5 Tips for Hiring During and After COVID-19

As you prepare to resume business operations following the COVID-19 pandemic, you may need to expand your workforce.  What considerations should you keep in mind at this unique time?

About Interviewing

Protection and consistency are the two key factors when it comes to interviewing at this time.

• Consider using video interviewing to keep applicants and interviewers safe. But be consistent; use the same method for all candidates. Keep nondiscrimination laws in mind: if video interviewing would disproportionately limit a protected group from having access, seek out another method, such as phone interviews.
• If your only alternative is in-person interviewing, keep federal, state, and local regulations in mind. In addition to face masks, options include limiting candidates to a certain area in your workplace, sanitizing interview spaces before and after each meeting, and setting up partitions to separate applicants from interviewers.

Can You Screen Candidates for COVID-19?

Under federal law, you are permitted to screen job candidates for COVID-19, after you have made a conditional job offer, as long as you follow the same practice for all entering employees in the same type of role.

• Note: There are different rules for screening current employees.
• Taking a person’s temperature is considered a medical exam. You may not do so until after making a conditional offer. And remember: Some people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, so you may want to consider an alternate screening practice.

New Hire Paperwork

The same basic employment paperwork is legally required, with a few adjustments initiated in light of the COVID-19 pandemic:

• While the time frame for Form I-9 submission remains the same, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in March that employees are temporarily allowed to inspect related documents remotely, in certain situations. This time period was initially through May 19, but the DHS extended it for another 30 days.
• The DHS has also issued a temporary policy for driver’s licenses that have expired and could not be renewed due to DMV closures. Generally, you may accept List B documents that expired after March 1, as long as the follow DHA protocol. Candidates have the right to choose which ones to present, as long as they are on the I-9 List of Acceptable Documents.

What About Background Screens and Drug Testing?

Consult with your legal counsel before deviating from your normal background screen policies. If yours is a regulated industry, check with state and/or federal enforcement agencies for the current status of drug testing rules.

About the FFCRA

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) allows employees to take two types of leaves at this time:

• Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL), or
• Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL)/Expanded FMLA

All employees are entitled to use EPSL, regardless of their length of service. To qualify to PHEL/Expanded FMLA, an individual must be employed for at least 30 calendar days prior to the leave.

The staffing experts at PrideStaff Modesto are up to date on all current federal, state, and local hiring guidelines, including those applicable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us help with your employment needs at this time, so you can focus on the health and well-being of your workforce and your business. Contact us today to learn more.

How to Hire Efficiently and Effectively When Rebuilding Your Workforce

The COVID-19 pandemic put your business to a halt, but you’re ready to start picking up the pieces. Unfortunately, you were forced to let most—or all—of your employees go, so you need to start rebuilding from the ground up.

As both a small business and a top job agency in Las Vegas, PrideStaff Las Vegas understands you’re frustrated. In a matter of months, the pandemic caused significant damage to your company—but it’s still standing.

It’s going to take a lot of work, but you will get through this. Here’s some advice to help you build a new team that will make your company more successful than ever.

Three Tips to Efficiently and Effectively Rebuild Your Workforce

Assess Your Current Financial Situation

Your business probably isn’t in the same place it was a few months ago, before the pandemic. It might not be pretty, but prior to hiring, you need to get your finances in order. This will allow you to determine how many employees you can bring back on, and how much you can pay them. Creating a new budget will also help you plan for other expenses, such as marketing and purchasing new inventory, so you don’t stretch your finances too thin.

Update Your Business Plan

The pandemic isn’t over. Therefore, you can’t expect business to go back to normal overnight. It’s very possible you’ll need to adjust your business model to meet current demands—i.e., offering local delivery or nationwide shipping. It’s important to do this before hiring, so you fill the right kinds of positions. Succeeding in the current environment will likely involve a team that looks different than you’re used to, so you need to adapt as needed.

Consider Temporary Workers

Right now, it’s hard to know what the future holds for your business. In times of uncertainty, it’s best to create a workforce that can easily adjust to change. Therefore, hiring temporary workers can be a great idea, because there’s no obligation to keep people on staff if your business needs change. If needed, this allows you to quickly reduce overhead expenses, which can make all the difference to the future of your company.

