Tag Archive for: staffing

Why the Right Employees Make All the Difference

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No matter what type of business you run, or where you are located in the United States, it is no secret that there are many more job openings than there are people willing to fill them. The pandemic has allowed people to reconsider what is most important to them and as a result, many people have become more particular about the positions they take. Knowing that there are many options out there that would allow them to work from home and having had the time to start their own income generating projects, a large percentage of the population has chosen to either look for a position that doesn’t require their physical presence or leave the workforce entirely to pursue their own venture.

Of course this has business owners and hiring managers in a bind and has significantly slowed down production of all products and services on a national level. This can make it tempting to employ any and all people who apply to your company. However, as inclined as you may be to do that, being sure that you take the time and consideration into hiring the best/right employees is what will be of the biggest benefit in the long run. Here’s why:

Work Ethic

This may just be the most important quality an employee can have. This means they are someone who arrives to work on time, makes productive use of their time, gets their tasks done, and produces quality work. Without work ethic, you will end up wasting payroll on employees that are not getting the job done. It will be better if you hold out to hire the right people than to spend money on a revolving door of employees.

Social Skills

If you choose to hire just anyone who you think can get the job done, you may find yourself with either; an employee who does not get on well with the rest of the team, or someone who does not do well with clients/customers. Although disagreements between employees are inevitable, it’s important to make sure that the people you bring on can get along with others. In the case of needing your team to collaborate on something or communicate often, it’s important to have people who can work well with one another.

Dependability

Having employees that are reliable is a key component in having a successful operation. This means they show up every day and you as a manager can trust that they are doing their job. Someone who is not dependable will call in at the last minute, have excuses why things aren’t getting done, and may even one day randomly disappear and not come back. This isn’t a good use of the time you spend onboarding employees and you will find your company with plenty of work that still needs to be completed once the days are over. Avoid this by doing your best to find dependable employees.

Communication

People with excellent communication skills are often hard to find. There are so many different facets to communication from email and text responses, to being able to get a point across effectively in person. Having a team of people who all have good communication will ensure fewer errors, will result in prompt responses, and will enable you to have a team that is always on the same page.

Adaptability

As the past year and a half has taught all of us, things are inevitably going to come up unexpectedly. Having employees who understand that instead of insisting that “we’ve always done it this way”, will be a major advantage to you and the rest of the team. People who are adaptable are willing to modify their jobs as needed, shift their schedule occasionally if the business needs it, and are open to hearing new ideas. As an employer, it is important to let adaptable employees know they are appreciated, because otherwise they will feel that their flexibility is being taken advantage of and may take their skills somewhere else.

Self- Motivation

People who are self-motivated, do not constantly need to be told what to do. They know what their job is and will see what needs to be done and take the initiative to do it themselves. Having people like this on your team will keep the flow of operations going as well as save you time as you won’t have to regularly stop what you’re doing to give them direction.

Company Culture

In today’s society, company culture is one of the most valued traits a company can have according to employees. It is one of the number one contributors to employee happiness, therefore it is important that when you’re hiring, you look for people who will fit and contribute to your company’s culture. This means people who have a similar mindset about the company’s mission, people who participate in company events, and people who actively work to keep the energy and the environment positive.

If your company is in need of employees, we at Award Staffing are here to help you! Contact us with your staffing needs here.

Why It’s Important to Keep Up with Trends in Your Industry

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“Companies that will not change according to their environment will disappear. Follow trends and transform your business.”

In the ever-changing world that we live in, one of the best things your company can do is keep up with industry trends. Just like we all keep up with one another on social media, it’s important to do the same as trends emerge within your industry. While it can be tempting to stick with the tried-and-true things your company has done over the years, integrating trending things as they come up will set you apart and keep you in the know about your industry. Here are some reasons why it will benefit you to stay up-to-date on trends and how you can do so.

1. Forecasting

If you stay in the loop by implementing the latest trends into how your business operates, it will be much easier to predict things that are to come in the future for your industry. When you can make predictions based off of findings from your own research, observations, and conversations, you will be better equipped to plan for the future from all angles.

2. Be Seen as a Leader/Build Credibility

When you go first and are the first to integrate trending industry things into your operations, other businesses will view you as an authority. They will see your organization as “in the know” and not afraid to try new things. This will make them want to keep up with you on all platforms and model some of their business decisions in a similar way.

3. Better Business and Branding Ideas

By keeping up with trends, you’ll constantly be learning; new tools, new events to participate in, new ways to be efficient. This will give you a wider variety of things to work with- therefore, you will be able to experiment with more things and use them to generate new ideas. This ensures that anything you come up with will be modern and up-to-date.

4. You Won’t Be Caught Off-Guard

New trends within your industry are going to come up in conversation regularly. If you want to be seen as a leader, you’ll want to be able to take part in those conversations and discuss your experience with trending tools and topics. By staying on trend, you won’t get caught in awkward conversations where you’re the only who doesn’t know what everyone else is talking about.

