The Importance of a Great Onboarding Program

Onboarding is the process by which new employees acclimate to the social and performance aspect of their jobs. Research shows that new hires get about 90 days to prove themselves, so effective onboarding is critical. The faster newcomers feel welcome and prepared, the sooner they are able to contribute to the successful execution of your company mission.

Goals of Effective Onboarding

Onboarding educates new employees on their place within the larger organizational culture. In one recent survey, 86 percent of respondents felt that a new hire’s decision to stay at a company long term was made within the first six months.

The goals of effective onboarding include:

Reducing time-to-productivity: Proper onboarding gets new hires up to speed much more quickly.
Lowering stress: Starting a new job is a major source of anxiety. By telling new employees what they need to know at the earliest possible point, you minimize the negative effects that naturally occur.
Decreasing turnover: Strong onboarding helps assure employees that they are valued and have all the tools they need for success on the job. It demonstrates in tangible ways that your company truly cares about its people – and makes it less likely that they will seek work elsewhere.
Developing job knowledge: In addition to teaching new hires about your mission, values and culture, onboarding ensures that they fully understand their roles and how they relate to the organization’s big-picture operations. They learn what is expected of them, how to deliver, and when and by what means they will be evaluated. This prevents costly errors down the road.

Best Practices

The cost to replace an employee is estimated at 30 percent to 50 percent of a person’s annual salary for entry-level talent and as high as 150 percent t0 400 percent of annual earnings for senior and C-suite personnel. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has reported that half of all hourly workers in the U.S. leave their jobs during the first four months and an equal percentage of senior hires fail within 18 months. Use best practices to avoid being part of these statistics.

Create metrics. In addition to time-to-productivity, critical metrics related to onboarding include employee engagement and retention. Assess new hire satisfaction with company-wide and group-specific onboarding initiatives at 30 days, six months and one year. Measure the percentage of your managers who are satisfied with your onboarding program and the preparedness of their new hires. In addition, consider the six and 12-month retention rates of new employees.
Start early. Eighty-three percent of best-in-class companies start onboarding prior to an employee’s first day on the job. This includes welcoming them in various ways; for instance, each one is sent a personal note or the CEO prepares a special presentation for them.

Consider partnering with the recruitment experts at PrideStaff Fresno as you develop your industry-leading onboarding program. Contact us today to learn how we can bolster your ongoing hiring and talent management success.

Help Your Millennial Employees Reach Their Full Potential

There are 80 million millennials in the U.S. workforce –and they will represent 75 percent of all workers nationwide by 2025. They are members of the last generation born in the 20^th century – and they are the future. So as an employer, you need to understand their motivators, leverage their strengths, and help them develop to their full potential.

What Makes Millennials Tick

Before you can determine ways to engage millennials, you need to know what motivates them. Millennials want:

To advance and grow: They are “go-getters” who don’t want to wait around for more responsibilities or for a promotion. Millennials want creative work that continually tests their abilities and produces quick results. Tedium is not on their agenda.
To have their social conscience fed: Research has shown that 90 percent of millennials want to use their skills for good. For many, this trumps even higher salary as an incentive to join a company. They want to work with purpose – and their want their workplace to be aligned with their own values.

Be a Life Coach

The average millennial spends less than three years at a job. This may stop you in your tracks – until you realize that employees at any age today spend an average of only about four years in one position. Many defining traits of millennials, as well as steps you need to take to retain them, also apply to your best employees of any generation. Technology continues to evolve at breakneck pace and the global economy has undergone changes of historic proportion – for everyone.

As an HR professional, think of yourself as a life coach, especially as you transition more millennials into your workforce population.

Provide incremental progression. Millennials are competitive. They want steady, fast advancement. To accommodate this, consider adding in-between steps and titles. Give them frequent, solid markers on their journey to the top.
Share company vision. Creating purpose around a person’s role at your organization resonates well with any employee, but millennials, in particular, want to feel that their work is valued, appreciated and recognized.
Invest in skills development. Millennials will work extremely hard when you get serious about investing in their personal and career development. They want opportunities to learn from people with strong expertise. Offer strategic, ongoing training and create mentorship opportunities with your older-generation star players. Give millennials chances to develop ideas and projects that excite them. Empower them to make decisions and take ownership of solutions.
Don’t just talk about making a difference – do it. Millennials want to move the needle on social and environmental issues. They want to work for organizations that are transparent about how they use their technology, resources, and talent to make positive change. Make a continuous effort to help all your employees get involved in the community. Match their contributions to local causes, sponsor fund-raising events, and remember to acknowledge their volunteerism among their peers.