Build the Strongest Team You’ve Ever Had

If you’re ready to start rebuilding your team after the COVID-19 pandemic, PrideStaff Las Vegas wants to help. We know you have a lot on your plate right now, so we’re here to guide your hiring process. Contact us today to discuss a partnership!

Make The Best First Impression on Hiring Managers with These Tips

You don’t get much time to present your case during the typical recruiting process. In most cases, you provide your resume, and then have the length of a job interview to convince a company to hire you. It puts a lot of emphasis on a first impression.

Making an impact on a hiring manager early in the process greatly increases your chances of getting the job. One study showed that a third of hiring managers made their decision within the first 90 seconds of the interview. The takeaway from that fact? Despite the complicated logistics surrounding the recruitment process, it often comes down to a snap reaction.

Make sure that the snap decision goes in your favor. Here are a few tips to make the best first impression on hiring managers.

Start Shaping Opinions Before the Interview

What counts as a first impression? Usually, the definition puts it at the first encounter, when you meet the hiring manager in person. However, by that point, they’ve probably already formed a per-impression of you.

Make sure that your early opinion puts you in a good light. In other words, don’t wait until you meet a company’s hiring manager in person. Start building a strong impression beforehand. Answer all communications promptly, and conduct yourself in a professional manner throughout the process. This will set you up for a successful first meeting.

Get the Basics Right

Just think about the phrase “first impressions.” It’s right there: the impression that happens first. You want to shape that instant judgment that occurs in the first moments of meeting you.

To do that, you need to nail the simple stuff. Each of these might seem too obvious to mention. But they all count in the first impression. So make sure to do the following:

• Show Up On Time
• Dress Appropriately
• Come Prepared
• Keep Your Phone Out of Sight

Doing these items will likely go unnoticed by your interviewers. However, not doing any one of them could conceivably cost you the position.

Go with the Flow

Every hiring manager is different. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach could end up costing you opportunities. It’s better to read the individual situation and let that guide how you present yourself.

Learn as much as you can about the company and its culture before you arrive. If possible, research the individuals who will be responsible for making the hiring selection. This information can help you make simple decisions, like what to wear. It can also help you hone your presentation, cluing you in on what skills and what aspects of your background you should highlight.

Get Excited

Everyone wants to feel wanted. That goes for hiring managers, too. They want to know you are excited about the position they are trying to fill. As such, feel free to show some enthusiasm for the position and for the company.

Don’t get the wrong idea: we don’t want you to go overboard. You don’t want to seem like you just downed a case of Red Bull. But a drowsy, disinterested performance doesn’t do you any favors either. Make sure you bring a level of excitement to the process. It can only help your case.

Making a first impression gets easier when you know you’re perfect for the position. Working with a top-notch staffing agency, like PrideStaff, ensures that you can find the ideal situation for your skills and background.

Contract PrideStaff today to fast-track your job search.

How to Keep Employees Focused & Engaged Over Summer

We’re right in the middle of summer. It’s the time of year when employees want to kick back and relax a little more. The problem is that you have projects due, customers waiting and orders to get out the door.

How can you help employees enjoy all that summer offers without sabotaging your business priorities? Here are some quick tips to keep your team engaged and motivated over the weeks and months ahead:

Offer flex or summer hours.
Today’s employees want flexibility more than ever, especially during the summer season. Provide it with flex hours or summer hours. Either way, you’re giving your staff a little extra time to focus on their personal lives and take advantage of the season, so they’re recharged and ready for work when they’re in the office.

Encourage vacations.
When you have a team that works hard, they need time off to continue to contribute in a positive way. So don’t let them slip by without taking their vacation time. If you have any employee who hasn’t taken a break in a while, encourage them to do so. If they don’t, they’ll eventually burn out, which will impact performance and productivity.

Incentivize productivity.
Reward your employees for meeting productivity goals with incentives. For instance, if they meet a certain milestone by a specific date, let them leave at noon on Friday and enjoy a longer weekend. Offer extra vacation days or other perks for meeting bigger performance goals.

