How to Make the Most of 5 Social Media Platforms for Recruiting

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In 8 Items to Consider with Social Media Recruiting, we ended with tips on using LinkedIn as a recruiting tool. This blog continues with helpful user information on five more social media platforms.

Facebook

· Build a community via groups: Create groups around an industry. For example, IT jobs, or Healthcare position. Build a high-volume member list. Post relevant, helpful information, trends in the industry, events, etc., as well as open positions.
· Highlight outstanding employees: Congratulate them on accomplishments. Share photos of awards they have won. Hold a Q & A session with them. This is a great way to reveal company culture and employee plusses.
· Holds chats and webinars: Discuss industry issues. Offer teaching tips on relevant subjects. Hold a hypothetical interview to present the ideal candidate for an open position.
· Utilize Facebook helps: Take advantage of banner ads, social media promotions, and Facebook apps, such as Linkup and Work4. Narrow your search for a candidate via custom filters on Facebook’s Graph Search

Pinterest

Pinterest, the social network with more than 150,000,000 users – here’s the stats.
· 85% female
· 42% of U.S. online adult women
· 13% of U.S. online adult men
· 30% of all U.S. social media users
· 67% are millennials

As you can see, Pinterest is an ideal social media platform for connecting with women professionals – especially when you are looking for contract work for short or long-term projects requiring innovative creativity. On the other hand, you can also find engineers and accountants – even attorneys. So how do you snag talent via Pinterest?

· Create company boards: Think about your website pages and create boards. You need an ‘About Us’ board to share a company overview, including your mission, vision, management team, and what you do. Use another board to share your company culture – include lots of photos that pinpoint the essence and spirit behind the people. Create a board that shares company perks and benefits.
· Create Job opening boards: If you have a small number of openings, create one board for each opening. Include a web link to the specific job on your website. If you have mega-openings, then create one board for each department. Another option is creating one board for each location if you have more than one branch.
· Include a “Pin it” button on jobs posted on your website: website: This allows for easy sharing and increases the number of potential candidates who hear about the position.
· Engage with candidates: Respond to inquiries, provide feedback, etc. Create boards with career advice, quotes for the workplace, etc. It’s all about relationship.

Twitter

· Hashtags: This is the power of Twitter. Hashtags allow you to enter the conversations that matter to you and they allow talent to connect with the openings that interest them. Hashtags are your ticket to attracting the right candidates to your website.
· Scan twitter profiles: So, Sally Brown has the talent, experience, and personality to match your ideal candidate profile. Scan her twitter profile. Within a few tweets, you can quickly pick up on her interests and find a connecting point for contacting her.
· Scope out industry events: It only makes sense that candidates will connect other professionals in their field of interest. Scoping out a guest list for an industry event will give insight into attendees. If you peruse an attendee’s followers, you will discover more candidates.
· Standout in the crowd: Tweet more than job openings. Share industry articles, thought-provoking pieces, and humor. Engage with others, share your bio, and express your personality. Be aware of the social platform and become familiar with the types of content people tweet, as every social platform has its nuances.

YouTube

A video is one of recruiting’s newest power tools. Creating and posting videos attracts prospective candidates and increase their awareness of what your company represents, as well as what it has to offer. A short, snappy recruiting video can capture the authentic essence of your company. Here’s the scoop.

Use your YouTube video creativity more multiple purposes

· Sourcing: Using videos to draw the interests of potential candidates. Be sure to include links to your application process within the video.
· Employee Testimonials: A 2-minute video of an employee sharing why he/she loves working for your company can be the best advertisement for attracting talent.
· Company Culture: Just like the employee testimonial, a video of life on the job can be a compelling candidate attraction. Choose videos that show the real everyday culture of a thriving, happy company. And if that’s not you, maybe it’s time to work on company culture.
· Hiring Campaigns: Put it on video – it attracts more candidates than just text. In fact, according to MWP Digital Media, 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.
 

Follow these tips when creating your video

· Share the right information: Cover the basics – including answers to the typical question that interested candidates ask.
· Use the real stars: This isn’t about the company CEO – unless he/she is involved in the interview process. Make your video around the people who do the hiring/interviewing and the people who the new talent will be working alongside.
· Keep it short, fun, and authentic: Use upbeat background music (be careful of copyrights) and appropriate color schemes. You want to attract people – not put them to sleep.
· Call to action: Have fun making your video, but don’t forget the call to action. Your video is a stepping stone to the next part of the process – a personal connection with a perfect-fit candidate.

Snapchat

The yes-they’ve-arrived Millennials and up-and-coming GenZ generations are avid mobile users. Snapchat is a standard mode of communication, and they’re on it – 20 times/day. Since they use their mobile devices to search for jobs, it’s a given that Snapchat has great potential for recruiting strategies. It’s the perfect opportunity to get their attention. Here’s how.

Snapchat is a lot of fun – so, use this to your company’s advantage.

· Tell your company story: Share exciting or entertaining company happenings via photos. Invite viewers to participate in contests that reflect your personality and award prizes.
· Give advice: From job-search or interview tips to softer subjects, such as making the most of your weekend, snapchat helps to prospective candidates.
· Make announcements: Whether it’s about a job fair, a sign-up bonus, your referral program, or a job posting – share the news where it matters.

