Rethink Your Hiring: Candidate Try-outs

When evaluating their hiring strategy, Automattic, the company behind WordPress, realized that a person’s effectiveness is best assessed through practical, on-the-job evaluation. Therefore, the company hosted “try-outs” for candidates where the person would be paid to work on a real project for a period of time – several weeks in many cases. This strategy proved much more effective than traditional interviewing and screening.

With offices in 170 cities worldwide, Automattic is innovative in its culture and many employees work remotely, have an unspecified amount of vacation, and are able to manage their assignments and workload in a way that best suits their lifestyles. Rather than experiencing low productivity and disengaged employees, the company finds that employee accountability is at high levels.

Automattic attracts superior candidates, retains them longer, and has low staff turnover, all credited to the company’s use of try-outs.

• Try-outs allow the company to discern whether a candidate can actually produce and have a tangible effect rather than simply shuffling papers at a desk. The company is concerned with outputs, not whether an employee is at their desk for a set number of hours each day. The company products are decentralized, and most staff members are not required to appear in a certain way and respond face-to-face with clients.

• The company found that one-third of hires were not successful using traditional interviewing and screening techniques. It seemed that interviewers were being influenced by factors not related to capabilities, such as mannerisms or personality.

• Although the HR policies and flexibility of Automattic may not work for every company, candidate try-outs can be adapted to many situations. Whether it is extending an opportunity for a new candidate to shadow your existing team members to see if they will fit within the existing company culture or by providing them a day’s worth of work on a trial basis to see how they can handle the workload.

PrideStaff Las Vegas provides temporary and contract staff, many of which can work on a trial basis for companies seeking full-time staff to complement their existing team. If you are looking to hire in 2014, contact a PrideStaff Las Vegas recruiting professional and access a pool of talented and enthusiastic candidates.

Reminder: Clean Up Your Digital Footprint When Job Hunting

Your digital footprint is everything that shows up when someone searches for you online. From images to comments to blog posts, it can make or break your reputation. In today’s market, cyberspace is among the first places prospective employers will look before they make hiring decisions.

7 tips to ensure that everything that could possibly be found about you online is respectable and professional.

Search Yourself
Make a self-search part of your regular reputation management routine. Then it will be easy to stay on top of where and how you’re mentioned online.

• Use multiple search engines. Look for both your first and last name and search both text and images. Try slightly different spellings, too. If you find something posted by a friend that you don’t like, ask them to take it down. Or, contact the site administrator and request that they remove the unwanted content.

Check Privacy Settings
The privacy settings on your favorite Web sites or social networks may have changed since you last checked them.

• Take time to understand current settings. Then you’ll know exactly what you’re sharing. Update them if there are things you don’t want made public.
• Facebook privacy settings change often. As a default, posts are set to Public. Be sure you privacy proof your future by editing the “Who Can See My Stuff” section. Your choices are Public, Friends, Only Me or Custom.

Use Strong Passwords
Change the passwords across your accounts to a combination of words, numbers and symbols that are easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess.

• Whether it’s your email, online banking or shopping, it’s a good idea to have different passwords for different sites.

Update Software
By keeping your software current, you can prevent viruses and spyware, which can wreak havoc on your computer.

• Check for updates you may have previously ignored. You can download free, safe programs to ensure your system has the most up-to-date security. You also can schedule automatic updates and let your computer do the work for you.

Think Before You Post

Your digital presence is more than just the information available about you online. It also encompasses all of your personal cyber-interactions.

• Before posting anything, ask yourself if you want others to see it. That means anyone who searches you out or just happens to come across the content or image.
• LinkedIn tends to come up first in personal search engine queries. So be especially vigilant in keeping your LI profile strictly professional.

Maintain Your Mobile Device
Set a password and familiarize yourself with your mobile device settings. Review apps you’ve downloaded and their information-sharing policies. Delete any that you don’t use.

Revise Your Blog
Personal blogs show up on employer search engines, too. If you use yours to vent frustrations or make personal observations, go through your posts and edit them for language. Delete anything that might hinder your professional image.

Looking for employment in 2014?
For additional job-search tips and best practices, read our related blog articles. Want to speak with one of the experienced recruiters at PrideStaff Modesto? Contact our team of experts today for additional career tips and resources.t

Don’t Conduct Your Next Interview Before Reading This!

