Why (& How) Listening to Your Employees Improves Retention

Good team communication is an excellent way to improve your retention rates. By listening to your staff, you increase engagement and foster a deeper relationship with your employees. They feel more connected to their jobs, improving both retention and team performance.

It’s important to keep your key employees in place. Poor employee retention rates can become an expensive problem. Even entry-level positions can cost thousands of dollars to replace. Beyond raising recruitment costs, ineffective retention policies hurt morale and make it difficult to maintain meaningful forward momentum.

It’s clear that boosting retention helps the bottom line and improves team relations. But how do you accomplish this goal? The simple act of listening provides a good starting point.

Improve Engagement

You get more out of your workers when they are engaged in the process. One study from Gallup showed a 21% improvement in profitability for teams that were highly engaged. More than just helping your team thrive in the moment, though, engagement helps keep your workers in place longer.

Listening to your team makes them feel like part of the action. They are participants in your success, rather than just hired hands. Your employees feel more invested in the process and are less likely to start looking for other opportunities.

Building Relationships

Listening also builds a stronger team atmosphere. By fostering communication, you build connections between you and your team. At the same time, you encourage better comradery among your workers.

This strategy leads to better outcomes, higher levels of innovation, and a more vibrant team dynamic. It also plays into higher retention rates. Your employees develop a real connection with the people around them and, by extension, with the company itself.

Tips for Listening to Your Employees

Hopefully, you’re convinced that listening to your team can improve retention (and give a boost to your overall productivity in the process). But now that you’ve committed to better communication, how do you make that possible? What concrete steps can you take to foster a better two-way discourse?

Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Encourage Feedback

Create an atmosphere where feedback is welcomed and rewarded. Constantly remind your workers that you want to hear their ideas. When they approach you, respond with enthusiasm and an open mind.

Check-in Frequently

Don’t just wait for your employees to come to you. Seek out feedback. Schedule regular one-on-one discussions with your key team members. As part of these meetings, require them to bring in a set of new ideas. This process will help jumpstart conversations and encourage innovative thinking. At the same time, they will feel valued, making them more likely to stick with you for the long haul.

Form a Real Connection

Sometimes the barrier to communication is social. Even if you don’t mean to be, you might strike your workers as intimidating. (Don’t take it personally…bosses are naturally intimidating.) Avoid this emotional dynamic. Make an effort to form a personal connection with members of your team. Take time to learn about them and attempt to form a real emotional bond. This will open up the lines of communication and make the exchange of ideas easier.

Listening to your employees will help you boost retention rates and improve your overall teamwork. If you’re looking for other ways to keep top talent for the long haul and build the best team possible, consider partnering with a top-flight staffing agency, like PrideStaff. They can bring you the best candidates for your open positions and give you strategies for both recruitment and retention.

Contact PrideStaff today to learn more.

Why Your Employees Should Disagree With You

Workplace hierarchy tends to encourage a dynamic in which employees feel pressured by the (sometimes vocalized, but often unspoken) expectation that they abide by what leadership says, with no questioning and certainly no pushback. However, employee perspective is crucial for leaders to be as effective as possible. Learn more about why your employees should disagree with you.

• • Prevents Mishaps

As a manager, you are likely to be at least somewhat removed from some lower-level tasks and processes your employees handle on a day-to-day basis. This means there may be times in which they can anticipate potential issues better than you simply because they have a more familiar understanding of the nuances associated with their duties. If your employees feel comfortable disagreeing with you, it can prevent mishaps with workflow that you may not have realized were a possibility. For example, productivity or cost-cutting measure you try to implement could have unintended consequences, but if your team speaks up and disagrees, it could save you a lot of stress and time spent resolving the mess.

• • Shows You Respect Their Voice

While you may have more authority than your employees, it doesn’t mean they should have absolutely no say in the workplace matters that affect them. If you not only accept but actively encourage your employees to disagree with you if they feel strongly about a stance, it sends a clear message that you respect their voice. Employees who work for bosses who care about their perspectives are more likely to have a trustworthy professional relationship, which leads to better communication, morale, and productivity all around.