Need some help to get started? Here’s 16 snapchat helps from Pocket-lint.

Ok, so you have an overview of social media recruiting, as well as tips on using the most popular platforms, but why should you use invest time in it? What are the benefits? That’s precisely what we will discuss in Part III of our Social Media Recruiting Trilogy. Don’t miss it. And while you wait, why not partner with Award Staffing?  We’re a Minnesota-based staffing agency serving the entire state with the highest concentration of job placements in the Minneapolis, Saint Paul and greater metro area. We partner with companies and organizations for all their staffing needs, so offices, factories, events, buildings, c-suites, restaurants, and businesses can flourish and succeed. Contact us today.

 

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Want to learn more about how Award Staffing can help your organization with your staffing and employment needs? Start by providing our team with a few pieces of information about yourself, and we will take care of the rest.

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If Your Employees Are Looking for New Jobs, the Reason Is Clear

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This article was sourced from www.entrepreneur.com by Heather R. Huhman

Leaders often forget the difference between a “job” and a “career.” A job is a means to a paycheck, whereas a career is a long-term path that provides meaning. So, offering employees “jobs” doesn’t usually inspire loyalty.

Research backs this up: A November 2017 Addison Group survey of 1,000 employees found that 84 percent of those respondents actively seeking a new opportunity viewed their job as just that — a job. They didn’t feel they had a career.

The message here is clear: If leaders want employees to stick around, they need to offer something more: a long-term way to align individuals with the organization. Otherwise, those employees will always be on the lookout for another, better opportunity.

Hire for “potential”-

Whitney Johnson is the Roanoke, Va.-based author of Build an A-Team. She points out that when hiring for a job, leaders tend to focus on proficiency. Yet proficiency only works initially. It doesn’t allow employees to fully realize or pursue their potential.

Prioritizing potential, on the other hand, creates an opportunity for employees to learn and set goals for themselves.

For example, four years ago, Emily Key, the vice president of operations at the Vancouver-based online bookkeeping company Bench, hired an intern for whom she developed a series of goals. By meeting those goals, the intern gained experience in the company’s service department — and now leads that team.

“When employees see a clear path of progression from their current role to a more senior position in the company, they are more likely to pursue that opportunity within the company,” Key told me via email.

So, take the time to learn about job candidates’ career goals. During the hiring process, talk about where they see themselves in a year and in five years. Then, discuss the various paths they can follow to reach those goals.

Also, be clear about expectations and milestones they’d need to meet to progress toward their goals. This will show job seekers that your organization values employees and wants them to stay long-term.

Provide meaning-

Great employees believe in a company’s values and mission. They want to play a meaningful role. Edward Fleischman, chairman and CEO of the New York-based recruiting firm, The Execu|Search Group, suggests that the best way to provide that meaning is to show employees the impact of their work.

“When an employee enjoys what they do, sees their impact and feels valued, they will want to build their career with the organization,” Fleischman suggested via email.

From Day 1, then, explain to employees how even the smallest tasks contribute to the big picture. Organizing a spreadsheet may seem like busy work until they understand what that spreadsheet is for and the role it plays in achieving larger company goals. Be transparent about where the company is going and the role individual employees play. Meaning will follow.

Groom for future roles-

Crystal Huang is the CEO of the Irvine, Calif,-based talent management platform ProSky. She told me that she once had an employee who would constantly ask when the next pay raise would come. At the same time, Huang noticed that this man was less interested in his work. After talking to him, she discovered that he didn’t see a future with the company.

That’s when Huang decided to create a career pathway for each and every employee. That “pathway” lays out what milestones an employee needs to hit before his or her next raise or promotion. The key, Huang told me, is to tie each of these steps to a company goal.

For example, say your company is looking to improve customer service, and a particular employee wants to move into a management role: Create a plan to make both things happen.

Start by addressing any customer service hurdles the employee’s faces. If necessary, provide training to help the employee overcome those hurdles. Then, encourage the employee to share his or her knowledge with others. Having this individual guide co-worker will simultaneously improve customer service while preparing the employee to manage.

Make it a team effort-

They say it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a sense of community to develop an employee. Being surrounded by other skilled employees allows each individual to learn and grow.

Liz Corcoran is now the director of talent development at the Chicago-based social media management platform Sprout Social. In a previous role, she told me, she was the manager for an intern looking to gain experience in organizational development.

Corcoran took the concept of “intern” seriously: Instead of isolating him, with “intern responsibilities,” she said, she made him an integral part of the team. And she was rewarded for that effort: Over time, the intern developed into a successful full-time employee.

“A career can only go so far if just one person is pushing it along,” Corcoran pointed out via email. “It takes cooperation and initiative from both the employer and employee to drive a career.”

So, do what Corcoran and the others commenting here did: Create an environment where employees are encouraged to teach and mentor one another. Schedule team lunches where one employee talks about his or her personal career path. In that kind of culture, employees can share what’s helped them advance and answer questions from others who want to follow a similar path.