5. New Opportunities

By participating in trends as they come up, you’ll be introduced to new people, new skills, new events, etc. This will inevitably present you with new opportunities more frequently. By having these connections and skills; you will have more to offer clients and will be able to charge more of a premium for your services.

6. Growth

As things in the world change, it is crucial to change with them. Although it can be difficult to want to change, especially when things are going well as they are, change means evolution, therefore is a good thing. You will never truly know how efficient or effective you can actually be if you don’t try new things. Don’t deprive yourself the opportunity to reach even more success by being closed off to the idea of implementing new trends.

 

Ways to Keep Up with Trends in Your Industry

1. Sign up for email lists

2. Take advantage of trainings and webinars

3. Keep up with your competitors on social media

4. Find an industry “buddy” that you regularly talk to

5. Subscribe to an industry publication

6. Follow industry exports across all platforms

 

If your company is in need of employees, we at Award are here to help. Contact us here with your staffing needs.

 

How to Have a Productive Mindset and Be Efficient

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No matter what day it is, we all seem to have an infinite list of things to do in both our work and our personal lives. With multiple spinning plates that leave us with divided attention, it can be quite a challenge to focus and to decide what to prioritize. When it comes to our careers, it is imperative to be efficient with our time so that we are consistently getting our projects done and producing quality work. Here are 7 suggestions you can use to develop a productive mindset and set the foundation for productive days in the workplace.

1. Know What Motivates You

It is nearly impossible to meet a deadline or achieve a goal if you are unmotivated. While not every project or assignment will be your favorite, it is still possible to stay motivated while doing them. In this case, it is mostly a matter of mindset.  Ask yourself, “What is driving me to succeed?” It could be:

  • Building your portfolio
  • Working towards a promotion
  • The impact you’re having
  • Feeling accomplished when you cross something off of your list

Some days you will inevitably be more motivated than others. Maybe when it comes to certain projects, the motivation will be to get it done so that you can move on and hone in on an assignment or daily undertaking that you do enjoy. The takeaway is: you just have to find something to be motivated by.

2. Focus on One Thing at a Time

When you multitask, you will notice that you get fewer things done throughout the day and that the things you do get done are not as top tier as they would be if you did one task at a time. Single tasking results in higher quality work and is less stressful. If your mind is in too many places at once, what tends to happen is that you will get a portion of several things done, but not actually complete anything. This will leave you wondering where all of your time went. Avoid spreading yourself too thin by focusing on one task before moving on to the next.

3. Choose the Three Most Important Things

If you are a person who wears multiple hats within your organization or have a position that is multifaceted, starting your day knowing what the three most crucial things to get done are is going to be a game changer. It can be easy to get into the routine of doing the same thing every day, like beginning by responding to all of your emails or checking the company social media platforms. However, nothing feels better than knowing that you are only halfway through your day and have already completed the three most crucial tasks. If you get into the habit of starting your day with the most important things, you will know that you are on track to complete projects on time.

4. Just Do Something

There will be days where there is nothing particularly pressing to work on or that you are working on all things of equal importance. Don’t waste a block of time obsessing about how to be most efficient or what order you’re going to do things in. Choose something and roll with it. This way you won’t lose any time and you’ll notice that you’ve built momentum and one thing will lead to another. There is limited time in your work day, don’t waste it by overthinking what you “should” be doing.

5. Know Your Work Style

Everyone is going to have a different style of working in which they thrive. Some people do better focusing on one project in large blocks of time; others have to switch what they are doing every so often. There is no “right” way per say, the only right way is to do it in the way that is most effective for you. In general, we as humans can only be productive for short bursts of time; so every hour or so, take a few minutes to stand up, stretch, get water, or just take your eyes off of what you’re doing for a few minutes.

6. Be ok with Schedule and Plan Changes

Meetings are going to get canceled, people are going to call-in, unexpected issues are going to come up. As frustrating as this can be, it is inevitable no matter where your work or what field you’re in. You likely have a multitude of projects you’re working on at once, if something gets cancelled, use that extra time to either plan or get ahead on another assignment. This can actually end up really working in your favor if you use that extra time wisely.

7. Set a Stop Time

It can be really tempting to want to power through a project and then before you know it, it’s 7 pm and you are still in the office or on-site. It actually takes discipline to be able to put something away for the day and leave the rest for another time. If you make a habit of not stopping until something is thoroughly complete, you will eventually lead yourself to burn out. Whether it’s a time in the day or a certain point in the project, commit to being done at some point so you can recover and start again the next day with enough motivation and energy.

 

If you are in search of a new job, we at Award Staffing are here to help. Check out all of our newest listings on our career page.

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.

