Tag Archive for: recruiting

Human Resources vs. Recruiting: What’s the Difference?

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Unless you’ve spent time working in either field, it can be hard to realize the differences between human resources and recruiting. Whenever you started or left a new job, you’ve likely worked with an HR representative. Many people assume that because HR personnel are handling these tasks, they’re also equipped to find new employees – right?

Not so fast. Human resources and recruiting are two separate jobs that require separate skillsets. At Award Staffing, we’re a company of recruiters – and we love it! We also have our own HR staff to support our team. A business looking to grow needs both to succeed.

Whether you’re planning to add more employees to your business, or you’ve had your HR person pulling double duty, it’s important to understand the differences between both roles. Doing so allows you to allocate the appropriate resources into both tasks to meet your staffing goals.

Recruiters find new employees

Recruiters work like marketers for your company, except that they’re marketing to job seekers. Their job is to tell job seekers what an awesome place your company is and why they want to work there. They will write persuasive job descriptions and create materials that attract the best talent.

Recruiters work either directly for a company or on behalf of a client who has outsourced the recruiter’s services. Recruiters do the footwork sorting through applications, contacting candidates and conducting initial interviews. This saves companies a lot of time that would have been wasted on candidates who were clearly not right for the job. Instead, only the best candidates are forwarded to the company.

A term you might hear interchangeably with recruiting is ‘staffing.’ They are similar jobs, but staffing tends to involve meeting a company’s short-term or job-based needs.

HR manages existing staff

HR handles compliance with employment law, payment and benefits, employee development, organizational design and more. HR managers are heavily involved in an employee’s experience starting at and leaving a company, and perhaps more throughout their career depending on the culture.

HR managers are not just focused on managing employment-related tasks but are also focused on improving the existing workplace culture. Many companies are looking to convey this shift in thinking by giving their HR staff titles like “Chief People Officer.”

Why you need both

Many companies, including large ones, assume that one person or one team can do both tasks, but they are distinct workflows. Once a recruiter has found a candidate and that candidate is hired, a handoff takes place from recruiter to HR.

Putting both roles on one person could hurt your company. If an HR manager is busy tracking down applicants, they have less time to focus on existing employees. If a recruiter is trying to handle employee performance reviews, they cannot focus on finding the right candidates for open positions. Companies need both roles to succeed.

If you’re worried about hiring an in-house recruiter to help with your staffing needs, the good news is that you can outsource this task. Award Staffing is here to help. Contact us to learn more about how we can support your staffing needs in the Twin Cities.

Use Matchmaking to Find the Perfect Employee

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Finding the perfect employee can be like finding the perfect romantic partner. However, instead of finding them once, your job is to find them over and over again. If you’re feeling burned out on candidate search, it may be time to get creative. Don’t worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea! Every day, we match employers with the perfect candidate to help them reach their staffing goals.

Here’s what you can learn from Cupid to help you attract the best candidates.

Meet your candidates where they hang out

When it’s time to find qualified candidates for a job search, you likely have your reliable resources. Whether it’s your favorite staffing agency (we’re blushing!) or an industry jobs list, you’ve learned where you can find reliable candidates. To find your perfect match, consider taking things to the next level with your resources. Connect with the staffing agency on social media to see which job seekers are also on the page. Attend a local networking event or job fair to meet your contacts and potential applicants in real life. If you want to add quality candidates to your network, go to places (online or in-person) where you know they’ll be.

Learn more about their interests

As a hiring manager, you likely have a lot of experience with topics like human resources, business administration or psychology. How much do you know about the industry you work in? While you may not be certified as a heavy equipment operator, you should strive to keep up with the latest in your industry. Join listservs for industry organizations. Make an effort to read the trade magazines in the break room. Research your competitors to understand what they’re doing differently. The better you understand the job and the industry, the better you can talk to potential candidates about their experience, interests and goals.

Present your best foot online

Savvy candidates will look for clues about your company in your job post and will research your company before applying. Make sure they like what they find. Work with a copywriter to create job postings that present your company’s personality, whether it’s traditional, funny or relaxed. Have marketing create web content and/or social media that highlights what employees do and what they like about working at your company. Rewrite the description of your company so that it appeals to qualified job seekers. Don’t let candidates Google you only to find outdated or unhelpful information – or worse, nothing at all.