8 Items to Consider with Social Media Recruiting

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The latest statistics from GlobalWebIndex reveal that 98% of digital consumers are social media users with an average of 8 social media accounts. Which leads to the obvious – social media is a hotspot for connecting with prospective talent. In fact, social media accounts provide access to many candidates, particularly passive ones, who cannot be found via more traditional sources.

Successful social media recruiting, however, isn’t a “pin the tail on the donkey” with a blindfold covering your eyes (although sometimes it may feel that way). It’s a well- thought out and planned strategy. Read on for 8 how-to’s and best practices to get you well on your way.

1. Go beyond posting open positions-

Sure, they won’t know about your available jobs if you don’t post them, but they won’t be looking at your site if you haven’t first connected. Post relevant content on various networks. Share content that offers thought-provoking insight, helpful tips, and reveals your workplace culture. Build a positive social media presence.

2. Join the conversations that fit your company-

Participating in forums is an excellent way to get your company brand noticed and win the trust of potential talent. LinkedIn is the top choice (55% of recruiters use it), and Facebook isn’t far behind at 39%, but don’t neglect other options – such as Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. There are also niche social media networks for specific industries, such as Warrior Forum and Moz for marketers or GitHub and Stack Overflow for developers. Taking the time to know which groups fit your ideal candidate is crucial. Ed Nathanson, founder of Red Pill Talent LLC, believes this is best done by talking to current employees – after all, they are probably spending time in the same digital space as prospective talent.

3. Build the relationship first-

When approaching talent via social media, never begin with a sales pitch. Be personable. Express your interest in them and why you believe your company is a great fit. Share articles of interest. When an opening comes up that fits them, you will already have a relationship of trust, and they will be much more receptive. It’s all about relationship.

4. Maintain a professional, yet personal candidate experience-

We’re talking from start to finish – from initial contact to onboarding. Treat prospective candidates like customers. Kurt Heikkinen, President, and CEO of Montage points out,

“You can’t just have a great initial impression and not continue it throughout the candidate experience. The modern candidate is making a direct connection from their consumer experience with a consumer brand and the employer brand. As consumers, they expect information at their fingertips, to have a high-tech experience and to engage through the media they consume every day. Their interactions on social media begin their impressions of the company as an employer.”

5. Hashtags are key-

Using the right hashtag is the best – and easiest – way to not only place your post in front of the right people but also place the right talent in front of you.

6. Encourage employee participation-

When employees, who each have their own social media networks, post job openings, your reach is magnified. Furthermore, if you have an incredible work culture, your employees will express that in the language that attracts talent.

7. Be careful not to introduce bias-

Heikkinen also reminds recruiters not to use the information they collect to form a bias, but rather to engage a prospective candidate.

8. Get educated on your choice of social media-

Don’t take a flying leap – learn the ropes of a platform before using it.

Now that you have an overview of social media recruiting, we’ll share some pointers on several platform options. Moving beyond the overview and into specific social media platforms. We’ll start with LinkedIn since it currently dominates.

LinkedIn-

• Keep your personal page update: Your photo and headline should reflect your brand. Write an attention-getting summary that genuinely shares your expertise and place in your industry. Include keywords and a showcase page for your company. Ensure your contact information, including a customized public profile URL, is correct and easy to find.
• Develop every aspect of your company’s page: This is where you showcase your mission, values, and culture. Make it easy for potential talent to find out everything they want to know about your company/organization in one spot.
• Use filters wisely: Filters, such as experience, location, current, and past companies, help you narrow a large playing field down to your ideal candidates but use caution. Don’t filter out a winner.
• Stay active: Post one good status update per/day. Share valuable, relevant information and events. Join a couple of groups and be an active participator in discussions.
• Personalize your job posts: When posting open positions, present them as unique opportunities – don’t just direct people to a job board. When you reach out to potential candidates, don’t resort to the copy and paste method. Send each likely candidate a personalized message. Share what attracted your attention and why you think they would be a great fit.
• Take care of the basics: Boost your SEO – get help if you need it. Take advantage of LinkedIn’s analytics page. Learn who’s engaging, as well as the demographics of your followers. This information will help you to target the right audience with your content.

 

This is an opportune time to update your LinkedIn profiles and brush-up your recruiting-via-LinkedIn skills. But don’t forget to come back for part II in our Social Media Recruiting Trilogy. We’ll give helpful recruiting tips using 5 additional platforms – Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Why? Because we’re Award Staffing. We care about our clients. We partner with companies and organizations for all their staffing needs, so offices, factories, events, buildings, c-suites, restaurants, and businesses can flourish and succeed. Contact us today.

 

FINDING YOUR TALENT

Want to learn more about how Award Staffing can help your organization with your staffing and employment needs? Start by providing our team with a few pieces of information about yourself, and we will take care of the rest.

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Recruiters Are Embracing a Multi-Solution Approach to Sourcing

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Sourced from www.monster.com

Unemployment is low. The economy is strong. And it’s harder than ever to attract high-quality job candidates, according to Monster’s 2018 State of Recruiting survey.

Sixty-two percent of recruiters say their job is more difficult today than it was a year ago, continuing an ongoing trend – as two-thirds (67 percent) say their job is more difficult than it was five years ago. Additionally, 59 percent of respondents say it is more difficult to get quality candidates than it was a year ago and 62 percent say it’s more difficult than it was five years ago. These were among the insights gleaned from the recent online survey** of more than 400 recruiters conducted by Monster, a leading solution for connecting people and jobs.