3 Ways to Find the Perfect Job for You

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Right now there are so many different job opportunities available. Whether you’re a recent graduate, returning to the workforce after a hiatus, or looking to explore a new career path, it can be overwhelming and a challenge to know where to even begin.
While there is technically no such thing as perfect, it is important that you find a job that you enjoy in a place that you know you can thrive. Too many people get caught up in applying to a bunch of places and then accepting the first offer that comes their way. But by finding the ideal place and position for you, you will have less stress, be able to explore your interests, and have a sense of meaning when you go to work every day. Here are three methods you can use to help discover the perfect job for you.

List out both your Interests and your Skills

Your interests will give you a good idea of places that you would enjoy and your skills will help you determine the types of roles you are qualified for. Search for places that ideally combine the two and pursue them. Working at such places will give you the opportunity to learn more in your areas of interest and begin to make them your areas of expertise.

 Determine the Industries you’d like to be part of

It can be something entirely different than you have ever done before. What industries do you enjoy reading about? What are some of your favorite products? What is something that you have always wanted to try, but haven’t yet? Don’t be intimidated to start at the bottom and try something you have never done before. Everyone starts somewhere and this could just end up being a long-term career for you.

Identify Companies you would want to work for

Maybe it’s not even a specific position. It could be that you have always had an interest in a specific company because of what they stand for or because of memories you have in relation to the company. If you have heard that there is a local or remote company that treats their employees well and pays a good salary, that could be a place to apply to as well. List out several that you take an interest in and go to their website and see what positions they are hiring for. If there is an entry-level position or something you see that you qualify for, submit your application.

If you are currently looking for a new job, check out our latest job opportunities here.

How to Expand Your Professional Network

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Whether or not you’re currently in search of a new position or career, it is always a good idea to continuously be growing your network. You just never know when the time will come that you are in need of a change and if you keep your circle big, hopefully sometime down the line you are able to put someone else in contact with the right people as well.

When most people hear the term “networking”, they envision a cocktail party that comprises of hustlers handing out their business cards wondering who they can meet that will skyrocket them to the top. While that is definitely one of the better known ways to network, there are many other ways to meet and develop business and personal relationships with people both in-person and virtually.

Here are 5 ideas for expanding your network:

  1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

This one sounds obvious, but the majority of people use social networking platforms solely as a way of staying in touch with long-distance family members or old friends from high school and college. If you use your social media as a way of growing your personal brand, it can be an incredibly useful tool. Get involved in industry related groups and forums, post or share links about industry related topics on your page, comment and engage on posts relevant to your field or interests. This will give you a ton of credibility and you’ll start to be seen as a go-to person for job/industry knowledge. Networking isn’t just about asking, it’s also about giving.

In the case that you are attending an event such as a convention or trade show, reach out to others who are attending and get to know some of them before the day of. If you prefer not to mix business with personal, you can always set up a separate account specifically for networking.

  1. MAKE A LIST

Even if you don’t have your own business, you should still have an email list. Begin with listing out everyone that you know professionally from college, internships, past jobs, past events, etc. Include their email and where they live. Then expand to friends of friends. Keep adding to your list every time you make a connection and be sure to keep in touch with each person from time to time. This can look like a phone call or text, an email, or a direct message on social media. Staying on people’s radar is key; don’t just create the list and then ditch it. Networking is equally about being seen and keeping people in mind.

  1. SPEND TIME IN THE RIGHT SOCIAL SPOTS

Ask yourself, “If I wanted to run into more people in my industry, where would they be spending time?” What coffee shop do they have regular meetings? What bar do they have company happy hours once per month? If there is a certain industry professional you want to meet who regularly hosts or attends specific events, make it a point to be there. And then, be sure you introduce yourself and engage in meaningful conversation. The point of attending these events is to get to know people and for them to get to know you. Be sure you make yourself known by being friendly and cordial, and having something valuable to bring to the table.

  1. PERFORM GOOD NETWORKING DEEDS

In the long term, people are going to remember the kind things you did for them. A few times per week or per month, choose a few people and do something to benefit their personal brand. Endorse them on LinkedIn, leave their company a good review on Yelp, connect two people you know, recommend them to the write people. There is an endless list of ways you can make a professional, kind gesture for someone. People will remember when you did this and will be glad to return the favor.

  1. Consider Volunteering

When you put yourself out there, you just never know who you’re going to meet. And, depending on what type of volunteering you are doing, you may even have a chance to show people some of your skills and work ethic. Opportunities often come from being in the right place at the right time, so the more you make an effort to be involved, the higher your chances are of finding something. People will also remember your assistance and will think of you when an opportunity becomes available.

Whoever you meet, be sure to add them to your contact list.

As you can see, there are many different paths you can take to growing your network. Remember, growing a network takes time, so be patient as you’re expanding.

If you are currently in search of a new job, be sure to check out our newest postings here.