The 5 Keys to Effectively Managing Part-Time Employees

The part-time workforce is a large – and growing – portion of the American workforce. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 19 million people working part-time voluntarily (for reasons such as school or childcare) and just under 8 million working part-time because they can’t find full-time work.

But whether hiring part-time workers is the norm at your company – or a new trend – treating them differently than your full-time staff is a mistake. As one of the leading Phoenix staffing agencies, PrideStaff knows you must invest the same resources and effort to ensure they are successfully integrated and managed.

Think of it this way.
A poorly motivated and managed employee matters – particularly if they interact with customers. And an unhappy customer will not differentiate between full- or part-time staff.

To help you manage your team of part-timers, here are a few tips to consider:

Tip #1: Create a formal position.
Don’t assign a part-time employee all the random tasks and responsibilities that full-time employees don’t have time for. Have a clear role defined for them with set goals and expectations. Otherwise, the limited time they do spend in the office will be frustrating and unproductive.

Tip #2: Hire part-time employees strategically.
There are certain positions, such as customer service and sales, that don’t lend themselves well to part-time employment. Instead, consider the areas in your company that would benefit from the use of part-time staff, such as marketing, accounting, or administration. That way, the work still gets done, but a customer won’t need to wait two days to have their phone call returned.

Tip #3: Treat part-time staff like full-time employees.
Employees are employees, plain and simple. So don’t treat your part-time staff differently than you do full-time employees. Turnover still costs money and when you find a solid worker, it’s important to hold onto to them.

Tip #4: Maintain a consistent schedule.
A fluctuating schedule is difficult for anyone to manage – including both you and the employee. So maintain consistency with your part-timers. Set certain agreed upon hours you expect them to be at work. If you do need an employee to work different days or hours in any given week, be sure to give them advanced notice.

Tip #5: Keep communication open.
Schedule regular check-ins with your part-time staff to answer any questions or concerns and ensure projects are on track.

Also, keep your part-time staff informed of any important office news or changes so they feel like they’re in the loop. They may not be included in every single meeting or strategy session due to scheduling conflicts, but work hard to ensure they feel like a part of the team.

A successful business requires all its employees – both part- and full-time – to operate at maximum efficiency. But if part-timers feel left out or left behind, then they won’t put their best effort forward. To avoid this, make sure you invest plenty of time and effort in managing them and meeting their needs.

If you need help hiring employees – whether part-time, full-time, contract, or temporary – give PrideStaff a call. As one of the leading Phoenix staffing agencies, we can give you access to the high quality, skilled and dependable people you need them, when you need them.

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

Three Reasons You Are Still Looking for Employment

A job search can be a stressful and disillusioning experience, particularly for those who endlessly submit their resumes to websites and job board postings, never to hear a response. Today’s competitive labor market calls for an active strategy that markets your potential in the places where employers will notice you. Maximize your efforts and ensure that the following factors are not derailing your search strategy.

• Networking. A New York Times article, by Nelson D. Schwartz, addressed the increasing importance of referrals with respect to hiring. Companies are increasingly relying on referrals, and most positions are never advertised on a job board; Deloitte now hires 49 percent of its staff in this way. Referrals are achieved through networking. Become active online through industry chat rooms, post interesting articles, but also attending industry meeting, and request informational interviews with potential employers.
• Poor Interviewing Skills. A study highlighted by Aol.com reported that 40 percent of college graduates do not dress appropriately for job interviews, one third arrive late for interviews, 26 percent seem unprepared, and a quarter appears to have poor communication skills. A professional staffing or recruiting firm can help you to hone your interview skills and project a professional image. Staffing agencies act as consultants to hiring firms and understand the needs of their clients.
• You are Overqualified. Many individuals are having to accept jobs that they are overqualified for because of recent economic times. If you succeed in getting an interview, explain to the employer your reasons for accepting the position. Perhaps you desire more flexibility or are looking to re-enter the workforce. Assure the hiring manager that you are willing to accept a lower salary. The employer may prefer to hire you knowing that you can do the job, rather than hire someone who cannot.

Consider community volunteer work as a proactive way to access the hidden job market. Studies show that skills acquired through volunteer roles influence hiring manager decisions. Partnering with a staffing agency can help you determine the weaknesses in your job search strategy. A professional recruiter understands your skills and will act as your representative. Contact a PrideStaff Las Vegas professional and let us help you find your niche.

How Can You Make Every Hire Count?