With the economy growing rapidly—and the number of job openings at the highest in 17 years—many recruiters (59 percent) say there is a shortage in the skilled labor they require. They also report competition from other recruiters (52 percent) as a pain point.

In light of these challenges, most (83 percent) are now taking a multi-solution approach to attract higher-quality candidates –top tactics include direct outreach to candidates (89 percent), traditional job ads (88 percent), posts on company/career websites (84 percent) and social media advertising (83 percent). However, despite these efforts, recruiters are still getting fewer quality candidates than they’d like. They’re only passing 44 percent on to hiring managers while wishing they were passing along at least 54 percent.

 “Today’s strong economy is increasing the overall demand for talent, so recruiters are under tremendous pressure,” said Bob Melk, Chief Commercial Officer, Monster. “That underscores the need for an integrated recruitment strategy spanning the entire candidate lifecycle—from employment branding that introduces candidates to the cultural differences that demonstrate how your company is a great place to work, to social recruiting that targets passive candidates and engagement tools that let you connect via text messaging and chat. We work with our customers to determine which products will solve the problems that keep them up at night.”

Monster believes that an integrated approach to recruitment that employs the right technology solutions for the right problems, while constantly optimizing for cost and productivity, can yield high quality candidates – and more of them. With a strong focus on making this connection for its customers, Monster has been improving its core products to provide better efficiency and productivity in delivering the highest quality candidates. Monster has a broad suite of tools to help recruiters do their jobs better, but the company doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, Monster’s experts work with customers to create customized solutions that fit their business needs. Here are a few ideas to help recruiters make better hires:

Bring marketing to the core of recruitment

Sixty-seven percent of recruiters said they felt that they needed to understand marketing to be successful—yet only 36 percent of recruiters surveyed were employing employer branding strategies. The savviest talent acquisition leaders have established an employer value proposition, are sharing that competitive advantage in a consistent way across channels and touchpoints, including job ads, career sites, and candidate emails, and are differentiating their messages based on what is most important to the candidates (whether that’s unique perks, benefits, or company mission, among others). You may need a partner to help you ensure that your message is coming through across channels.

Create balance between digital and humanity

Sixty-four percent of recruiters told us they felt they needed to be digital experts to succeed today. And while 70 percent of recruiters say their organization is keeping up digitally, 64 percent believe they don’t have the right digital tools to make the job easier. Another 51 percent say that technology makes it harder to connect with humans. The problem may be owed to tech overload and disconnected systems. Rather than buying tech for tech’s sake, start with the problem, and apply the right technology against the right challenge. Look at the candidate profile you need and match it to solutions that can specifically reach that audience. This can help ensure that you’re not spending more time managing systems than you are building relationships. You may need a digital partner to help you figure out where you have tech overlaps and where you have gaps.

Optimize your processes with data and analytics.

Recruiters told us that they’re anxious about using their time efficiently (50 percent), and 67 percent feel that they need to be analytics experts. With KPIs that include reduction of time to fill and sourcing costs, the pressure is on. But there’s got to be something you can use to help speed the hiring cycle and land better quality talent: data. There’s an opportunity to use historical data wisely—for example, identifying the requisition patterns that lead to applicant hires—and an external vendor can help you understand your next steps.

“For recruiting to be effective in 2018 and beyond, it must transform to go beyond traditional methods. A multi-solution approach – combining marketing, digital and analytics – is critical in moving talent acquisition from recruitment stress to recruitment success,” added Melk.

How to Hire for a Position You’re Unfamiliar with

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Many business owners find themselves in positions where they need to hire people for roles that they barely understand. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve probably experienced what it’s like to wear multiple hats. You’re the default salesperson, operations manager, and bookkeeper. But at some point, you’ll need to hire other people to do those tasks who, frankly, can do those jobs better than you.

But how do you do that when you don’t even know what the role involves? You need to hire your first IT professional, yet nobody on your team is an expert in technology. You’re trying to find a general counsel, but you don’t even know how to differentiate the good lawyers from the bad. As a young founder without a law or business degree–hell, I majored in Brazilian literature–I run into this problem a lot. But over time, I’ve learned a few strategies to vet candidates for roles I have never (and likely won’t ever) experience. Here are the steps I follow.

ASSIGN A PROJECT

If you’re unsure of whether your recruit has the chops to execute, ask them to do a small project where they can show off their skills. If I’m hiring someone to build web crawlers, for example, I will ask them to build a simple one as a take-home project. If I’m hiring an ads specialist, I’ll give them a budget and a couple of months to test messaging and audience, and see how they do.

When it comes to assessing their capabilities, the more chances you have to see a candidate perform, the better. At the very least, you should ask to see a portfolio or an example of their past work. It might make sense to pay candidates for a small consulting project that emulates the role.

RUN A LOT OF REFERENCES

When in doubt, pick up the phone. I run at least three references for every person we hire, and I double that when we don’t have an expert in their role in-house. Ideally, you would go further than the list that they send you–after all, smart candidates will likely give you a list of people who will say good things about them. Try to talk to their direct supervisors at each of their last few roles, and even colleagues or direct reports. Those 360 perspectives are critical to the big picture of the candidate.