Show your appreciation.
Don’t get so focused on business priorities that you don’t show your employees how much you appreciate them. You don’t need to give them an expensive gift. However, a few words of thanks and praise will go a long way in making employees feel valued and motivated to continue to succeed.

Bring in extra hands.
If you have a lot of work to complete over summer and your core staff is already fully scheduled, then bring in temporary workers. When you do, you’ll be able to finish the job on time and on budget, without adding to your overhead or stressing out your existing team members. It’s the best of both worlds and a great way to ensure your employees don’t get stretched too thin and can enjoy the season ahead.

Get professional help hiring temporary workers.

At PrideStaff, we’re one of Tempe’s top staffing agencies and can connect you with qualified and experienced temporary workers for jobs across a range of industries and skill levels, whether you need them to cover an employee vacation, to meet an uptick in demand, or to take on a new initiative. Contact us today to get started!

The Value of Having a Good Relationship with a Staffing Agency

Filling your open positions is not only a time-consuming endeavor, but the pressure is on to make the right hiring decisions. Working with a staffing agency can help you to find candidates and feel confident in your choices since you know they have been thoroughly evaluated by recruiting experts. Learn more about the value of having a good relationship with a staffing agency:  

Frees Up Your Time

A lot of work goes into hiring employees, from advertising the position to reviewing applications to arranging interviews to the actual interviewing and decision-making process. Working with a staffing agency frees up your time so you can spend it on more impactful tasks or projects. 

Deeper Candidate Pool

When you opt to find candidates on your own, you are limited to whoever sees your posting and responds or any references you receive from current employees or your other professional contexts. Since staffing agencies are able to dedicate their time to recruitment solely, they build a vast network of prospects, which gives you access to a much deeper candidate pool. 

Streamlines Hiring Process 

Working with a staffing agency allows you to fill your positions more quickly because they streamline the hiring process. They get all of the initial pre-screening handled on your behalf, so you only need to step in during the final stages to decide from the top thoroughly vetted candidate options. This allows you to make a decision much faster. 

Reduces Bad Hires 

Staffing agencies have the expertise to be able to evaluate candidates for their likelihood of success objectively. By having a good relationship with a staffing agency, you can reduce bad hires and improve your retention rate because they will only provide you with candidates who meet your satisfaction. 

Provides Flexibility  

A staffing agency can help provide you the flexibility to meet your hiring needs, whatever they may be. If you just need someone temporarily to deal with a short term influx of demand, a staffing agency can provide you with temporary employees. Or if you want to preview whether it is justified to increase your staff size, they can give you temp-to-hire where you don’t have to commit. 

We’re Here to Help You

Attract qualified candidates to your team by working with PrideStaff Akron. We provide a variety of employment services, including direct recruiting, temp-to-hire, and temporary staffing, and will work closely with you to find the right candidates for you. Contact us today to learn more about our staffing solutions. 

The Key to Finding the Right Employees in Las Vegas

There’s a lot of talented candidates out there, but that doesn’t mean they’re all right for your team. Finding the best person for the job is about more than just skills. Instead, you need to dig deep to ensure your chosen candidate is a match for your company culture.

When you partner with Las Vegas hiring support, cultural fit is always a top focus, because the experts understand its importance. Here’s some advice to help you place cultural fit at the forefront of your hiring process.

Four Tips to Hire for Cultural Fit

Clearly Define Your Company Values

You can’t hire for culture, if you don’t even know what your business stands for. Take the time to figure out who your company is and what it represents before making your next hire. Having a clear identity will make it easier to determine who you need on your team to create and preserve the kind of culture you want.

Describe Your Culture in Job Postings

Finding the right cultural fit is a two-way street. Savvy candidates understand the importance of choosing an employer that shares their values and beliefs, so they want to learn as much as possible about your culture. Make it easy for them to find this information by sharing a few paragraphs about your culture on the job posting. This will help candidates decide whether or not to pursue the job.