• • Encourages Critical Thinking and Innovation

Most workplaces claim to want employees to problem solve and be creative with brainstorming new ideas, but then also discourage employees from ever disagreeing with their managers. It’s understandable that employees may be confused by the seeming mixed messages about when it’s acceptable to speak up. By being open-minded to having your employees disagree with you, it has the benefit of encouraging critical thinking and innovation. Since your team knows it’s safe for them to assert their opinions, they’ll feel more inclined to volunteer their ideas.

Find Your Next Great Hire By Working With PrideStaff!

Build a team of engaged and skilled employees 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 your needs. Contact us today to learn more about our staffing solutions.

Looking for a Job? Here Are 4 Tips to Follow

Finding a job today is a little different than it was even just a few years ago. The employment market has changed dramatically, technology has evolved, and employers are looking for a mix of soft and technical skills.

So when it comes to finding a new position in this landscape in the New Year, how can you best go about it in 2020? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Tip #1: Say goodbye to the one-page resume.

It used to be a standard and best practice that you only submitted a one-page resume. Anything longer meant instant points against you from the hiring manager. Today, though, it’s a different story.

Sending in a resume that’s two pages long is not only perfectly appropriate, it’s expected if you have a lot of experience under your belt. That doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated and verbose. It does, however, give you more space to dig a little deeper into why you’re a good fit for a job.

Tip #2: Keep applicant tracking systems in mind.

When you’re writing your resume and cover letter, it’s often with the hiring manager in mind. However, most companies use an ATS to screen resumes and filter out those who are not a good match. If you don’t have the right keywords and phrases on your resume, you therefore might wind up on the cutting room floor.

Tip #3: Expect a rigorous interview process.

Employers used to conduct a single interview and extend an offer. Today, they’re scheduling phone and video screens first, then bringing in candidates for multiple rounds of interviews. Along the way, they’re also conducting personality and skills testing to ensure that your abilities, habits and attitude are in line with what they need.

Tip #4: Leverage the power of social media.

As much as you might want to escape it, companies are using social media to recruit and connect with candidates. So if you’re not on certain sites, like LinkedIn, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to not only find jobs, but also get in front of potential employers and increase your visibility with them.

Likewise, there are more employers who are going beyond LinkedIn and industry sites and advertising job openings on Instagram and Facebook. So make sure you’re looking for jobs on these sites as well.

Feeling overwhelmed? Let PrideStaff help.

If you’d like professional help finding your next job, turn to the Phoenix employment agency trusted by candidates all over the site. We can learn about your background, skills and abilities, all while connecting you with a rewarding opportunity. Contact us today to learn more or get started.

How to Position Your Social Media Profiles During a Job Hunt

You’re actively seeking new opportunities, which has you very excited about the future. Whether you’re working with a job agency in Las Vegas or going it on your own, you know you need to do something with your social media profiles. 

It’s probably tempting to temporarily deactivate your accounts until you get a new job, but this isn’t the wisest move. Hiring managers will likely search for you on social media, and not having a presence could work against you. 

Therefore, you just need to use your accounts wisely. Here’s some advice to get it right. 

Five Tips to Impress a Hiring Manager with Your Social Media Presence 

Have a Positive Attitude 

No one wants to hire a negative person. Craft upbeat posts that highlight your optimistic personality. Make it your goal to share content that makes people smile — i.e., inspirational stories, happy photos, and uplifting quotes. 

Choose an Appropriate Handle 

When you created your Instagram or Twitter accounts, you might’ve come up with a fun handle that has a special significance to you. However, if that handle isn’t something you’d really want your future boss to see, it’s time to rebrand yourself. Something simple like your name — and a few numbers, if necessary — is always a good choice. 

Be Consistent  

Every social media site has its own unique tone, but you still need to be the same person on each one. Inconsistent information across platforms will confuse the hiring manager and make you appear dishonest. For example, if your Facebook profile lists you as an employee at one company, but your LinkedIn profile says something different, you need to fix this immediately. 

Proofread All Content 

Chances are, at lot of your social media posts are typed quickly on your phone. This makes it easy to accidentally post content littered with spelling and grammatical errors. From a potential manager’s perspective, this sends the impression that you’re lazy and don’t take pride in your social media presence, so double-check every post. 

Don’t Complain About Your Job 

This should go without saying, but never say anything negative about your job on social media. If a hiring manager sees this, it will almost definitely put you out of the running, because they’ll assume you’ll eventually write the same types of posts about their company.  