Interviewing candidates requires preparation, knowledge of the job requirements, and careful question selection. However, for a hiring manager charged with conducting a last minute interview, a checklist of certain items can ensure a productive experience that achieves the main candidate assessment objectives.

Lynda Bassett, a contributing writer for Monster, reminds the interviewer that candidates are evaluating the company as much as the interviewer is assessing the candidate. The interviewer must create a good impression and manage the expectations of the candidate. It is advisable to gain some idea of the expected compensation during the initial interview.

Here are some guidelines that can ensure a productive and effect interview for both the interviewer and the interviewee.

• Prepare questions that directly relate to the job responsibilities. Use a behavioral interview technique. Ask the candidate to describe how they managed certain situations in the past to determine how they may behave in the future.
• Study the candidate’s resume before the interview and avoid doing so in front of the employee. Nothing is worse for a candidate than realizing that an interviewer has not even taken the time to look at their qualifications. Such a practice reflects poorly on the organization, the interviewer, and implies that the position and the candidate are not a high priority.
• At the outset, outline the interview structure for the candidate. For example, explain that you will provide a brief introduction of the company and the position before you begin the actual interview. This will be followed by an opportunity for the candidate to ask questions. Don’t monopolize the interview; let the candidate do most of the talking, and watch for nonverbal communication such as body language that may indicate the level of interest and focus.

Be courteous and engaged. Conduct a tour of the office and introductions to other staff, if appropriate. Ere.net highlights the importance of managing candidate expectations; before closing, inform the candidate of the timeline for the interview process. Don’t lose a quality candidate because they are unimpressed by the hiring process.

Contact a PrideStaff professional for advice on how to conduct effective interviews and assess potential employees. We can manage your hiring process and ensure the best candidates for your organizational needs.

Advice for Building a Great Company Culture

Company culture is far more than just a buzzword. It’s the very essence of your company; it’s the vision, the core beliefs and the values, all rolled into one.

Whether it’s a creative, quirky culture, or a more reserved one, is irrelevant. At the end of the day, for your company to reach its potential, it has to be the kind of culture where people want to show up everyday and give you their best.

Unfortunately, as one of the leading staffing agencies in Tempe, PrideStaff knows far too many employers don’t care enough about culture. They say all the right things about it during the hiring process. But when it comes down to it, leaders are too busy focusing on daily tasks to invest any time in shaping culture. It’s to their own detriment, though. Employees want to work for companies with visions, missions and beliefs that align with their own.

If you’re ready to intentionally influence your company’s culture for the better, consider these tips:

Be transparent about goals and expectations.
When companies have hidden agendas and don’t communicate with their staff, it makes for an uncertain work environment. Instead, to create a healthy work culture, it’s important to share your vision for goals and expectations, big and small, for the company, each department and team members individually.

When you do, don’t simply explain what you’re attempting to achieve, but why you’re doing it – and how each employee fits into that vision. The “what” is important, but so is the “why” because it makes people feel like part of something important.

Show you trust your team members.
Nothing undermines culture more than assigning projects to your team and then trying to micromanage them. Strong cultures are built on trust. You hired smart people; so let them do their jobs in their own way.

Remember, when your employees are treated well – and feel trusted and respected by you – they will in turn treat your customers well. Sure, you may get burned by an employee who has a negative attitude or doesn’t deserve your trust. However, most of your staff will appreciate your treatment of them, improving loyalty as a result.

Build a sense of camaraderie among your staff.
Your relationships with employees are vital to a strong culture; but so is their relationship with each other. That’s why it’s important to facilitate a sense of camaraderie and shared respect and caring among your team members, as well.

At the end of the day, company culture can help you hire top staff and retain them. Spending time investing in shaping a healthy one will go a long way in enabling your company to achieve it goals.

Need more help with hiring and retention?
Call PrideStaff. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Tempe, we will get to know your company, its culture, and the unique staffing challenges you face. We’ll then get to work finding candidates with the right mix of hard and soft skills to thrive on the job – and at your company.

Contact PrideStaff today to learn more about how we can help you.

The ACA and Your Temp Workers: What Does this Mean for You?

