Is Your Company Culture Driving Productivity? Or Causing Team Members To Take It Slow?

A new year is a fresh start, and you’re hoping to achieve that at your company. As a committed manager, you know a positive company culture is the key to a successful business.

Maybe things are great at your company or perhaps you know there’s room for improvement. Either way, it’s important to know telltale signs that your current culture isn’t driving productivity.

For example, high levels of turnover, absenteeism and tardiness can lead to a serious lack of productivity. This, along with issues like regularly missing deadlines and staff passing the blame for mistakes from one person to the next will impact your bottom line.

Sounding a bit too familiar? Here’s a look at a few ways your company might be inadvertently causing this behavior.

Four Characteristics that Fuel an Unproductive Company Culture

Lack of Recognition

The best employees don’t need or expect excessive praise. However, it doesn’t feel great to really exceed expectations and feel like your boss didn’t notice or care. As a busy manager, you might not even realize you’re doing this. It’s easy to be impressed by an employee’s effort, but forget to actually recognize them.

The thing is, they won’t know you’re pleased with their work unless you say something. Make a point in 2023 to call employees out when they’ve gone above and beyond for the good of the team.

Poor Communication From Management

Your company is a huge part of your employees’ lives, so feeling like they’re in the dark — understandably doesn’t sit well. When employees learn about organizational updates through the grapevine or in the news, they feel insignificant. It’s important to ensure people are always kept in the loop by sharing news with them in a timely manner, because they deserve it.

Additionally, communication between employees and managers needs to feel like a dialog. If people feel like they’re constantly talked at, but rarely heard, they assume their input isn’t wanted or appreciated.

Little-to-No Flexibility

Technology has changed the way modern companies function. In the past, having people in a traditional office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. was the standard, but this is now largely considered archaic. When possible, giving employees a flexible schedule and the ability to work from home — at least some of the time — makes them both happier and more productive. When people are able to balance their personal and professional lives, they’re happier and more focused.

No Room to Grow

It’s hard to get too excited about a job when you know there’s no upward mobility. If most positions at your company don’t offer room to grow, people probably aren’t that inspired to go the extra mile, because they know they’ll never get a promotion.

Find out what it would take for your top employees to stay with the company and try to create space for them to grow. Carefully assess your org chart to look for ways to restructure or add new positions.

Get the Hiring Help You Need

Want to find new hires who will make your company better than ever? PrideStaff Las Vegas is committed to helping you find the perfect fit. Contact us today to discuss a partnership!

Returning to School? Consider a Temp Job

If you’re headed back to school to make a career change this semester, you still need to earn an income. A temp job offers the opportunity to enjoy a flexible schedule, earn money, plus network, and gain new skills. Here’s a look at some of the many advances you can enjoy with temporary jobs.

Experience different industries and environments.

If you don’t have a lot of work experience and aren’t sure what kind of company you want to eventually work for, temporary jobs give you a chance to try out a range of employers in various industries. You can find out if you like large or small companies better, formal or casual workplace cultures, and which industry interests you most. Once you graduate, you can then pursue a better-fit opportunity.

Work in a flexible way.

Temp jobs are flexible, which is key when you’re in school. You can simply explain to your recruiter at the temporary staffing agency the days and times you are available. That way, they’ll only offer you assignments that align with your class schedule. At the same time, you can take breaks in between assignments to catch up on schoolwork or just enjoy a breather during this busy time of life.

Earn and train at the same time.

When you’re working in temporary jobs, you’ll be earning money, as well as gaining new skills. In fact, many temporary staffing agencies offer free training, so you can learn new computer programs and other skills, all without costing you money. In the process, you can expand your knowledge base and then put this expertise to work for you once you’re ready to find a full-time job.

Network and even get a full-time job.

Your temporary assignments offer the opportunity to network with professionals who could play a part in your future career growth. At the same time, if you enjoy a particular assignment and the company is impressed with you, they could even extend a full-time offer.

Interested in finding a temporary job?

If you’d like to learn more about temporary jobs in Phoneix, turn to PrideStaff. We can learn about your background and career goals and match you with great assignments. Search our jobs now to get started.

What’s Your Leadership Style? Here’s How to Lead with Authenticity

As noted by Brooke Vukovic, adjunct lecturer of leadership coaching at Northwestern University, the key to successful leadership is authenticity – drawing from one’s own unique experiences, values and strengths. According to Vukovic, authenticity, “is not a license to be exclusively focused on the self. It’s about being aligned with your character and values in order to lead effectively.”