As you embrace the workplace of tomorrow and adjust your talent management strategy accordingly, call upon the hiring and workforce development experts at PrideStaff Fresno to help you succeed. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Time to Get Personal: How Opening Up to Employees Establishes Trust

People work harder when they know their boss is trustworthy. Trust is essential to building employee engagement and motivation. And as noted by Jim Dougherty, senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, “managers will never learn the truth about a company unless they have their employees’ trust.”

So, how can you build trust as the bedrock of your team’s – and organization’s – success?

Create personal connections.

Get to know your employees and let them get to know you. They will support business goals and changes if they can view you as a fellow human instead of an immutable administrative force.

Listen to their feedback and give them the chance to be completely open with you.
Ask about their families, their interests or their weekend. Listen and share your own stories. Find common ground, whether it’s a hobby, a movie or a local sports team.

Communicate transparently.

Employees realize there is some information that you simply cannot share. But at the same time, they will know when you’re holding something back or worse yet, sharing it with some people but not others. Disclose as much as you can regarding company plans and future direction. Any voids will likely be filled with rumors and negative misinformation.

Have the integrity to tell the truth, even if it makes you the bearer of bad news.

Don’t play favorites. This is a surefire way to undermine trust.
Avoid badmouthing anyone. This sends the signal that your public and private personas diverge.

Empower people.

People will trust you if you trust them. When your employees feel they are empowered and that company goals are aligned with their own, they will work harder and smarter.

Delegate and give employees as much autonomy as possible. At the same time, make it clear what your expectations are and how performance will be measured.

Share the credit and shoulder the blame.

Reinforce the fact that everyone is working toward shared goals. Instead of casting blame, put it back upon yourself when things go wrong. This shows that you don’t believe different rules apply to you than to your employees.

If your team fails, it’s your fault. This is a basic tenet of good leadership. If you call out individual employees for department or company-wide failures, you will quickly lose credibility. Show your people that you are completely aware of your errors and that you regret them.
Admit when you’re wrong. In a recent Forum study, 50 percent of employees said their bosses never apologized for their mistakes, while only 5 percent said they did.

Show your competence.

If you are not good at your job, you can forget about earning or maintaining employee trust. Even if everyone really likes you, you still must be competent in order to be trusted.

Regularly update your skills and follow through on your commitments.
Avoid trying to be an expert on everything. Those in the know will immediately spot fake expertise. Have the humility to ask questions and express an ongoing eagerness to learn.

As you build leadership skills and foster employee trust, turn to the workforce development experts at Pridestaff Fresno to steer you in the right direction. In addition to helping you source and retain top talent, we can partner with you to best develop skills and success among your leadership team. Contact us today for more information.

Boss Ignoring You? How to Flex Your Professional Muscles

When your boss ignores you, their lack of response can make you fall into a downward spiral of worry and stress. Do they dislike you or the work you submitted? Why aren’t they answering your emails and progress updates?

There are a number of reasons why this may be happening – and likewise, a number of solutions.

It May Not Be You

Being ignored is no fun, but try not to take it personally. Your boss may simply be distracted, overwhelmed, or preoccupied. Where once companies spent more time with each of their employees, in today’s world many are running a tighter ship with less time for one-on-one interactions.

Your manager may feel powerless. In order to gain some semblance of control, they may act as if they’re too important to have time for you. This can happen in any organization, at any level.

Take Control

Find out why your supervisor has no time for you by asking them directly. Getting in front of the problem will release a lot of tension. At best, it will result in a resolution and perhaps even strengthen your working relationship.

Don’t do anything over the top like slamming a door or pouncing in front of your boss. Instead:

Schedule regular meetings. Explain to your manager the benefits of doing this. Be well prepared for these update sessions and keep them brief and on schedule.
Repackage your ideas so your boss can respond quickly and easily. Rather than emails marked “urgent,” put your message points in a short, lively format that is appealing to read. A busy boss is more likely to read this than a long, rambling email with large blocks of text.
Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. Imagine what their day must be like. See how you look through their eyes – and adjust your behavior accordingly. You may come closer to understanding why your boss ignores you.
Identify areas where you can improve in your job. Create a plan for each one. This will help you to prepare for constructive criticism when you meet with your boss. If they something that you did not consider, tell them you will formulate an action plan for it and then follow up promptly.