With temp workers projected to make up over half of the entire workforce in the U.S. by 2020, it’s never too soon to start getting familiar with all of the legal requirements they entail. One major factor with temp workers is now the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – passed in 2014, it states that employers may be required to offer health care coverage to all workers who work more than 30 hours a week. Since temporary employment is transient by nature, the ACA requirements can seem like a legal gray area. So what does the ACA mean for you and your temp workers?

1. Hours matter more than ever.
   You’ll need to keep close tabs on your temp workers’ hours – even a small overage can put you in violation of the ACA. As an employer, you’re required to keep records that show the number of hours worked by your temp workers. This is essential because the IRS can implement fines on a monthly basis – so if you bring on a part-time temp worker for a month-long assignment and they are found to have worked 120 hours in that month without being offered health care coverage, you may be in violation of the ACA. Therefore, it’s time to implement a record-keeping system so that a few extra hours here and there in a day or week don’t put your part-time temps past the limit.

2. Timing of staff changes will be watched closely.
   The government is on the lookout for employers who try to “game the system” of the ACA – those who revolve temp workers by letting them go just before they reach the hourly threshold of requiring health care coverage, and then bring them back shortly after. You’ll need to be able to show that when you make temp staffing changes, it’s to actually meet your workplace needs. Avoid suspicion by documenting your temporary employee needs upfront.

3. A trusted staffing firm is essential.
   A respected and experienced staffing agency has always been important for handling the hiring of temp workers, but under the ACA, employers may be considered equally responsible if the staffing agencies they use do not follow ACA guidelines. Only work with staffing firms that have proven themselves to have the legal knowledge and the ability to follow protocol – otherwise, you could be on the hook for their incompetence (even if you don’t know about it).

The draw of utilizing temporary staffing is to not have to deal with all of the legal employment requirements. Delegate the work by using an experienced staffing firm like PrideStaff Akron to develop and implement your temp worker strategy while meeting federal requirements of the ACA. Contact PrideStaff Akron today to learn more about the client services we offer.

Managing Employee Turnover in a Positive Way

Even the best employees resign. Regardless of your work environment or staff relationships, team members leave for reasons beyond your control. It may be a better opportunity, a return to school or a family relocation or commitment. Handled effectively, you can work through employee turnover so that the exiting individual knows they’ve added value and the impact is minimized for remaining colleagues.

Accept and Reflect
When you hear about a resignation, accept the news gracefully. Try to determine the real reasons behind their decision and then do some self-reflection. You may be able to turn an upsetting scenario into an opportunity.

• Hold an exit interview. Allow the employee to speak freely about why they’ve resigned. There may be a concern you can address to avoid losing other top performers in the future.
• Others will take their cues from you. So don’t panic or become angry or defensive. Reassure other team members. As for the departing employee, wish them well and don’t hesitate to give them recommendations and referrals if they deserve them.

The Counteroffer Option
Your employee has already made up their mind to leave. You can try to lure them back with more money, but in most cases you’ll just retain a dissatisfied person and kick the problem down the road. There are exceptions, but usually it’s advisable to steer clear of a counteroffer.

• It’s a last-ditch effort. The only situation where a counteroffer may be practical is if the cost of an employee’s departure far exceeds allowing someone else to take over their role. As you make this determination, factor in what the impact will be on the team and company if a person leaves. Consider how others will be affected, including customers and coworkers. Think about related non-monetary costs, such as product knowledge and proprietary business strategies. That said, be prepared for the possibility of the employee rejecting your counteroffer anyway.

Manage the Transition
Follow a checklist of procedures around employee resignation in a professional, coordinated manner. Wrap up the employee’s job and transition the work to others while you begin to recruit a replacement. Or, you may opt to rethink the organization of the work or your department as a whole.

• Have the employee submit a resignation letter. This triggers the chain of events necessary for formal termination. Contact HR immediately.
• Work with the individual’s supervisor. Be certain that their last days on the job are positive and contributory. Let the person work with their colleagues and allow others to volunteer to handle interim tasks. Don’t overload the departing team member with work, but rather allow them to efficiently help you start the transition process.
• Create a “to do” list. Sit down with the employee and list everything they’re currently working on, as well as key client relationships. Itemize plans for transferring key knowledge and contacts, as well as how to alert external customers of the pending change. Monitor progress throughout the transition period.