Two key areas to focus on as you become an authentic leader are truly knowing yourself and learning to connect with others. Simple, yet profound. It takes work and an ongoing commitment to lead with authenticity – but it’s achievable and sustainable, as long as you keep those things in mind.

Know yourself.

In short, this means being aware of your unique character, values, strengths and weaknesses, and purpose. Develop a strong, clear understanding of what motivates you and how you want to motivate your team members.

• Become more self-aware. Self-awareness is the ability to monitor your own emotions and reactions. It equips you to better process and work through those emotions, avoiding unnecessary conflict. Work on keeping an open mind, staying focused, setting boundaries, and knowing your emotional triggers. Embrace your intuition, practice self-discipline, and always consider how your actions affect others.
• Be a lifelong learner. Commit to this goal yourself, and cultivate it throughout your organization. Rather than resisting change or getting stuck because “that’s the way we’ve always done things,” celebrate continuous learning and improvement. Try dedicating 30 to 60 minutes a week to learning something new and setting an example for your company.
• Stay balanced. Maintain consistency in all areas of your life. Work/life balance is always a challenge, but integrating the two together in a healthy way is a strong bridge to authenticity.

Learn to connect.

What distinguishes leaders is their ability to understand the impact and influence they have on others.

• Keep communication lines open. This includes continuously seeking and actively listening to feedback, both formal and informal. Whether you act on feedback or not, be sure to acknowledge that you’ve received it and you understand it – and that whatever conclusion you reach or responsive action you take stays consistent with your values.
• Practice humility. Authentic leaders are trusted leaders – and in order for people to trust you, you have to give them a reason to do so. Humility and openness are key, and create an environment of collaboration, trust, and psychological safety. Employees and team members feel comfortable being human and fallible, which means they also feel free to honestly speak their mind, even if they disagree with you.

As you strive to reach your leadership goals, let PrideStaff Modesto provide coaching services and become your trusted partner through the life cycle of your career. We do more than just place people in open jobs. Our mission and vision encompass that, but also extend much further, with everything we do engineered to help you find ongoing success in your chosen field. Reach out to us today to learn more.

How to Review and Set New Goals for Your Team for Higher Productivity This Year

Effective goal setting is the foundation of a successful year for your business. They help guide your team’s efforts to ensure their hard work leads to tangible results that align with the company’s overall priorities. Here is how to review and set new goals for your team for higher productivity this year:

Assess the Previous Year

If you set goals for last year, take a look at their outcomes, so you can determine where to make necessary changes. Consider how beneficial they were to making a valuable contribution to the business’s bigger picture mission, as well as any setbacks that kept them from being achieved.

Focus on the Objective 

When you’re setting goals, productivity will organically occur if there is a clear purpose behind them. Focus on the objective you want to achieve, and then narrow down possible projects or actions that would help get you closer to them – i.e., prioritize the “why” over the “what”. 

Get Clarity 

Once you have a sense of the bigger-picture initiatives you want to accomplish, clarify the specific tasks that would advance your team toward the desired outcome. Be as detailed as possible and break down goals into the smallest steps to make them less intimidating and provide a clear plan for making progress. 

Get Team Buy In

Involve your employees in your goal setting and ask for their input and feedback in developing goals and determining how realistic they are. Not only will this ensure your goals are likely to be effective and doable, but it will also make them feel more invested in the process and likely to go above and beyond.

Establish Accountability 

When you first set goals, you and your employees will likely have an initial wave of excitement. However, it can be challenging to maintain that motivation during the day-to-day, especially during busy or stressful times. Check progress regularly as a way to establish accountability – schedule recurring meetings to ensure goals are moving forward and address any challenges. 

Partner with Us for Recruitment

Find top talent to join your team with PrideStaff Akron. Our experienced team of staffing experts will work with you to understand your needs and provide you with qualified candidates. Contact us for more information. 

Why It’s Better to Invest In Your Current Workforce Over Outside Talent

The labor market is in the middle of a seismic shift. A lack of qualified workers has complicated the hiring process. This, in turn, has put increased pressure on retention. In the new economy, you’ll see increasing value from investing in your current workforce rather than seeking outside talent.

The main driver behind this strategy realignment is a trend that has become known as the “sansdemic,” a term that describes a system-wide lack of qualified workers. As a result, employers will face a smaller pool of potential job candidates, making it harder to find good talent.