Backdoor references can also be tremendously valuable. The honesty of a mutual connection can help verify a great hire or discount a terrible one. If you go down this path, be sure to inform the candidate that you’re planning to reach out to those contacts. Candidates may have good reasons to ask you to refrain from calling those connections, particularly if they are keeping their job search under wraps. Either way, make sure to get a candidate’s affirmative consent before conducting those reference calls.

ASK THEM TO BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU

Remember, just because you’re not an expert doesn’t mean you can’t still run a valuable interview. It’s important to learn enough to ask the big-picture questions about the positions you’re hiring for. If intellectual property law is a critical component of an incoming in-house lawyer’s role, ask them what their strategy will be on that front. If you’re concerned about tax treatment, ask your controller candidate about how she’ll reduce your liability.

You might not understand their answers 100%, but you’ll likely get a sense of whether the person knows their stuff–especially when you’re assessing them against other candidates. You’ll also learn a ton through these conversations, and you’ll end up being a much better manager when you finally do make the hire.

BRING IN AN EXTERNAL INTERVIEWER

You might still be left scratching your head, trying to decide whether a candidate is as great as they say they are. This is where bringing in an external interviewer can help. A startup might ask their investors to help interview their early finance or legal hires or bring in some trusted software developers to review an engineering recruit’s code.

Like with any other part of the interview process, it’s critical to get several different perspectives. And make sure the interviewer is verifiably an expert in the specific role, as you wouldn’t want a newbie developer to interview a CTO with 20-plus years of experience.

DETERMINE WHETHER A FULL-TIME HIRE IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Sometimes, you don’t even need to hire full-time staff. Is there a more affordable way to staff the role? Can a consultant meet the need? When we first started, we decided against hiring a CFO or an in-house accountant. We instead hired a firm that handles all our finances. It costs a bit less, and we know that there are multiple people at the firm checking one another’s work.

In certain circumstances, you don’t even need a single person. Our company Hatch Apps has built a platform that enables businesses to create apps without coding, thereby eschewing the need for a software developer. There are other companies, like 99designs for branding or Atrium for legal that can help you save money on an expensive hire, or wait until your business is at a point where hiring full-time staff makes financial sense. Don’t skimp on due diligence, though. Ask the tough questions, and make sure you understand their contract or terms.

No hire is ever 100% guaranteed to succeed, but if you employ these strategies, the odds will be in your favor. Lastly, don’t be afraid to take your time. Your business will be in much better shape if you take a few months to vet a stellar candidate than rapidly onboard someone that you’ll need to dismiss a few months later.

This article was sourced from www.fastcompany.com by Amelia Friedman

Cross-functional Teams in 339 Words

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Learning how to develop effective teams isn’t complex, does not cost your business an enormous sum of money and starts with team-oriented culture and obtainable goals. People believe cross-functional teams are only successful in large companies, which is far from the truth. Cross-functional teams aren’t new – they are similar to conventional work teams, but they differ in several important ways. One such manner is that a cross-functional team has the ability to be self-managing and generate a shared comprehension of their team’s knowledge. This intern allows the team as a whole to accomplish extraordinary objectives and goals.

“If people experience joy on the job and not compliance, they’re loyal, committed, happy, and energized to provide new ideas. If you want your team to learn from experiences beyond their own, you might also begin something as simple as a book club for co-workers from various backgrounds and departments.” – Derek Freese, Marketing Manager

The typical experience of work for lots of people is quite the opposite. Cross-functional teams create culture and camaraderie by inviting each other to learn the advantages and pitfalls together, not in isolated silos. This is the most significant benefits of a cross-functional team, its ability to foster innovation and organizational obstacles. Cross-functional teams have the capacity to unleash terrific results, but only if we ensure that they are installed in the right way and given the support, they need to work.

 

Cross-functional teams

 

The worst thing you can do to your cross-functional team is stifling it by narrow thinking. The directives supplied to the team have a propensity to become more general and not as prescribed. If this happens, the team must be in a position to update its initial goals in the event the first objectives changed during the process of the project. When your team fully understands the things that need to accomplish, they then will realize how they fit into the solution more clearly. It is this ability of a cross-functional team that will entice them to work together towards a common vision and object.

Through Award’s Cross-functional Recruiting model will be able to help you grow your business with the best talent through our Scalable Recruiting Approach while maintaining the personal touch you need. If you’re searching for more tips and trick on how to improve your company’s workforce, check out our hiring solutions blog.

FINDING YOUR TALENT

Want to learn more about how Award Staffing can help your organization with your staffing and employment needs? Start by providing our team with a few pieces of information about yourself, and we will take care of the rest.

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So You’re Conducting a Job Interview. Good For You. Was That Last Question  Actually Legal To Ask?

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You can view this article in original form at www.smartrecruiters.com by Kaya Payseno

You need to hire someone to do a job. You ask questions to evaluate whether they can do the job. You offer them the job or you don’t. Everyone knows how this goes.