Be the Top-Choice Candidate 

Need a little help finding your dream job? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to help polish your candidacy and connect you with a top local employer. Contact us today to take the next step toward a brighter future! 

How to Learn From a Job Rejection and Move Past It

The job search process can take its emotional toll, from the frustration of applying and never hearing back to, even worse, advancing in the hiring process only to get rejected in the end. Getting turned down is unavoidable when you’re looking for a job, but with the right mindset, it can be an opportunity rather than a failure. Learn from a job rejection and move past it with these tips:

• • Remind Yourself: It’s Not Personal

When you get rejected from a job, you may internalize it as meaning you’re not good enough. However, hiring managers aren’t likely to be passing on you because they think you’re unintelligent, untalented, or unlikeable – in fact, you could have been a top contender. It may come down to another candidate simply was just a bit more qualified or a better fit. So remind yourself: a job rejection is not a personal rejection.

• • Revisit Your Achievements

Give yourself a pep talk to get back into a confident, self-assured mindset to revitalize your job search after a rejection. Revisit your achievements – think back to all your professional accomplishments or hurdles that you overcame in the past. If you remind yourself you’ve done hard things and bounced back previously, you’ll realize you are capable of doing it again.

• • Reflect on Strengths and Areas for Improvement

After you’ve had some time to recover from the emotional side of job rejection, objectively assess the situation so you can improve as you move forward. Reflect on your strengths and areas for improvement – what seemed to go well, and where did you struggle? Gaining clarity is the first step to being more successful as you continue in your job search.

• • Review Your Goals and Strategy

Take what you’ve learned from your self-reflection and determine what you should continue doing and what exactly you need to change in terms of your goals and overall strategy. For example, if you have realized that you didn’t make the best impression at the interview, define ways to prepare differently for the next job interview you have (i.e., conducting a mock interview or rewording your responses). This will make you feel empowered about the future, as opposed to ruminating about the undesired outcome in the past.

Find Your Next Job with PrideStaff!

Move on from rejection and find the opportunity that is right for you by working with an experienced staffing agency like PrideStaff Akron. Our team of recruiters can match you with the jobs that are the best match from employers across industries. Search our database of current available jobs to get started.

How Expressing Gratitude Makes You a More Effective Leader

Receiving and expressing gratitude makes people feel happy and fulfilled. It’s a reciprocal act that serves as the basis of any strong, healthy relationship – personal or professional.

In the words of business mogul Sir Richard Branson, founder of more than 400 companies, “I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers and that people flourish when they are praised.”

Expressing gratitude at work:

Enhances Employee Performance

Gratitude is a highly effective way to build a team of top performers who will stay with your organization. According to the Journal of Psychological Science, gratitude has a positive influence on the relationship between managers and their direct reports.

• Not surprisingly, when employees feel their work is appreciated and that they’re bosses trust them, they become more loyal to their company. As a result, they’re more motivated and much less likely to quit.
• When asked, “What is the most important thing your manager or company does that causes you to produce great work?” 33 percent of employees surveyed said more personal recognition would encourage them to consistently deliver high performance.

Builds Job Satisfaction

Additional research has shown that employees who feel part of a workplace culture that promotes gratitude experience greater levels of job satisfaction and overall well-being.

• Gratitude is contagious. When people get in the habit of expressing it to one another, such toxic, disruptive behaviors as covert infighting and passive-aggressiveness decrease. Rather than retaliating when given negative feedback, employees choose to cooperate to solve problems.
• A study reported in Social Psychological and Personality Science reveals that when you express gratitude to your employees, they perceive you as more responsive and caring. This, in turn, leads them to express greater concern both for you and your organization.

Is Good for Business

Last but not least, this all adds up to better business outcomes. In a study called Make Recognition Count, Bersin by Deloitte found that companies with well-established recognition programs are 12 percent more likely to realize stronger results.

How to Do It

If your company doesn’t have a formal employee recognition program, start one. Make it a priority, and don’t let it slip to the back burner. Whether it’s a monthly award, a quarterly staff appreciation event, or an ongoing “caught you in the act” process, keep it going strong – at the basis of your winning organizational culture.

For more tips on building recognition program, improving your culture, and growing and developing your industry-leading workforce, contact the talent management experts at PrideStaff Modesto today.

How Do I Start Working with a Recruiter?