An estimate delivered by Korn Ferry suggested that the global labor shortage could reach 85 million workers by the start of the next decade. In dollar terms, this could reduce annual revenues of companies worldwide by $8.5 trillion.

This change will put significant pressure on your operations. Finding talent will become difficult. As a result, holding onto to high-performing staffers will reach the top of many firms’ HR priorities.

Beyond counteracting the impact of the sansdemic, a focus on retention has other key benefits.

Here are some of the other reasons why it’s better to invest in your current workforce over outside talent:

Your Team Performs Better

An added investment in your current team will lead to an upgrade in performance. Your employees will have additional skills to apply to their day-to-day tasks. Meanwhile, increased retention rates will create more stability. It will be easier for coworkers to develop efficient routines and deliver consistently on an ongoing basis.

You Have More Information

New hires represent an unknown. You try to gather as much information as possible during the recruiting process. However, you can only garner so much from resumes, research, and job interviews.

In contrast, your current staff is a known quantity. You know their strengths and weaknesses, giving you the information you need to get the most out of them. You won’t face a time-consuming learning process or run into surprise personality roadblocks.

Your Organization Gets More Flexible

Some staff development efforts might seem redundant at the time. Employees learn skills that they might not use in their everyday efforts. However, this investment gives you additional optionality. You can quickly move team members into new roles because they have the necessary abilities.

In this way, devoting resources to your current staff gives you additional flexibility. You can quickly respond to market changes, without the time-consuming and costly process of seeking outside expertise. This lets you stay nimble, able to jump onto any opportunity that comes your way.

You Build a Great Leadership Bench

Upskilling your team doesn’t just help in the near term. It also creates significant long-term value. As higher-level positions become available, you’ll have desirable candidates already available in-house.

Recruiting Gets Easier

Yes, the sansdemic is going to make recruiting more difficult. And, sure, that means you’ll want to keep more of your current staff. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll never need to hire from the outside ever again. Even in a changing labor market, you’ll still need to locate great candidates.

A focus on developing internal talent can actually help on the recruiting front as well. You’ll develop a reputation for taking care of your employees. This will boost your employer brand and make you a target destination for career-minded candidates.

Reach Out to PrideStaff Bend Today

As you look to overcome the labor crisis engendered by the sansdemic, a strong recruiting partner will become critical. A top staffing agency, like PrideStaff Bend, will give you the edge you need to thrive.

Contact PrideStaff today to get the most out of your team-building efforts.

The Guide To Writing a Proper, Yet Direct, Email to a Recruiter

You’re committed to finding a new job in 2023 — and to be honest, the sooner the better. However, you’ve realized you need a little help finding the right job for you. Therefore, you’ve decided to reach out to a recruiter to request assistance with your search.

This is the first time you’ve done this, so you’re not quite sure how to word your email. You want to make a great impression, so you’re searching for tips to get it right. Here’s some advice that ensures your message will be warmly received.

Five Tips to Effectively Email a Recruiter

Maximize Your Subject Line

Recruiters get a lot of emails, so it’s important to ensure yours doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. The best way to do this is using your subject line to make the purpose of your email clear — i.e., “Customer service professional seeking assistance finding a management position.” This shows the recruiter your email is legit, increasing the chances they’ll open it.

Get Personal

No one wants to read an impersonal email. You know the recruiter’s name, so address them personally. This will make them feel valued, because it shows you really want to work with them. Even if you’re sending feelers out to several recruiters, always address the email directly to each person, as anything else can easily feel like spam.

Summarize Your Experience

Chances are, a recruiter isn’t going to open an attachment with your resume and spend time carefully reading it from an initial email. Therefore, it’s best to offer a summary of your career experience in the body of the message. Briefly explain your current role, years of experience and career highlights. Give them enough information to understand who you are and what you have to offer, without expecting them to read a pages-long email.

Explain What You Want

Many recruiters specialize in certain areas, so it’s important to tell them what you’re looking for in a new job, so they can determine whether they can help you. It’s okay if you don’t know exactly what you want, but at least offer a general idea of the job or career change you’re looking for, so they can get a better understanding.

Request a Chat

Let the recruiter know why you decided to reach out to them. Ask if they have a few minutes to talk with you about your career goals to see if they might be able to help you. Giving a clear call to action will inspire a prompt reply, because it’s clear that you’re a motivated candidate who is serious about making a career move.

Leave the Work to Us

Having a little trouble finding a new job that feels right? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to help. Contact us today to learn more!