Ask Behavioral Interview Questions

A job interview is a time to learn as much as possible about candidates, but this won’t happen if you stick to those requiring a “yes” or “no” response. Behavioral interview questions tailored to cultural fit—i.e., “What is your preferred work schedule?” and “Do you enjoy socializing with co-workers?”—help you gauge a candidate’s fit on your team. Consider their responses a preview of what they’d be like to work with.

Let Top Choices Meet the Team

You can guess how candidates would interact with your team, but it’s impossible to know for sure until it actually happens. Give your top choices a trial run by introducing them to team members they’d be working closely with. Gather everyone in the conference room for a formal interview or invite each candidate out for a team lunch. Afterwards, meet with your team to hear their thoughts, so you can make an informed decision.

Find the Best Person for the Job

Hiring is hard work, so allow PrideStaff Las Vegas to do the legwork. As hiring experts, we know exactly what it takes to choose the best person for the job, so you can feel confident we have your back. Contact us today to get started!

Popular Job Benefits Millennials Are Looking For

In the last decade or so, Millennials have gone from entry-level positions to the centerpiece of many workforces. Members of generation are now in the primes of their careers, making them ideal contributors to any organization. That fact means that every company has to develop strategies to entice Millennials into their ranks. To do this, employers have to consider what job benefits this group of candidates are looking for.

Millennials now make up the most significant chunk of the labor force, comprising about 38% of workers. (That compares to 35% and 25% for Generation X and Baby Boomers, respectively.) Meanwhile, that dominance is only expected to grow over the next few years, especially as Boomers continue to retire.

Definitions change from source to source, but generally speaking, Millennials encompass the birth years from around 1980 until around 2000. Some sources shorten the window somewhat, but the generation invariably begins in the early 1980s and ends somewhere towards the end of the 1990s.

In age terms, that puts Millennials somewhere between 20 and 40 years old at this point, with the flat part of the curve in the late-20s/early 30s range.

As we’ve already seen, this group makes up a significant portion of the workforce. At the same time, they all share a similar point in their career cycles. These factors give members of the generation some common ground in terms of the benefits they are looking for from employers. Here are some of the things at the top of their wish lists.

Health Insurance

This is a basic need for many employees. For Millennials, it often takes a particular shape. Older employees, like boomers and Gen Xers, often have their own health situations at the forefront of their minds. Zoomers, on the other hand, just entering the workforce, can often rely on their parents for health insurance.

Millennials have different concerns. With an age range from their mid-20s into the late 30s, Millennials are often at the stage of life when they have their own families to support. That means their health insurance needs disproportionately require family plans and other related benefits.

Student Loan Help

The burden of student loan debt weighs heavily on many Millennials. One study showed that borrowers between the ages of 25 and 34 carried a total of nearly half a trillion ($497.6 billion) in student debt. That averages out to about $33,000 for each worker.

By offering to help minimize this concern, companies can distinguish themselves from competing employers.

Unlimited PTO

The theory behind unlimited paid time off (PTO) is that workers should be responsible for their output. Rather than micromanaging when employees complete their tasks, this policy puts the impetus on the individual to manage their time effectively. A worker has a set zone of responsibility and assigned tasks to complete. As long as they are fulfilling their duties, there is no restriction on vacation and sick days.

Employees like these programs because they indicate trust in them as team members. It also gives the workers peace of mind that they will be able to respond to sudden family emergencies, without worrying about company time-off policies.

Meanwhile, these policies can be beneficial for output as well. As counterintuitive as it may seem, this policy often leads to fewer days off. One study showed that workers with unlimited vacation days took 13 days off, on average, in a year. The average with a capped number of days? Fifteen lost working days. Done right, an unlimited PTO policy can become a win-win for both employers and their workers.

Schedule Flexibility

Unlimited PTO is just one part of the scheduling puzzle. As we’ve already mentioned, Millennials are now at the age when they are often starting families, or well into their careers as moms and dads. One data set showed that more than one million Millennial women become moms for the first time each year. The same research found that 60% of the generation saw parenthood as a key part of their identity.

What does this all mean? Well, Millennials have a tough work/life balancing act to perform. They are in the midst of their career, trying to fuel their professional development. At the same time, they are raising families and defining themselves in relation to how well they take care of their kids.