The company with the best talent has the greatest chance of winning in today’s competitive marketplace. To successfully maintain that edge, you need a hiring process that focuses equally on the present and the future – and sets the highest possible standards of quality when deciding which candidates will join your team.

Focus on Quality over Speed
You can’t rush a great hiring process. If you take reckless shortcuts, you’ll shortchange your results as well. So while you do have to stay on track and not risk losing talent to the completion, don’t eliminate or underestimate these important steps:

• Develop an accurate job description for every position. This document should reflect careful thought regarding the roles and responsibilities of the job, as well as the needed qualifications and soft skills.
• Advertise in targeted media. The Internet and social sites including LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter are leading venues. But don’t overlook trade publications and local newspapers.
• Prescreen using telephone interviews. This will help you to quickly narrow the field to top contenders for a position.
• Make a plan and align your team. A key element is developing a uniform list of questions to ask each candidate. This maintains structure and offers an objective base for comparison after interviews have been completed.
• Use a dependable assessment tool. This will help analyze candidates’ core behavioral traits and cognitive reasoning speed.
• Run background checks.
• Make a timely offer once a candidate is selected.

Proactively Network
When you’re looking to land top talent, professional networking is vital. There’s a lot of reciprocity in the marketplace, so take advantage of it. By the same token, be proactive in helping others with their hiring needs. What goes around, comes around.

• Keep it proactive. Otherwise, by the time you make a decision you could already be experiencing diminished financial returns, customer satisfaction levels or both.  
• Networking helps you to capitalize on hot industry trends. It enables you to continually evaluate the market and determine the right hiring strategy based upon not just the current status, but future forecasts.
• Keep a pulse on passive candidates. Through networking, you can access A-level talent that is not actively job hunting. These are the superstars who consistently perform in the top 5 to 10 percent of their field.

Always Be Recruiting
The best time recruit is before you have a pressing need. We all know how fast things can change in business. A leading employee leaves, a new product line is introduced, or an acquisition is made – and virtually overnight, a talent gap occurs. Doing just one or two interviews a week can help strengthen your talent pipeline and add value to your company in the long run.

• Recruiting does not equal hiring. You should always be recruiting so you can effectively hire.
• Develop a pre-qualified candidate pool. The Harvard Business School Press recently reported that organizations that “always recruit” score in the top 20 percent in talent management and produce an average of 22 percent greater total revenues than those who take a more responsive approach.

Consider working with a specialized recruitment partner to build your talent bench strength and keep your recruitment and hiring process proactive and on track. Read our related posts or contact the team at PrideStaff Modesto today.

Fulfilling Your Workforce Needs by Utilizing Temporary Staff

Is Your Job Search Too Aggressive?

Assertive, forward-thinking candidates are front and center on the radar screens of today’s hiring managers – and this certainly should be reflected in your job search behavior. Determination, follow-through and tenacity are strong, positive traits. But as you pursue a new opportunity, be careful not to cross the line between assertiveness and aggression.

Focus on the Value You Will Add
Ask yourself how you want to be perceived by your prospective employer. Put their needs a step ahead of your own and convey to them that you can make an impact and add immediate value to their organization – but do so in a professional manner that reflects your leadership skills.

• Don’t preach. Never take an “I deserve the job” approach. Highlight your skills, but never send a message of entitlement. Instead, express your gratitude for the opportunity to be considered for the job. Then, convince the hiring manager that the company needs you in a thorough but humble fashion.

Strategically Position Yourself
Rather than applying for every position offered at a company or plastering your resume all over the Internet, take the time to identify the jobs that meet your qualifications and needs, and then pursue them strategically.

• Applying for every job can send the wrong signal. An employer wants to know that you’re committed to a particular role and bring specific skills to the table. It may be okay to vie for two or even three similar positions, but only if you’re qualified and sincerely interested in them.

Be Positive and Professional
Throughout your job search, convey a positive attitude at all times. Your optimal professional abilities and demeanor should be on constant display.

• Don’t offend anyone. This can occur if you’re overly aggressive about getting your resume to a hiring or HR manager. Be careful not to burn bridges or damage professional relationships. Never resort to deception; for instance, don’t intimate to a receptionist or other gatekeeper that you “know the HR manager personally.” Don’t leave an envelope with your resume, marked “personal and confidential.”
• Never show up in person without an appointment. With the exception of a few areas, such as certain jobs in retail and food service, it is unacceptable to apply for a job unannounced and in person. Employers consider this practice annoying and disrespectful of their time. Plus, many companies only accept resumes electronically. So it’s a waste of your time, too.
• Stay away from hard-selling questions in your interview. For instance, don’t ask “Is there anything standing in the way of me getting an offer?” This tends to turn off interviewers by putting them on the spot. No hiring manager wants to think they’re being pushed or aggressively pursued.
• Follow up, but don’t be a stalker. It’s a good idea to follow up after you submit a resume or have an interview, but don’t pester the employer. A single email or phone call is sufficient to get the ball rolling.