Boost Your Visibility

Consider increasing your visibility and stepping up your role. Your manager will appreciate your effort and it will enhance your value to them and to the company.

Offer to help with the bigger picture. For instance, volunteer to help with a big presentation that is causing stress for your boss or department. The more indispensable you are, the better.

Find a Mentor or Coach

Working with a trustworthy mentor or career counselor can be a tremendous help when dealing with interpersonal issues with your manager. Test out with this advisor what you are perceiving around you. They can help you initiate a strategy for improvement. Or, use this opportunity to investigate, evaluate, and find a new role. Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, you have to accept that it’s time to move on.

At PrideStaff, we love helping people improve their professional lives and build their careers. We can help ensure success as you address pressing workplace issues or find your next great opportunity. Contact us today to learn more.

Need a Manager? Why Not to Promote from Within

It’s a dilemma faced by every talent manager at some point: On one hand, you want to keep up with emerging skillsets and hire those who will help your business outperform the competition. On the other hand, you want to make sure your current employees know that growth opportunities are available. How can you do both?

Often, the best strategy is to look outside your own walls to fill business-critical roles. Hiring from within may lead to a stagnant environment that fails to evolve or mature.

New People = New Ideas

If business as usual isn’t working for your company, it’s probably time to look for fresh ideas elsewhere. Find people with a history of innovation and infuse them into your culture.

Importing expertise and experience from other companies or industries can benefit your organization by “stretching minds and imaginations in new ways,” as noted by Edmunds.com Chief People Officer Julie Merges.
If you see a need for cultural change, find someone from outside who can be the catalyst.

Great Workers Aren’t Always Great Managers

Good contributors don’t always make good managers. They may not even want to be managers! Before you promote from within, be sure that an employee is ready, willing, able and excited to take on a new role. Consider:

If the new manager will be charged with leading their former peers, it may be better to look externally to minimize the drama.
The ramifications if you move an existing revenue-generating employee into a non-revenue-generating role, or vice versa.

Do the Right Thing

Outside hiring may feel threatening to your current employees. You can avoid this by consistently recognizing and communicating their value to your business. Help them to realize that a new hire may be a future mentor or someone who will help your company find greater success, creating more opportunities for everyone.

Show a commitment to your employees by building educational and training programs to whatever extent possible. Post new roles internally first, and communicate to employees why they didn’t get the job if another candidate is hired. Then, work on an action plan to help in-house employees build their path for development. It should be a competition between your current team and external talent to make your company better.

Need further tips on the best hiring strategy for your company? Consider partnering with the PrideStaff Fresno team of talent management experts. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Is the “Perfect Candidate” a Myth?

The cost of hiring the wrong person can be astronomical. But at the same time, perfect candidates are difficult, if not impossible, to find.

Recruiters often use the term “purple squirrel” to describe the rare candidate who offers the perfect mix of skills, education, experience, salary requirements and overall fit to meet your requirements. For every such purple squirrel, there are hundreds of open, unfilled jobs. And too often, the perfect candidate never materializes.

So, what’s an HR manager to do??

Think Strategically

With a better understanding of the job market and what’s available, along with recruiters who are enabled to find talent in a timely manner, you can honestly assess your priorities and meet your ongoing hiring needs. You can’t float an opening indefinitely. You need to get a realistic picture of your team’s capacities, as well as pinpointing the highest impact positions you are seeking to fill.

Analyze the market. Understand the competitive landscape, so you can better decide on the right hiring strategy.
Focus on training and retention. Keep your existing high performers happy and on board. Retention is a key tactic as you avoid having to re-hire. Seek out candidates who can be trained and molded into team members who will succeed in their roles for the long run.
Make sure your expectations are realistic. Instead of looking for the elusive perfect candidate, focus on finding someone who realistically meets your needs. Enter into a hiring relationship with your eyes wide open and a vision towards future development.
Look for candidates with the right values. While you can train for on-the-job skills, cultural alignment can neither be taught nor bought. As you go through your hiring process, keep an eye on soft skills such as honesty, integrity, reliability and sincere passion.
Partner with a specialized recruitment firm. Invest in a company that specializes in your industry and will dedicate their resources to finding the best talent on your behalf.