Trouble arises, however, when things get too personal or intrusive. Asking what you think might be a perfectly reasonable question can be illegal, and crossing that line isn’t always so clear. For example, one may assume the graveyard shift at a supermarket is best suited to a single person with no children, but instead of asking, presumptuously about the candidate’s family status, simply ask if they are available to work nights. See? It’s not so bad once you get used to it.

Sometimes it may seem silly to stop yourself from easing into an interview with “How old are you?” or “What sorority did you belong to?” but the most important thing to remember is that such interview questions are actually proven to encourage bias. Thus not asking them promotes a more fair, and generally accurate, matching of a candidate’s skills to a job.

Also, be aware that today’s candidate is a savvy specimen, and even if they don’t point out your error in asking an illegal interview question (they may even choose to answer it) the fact that you made an inappropriate inquiry may sour a candidate towards your company, or even motivate them to report your business to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Recruiters and HR are usually well versed in their state’s employment law, but hiring managers are more of a wild card as their expertise lies elsewhere. Though this shouldn’t be taken as legal advice, the following most common illegal interview questions are a good place to start when educating your team on what’s ok and what isn’t.

  1. How long would your commute be? Instead ask, “Can you be at work by 9?” – The definition of a reasonable commute time varies by candidate so let them be the judge.
  2. Do you belong to any clubs or organizations? Instead ask, “Do you belong to any professional organizations we should know about?” – that way you don’t unintentionally bias yourself towards/against a candidate based on irrelevant information.
  3. Are you married?  Instead ask, “Can you relocate? Are you able to travel? Can you be on call during nights? “Are you aware of the dangers of this job?” – Think about what you actually want to find out from this question and make the inquiry more specific.
  4. Do you have kids? As with the above question don’t make assumptions about a person’s availability or ability to perform job responsibilities based on family status, simply ask what you need to know
  5. Where are you from? Instead ask, “What is your current address?” or “do you have permission to work in the US?” – This is a natural question in informal settings, but for the purposes of assessing a person’s ability to do a job it isn’t so relevant and may lead to discrimination or favoritism.
  6. Who do you live with? Skip this one, you probably don’t need to know, unless you are vetting someone for government service and this question could force someone to reveal their family status and/or sexual orientation.
  7. How tall are you?  Instead ask, “You must stock shelves as high as six feet, are you able to do this?” – Again, it’s about naming duties rather than making assumptions of incompetence based on characteristics, in this case physical.
  8. How old are you? Instead, ask “are you at least the minimum age to do this job?” – on the other side of the coin if you are worried a person is too old to perform the duties required of the job ask about the duties specifically eg “can carry items weighing up to 50 lbs?”

Remember, it’s not just wordplay, it’s about asking a better question that evaluates the candidate fairly. (US Edition)

Here are some more common topics wherein illegal interview questions arise:

Financial history

Limited exceptions for certain financial positions. Ability to check credit varies by state and region. Even in regions permitting credit checks, a business can be reported if the credit checks seem to disproportionately disqualify a certain group such as women or people of color.

Illegal

  • Have you ever declared bankruptcy?
  • Do You have a bank account?
  • Are you in debt?

Legal

  • Credit checks in some states.

Medical Information

Medical examinations are permitted if it is necessary for the performance of job responsibilities and a drug test.

Illegal

  • Do you have any addictions?
  • Do you take prescription drugs?
  • Have you been to rehab?
  • Do you have any disabilities or medical conditions?

Legal

  • Are you currently taking illegal substances?
  • Would you be able to perform this job with (or without) reasonable accommodation?
  • Do you have any conditions that would bar you from doing these tasks?

Arrest record

Arrest records and conviction inquiries are covered by the state rather than federal law, so be sure to tailor your inquiries according to your location.

Illegal

  • Have you ever been arrested?
  • Do you have an arrest record?

Legal

  • Have you been convicted of a crime?

Religious Affiliation or Beliefs

Religious institutions may choose to favor a candidate with the same religious leanings if spirituality is relevant to the job, for example, a teacher at a Catholic school, but not a janitor.

Illegal

  • What religion do you practice?

Legal

  • When are you available to work?

Citizenship and Visa Status

Illegal

  • What’s your country of origin?
  • Are you a citizen?
  • Is English your first language?
  • Where are your parents from?
  • How do you know Spanish?

Legal

  • Do you have permission to work in the USA?
  • Can you read/write/speak English? (And then, only if integral to the performance of the job).

Marital/Family Status

After hiring you can ask the number and age of children for insurance purposes.

Illegal

  • Do you have children or plan on having children?
  • Who cares for your children
  • Are you pregnant or plan on becoming pregnant?
  • Are you married?

Legal

  • Are you able to travel or relocate?
  • Can you be on call?
  • Will these hours work for you?

Living Arrangements

Illegal

  • Do you own your home?
  • Who do you live with?
  • How are you related to the people you live with?
  • How far would you have to commute?

Legal

  • What is your current address?
  • How long have you resided at your current address?
  • What was your previous address?
  • How long did you reside at your previous address?
  • Can you be in the office by 9?

Past wages

Varies by state and even city so check codes for your area. Note that women are historically paid less for the same jobs as men so basing offers on former wages could encourage bias.

