
• 50% of respondents plan to ramp up recruitment in 2010, with only 18% freezing headcounts.

The survey found that while executives understand the need to focus on their talent, greater action is needed to develop sound talent management strategies for the future.  Low trust among mid-level employees, coupled with low graduate recruitment and an ongoing demand for senior executive talent, is creating a perfect storm for businesses:  the most talented employees may be headed out the door, with fresh talent not yet recruited.

Bottom line, these trends can have a serious impact on your business as the economy recovers.  ABR Employment Services is prepared to help.  We proactively recruit to ensure you always have immediate access to the skilled, talented and reliable individuals you need – especially when that talent becomes hard to find.  Visit our website to find out what we can do for you.