By providing flexible scheduling, you make it easier for them to achieve both goals. This will help you become more attractive to these job candidates.

It can be difficult to craft the right hiring and retention policies for the job candidates you are looking to target. Having professional help can make the process better. By partnering with a strong staffing agency, like PrideStaff, you make it easier to attract the perfect workers for your open positions.

Contact PrideStaff today to learn more.

Job Search Tips in the Age of COVID-19

Searching for a new job is never an easy experience. But in today’s climate, it’s more challenging than ever. Should you hold off or still move ahead with your hunt? It depends on your specific situation.

For instance, if you’re unemployed, then you don’t have much of a choice. However, if you’re not happy in your current job, then it might seem equally pressing to find a different opportunity.

Whatever you’re facing, if you do decide to continue your search, here are some tips to help make it happen and find the job you want:

Do your homework.
Before you start applying to jobs, find out which industries or employers are hiring more. If a particular industry you want to work in took a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, then perhaps you should wait until the situation normalizes. But the point is to try to identify those areas in the employment marketplace or companies that are showing the best post-pandemic outlook. You’ll be more likely to find the job you want, as a result.

Network online and in person.
Another way to gauge the health of a particular company is to follow them online on social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This will enable you to get the latest company news and gain a better sense of what their employment and hiring situation looks like. In addition, as more companies are open and more people are socializing, continue to network as much in person as you can, safely.

Be prepared for a different hiring experience.
Some companies might be conducting their hiring process remotely, by phone or video. While they’re still be looking to get to know you as a candidate and evaluate your background, these experiences can feel different than a traditional interview. That’s why it’s important to prepare for them ahead of time, so you can put your best foot forward.

Accept that the situation is volatile.
There could be openings you apply to that simply disappear overnight. This is going to happen in a situation where circumstances are so volatile. Many businesses are facing an uncertain future, so could put hiring on hold, temporarily.

It is still possible to find a new job, even during these unprecedented times. But consider how urgent your search is. If you’re currently in a good position and are simply looking to make a move to get a promotion, then it could make sense to wait and see how the next few months unfold.

Bonus Tip: Call PrideStaff

If you’re ready to find a new opportunity now, then consider working with an employment firm in the Phoenix area, like PrideStaff, to do so. Our recruiters are experts who know who’s hiring and how to connect you with rewarding new jobs that are a fit for you. Contact us today to learn more or search our jobs now.

Learn About Different Types of Personal Protective Equipment

The global Covid-19 pandemic has brought personal protective equipment (PPE) to the forefront, not only for professional reasons but also to safeguard individuals in their own lives. But PPE has always been vital, as employee safety should be every company’s top priority.

The National Safety Council reports this alarming fact: Every seven seconds in the United States, a worker is injured on the job. That’s 510 worker injuries every hour, 12,600 every day, 88,500 every week, and 4,600,000 every year. It amounts to 104 million production days lost to work-related accidents. And the sad truth is, they could all be prevented – with a large part of the prevention solution being the right PPE.

PPE From Head to Toe

PPE covers a large group of products to protect users against low, medium, and high-level hazards. Here’s a synopsis of PPE coverage from head to toe. Ensure your employees have the right equipment to keep them safe and injury-free in the specific job they do every day.

• Headgear: Helmets, hard hats, bump caps, guards, and hairnets provide protection from falling or swinging objects, knocking against stationary objects, entanglement in machinery, or cross-contamination.
• Hand gear: Employees who work in extreme temperatures or need safeguards against vibration, burns, lacerations, or bacterial or chemical risks benefit from wearing the right gloves or cuff arm nets on the job.
• Eye and face gear: Goggles, safety glasses, eye and face shields, and visors protect those who work with lasers or power tools, use gas or vapor under pressure, weld, or handle hazardous substances.
• Respiratory protection: This covers a broad range of PPE, including breathing apparatus, respirators, hoods, facemasks, detectors, and monitors.
• Hearing protection: Earplugs, noise meters, communication sets, acoustic foam, and other forms of hearing protection are vital when working in a high-sound level environment. Hearing PPE should also provide the right level of hygiene and comfort to users.
• Footwear: It’s critical to protect workers’ feet and legs against extreme temperatures, crushing, piercing, slipping, cutting, electrical hazards, and chemical exposure. Options include safety shoes or boots, and anti-static and conductive footwear.
• Body protection: Depending on a person’s job, you may need to protect them against severe weather conditions, extreme temperatures, entanglement, drowning, or viral or chemical dangers. Full-body PPE includes life jackets, harnesses, and weather-specific or high-visibility clothing.