Hire a matchmaker

Staffing agencies are the matchmakers of the professional world. We listen to what you’re looking for in an employee, then turn to our database of job seekers to find candidates who match. We do the hard work weeding out the less-than-eligible candidates so that you only spend your time with the best applicants.

When you need help finding your perfect match, Award Staffing is here to help. Contact us to learn more about how we help can staff companies like yours.

9 Scalable Recruiting Tips and Tricks

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Recruiting success depends on keeping up with the latest trends and continually evolving strategies, which are driven by well-planned, targeted goals. In today’s market, building an extensive pipeline, while focusing on relationship requires identifying and mastering the appropriate technological tools. Talent acquisition leaders must develop best practices regarding data collection and analyzation, the agility of information, ability to track mobile date, incorporating web analytics, and receiving and utilizing key metrics provided by ATS. Finally, they must funnel all these practices and tools into a scalable recruiting system – a system that smoothly handles fluctuations in hiring demands.

Scalable recruiting – that ability to fluctuate with hiring demands is a complicated issue. It involves many building blocks, including:

1. Establish targeted goals –

Everything begins with goals. Successful strategies only work with well-defined, measurable, and achievable goals, and you need to keep adjusting the goalposts if you want to keep an edge. Review them regularly, think strategically, and always try to hit your targets.

2. Build an attractive employer brand –

Yes, that’s what we said – building an attractive employer brand – your reputation and popularity as an employer. Attracting and engaging talent in a fluctuating market starts with being a company that speaks to the heart of potential talent; that fosters a high employee value proposition. In fact, research by LinkedIn has proven that a whopping 75% of job seekers research a company’s reputation before applying. And if you want to tweak the interest of passive candidates (a constant in a talent-driven market), you need to be a company who will stand out in their minds. Furthermore, 30-40% of talent say reputation or brand of the company is “very important” to them when considering a job move.

3. Build a pipeline of talent –

An ongoing, active search for talent – even when the demand is low – to build up an extensive pool of talent. Develop and nurture your talent pipeline, and identifying current employees who have the potential to step up into roles. Create a compelling recruitment brand, engage with prospective candidates through targeted social media content, and institute an active referral program. These steps will ensure you have an extensive pool of talent when the need arises.

4. Generate accurate job descriptions –

Ensuring that your job descriptions accurately and portray a comprehensive overview of the prospective job and responsibilities are one of the best ways to reduce the number of unqualified or wrongly-qualified candidates. Eliminating unnecessary overload reduces the time and cost spent in building your short list.

5. Streamline your recruitment process via software –

Keeping track of applications, sending emails, scheduling interviews, etc. via on centralized software system will reduce both time and cost in the recruitment process. This allows you to transfer administration hours to time spent on more proactive hiring strategies.

6. Connect with talent where the talent is –

Going mobile – and doing it in an attractive, easy to use system – is an absolute for connecting with talent and building a pipeline that enables you to handle a sudden increase in hiring demands. Make sure that applicants and potential prospects can engage via their mobile devices, including texting and tweeting.

7. Create a memorable candidate experience –

A positive candidate experience not only increases the odds that they will accept a position but also leaves a note of optimism even when they turn it down. They will be much more likely to reapply in the future, and best of all will refer other talent to your company. Organizations that invest in a strong candidate experience improve their quality of hires by 70%.

8. Improve your strategy for hiring diversity –

Place diversity (be it gender, cultural background, age, disability, etc.), and cultural intelligence high on your agenda to integrate diverse workers and maintain productivity. Reinforce your diversity mission and remove any barriers that may be preventing you from achieving it. Examine your hiring process for unconscious bias and consider how your job postings and application forms could be preventing people from diverse backgrounds from applying.

9. Utilize Technology –

Making use of automated and machine-learning algorithms is essential in a scalable recruiting model.

• AI allows processes to be completed at a rate and scale beyond human ability. It transforms text into structured data and vice versa.
• There is also software available the integrates into existing ATS systems, scans the job descriptions of open roles, and then sources your existing resume database to discover candidates who fit the qualifications (This is one places where an extensive bank of passive candidates pays off).
• Virtual Reality (VR) allows companies to provide their shortlist with VR tours that reveal the company’s workplace and culture.
• Augmented Reality (AR) allows candidates to walk through the workplace, participate in a mock client meeting or another relevant activity, and sit with an employee who talks about their typical day.