How to Take the Pulse of Your Workplace Culture

In today’s day and age, with a big focus on employee wellness and mental health, a healthy culture is key. Yet, how do you know if yours is strong and robust or on life support? Here are some red flags to look for that your culture needs a boost in the year ahead.

Red flag #1: Turnover and revolving door positions.

Some turnover is normal and there will likely be lower level, entry level positions with low retention rates. However, if your company is experiencing high turnover in key positions, it’s time to take a look at culture and find out the reasons why.

Red flag #2: A general bad attitude.

When employees who used to be positive and optimistic suddenly have a bad attitude about work, it could be a sign that your culture has taken a hit. If there’s a lot of grumbling, complaints, an increase in absenteeism, or poor performance, it’s time for a change and to look at how to improve the culture.

Red flag #3: All meetings and no action.

If you have meeting after meeting and no action is taken, then employees are going to get frustrated. Your team wants action, not talking a subject to death. If you’re not making decisions, they’ll leave for a leader who can move their team forward.

Red flag #4: Drama and gossip.

If you’re hearing about drama going on between co-workers or a lot of gossip, then it’s another sign your culture could be toxic. It’s important to put an end to this kind of behavior because it makes people feel bad about coming to work. You goal is to create a happy, dynamic culture, not one where your employees don’t like each other.

What you can do

The good news? If you’re noticing these or other signs your culture needs help, there is a way to get back on track. Before someone else quits, conduct “stay interviews” with your employees. These are like exit interviews. However, they are meant to stop employees from quitting.

The goal is to find out each employee’s take on the company, the culture and what you could be doing better as an employer. This sends the message you care and that you value your team. It also helps you find out what areas need improvement and why, so you can turn the situation around.

Is your team stretched thin?

If part of the problem is a workforce stretched too thin and burnout as a result, turn to PrideStaff. As a leading staffing agency serving Tempe, we can fill gaps and vacancies with skilled, hard-working candidates. Contact us today to get started.

Set Your 2023 Career Goals

You have enough to do already. Chances are, you’ve started off the new year running just as fast as you did at the end of 2022. Where, in the grand scheme of things, are you supposed to find the time to sit down and define, set, and start working toward those career goals you keep pushing to the back burner?

If this rings all too true for you, well then, that’s the whole point. By investing the time and work into goal setting early on in the year, you’ll have a realistic road map to follow for the next 11-plus months. It will save you wasting any more time on all of this – and just imagine what your life might look like a year from now if you accomplish what you set out to do!

• Write it all down. If you feel lost at any point during the year, you can literally look at your career goal plan and become grounded and focused again. Goals are powerful tools that keep you accountable and pointed in the right direction.

Reflect on the past year.

This is step one in your successful goal-setting strategy. Incentivize yourself toward your goals by thinking back on what you achieved – or fell short of achieving – in 2022. Were your goals too broad, or unrealistic? Were there external factors that got in the way of reaching them? Be honest as you self-assess.

Be sure all your goals are SMART.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. Setting them sets you up for success and helps you work smarter, not harder.

Look for ways to improve your performance.

Are you doing the best work you can right now? Even if your goal turns out to be “find a new job,” it always pays to identify areas for improvement – and take action. Reevaluating how you work can significantly enhance your productivity – and your personal brand – as you position yourself for whatever changes may lie ahead.

Develop your soft skills.

Also known as transferable skills, these are traits that will serve you well in any role, business or industry. They can also prove invaluable as you work toward both short and long-term goals. A few examples are communication, organization, teamwork and collaboration, time management, leadership and emotional intelligence.

• Sharpen your communication skills by being a more active listener.
• Work on your emotional intelligence to learn how to have hard, but necessary, conversations with your coworkers and/or your boss. This could make it easier to deal with difficult people or even ask for that long-awaited raise.

Perhaps the most valuable resource to help you achieve your 2023 goals is a professional career counselor who will partner with you from start to finish – making a gigantic and daunting task realistic and reachable. At PrideStaff Modesto, we have an experienced team just waiting to work with you through the life cycle of your career, starting today. Give us a shout so we can tell you more.

How to Best Take Advantage of Career Opportunities Created By the Sansdemic

The job market is a living thing. The conditions that determine your ability to find a job and the amount you demand in the market evolve over time. To make the most of this fact, you need to understand the way things are trending and the steps you need to take to advance your career.