Of course, your best defense is a good offense. Try to identity and prevent possible problems well before a game-changing resignation occurs.

Partnering with a staffing and workforce development specialist in Modesto can be a tremendous asset in setting the right turnover and transition strategies. Contact the experienced recruiters at PrideStaff Modesto to learn more.

How To: Create a Culture of Safety at Your Facility

A culture of safety refers to a system of common attitudes and practices within a workplace that place an emphasis on the importance of safety on a day-to-day basis. Workplaces that create a strong safety culture have been found to have a reduced likelihood of accidents, according to findings from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) because of the common focus of preventing and correcting potentially dangerous behavior. Learn more about how to create a culture of safety at your facility with these tips:

Emphasize the Importance

Get the staff of the entire facility on the same page about the benefits of a safety culture. Make it clear that safety is something that is a concern above all else, including productivity. Point out how taking additional safety measures affects the entire workplace in a positive manner – besides fewer accidents, places with a safety culture also generally experience a reduction in employee turnover, less missed work days, and increased productivity.

Develop Equality among All Levels of Employees

A benchmark of a facility with a safety culture is when lower level employees feel comfortable approaching supervisors with regards to safety, such as a machine worker kindly reminding a manager to put on safety glasses. Communicate to all levels of staff that paying attention to safety is a positive thing and no one should feel above it or uncomfortable reminding others to participate in it.

Focus on Causes Instead of Blame

In a safety culture, when accidents do occur, they are handled much differently than in facilities that don’t emphasize safety above all else. Instead of assigning blame and disciplining for unsafe behavior that result in accidents, a safety culture looks for the underlying causes of what contributed, such as if workers felt rushed to bypass safety measures to produce faster.

Provide Opportunities for Feedback

Make the topic of safety something that is always open for communication. Let employees know that feedback or suggestions about changing or improving safety measures are always welcomed. Request their feedback about what would make it easier for them to follow safety protocol and take it into consideration when developing or updating regulations.

Build a team of safety-minded workers with a staffing firm like PrideStaff Akron. We work with employers in the Akron area to provide qualified and flexible candidates for their available jobs. Contact PrideStaff Akron today to learn more about how we can help you meet your staffing needs.

Preparing for Your Interview isn’t Optional!

There are many reasons to prepare for an interview, not least of which is to ensure that you successfully negotiate an appropriate salary. J.T O’Donnell of LinkedIn offers advice on salary discussions. Effective negotiation requires the initial setting of an appropriate desired salary range, which requires knowledge of industry comparables and an understanding of your value to the company.

Another key reason to prepare for an interview is to convince the interviewer that you have carefully considered the job, are enthusiastic about the role, and think you are the right candidate. Unprepared responses to questions such as “Why are you interested in this position?” will quickly imply that you are not serious.

• Greene of U.S. News suggests that understanding your strengths and weaknesses will help you respond to the common question “Tell me one of your greatest strengths.” Other subjects that should be examined and that may well be covered in an interview include career goals, academic achievements, past work experience, and skills relevant to the job.
• Thorough preparation of responses to questions on all these subjects shows initiative and a serious work attitude. Interviewers can quickly tell how much preparation you have done, and poor responses due to a lack of preparation will eliminate you as a candidate.
• A good interviewer will also want to cast the company in a favorable light to you. A basic knowledge of the company is expected. If the interviewer finds that you know very little about the work of the company, it will appear that you have little interest in determining whether you will fit with the culture. At least research the company size, the business area, and the type of client.

You may be asked what salary you require. According to O’Donnell, this question is best answered by providing a salary range. Without preparation, you may have no idea what amount you can safely request. You are likely to either price yourself out of the job, or fail to understand your worth. Researching company benefits will indicate if there are additional ways to negotiate; for example, requesting additional paid leave in lieu of a higher salary.

Contact a PrideStaff Las Vegas employment professional for advice on interview preparation. We can educate you before your interview so that you arrive prepared and confident that you are an impressive candidate.

Don’t Be Sorry! Avoid These 4 Regrets When Hiring

If you’ve ever made a hiring mistake, then you know how painful it can be. It can lead to lost productivity, reduced morale – and a host of other issues…not mention expenses.