Partner with a Career Coach
Working with a career coach can be the key to success in your job search. Your coach will partner with you to develop and tailor resumes to jobs you are considering and guide you through the interviewing and hiring process. Contact the recruiting specialists at PrideStaff Modesto to learn more.

Explaining Your Work Experience with Numbers

Even job seekers with sterling track records and impeccable credentials will struggle to top the competition if they fail to effectively translate their achievements onto paper or into talking points for interview purposes.

When it comes to getting your resume noticed or trouncing other candidates during interviews, numbers count.

Show How Many, How Much and How Often
Your career experience and accomplishments come to life when you detail them with numbers and statistics. For example, which sounds more impressive?

• “Developed social media campaign to promote new retail product line” or
• “Developed social media campaign for new retail product line that resulted in 10 percent increase in sales over a five-month period.”

If you can’t produce exact numbers, estimates are acceptable as long as you can justify them.

Here’s another example:

• “Answered phones at reception desk” versus
• “Managed switchboard with 10 incoming lines, effectively receiving and rerouting an average of 500 calls per day.”

Ask yourself how many, how much and how often you made value-added contributions to the success of your employer’s business and contributed to improved results. These are your selling points as you enhance your resume or ace your next job interview.

Use Action/Benefit Statements
Look at your resume as a marketing tool to persuade perspective employers that you’d be a perfect job fit. Describe specific action you took when faced with challenging situations or opportunities and the improvements that occurred as a result. These could include increases in revenue, reductions in cost, streamlined processes or systems, or improved morale, employee engagement or productivity.

• Start statements with active verbs. Use words like “managed, spearheaded, directed” and “implemented” – and then quantify the results whenever possible. If you can’t get the numbers, use the most specific wording possible. For example: “Developed and implemented a new sales training program that resulted in a 37 percent increase in new business in a single fiscal year.”
• Say it with numbers, percentages or dollar amounts. These statistics reflect how well you have performed against others at your level and how much measurable value you have added to the success of an organization. In essence, they set you apart from the competition.

The importance of quantifying your experience cannot be overstated as you take steps to realize your career goals and aspirations. To learn more about resume writing, interview prep and other key steps and resources, read our related posts or contact the expert recruiters at PrideStaff Modesto today.

Looking for a Job? Do You Have These Qualities?

The working world is constantly changing. Companies are adapting to rapid change and are looking for employees who are flexible and adaptable. Big data is a current phenomenon that is attracting increasing attention; the recent National Security Agency debacle is just one example, and many advertising and marketing companies are taking advantage of unlimited consumer information.

Job seekers must reflect the qualities that employers seek. Monster interviewed various recruiter and CEOs to identify the factors that are trending in today’s workplace. The following are desired attributes.

• Flexibility. From the ability to use and adapt to new technology systems to the ability to collaborate and adapt to a company’s internal culture, flexibility is the number one attribute employers require. Monster suggests that employers will make hiring decisions based on candidate attributes, such as your ability to adapt or to learn a new skill, rather than your established skills because workplace needs are changing so rapidly.
• Leadership potential. Dynamic workplaces are becoming flatter. A leader is no longer a high-level corporate manager. Leadership is expected in any environment, from the warehouse to hotel reception. Leadership qualities are exhibited by your knowledge on certain topics, your engagement with social networks, collaboration with others, and having the confidence to make suggestions.
• Initiative and discipline. Jacob Morgan of Forbes highlights the ability to focus as a crucial attribute. Such traits are evident in disciplined self-starters who have accomplished a goal independently such as taking additional college courses, learning a new skill, or attempting entrepreneurship. Massive open online courses that are offered by universities, or MOOCs, have facilitated unlimited personal development for the motivated personality.

The Millennial generation will represent 75 percent of the workforce by 2025 according to Forbes, and the generation is expected to change jobs frequently during their lifetime. Employers are more discerning in their hiring practices, and many are turning to staffing agencies and recruiters.