All PPE must be inspected regularly to ensure it is still fit for use and for the health and safety of your workers. Also, especially when it comes to more specialized forms of PPE, make sure you never slack off on proper training in equipment use.

For additional tips on keeping your workforce safe, contact PrideStaff Modesto today. Owned and operated in California’s Central Valley for more than three decades, we specialize in staffing and workforce development for the manufacturing, warehousing, skilled labor, administrative, and finance, and accounting industries.

Accomplishments vs. Responsibilities: How to List Them on Your Resume

Resumes largely consist of a list of your previous work history. In some cases, you’re trying to sum up years of work in a few phrases. It’s a tricky assignment. Your resume has to encapsulate all your responsibilities and accomplishments during your tenure at various companies.

Finding the right balance can be tricky. In a job interview, you have a chance to make your case in person. You can read the room and adjust to the circumstances. With a resume, you don’t have this ability. You need to lay down in black-and-white why you are perfect for the opportunity available.

At the same time, resumes don’t give you much room to impress a potential employer. One study found that hiring managers spend an average of seven seconds reviewing each resume. So, that means you have about half a TikTok video to make your case.

Obviously, you need to provide as much information as concisely as possible, making sure to underline your best features in the process. That dynamic gets to the heart of the responsibilities vs. accomplishment discussion.

What’s the Difference?

In determining the right balance to strike between listing responsibilities and detailing your accomplishments, you first need to consider one significant question: what’s the difference between the two? Knowing what each category communicates will help you determine how best to describe your past experiences.

In brief, responsibilities represent the duties you performed during your previous position. These describe the basic functions you provided to fulfill the minimum job requirements. Think of things like daily tasks or specific roles you filled.

Meanwhile, accomplishments highlight how well you performed your requirements. They describe the level of excellence you brought to your tasks, and the accolades you acquired while doing your job.

Focus on Value

As you try to balance discussion of responsibilities vs. accomplishments on your resume, think about it in these terms: what did you add to the company?

Fulfilling your responsibilities allowed you to avoid getting fired. They signal the minimum amount of value you provided to remain a contributing member of the team. Discussing these will help you communicate your baseline skills and qualifications.

However, to impress hiring managers, you want to go further than this. You want to underline the added value you brought to the team. That’s where the conversation about accomplishments comes into play. Detailing these will let potential employers know what additional worth you have as an employee.

Set Yourself Apart

Hiring is essentially a competitive exercise. Employers have a position to fill and need to decide among multiple applicants seeking the opportunity. As such, they don’t just choose a qualified candidate. They choose the best possible one.

Highlighting accomplishments allows you to set yourself apart. Your past responsibilities get you into the competition by proving you meet the minimum qualifications required for the position. To win the job, however, you need to highlight your accomplishments.

Use Details and Statistics to Make Your Case

Be as specific as possible. You might not have the space to launch into particular case studies on a resume. But you can still find ways to highlight times when you went above and beyond.

Statistics provide a very powerful way to accomplish this. You can condense a lot of information into a very short space using statistics. Meanwhile, the very fact that you have such data on your resume communicates a certain skill level. You are conversant with statistical analysis and have the attention to detail required to compile the necessary information.

How do you use statistics? Well, don’t just say that you exceeded sales expectations. Say something like “exceeded sales expectations by at least 15% for eight straight quarters.” That added depth of information will help hiring managers understand the true added value that you offer.

Landing your dream job requires that you put your best foot forward. Working with a top-notch recruiter, like PrideStaff, makes that easier. They have the experience and expertise needed to take your job search to the next level.

Contact PrideStaff today to learn more.