But if you’ve been burned in the past, the good news is that there are steps you can take in the future to avoid hiring mistakes and gain peace of mind when you bring a new employee on board. Start by avoiding these 4 common regrets:

1. Focusing too much on likability.  “We really like him/her.”

As one of the leading staffing agencies in Phoenix, PrideStaff can tell you when you’re hiring, it’s important to keep in mind you’re not hiring friends. While you need to be able to get along with the person, just because you connect with them on a personal level doesn’t mean they are best suited for the job.

Practical tip: If you click with a candidate and it’s clouding your judgment, then get an objective viewpoint from others within the company before making a hiring decision.

2. Not hiring for attitude. “He/she had all the right skills.”

When a candidate has an impressive track record of strong technical skills, it’s easy to assume they’ll be a good fit for the position. But alas, that’s not the case.

A candidate can be the most experienced and have the sharpest skill set; however, it doesn’t mean they are the right fit for your company. When hiring, it’s vital to go beyond technical skills – and assess soft skills and attitude.

Practical tip: Conduct personality testing to ensure the candidate has the traits necessary to thrive within your company. Also, be sure to ask questions – such as “describe your ideal work environment” – that enable you to get a clear sense of whether or not a candidate would get along well within the company.

3. Asking for references…but not checking them. “We didn’t have time.”

Even if it’s only to verify the basic information, like employment dates and job titles, always check references. There are too many desperate or dishonest candidates out there who fudge the truth in order to get hired. If a candidate can’t even be honest about when they started at a company, then you can’t believe anything they’re saying in a job interview.

Practical tip:Don’t ask questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, ask open-ended questions when checking references so you can learn as much about the candidate as possible.

4. Not conducting skills testing. “They ‘said’ they had the skills to do the job.”

Testing takes time. But it’s time well spent. When you test a candidate’s skills, you have a chance to see them in action – and verify they are in fact qualified for the job. You can use any number of testing options, from work simulations to computer tests to assigning a small project – whatever is best for your situation.

Practical tip: Be sure to choose the right tests for your needs and ensure they meet all EEO laws.

Need more help avoiding hiring mistakes in the future?

Call PrideStaff. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Phoenix, we can reduce your risk of hiring regrets – and help you recruit and retain skilled, dependable and trustworthy employees.

Contact PrideStaff today to learn more about how we can help you.

How Honest Should You Be in an Exit Interview?

If you’ve just quit your job, then your soon-to-be-former employer is likely to want to sit down with you to conduct an exit interview. They basically want to find out why you’re leaving.

For you, the conversation can be uncomfortable – for example, if you really don’t like your manager or co-workers and they are the reason you’re leaving. So just how honest should you be? Do you smile, cover the truth and move on? Or dish about your difficult boss and nosy co-workers? After all, you never know what the future holds and you don’t want to burn any bridges.

As a leading Tempe employment agency, PrideStaff can tell you that it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. You can be honest with HR about why you’re leaving; you just have to be diplomatic if it’s a sensitive issue.

For instance, if it’s your boss that’s the problem, rather than ranting and raving about him or her, just say that you didn’t always see eye to eye. Even if it does get back to your boss, it’s not like you got along in the first place and you won’t be asking for references any time soon.

Also, if you’re leaving because the new job offers a better opportunity, more advancement, higher pay and generous benefits, then communicate that to HR, as well. Even if you feel like your current job isn’t challenging enough and you want something more rewarding, your current employer is not going to try to sabotage your new job or career just because you’re being honest.

Keep in mind too: If the person conducting the exit interview is really a professional, then they’re going to want to know the good, the bad and the ugly. They can’t fix any issues at work if they don’t know what they are.

When you do go to your exit interview, be sure to balance the criticism you’re offering with some positive comments, as well. Tell the interview what is right – what you liked about working for the company – so you don’t leave behind a sense of negativity.

The bottom line is that if you prepare for your interview by thinking through how you want to phrase your feedback, then you’ll be able to be honest without being too harsh or feeling like you’re sabotaging yourself. Once that’s done, it’s time to focus on the new opportunities that lie ahead!

If you don’t have a new job, but are searching for one, call PrideStaff.
As a leading Tempe employment agency, our expert team of specialists will learn about your background, experience and aspirations…then get to work matching you with opportunities that fit.

Find out more! Contact us today.