Gender/Sexual Orientation/Race

You can collect gender/sexual orientation/race info from candidates, but it can’t have an effect on the hiring process except through affirmative action processes. The information can be used for government reporting, affirmative action, or diversity analytics.

You can view this article in original form at www.smartrecruiters.com by Kaya Payseno

6 Ways to Grow Your Business with a Personal Touch

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Growing your business is an exciting task. After all, it speaks well of your connection with your customers. It is also a challenging task. And one of the most critical challenges is simultaneously growing the business while still holding on to that personal-touch dynamic that was instrumental in getting the business off the ground. It takes a dedicated commitment, but the benefits are indeed worth it. We’ve put together a list of best practices to help you grow while remaining connected to your customer base.

1. Define your mission, your values, your vision –

Reaffirm the basis that made your company successful and ready for growth.

• What defines your brand in the marketplace?
• What defines your employer brand?
• What type of experience do you offer those who come in the front door . . . and those who come in the back door?
• What impact do you want to have on both your employees and your clients?
• What three words sum up the essence of your business? Integrity? Reliability? Expertise?

When employees understand who/what the business is, and experience those attributes in your employer brand, they will create an environment that shares that brand in the marketplace. They will maintain that brand of a warm personal touch even as you grow.

2. Don’t limit decision-making –

When a company revolves around a few c-level staff, where every question, every strategy must be approved, it stifles the business.

• Create systems that anyone can follow for key tasks from hiring and onboarding employees to accounting and finance to research and development, production, and marketing.
• Communicate policies, procedures, goals, visions, and the reason behind them the whole company. Ensure that everyone understands their task and how it fits into the big picture.
• Empower your employees to make those decisions and follow those systems by giving them the authority to match their responsibilities.

Involve your staff.  Share your plans for growth. Ask for input from staff. If they’ve been in the company for a long time, their experience and insight will be invaluable. Creating a sense of respect, pride, and ownership among your employees will result in being surrounded by an army of people who protect and grow your mission, as well as your business. They will ensure a positive connection with customers.

3. Don’t build too fast –

Growth is terrific – a sure sign that you are successful at identifying a niche, meeting demands, and building a loyal customer basis, but slow growth has its advantages.

• Focusing on the fundamentals of building your business with a slow growth philosophy allows you to make wise strategic choices and keep employees loyal, which helps maintain the personal touch.
• Hiring additional employees is vital in the growth process. Slow growth allows room to put more thought into hiring; ensuring you hire employees who will uphold the company values and maintain that personal connection.
• Slow growth is sustainable growth and less likely to put cash flow and finances at risk. It helps you plan for the long-term, which is beneficial for your company, your employees, and your customers.

4. Bring in automation carefully –

Integrating automation into your business is critical to company growth, but don’t allow increased effectiveness and streamlining for you be a frustration to your clients/customers.

• Customer engagement is essential. Build trust, establish loyalty, and while integrating automation, keep your human connection open – including a menu option for speaking with a person.
• Allow Customers to choose how they will engage. If they want short and sweet automation – they have it. If they desire discussion, provide chatbots. If they want “real” people, deliver that too.

5. Connect Through Social Media –

Keep your social media up-to-date and informative. It’s a great way to stay connected and personal with your customers even as you grow.

• Involve your customers in the growing process, such as the company who chose three updated logos and then let their customers vote on which one to use.
• Keep your website in align with growth. Keep it fresh – revamp your fonts, colors, and layouts. Make it interactive.
• Email and/or post on Facebook interesting, relevant information. Don’t’ get spammy. Don’t sell your product/services. Simply share information that will be helpful, interesting, or fun. Offer the occasional contest with desirable prizes – no gimmicks.
• Send out a company newsletter. Include helpful articles, fun stuff, recipes, and a way for customers to interact. For example, if an employee or customer is involved in a local charity, spotlight them on a monthly newsletter. Spotlight a different employee or customer each month.

6. Hire wisely –

With growth comes the need for additional employees. Take the time to hire talent who not only have the skills you need but also fit into the culture and will uphold your business values.  This way, you will maintain a staff that cares about the personal connection. Hiring in a rush increases your chances of a bad hire, interferes with growth, and damages the brand you work so hard to build. It’s a loss/loss in many ways and certainly does not maintain your personal touch. Enough said.

Yes, you can grow your business without giving up the personal touch. Before you jump into the race, take time to prepare. Reiterate your mission, values, and vision; don’t run alone or too fast; bring in both automation and growth slowly; connect with both current and potential customers via social media, and hire carefully. Following these tips will be sure to land your company in the winner’s circle.

Through Award’s Cross-functional Recruiting model will be able to help you grow your business with the best talent through our Scalable Recruiting Approach while maintaining the personal touch you need. If you’re searching for more tips and trick on how to improve your company’s workforce, check out our hiring solutions blog.

FINDING YOUR TALENT

Want to learn more about how Award Staffing can help your organization with your staffing and employment needs? Start by providing our team with a few pieces of information about yourself, and we will take care of the rest.

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America Has a Record 7.1 million Job Openings

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View the original article in it’s entirety at the www.washingitsost.com By Heather Long

The United States has a record number of job openings, another sign workers have greater opportunity to find better jobs, according to new data the Labor Department. The United States had 7,136,000 job openings in August, which is even better than Trump said and the highest on record since the Labor Department began keeping track of this data in late 2000.