Working with a recruiter opens a lot of doors. As with any endeavor, the hardest part is getting started. Once you get over the initial hump, you can quickly energize your job search and get your career on track.

The benefits of a staffing agency are well known. Recruiters let you find jobs faster than you could on your own. Meanwhile, these companies grant you access to opportunities not available to the general public.

So how do you tap into these advantages? How do you start your relationship with a recruiter? Here are a few steps to get you going:

Research the Right Recruiter

You will get the best results if your recruiter is perfectly suited to your set of skills. Different staffing firms have different specialties. You want to find someone that can place you in the best positions for your long-term career development.

To find the right staffing firm, conduct the appropriate amount of due diligence. Check online sources and dive into a few promising recruiters. Find the ones that best fit your specialty and contact them directly.

Update Your Resume

Come to your recruiter with the most up-to-date information you can. A staffing professional can give you advice to spruce up your resume and improve your chances of landing a position. However, this process works best if you put in the early effort. By providing your most impressive resume, the recruiter can help you get to a level of quality you wouldn’t be able to reach on your own.

Prepare As You Would for an Interview

When meeting with your recruiter for the first time, treat the situation like a formal job interview. Dress the part and try to impress. These meetings effectively become job interviews for multiple locations at once. The better your staffing professional feels about you, the more confident they will be recommending you to their clients.

Be Honest

Don’t try to inflate your achievements when you meet with a recruiter. This will only lead to uncomfortable situations later if you get a placement that isn’t appropriate for your skillset. By remaining honest with your staffing professional, you ensure that you get the best gigs for your long-term development.

Communicate Your Career Goals

Don’t limit your conversation to your near-term plans. Let your recruiter know what you want to accomplish over the long haul. This will let them find better placements for you now. They can put you in situations where you can develop your skills and gain experience, working toward those longer-term goals.

Be Ready to Listen

To get the most out of a recruiter, you must be ready to share information. However, the communication must go the other way as well. You must be ready to listen. Recruiters have the in-depth industry knowledge and a strong sense of the overall labor market. They can give you the insight you couldn’t develop on your own. Be prepared to receive their advice and create an appropriate career plan.

Ready to start your journey with a recruiter? An industry-leading staffing firm, like PrideStaff, can walk you through the process.

Contact PrideStaff Bend today to begin the next stage of your career.

5 Ways to Keep Your Top Performers

Hiring is hard work, not to mention expensive. Once you have a top team in place, you want to keep them. What are some ways to engage your people, so they don’t jump ship? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Focus on the small stuff.

You might not realize it, but employees want to a good quality of life more than a higher income. While competitive pay is important, so is a flexible schedule, vacation time, and giving your people the ability to better balance their life. When you offer them time to focus and enjoy the small details in their lives, they’ll be happier, more energetic and more productive on the job. This all translates into a win for you and your employees.

Talk to your people.

When it comes to retention, one important tip is to conduct stay interviews. These offer a way to connect with your employees – before they grow disgruntled or disengaged – and find out what’s working for them on the job, what’s not and ways you can support them. This not only opens up communication and enables you to be a better manager, but also builds trust and stronger relationships, too.

Invest in onboarding and training.

The first few days and weeks on the job are critical ones. It sets the tone for the entire tenure and can give an employee confidence about accepting your offer or lead them to question their decision.

That’s why investing in holistic and welcoming training and onboarding is critical. Every step of the way, employees need to feel good about their decision to join you, all so they become a part of the team faster and are more engaged as they do.

Praise good work.

Make sure you’re regularly praising your people for the work they day. They want to know their effort matters and it’s up to you to openly recognize it, whether through encouraging words or a formal program.

Promote from within.

Sometimes, you need to reach out externally to find someone with the right skill set or a fresh perspective. However, whenever you can, make it a policy to promote internally. This offers a range of benefits to your people and your company. It not only sends the message that you invest in your employees, but it also ensures a better cultural fit when it comes to filling roles.

Need more help with your hiring and retention efforts?

Turn to the Tempe staffing agency companies all over the area trust. We can help you find and hire skilled and talented people to hit the ground running with you and stay with you for the long haul. Contact us today to learn more or get started.

Tips for Becoming a Successful Temp Employee

Whether your temporary job lasts a few days or several months, consider it an opportunity to stay up to date, learn new skills, build your professional network, and possibly open the door to a full-time role if that’s your goal.