We all strive for perfection. As we should. And if the perfect candidate doesn’t happen to show up on your doorstep, the PrideStaff Fresno team can help you hone your strategy so that you ultimately build a dream team for today – and for tomorrow. Contact us today to learn more.

Money Doesn’t Bring Happiness: What to Look For in a New Job

You choose your work based on a number of factors – not just the size of your paycheck. Or at least you should. Whether you are just launching your career or looking to make a change, don’t let money be the sole driver of your decision. If you do, you’ll most likely wind up regretting it.

What You Really Need

Sure, you have to pay your bills, save for the future, and minimize your debt. But before you decide to accept a new job, consider whether or not it meets the following criteria:

You enjoy your coworkers. You will spend one-third of your time with them, five days a week on average. So, be sure you will enjoy the people you’ll be working with every day. You need to feel as though they will support you and that you can work together cohesively as a team. Look for a company that employs people you respect and who likewise respect you. It should be a place where coming to work every day is something to look forward to, because you have friends there.
You feel appreciated and valued. Find a company that puts its people – not its bottom line – first. Appreciation can be communicated through recognition, respect and gratitude. Seek out an organization that truly cares about its’ employees and their well-being.
It provides work life-balance. At the end of the day, family and friends come first. Make sure your employer respects your work-life balance.
You are challenged to grow. Find a job that will make you better – whether it’s through challenging assignments, educational opportunities or mentorship relationships. Your new company should be one that invests in the growth of its people and gives them the skills to advance into new roles.
You’re excited about the work. Choose a place where you’ll be stimulated and challenged – not hand held – and where you’ll be encouraged to drive your own ideas.
The company’s values align with yours. The real bottom line is your integrity. You should never, ever be in a position that compromises your personal vision, beliefs or convictions.

Need help finding the job that meets all your needs – financially and otherwise? Before you take your next step, contact the recruitment pros at Pridestaff Fresno. With our vast network of contacts, our insight and our market intelligence, we can steer you in the right direction. Contact us today to learn more.

Unhappy at Your Current Job? Start Looking!

There are millions of people around the world who go to work every day dreading their job and wishing they were somewhere else. A recent Gallup poll showed that only 13 percent of respondents were actively engaged in their jobs. This can result in an immeasurable cost to your psyche and human spirit.

You spend about one-third of your time at work, so you need to be happy there. While it’s unrealistic to expect to always love every minute of your job, it is realistic to genuinely enjoy your work most of the time.

Time for a Change

The longer you stay in a job you hate, the more unhappy, bitter and resentful you become – and the constant strain will infiltrate into every aspect of your life. This can damage:

Your health: The dread of going to work every day is stressful, which can seriously threaten your health. It’s time to leave if you are continuously experiencing such stress-related symptoms as headaches, infections, indigestion, insomnia or depression.
Your career: Your reputation is your most valuable professional asset. If you begin to lose the respect of your boss or colleagues, it’s time to move on.
Your relationships: Work-related unhappiness will spill over into your personal relationships. An unhappy or unfulfilled person is no fun to work or live with.
Your self-respect: Poor relationships at work, lack of job satisfaction, and the knowledge that you’re not living up to your full potential attack your self-esteem and erode your confidence. Make a change before this happens.

It can become a lose-lose situation. The employment relationship may deteriorate to such a degree that the decision to leave will be made by your employer. It’s always better to depart on your own terms.

If possible, job hunt while you’re still employed. Employers generally prefer to hire people who are already employed. Plus, finding another job usually takes a lot more time than you think. Hiring managers know in theory that some jobs are so terrible that a reasonable person may quit with nothing else lined up. Or, things happen that are beyond an employee’s control, such as a merger or a corporate restructure. But, it can be hard to tell from the outside if a situation truly reached that level or whether a person’s bar for frustration is just too low.
Don’t search on company time – and especially not from your work computer. You may think that no one will find out, but companies do look at employees’ web histories. Try to complete all job search activities from outside your office. Also, it’s fine to tell a prospective employer that you don’t want your current employer contacted as a reference, since they don’t know that you’re looking.

If you’re considering a job change, now is the time to partner with a professional recruiter who specializes in your field and can guide you through this critical transition. For more information, read our related posts or contact the PrideStaff Fresno team today.

Should You Send Rejection Letters?