Scalable recruiting is attainable, but it requires commitment. The ROI, however, is significant and ensures the destination is well worth the journey. Through Award’s own Cross-functional Recruiting model we will be able to scale our efforts to find the right employees that fit your unique business needs. 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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The Big Picture of Cross-Functional Management

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Cross-functional teams are the ultimate in diversity. Members come from diverse backgrounds and different levels and departments within a company. They have distinct skill sets, as well and varying personalities and perspectives.

When a team comes together in a healthy appreciation for each other’s contributions, they can be highly innovative and effective. With strong leadership paving the way, successful cross-functional teams:

• Bring new and better insight into
• Increase employee engagement.
• Stimulate creativity and innovation.
• Breakthrough stereotyping and build the positive aspects of diversity.
• Enhance employee morale, team spirit, and the company culture.
• Take an organization’s success to the next level.

So, what are the criteria for a cross-functional team leader?

Team management should be assigned to a senior executive. Even when a team member is appointed direct leadership over the other members per/a specific project, he/she should be reporting to a senior staff member, who clarifies quality standards, budget, and expected timeline, as well as ensuring clear communication within the group and between the group and C-level staff. Cross-functional management organizes business processes across traditional boundaries, coordinating and synergizing the responsibilities and work of each unit, confirming that goals are met, and policies are upheld. He/she chooses the team members, and then educates, delegates, and provide autonomy. Ultimately, the manager/leader is accountable for the team’s success.

It sounds daunting, and it certainly can be a challenge, but by recognizing the critical functions of a team and the principles of cross-functional management, the statistics of the past can be exchanged for success.

Best Practices for Cross-Functional Management –

 

Choose wisely your team:

First, establish the skill requirements and expertise needed for the project. Then evaluate the potential member’s accordingly, recognizing that no one person will have all the required skills. For example, your team may have an IT specialist, several engineers, an accountant, and a visionary. Some will envision the big pictures, while others see the details.

Don’t overlook interpersonal skills. Some will be introverts, and some will be extroverts, but every team member will need to be adept at communication, embrace diversity, handle conflict in a healthy manner, and generally get along with people.

Clearly Defined Goals and Objectives:

It is critical that every member of your cross-functional team understands the project goals and objectives, the principles, factors, and methods that will be used in accomplishing those objectives, and how progress will be measured. They must know what is expected from him/her and how his/her tasks fit into the big picture.

Establish a system of organization:

To manage a team of this diversity and complexity, you’ll need a system for organizing deadlines, files, notes, data, research, and whatever else you bring to the project. Create a method to ensure that the team’s output is transferred back into key functions and work streams, so the insights become standard operating procedures for the enterprise.

Clarify communication:

Good communication is a critical aspect of cross-functional team success. Establish your expectations and methods of communication from the beginning. Conduct in-person meetings. If most of the team are working from remote locations, establish regular conference calls, skype, or facetime meetings. Ensure that everyone is both giving input and listening to the rest of the team. Take steps to confirm the clarity of information passed.

Build trust:

Trust is essential. Provide opportunities for members to connect both within the project time and off work. Encourage team members to respect and appreciate each person’s role. Pay attention to each member’s credibility and reliability. Better to remove one person from the team than to disrupt interpersonal connections.

Resolve conflicts quickly:

There will always be some level of friction when you put together a team of diverse skills, personalities, work styles, opinions, etc. The key is not thinking you can avoid it, but instead accepting the reality and establishing procedures for responding quickly to incidents.

Recognize and express appreciation:

Acknowledge and reward hard work creative talent, dedication, skill strengths, and innovative thinking of the team, and toward each one individually. Measure performance, so the team knows how well they’re delivering, how much they have accomplished, and what is still to be finished. Both are important; both build morale; both increase productivity and team spirit.

Cross-functional teams can play a valuable role in company success. When they are managed well, the results can be astounding. Applying the above principles will ensure effectiveness and ultimately enhance your company’s bottom line. Through Award’s own Cross-functional Recruiting model we will be able to help you find the right employees for your unique business needs. 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.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.