Tag Archive for: Onboarding

How to Avoid Bad Hires: Your Guide to Better Recruiting

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Bad hires in manufacturing or warehouse roles can devastate your business. A bad hire can cost up to $5,000 or more taking into account advertising, interviewing, onboarding, and training. Beyond the financial impact, poor hiring decisions reduce productivity, disrupt team dynamics, and drain valuable resources from training programs, forcing you to start the process over again. Smart workforce management starts with preventing these costly mistakes before they happen.

The good news? You can dramatically improve your hiring success rate by implementing proven recruiting tips and refining your hiring strategy.

Here are six essential steps to build a reliable recruitment process that consistently delivers quality candidates who thrive in your organization.

1. Define Clear Job Requirements

Vague job descriptions attract vague candidates. Your hiring strategy should begin with a comprehensive job description that leaves no room for interpretation. Include specific technical skills, required experience, daily resonsibilities, and other details necessary for success. Don’t forget to highlight your company culture and value as this helps candidates self-select whether they’re truly a good fit. A well-crafted job description serves as your first screening tool, filtering out unqualified applicants before they enter your pipeline.

2. Master Effective Screening Techniques

Resume screening and initial phone calls are your opportunity to catch red flags early. Look for employment gaps without reasonable explanations, frequent job changes, or skills that don’t align with your requirements. During phone screenings, listen for communication skills, enthusiasm, and genuine interest in the role. Pay attention to how candidates speak about their previous employer. Chronic complainers often bring negativity to new workplaces. This initial screening phase of your workforce management process saves countless hours later in the hiring cycle.

3. Conduct Behavioral Interviews That Reveal Truth

Past behavior predicts future performance. Behavioral interview questions force candidates to provide specific examples rather than hypothetical responses. Ask questions like “Describe a time you had to work with a difficult team member” or “Tell me about a project that didn’t go as planned.” Listen for concrete details, personal responsibility, and problem-solving approaches. Strong candidates provide specific situations, actions they took, and measurable results. This will help you identify candidates who will actually perform well in real workplace scenarios.

4. Never Rush Due Diligence

Taking the time for proper due diligence in your hiring decisions is a critical investment in your company’s future. While it can be tempting to speed up the process to fill a vacant role quickly, rushing does not guarantee a positive outcome. Skipping thorough evaluations introduces significant risks. This includes high costs, disruption to your team’s morale and productivity, and long-term inefficiencies that impact your bottom line. A careful, considered approach ensures you find a reliable candidate who not only has the right skills but also fits your company culture, paving the way for a successful and lasting partnership.

5. Create Comprehensive Onboarding and Training Programs

Even perfect candidates need proper onboarding to succeed. Your hiring process doesn’t end when someone accepts your offer—it’s just beginning. Develop a structured strategy that introduces new hires to your company culture, systems, and expectations. Assigning a mentor or collegue to help newcomers navigate their first weeks will help them become successfully integrated into your team. Continuous training opportunities show employees you’re invested in their growth, which improves retention rates and job satisfaction. Strong onboarding transforms candidates into great long-term employees who contribute meaningfully to your organization.

Building Your Future Through Better Hiring

Investing time upfront in your hiring process pays dividends for years. Quality employees drive productivity, maintain positive workplace culture, and reduce the constant cycle of recruitment and training. Your business deserves team members who contribute to growth rather than creating additional challenges.

Let’s help you improve your hiring strategy and avoid bad hires. Our candidate screening will help you identfiy candidates that will be successful part of your team long-term. View our services to get started.

Thriving in a Gig Economy

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It used to be that working for a decent salary at a prestigious company was seen as the ultimate honor. But now, over the past few years, more and more people have jumped on the bandwagon of working for themselves. Since many jobs only require a secure internet connection and we are living in a world that is hyper- connected via smart phones and social media, people have realized that everything they have previously done for a company, they can now do for themselves and charge a premium.

Additionally, as more and more employees have experienced the luxury of no commute and not having to get dressed up to go to the office; combined with the ability to be location independent given that work gets done, people have begun to see the value in using their area of expertise to freelance or start their own service-based companies instead of working for someone else. This can be seen in self-created positions such as:

*Freelance Writer

*Virtual Assistant

*PR and Marketing Strategist

*Video Editor

*Social Media Consultant

Although we still have the same 24 hours in a day that we always have, modern life has us busier than ever. With people feeling like they need to do everything and be everywhere because FOMO, the desire to keep up on social media, two working people in most households, and staying in shape by going to trendy fitness classes five days per week, it’s no wonder that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the rat race.

Due to the new awareness that they have options, people these days crave autonomy and have no desire to be in a physical location for 8+ hours per day just for a paycheck and a respectable title. What’s appealing to modern day workers is the ability to take on as much or as little work as they would like, be able to work from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection, and be able to negotiate deadlines based on your their workload. People these days want to do everything on their own time. This is why self-employed is the new status symbol.

As difficult as it can be to accept, the gig economy is the future of business and is here to stay. Especially after the pandemic, many people’s lifestyles have changed and as a result, their views of employment as well as their work habits have shifted. People now value convenience more than ever and want the option of work-life integration, which would enable them to go about their daily lives and pick up their work in times that are most convenient. As a result of this desire, more and more people have steered away from applying for traditional jobs and instead have opted for offering their services as a freelancer or have become entirely self-employed. Today more than 1/3 of workers identify as independent and it is projected that by 2027, the majority of American workers will be freelancing.

Although this is new to most companies, there are actually many benefits of a gig economy if you choose to allow freelance employees to be a part of your business model. Here are some:

1. Save on Labor Costs

By using contract employees, you will save on labor costs by not having to pay for benefits or PTO. You can then take these savings and re-invest them into your business or put them towards a different department.

2. Hire as Needed

Instead of onboarding a full time employee, you can hire contract workers as projects come up, on an on-demand basis. Not only does this save you time, but it also gives you the option to work with someone again or not based on whether or not you like the work that they produced. Also, by hiring someone who is likely working on many projects for a variety of companies, you are likely to get someone with plenty of experience and a wide skillset.

3. Save on Space, Supplies, and Utility Costs

The fewer full-time employees that you have, the less you will spend on things like a larger space to accommodate them and/or electricity from having them and their workspace in the office. If you hire an independent contractor to do things like graphic design or marketing, they can be located anywhere and will already have their own materials. In the long run, you will be spending significantly less money on space and items like computers, desks, and phones.

4. Quicker Onboarding

These days, no one wants to commit, but everyone still needs to make an income. The biggest thing companies are struggling with right now is finding employees. By posting ads for specific projects instead of for full-time employees, (which typically comes with a rigid schedule, dress code, etc.) you will definitely get more applicants. Once you find someone, it’s just a matter of describing your needs and drawing up a contract that works for both of you. You will not have to invest time or money into orientation or training. You also won’t have to worry about factors like culture fit or time and attendance.

 

5. Quality Work

Whether you’re hiring someone to plan a company party, manage your social media, or write content for your different platforms; you will be hiring someone whose sole job is to complete these projects for your company. This means it is his/her area of expertise and they likely have a lot of experience and know what they’re doing. Typically companies designate such tasks to employees whose niche is an another area. Or, they invest the time into training a specific employee to do the job in the hopes that when the time comes they do a satisfactory job. By hiring people specifically in this niche, you have a better chance of seeing the exact results you envision.

If you are currently looking for new employees, we at Award Staffing are here to help. Feel free to contact us with your staffing needs and questions here.