You’re busy … often, overwhelmingly busy. Taking extra time to write rejection letters to candidates you’re not hiring is probably quite low on your priority list. But, it can mean the difference between a person forming a positive impression of your organization and one whose feelings are hurt – or who may decide to sue you.

Keep the Door Open

You never know, but the person you are not selecting today may be the perfect candidate for another opportunity tomorrow. Or, the person you do hire may not work out for some reason, and you’ll need to go back to the well – so don’t let it run dry.

You represent your company to the rest of the business world. It’s good practice to keep candidates in the loop by sending well-written letters.

Protect Your Company

Every once in a while, a candidate who is not hired gets so upset that they look for a loophole in EEOC laws. Your rejection letter can protect your company from unwittingly giving the impression of discrimination.

Give a neutral, non-specific reason for the rejection. No laws require you to tell a candidate why they weren’t hired. Never provide inaccurate, misleading or conflicting reasons for your decision. They may come back to haunt you and could be a pretext for a discrimination suit.

Provide Feedback

Do the right thing and assist job seekers by giving them constructive feedback. For instance:

Include a copy of their resume and point out any inaccuracies or misspellings that may be a deterrent.
Let them know that you appreciated their time and interview skills.
Consider including links to helpful job search resources.

These little touches will leave a person with a good impression of your organization – and they will remember the positive experience they had with you.

Internal Candidates Deserve More

It’s in everyone’s best interest to be more open with internal candidates as you explain the reasons you did not select them for a job. Providing an explanation gives them something positive on which to focus: what they can do to better position themselves for future promotions. If people feel they can’t move up within your organization, they will look for opportunities elsewhere.

Provide a reason that is actionable. Suggest something they can do differently the next time they vie for an internal job opening.
Explain the objective, job-related factors that influenced your hiring decision. Include any significant subjective reasons; for example, their current manager may have felt they couldn’t handle additional responsibility at this point. Offer advice that will help make them more valuable and to grow in their careers at your company.

As you address your ongoing hiring and talent management challenges, turn to the specialized recruiters at PrideStaff Fresno. We can help you to not only find candidates that fit your needs, but also to effectively manage every step of your hiring process. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.

Do You Always Need a Cover Letter?

You may think of your resume as your first chance to make a great impression on a prospective employer. And it is, without a doubt, very important. But before a hiring manager even considers your resume, they will review your cover letter.

Having your resume land alone in a pile, without a cover letter, is like showing up unannounced, without an appointment. It most likely will not be well received. So, if you are doubting in the slightest whether or not you need a cover letter, the answer is a resounding “yes!” You not only need one, but it needs to be customized, personalized, well thought out, and error free. And, it needs to be the first tool that sells you as the best candidate for the job.

Tailor Your Cover Letter to the Job

Both your cover letter and your resume should be custom-tailored to each position for which you apply. The initial time a hiring manager spends reviewing each of these documents averages about six seconds – and if they appear generic or are addressed “to whom it may concern,” you can expect they will be tossed into the rejection bin.

Make it personal. Address your cover letter to a specific individual, using their full name and title.
Keep it concise, clear and to the point. Include the job title and describe the two or three top reasons why you are the best fit, as well as brief outlines of your best career accomplishments.
Use the “inverted pyramid” method. Put the most compelling facts and impressive data up front. A hiring manager will not wade through a lot of lengthy material before getting to the main point.
Emphasize the traits that set you apart. Perhaps you are fluent in a second language or have recently mastered the latest version of a relevant software program. Stress whatever will enable you to make a unique and valuable contribution if hired.
Show that you’ve done your homework. Mention a department, product, project or new business acquisition that the company has recently made.

Be Positive and Proactive

Keep your cover letter professional and always maintain an upbeat, positive tone.

State the fact that you are available for a personal interview. Give your full contact information and give a date in the near future when you will follow up.
Include nothing negative. For example, neither here nor at any time in your interview or hiring process should you bad mouth a previous employer or colleague.
Include salary information only if asked. Even then, provide a range. And although it should go without saying, be honest. An employer will fact check and find out the truth anyway, so demonstrate your integrity right from the start.

The hiring experts at Pridestaff Fresno specialize in matching the right talent with the right jobs. This includes working with you as you develop the perfect cover letters, resumes, and techniques to land your next great job and take your career to a new level. Read our related posts or contact us today for more information.