You might not know it yet, but the job market is headed for a condition that has become known as the “sansdemic.” This term describes the growing lack of workers in the economy — a fact that has many employers scrambling to find the help they need.

You’re in a position to thrive in the coming environment. However, true success isn’t going to fall in your lap. There are still things you need to do to reach your full potential.

With that in mind, here are a few tips to take advantage of career opportunities created by the sansdemic:

How the Sansdemic Will Impact Your Career Opportunities

There has been talk of a potential recession on the horizon. This has come with a string of high-profile layoff announcements from some of the world’s biggest companies. In the short term, the labor market might see a glut of qualified workers.

However, the longer-term trend points to a tighter labor market. The departure of Baby Boomers from the workforce, along with other factors, has fed the broader sansdemic. Short-term factors, such as inflation or rapidly rising interest rates, might dampen near-term economic prospects. But broader demographic trends will likely tip negotiations in your direction.

How to Take Advantage of the Sansdemic to Drive Your Career Forward

With less competition for jobs, you have a better bargaining stance. In the right jobs and in the right industries, you’ll be able to accelerate your career growth. Still, there are steps you can take to turn the situation even further to your advantage.

Here’s how you can grab the opportunities generated by the sansdemic:

Understand the Market

As we’ve noted, the job market is never static. Even amid a general sansdemic, there will be times when jobs are easier or harder to find. Given this constant flux, make research part of your normal routine. This way, you’ll understand the prevailing trends at any given time, letting you make the most out of any situation.

Target the Right Industries

Not every part of the market will see the same impact from the sansdemic. To make the most of the situation, learn which professions will see the biggest upside from changing conditions. Here are some of the industries that will be hardest hit by the constricting labor market:

• Manufacturing
• Distribution
• Transportation
• Health Care
• Hospitality
• Food Industries
• Retail

Focus on High-Demand Skills

Along with targeting the right industries, it’s important to pursue the most in-demand skills. Look for places where the sansdemic has left the biggest gaps. Then, master your abilities in these areas — a move that will maximize your earning potential and your freedom of movement.

Become a Better Negotiator

It’s not just about what you can do. Career advancement also depends on your ability to convince others of your worth. As such, an upgrade in your negotiation skills will let you get the most out of your other attributes.

The sansdemic will likely give you an advantage when approaching employers. You want to optimize this opportunity. To do that, you need to get more aggressive about asking for what you want and more adept at the way you communicate your value.

Contact PrideStaff Bend Today

A top recruiter can help in this area. A partner like PrideStaff Bend will steer you towards the best employers and improve your ability to get the most out of the situation.

Contact PrideStaff Bend today to learn more.

Here’s to 2023! 3 Books Every Job Seeker Should Read to Kickstart Their Positive Mentality

The new year has arrived and you’re ready to take it by storm. You’ve been feeling unfulfilled in your current job for quite some time, and you’ve finally decided to do something about it.

Right now, you’re trying to figure out exactly what you want, before kickstarting your job search. To help guide the way, you’re hoping to find a few books for job seekers, but you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices out there.

PrideStaff Las Vegas has you covered. Find these three books at your local bookstore or library as soon as possible and prepare to be inspired.

Three Books Every Job Seeker Should Read Right Now

‘Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know’

Written by organizational psychologist Adam Grant, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” encourages you to get out of your comfort zone. This book will challenge you to really think about what you want, instead of what feels easy. It can be especially helpful if you’re having trouble leaving a long-term job or finding the courage to switch careers, because you’re comfortable where you’re at.

‘Take the Leap: Change Your Career, Change Your Life’

Designed to help you land your dream job, “Take the Leap,” by Sara Bliss is filled with inspirational stories from more than 60 people who made major life and career changes. You’ll also gain practical advice from experts to help turn your vision into reality. Designed to ensure you don’t settle for anything but the best, this book will inspire you to reach for the stars.

‘What Color is Your Parachute? 2022: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success’

A job hunting guide that’s sold more than 10 million copies over 50 years, Richard N. Bolles’ “What Color is Your Parachute” was fully revised and expanded in 2022. Enjoy the latest resources, strategies and perspectives on the modern job market, giving you a shortcut to what works and what doesn’t. In addition to helping you plot your ideal career path, you’ll learn tips for writing a winning resume and cover letter, while gaining networking, interviewing and negotiating advice.

Don’t Settle For Anything But the Best

Want to find your dream job this year? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to guide your search. Contact us today to find out what we can do for you!