If you’re looking for employment in Las Vegas, contact our expert team of recruiters today and learn how we can help you with your job search!

5 Ways Job Interviews are Like First Dates

With Valentine’s Day almost here – and love in the air – it reminded us how true the analogy is between the first date and the job interview. Here are just a few traits the two situations share:

1. Arrival time matters.
When you’re going on a date, arriving 30 minutes ahead of schedule makes you look desperate, whereas arriving 10 minutes late makes you seem disrespectful.As one of the leading recruiting firms in Tempe, PrideStaff knows the same holds true for job interviews. Arrive a few minutes beforehand to show that you’re both punctual and professional.

2. First impressions count.
When you show up looking sharp, your date is going to like what they see. Show up un-showered, unkempt and looking like you just rolled out of bed, and they will probably want to slam the door in your face.

While a hiring manager might not actually take such drastic measures, what you wear and your appearance can help you win or lose points. So even if you’re interviewing at a place that seems ultra casual, wear a suit. There is no such thing as “too professional” in a job interview.

3. Don’t give away all your secrets.
Ever been on a first date with someone who offers up way too much information? They tell you about every significant other, their plans for the next 10 years, and how many kids they want along with the names for each.

When you’re going on a job interview, don’t be “that” person. Give clear and concise answers, only sharing what the interviewer is asking about, and stay positive and confident throughout.

4. Don’t ask inappropriate questions.
For instance, if you’re on a first date with someone you know has been married before, don’t ask “so why’d you get divorced?” Let them offer up that information when they are ready.

Similarly, when you’re on your first job interview with a company, don’t ask in the first five minutes about healthcare benefits, the retirement plan, and how many vacation days you get if hired. Most hiring managers will give you that information when they are good and ready – which is usually when they think you are a strong contender for the job.

5. Make sure there’s chemistry.
“But they looked perfect on paper!” So many times, a first date sounds like the ideal fit, but when you meet them in person, you realize there is no chemistry – which is critical for the success of a relationship.

Likewise, when you are searching for just the right job, make sure you feel like a position and an employer are a fit for your background, personality, and career goals. Otherwise, you’ll wind up right back where you started – on the job market.

Need more help landing a great new job in the Tempe or Phoenix area?
Call PrideStaff. As one of the leading recruiting firms in Tempe, we can connect you with terrific job opportunities often not advertised. Find out more! Contact us today. 

What are the Best Hiring Managers Doing Differently?

Hiring the best person for the job is the most important decision made by a manager. Consider how much is resting on it in terms of productivity, morale and value added to your organization. Building a team with the right mix of talent takes significant time and energy, but it’s all worth it when you make the right candidate/job match.

Managing Your Workforce and Motivating Temporary Employees

More employers are hiring temporary and contingent staff to fill their staffing needs. If these employees do not work as a team with other staff, the dynamics could affect productivity. Motivating temporary workers can
give you an edge over your competitors. Lead effectively, and ensure that your workplace is ideal or even fun, and you will attract the best, enthusiastic workers.

Effective leadership is key. Show appreciation for your staff and model an attitude of respect. Provide the tools that staff need to do their job well, whether it be well-structured training or a safe work environment with updated equipment. Temporary and contingent workers will appreciate and be motivated by the following:

• Hire wisely.
  The Frugal Entrepreneur recommends determining what you expect from staff before you hire. Have realistic expectations that are aligned with the compensation you can afford to provide. A professional staffing agency can find the right skilled temporary staff and screen them for ability, organizational fit and reliability. Appropriate hiring will ensure that employees are effective immediately.
• Provide a warm welcome and appropriate training.
  Give your new and temporary staff the direction and tools  they need. Training does not have to be formal and expensive. Hire contingent workers who already have the required skills and team them up with your more skilled and experienced workers. Learning from teammates will improve work group relationships.
• Provide clear instructions with respect to individual responsibilities.
  Ensure that staff members have a supervisor or team leader to go to with any questions. Ambiguity or misunderstandings are the fastest route to accidents and lost revenue.
• Provide feedback.
  A valuable temporary worker may want to return in the future, and next time they will require less investment in terms of training. If a worker is productive and reliable, tell them and the agency that sourced them.

Develop a reputation as an excellent employer and your will have no problem finding the best temporary workers when you need them. Looking to hire in the new year? PrideStaff Las Vegas prides itself on providing qualified candidates to clients across Las Vegas and the surrounding area. Contact us today to learn how our team of experts can benefit yours!