The nation now has more than one job opening for every unemployed person, a dramatic turnaround from the Great Recession, when there were more than six unemployed people for every job on offer, the Labor Department said. Unemployment was at 3.7 percent in September, the lowest level since 1969.

Economists and employment experts say now is an ideal time for workers to look for a new job or ask their current employer for a raise or promotion, as so many businesses complain they cannot find enough employees, especially ones with skills and industry knowledge.

The last time unemployment was about this low in the late 1990s, wages were routinely growing around 4 percent or more. In August, wage growth hit 2.9 percent — the highest in nine years, but still disappointing by historical standards.

Economists keep predicting wages will rise since it is getting more and more difficult for companies to find workers, but many employers have opted to give one-time bonuses or extra perks like working from home or free coffee in the office instead of upping hourly pay.

Some say the decline of unions and an erosion of workers rights is making it harder for employees to ask for more pay or a promotion. Business leaders often point out the cost of health care has risen sharply so the money that might have gone for a traditional raise has been going to pay for that. Still, there is growing consensus workers are likely to have more leverage in today’s labor market to get what they want.

Many employees also say they are “underemployed.” The number of Americans stuck in part-time jobs who want full-time work still is not back to a pre-recession low. While there are a record number of job openings, employers sometimes still hesitate to hire someone they have to train or who has gaps in their employment record.

Workers who stay and new entrants into the labor force are now getting about the same pay bumps as workers who job hop, according to the latest ADP Workforce Vitality Report. This is especially true for workers ages 25 to 34, who ADP says are receiving wage increases of over 8 percent, on average, whether they change jobs or remain in their current role.

View the original article in it’s entirety at the www.washingitsost.com By Heather Long

The Ultimate Guide to Building A Kick-Ass Recruitment Team

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View this article in its original form at www.socialtalent.com by Stephen Clarke

Many companies now face due to many developments worldwide such as aging populations, political instability, and social & technological changes. This has brought an eagle-eyed focus on recruiters everywhere who are under increasing pressure to make kick-ass hires. The cost of a bad hire can cost up to fives times the person’s annual salary which can be even higher depending on the person’s tenure and seniority.

But how do you go about making sure this doesn’t happen? Developing an effective recruitment team is more important than ever so here is our ultimate guide to building a kick-ass one!

Integrate Recruitment with the Rest of the Business

Make sure your function and job role is viewed as a critical aspect of the business. Start building relationships with other departments and work on growing your presence. Set up meetings between your team and other business units and get a better understanding of the overall business, while at the same time showcasing how your team can help the company achieve its overarching goals.

Be Smart When Hiring First Employees

Often neglected by recruiters but this is a critical step when building your recruitment team which you must get right! The first hires you make will create the DNA of your team and also the company you are working at.

Put some time into developing a great job description that offers a good amount of detail. The more detailed you are, the clearer you will be when it comes to deciding on the best candidates. You should also ensure that you do structured interviews because potential recruiters will get asked the same questions for the same job and there is a pre-developed system for evaluating results which allows you to better determine which candidates are the best fit.

Provide an Awesome Onboarding Program and Effective Training

A little over 40% of all American workers quit within the first six months of starting a new job. This number is even higher for the business services industry, which clocks over a crazy 50%. Think about that – that’s over half of the candidates you hire leaving within 6 months and you looking bad in front of senior management – yikes! There are 2 things you can do to avoid this.

Employee Turnover in the Business Services industry

Onboarding: The first thing is to provide a great onboarding process for your new recruiters. Onboarding does not just mean having their computer set up on the first day but goes much more beyond this! On their first day, show them around the offices again, update them on company policies and provide a list of achievable tasks that they can start working on. Have regular check-ins, ask for feedback and have them shadow all departments in the company so they get a good understanding of the different cogs in the business!

Training: The second thing is providing good and tailored training for each recruiter. A great training program will give new staff the confidence to perform their role to make sure your new recruits take it seriously. Training should be centered on developing cross-functional relationships, identifying new business opportunities and making sure they understand the core values of the business.

Engaged Recruiters Will Achieve Their Goals

The same can be said for all company-wide teams but the knack of a recruitment team to achieve their objective depends upon the effectiveness of employee engagement strategies. It’s in your best interests to develop top employee engagement strategies.

– Encourage involvement in company-wide initiatives: If there are currently no opportunities for promotion, encouraging your team to get involved in the bigger picture will keep the job interesting.
– Develop a culture of innovation and creativity: This will provide new insights and a sense of accomplishment.
– Encourage open communication: Have a team meeting at least once a week to get an insight into what is important to your team. Let them express their ideas and address their concerns as much as you can.
– Provide educational opportunities: Work with individuals on their personal development plans and give them avenues to achieve their goals by giving them specific projects, recommending certifications and suggesting workshops/seminars.
– Share information: Keep recruiters informed about what is going on within the company and how their job contributes to the big picture. Be truthful in your communication.

 All of these things will help increase recruiter retention, making your team better placed to achieve objectives.

View this article in its original form at www.socialtalent.com by Stephen Clarke