How can you position yourself as a hard worker and a valuable part of the team, from the moment you arrive?

Make a good first impression.

Treat your assignment as a full-time job while you’re there. This begins on the very first day.

• Dress appropriately. Check with your staffing agency ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the company’s dress code. Dressing too formally or too casually will draw unwanted attention to you and, depending on the position, may not even be practical or safe.
• Be punctual. Plan to arrive 10 or 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled starting time. Punctuality is one of the most valued traits in any employee – temporary or regular.
• Be easy to train. Bring a notebook and pen so you can take notes. Ask questions that express your understanding of relevant concepts and details. Know who you can turn to for help and where to find information on your own, so you can be as self-sufficient as possible.

Be flexible.

Develop a “go with the flow” attitude and be ready to pivot with changes on the job. This is the very nature of temporary work – and another characteristic highly desired by employers.

• Be patient. The temporary hiring process typically moves quickly, as a company realizes they need extra help on short notice. Your work area may not even be completely prepared when you arrive, or you may not get the thorough orientation and onboarding that full-time employees receive. Your patience and graciousness will be another feather in your cap.
• Take the initiative when appropriate. Volunteer for and be ready to jump into any new assignments you’re given.

Stay positive and engaged.

Being a temp can be confusing or even difficult at first. Keep your chin up as you mesh with the rest of your new team.

• Position yourself as indispensable. Demonstrate your reliability by giving your best to every task. Check with your manager at the end of the day to see if anything else is needed. If you finish a task early, see if you can help with anything else, even if it’s outside your normal job description.
• Understand the culture. This is, in essence, a company’s personality. For a temp – as for any employee – being able to relate well to it is extremely important. It means fitting in with the norms and behaviors of the company’s policies, practices, employees, and management. When you’re first starting out, keep your eyes, open, listen, observe, and learn.

In the Central Valley region, turn to PrideStaff Modesto as you seek your next temporary job in administration, warehousing, manufacturing, skilled labor, finance, or accounting. We have more than 30 years’ experience in successful placements, and we offer a comprehensive benefits package with eligibility starting on Day One. Contact us today for more information.

Asking for a Raise – 7 Things You Should Know Before Going In

Money isn’t everything, but it’s a normal part of career development in Las Vegas. If you feel like your current salary doesn’t represent the value you bring to the team, it might be time to ask for a raise.

If you’re like many people, you might feel a bit intimidated by this process, but don’t. You deserve to get paid for the great work you do. Here’s a look at seven things you should know before marching into your boss’s office.

Don’t Feel Like You’re Being Unreasonable

If you’ve never asked for a raise, doing so might make you feel greedy — but it shouldn’t. Without a doubt, this isn’t the first time your boss has had this conversation with an employee, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Time it Right

In life, timing is everything, and this includes deciding when to ask for a raise. If your boss is in a terrible mood or the company has just declared bankruptcy, this probably isn’t the time. However, if you’ve recently had a big win for the company, this is time to go for it.

Wait at Least a Year

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t expect a raise more than once every 12 months. Many companies make raises part of the annual performance review cycle, but everyone doesn’t operate this way. If it’s been a year or more, consider this a green light to go for it.

Sync Up to the Budget Cycle

At some companies, raises aren’t typically granted at certain times of year, because there isn’t enough room in the budget. If your company works this way, ask for a raise during the standard time increases are granted, because you don’t want to be told there isn’t enough money right now.

Know Your Worth

Make an informed decision about the amount of money to ask for by conducting research on average salaries for your job, in your local area. Use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine what your peers are earning — taking your education, years of experience and individual contributions into account — and base your request on this.

Consider Company PayPolicies

Every company takes its own approach to raises. Some cap the increase an employee can receive at one time and rigidly stick to pay grades, while others are more liberal. Taking this into consideration can increase the chances you’ll get the salary bump you want.

Have a Backup Plan

Hopefully, you’ll get the raise you deserve, but you might not. If your request is denied or you’re granted a raise much smaller than you wanted, figure out how you’ll proceed. You’re far too valuable to continue working for a company where you’re giving more than you’re receiving.

Find a Job Where You Feel Valued

Ready to explore new opportunities where your contributions will be truly appreciated? PrideStaff Las Vegas is here to guide your search. Contact us today find out what we can do for your career!