Performance Based Hiring – What Lou Adler Knows That You Should, Too

There’s no doubt that professionals in the staffing and recruiting industry are constantly on the lookout for the best technology and approach to boost their staffing and recruiting processes.

Beyond the addition of sophisticated recruiting software, companies need to use methodical tactics to find the top performing candidates.

But which approach is the best?

Take a page from author and hiring maven Lou Adler’s playbook.  One of the top recruiters in the country, Adler has over 40 years’ experience in the industry.  During that time, he has gained valuable insights resulting in a unique methodology for finding and hiring the best recruits – without sacrificing assessment quality or relying upon needless salary premiums.

Thankfully that treasure trove of recruiting gems isn’t locked away – Adler frequently speaks and writes on his famous principles. His platform includes four steps, which provide a “seamless approach based on how top performers look for, compare and accept one position over another.”

Top performers. As you might guess, these folks aren’t in a must-move frame of mind.  They are able to pick and choose and think in terms of both short and long-term benefits of new jobs.

lou-adler

Source, screen, interview, and recruit – 4 magic steps to snag top talent, from @LouA #recruiting

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So how do you attract them? Adler’s four-step process for performance-based hiring focuses on key details dealing with such top candidates – which makes it a plan worth following, focusing on:

  1. Sourcing:  Beyond skills or experience, this stage includes defining the “challenges and critical deliverables” that top performers must deliver.  Next, recruiters  use this knowledge to shape optimized advertising, thus bringing in a bigger pool of better candidates.
  2. Screening:  How can you analyze a candidate’s profile more deeply?  Using recruiting software, hiring professionals can quickly run and track background checks.  Recruiters can also assess “comparable accomplishments, career gaps and learning opportunities.”
  3. Interviewing:  Conduct “performance based” interviews to match a candidate’s skills and history of success with those deliverables that are must-haves for the position.
  4. Recruiting:  Communicate through recruiting and closing that the job is not just a lateral move offering a higher salary but a bonafide career opportunity.

Performance-based hiring recognizes that the top job candidates are usually already employed.  Because they are less likely to be out scanning job boards and searching for new positions, recruiters and hiring managers must work as a team, using the four steps to flush out the best of the best.

We think Lou Adler is on the right track.  What do you think? Are the best candidates for the job typically employed – and do you agree with Lou that these folks are the ones to snag?

Latest jobs report paints shaky picture of the economy: What this means for recruiters and staffing professionals

For staffing and recruiting professionals, the latest jobs report, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is an opportunity to review numbers and figures about the employment market backed by a trusted resource and determine whether indicators experienced personally align with the statistics. Certainly, not every staffing and recruiting firm will have data or metrics that agree with the findings of the federal government, including industry or regional pockets that are either exceeding or falling below the average. However, the national averages provide recruiters valuable insight into what might be on the horizon concerning the hiring market.

Overall growth predicted for the U.S. 

According to the BLS, the number of jobs in the United States is expected to grow by 10.8 percent in the next decade. The projections cover 2012 to 2022, and predict that 16 million jobs will be added in the nation. Occupations and industries related to healthcare are projected to make up the largest percentage of job growth for the decade. Positions related to social assistance workers are another employment sector that, when combined with healthcare, account for a third of overall total job growth or 2.6 percent with more than 2 million jobs added between 2012 and 2022. Most of this growth is attributed to the aging baby boomer population, who are also expected to make up over one-quarter of the labor force in 2022. The 5 million jobs that are to be created in the healthcare and social-assistance sectors are projected to have the fastest growth – a 13.6 percent increase. Other industries that are expected to post gains include professional and business services by 13.3 percent and state and local government jobs by 12.4 percent.

As the economy continues to grow and improve following the recession, it’s no surprise that employment opportunities, especially for in-demand sectors, will increase. The BLS predicts that, overall, job opportunities for positions that require secondary education or higher will continue to post the fastest employment growth. Workers with a post-secondary education or higher earned a median income of $57,770 in 2012 – compared to a$27,670 median income for those people holding a high school diploma.

Projected growth, yet still shaky hiring

The overall labor market is poised to improve, which is good news for staffing and recruiting professionals who will have to use their skills to place people in quality positions. However, not all facets of the hiring market are expected to remain strong or even improve from current levels. According to figures from the BLS, the construction sector, which admittedly took a hit during the housing crisis and subsequent recession, is expected to add about 1.6 million jobs by 2022. This is positive news, yet, the industry will never reach the same hiring frenzy it attained during the housing boom. Employment in the manufacturing, federal government, agriculture, information and utility sectors are also showing signs of a decline in hiring over the next decade. Knowing these figures will allow staffing and recruiting professionals to fill their staffing and recruiting software database with the appropriate candidates.

The figures show another key trend that will interest staffing and recruiting professionals – in four out of five cases or occupations, openings derived from replacements are projected to exceed openings from real job growth. This means that the transitions that companies are going to experience will keep the staffing industry on its toes, but it also means less people are at work at the same time, which could potentially stall the economy from really improving.

The Changing Ecosystem of the Staffing Industry

When Charles Darwin posited his Theory of Evolution over 175 years ago, he was not thinking of its application to the staffing industry but of the concept that organisms change over time from simple to more complex. It is a concept that can be applied to the world of work, considering how drastically it, too, has changed over the past 175 years. Then, most labor was focused on agriculture and small trades. Fast forward to 2014, and we see that just the opposite is true.

While temporary employees work in all occupations and skill levels, information technology and industrial workers represent the majority of the temp market today (53%) with projections of 60% by 2018. (See Opportunities in an Evolving Ecosystem: 18 Predictions for 2018.)

And, a growing number throughout the world are making flexible work a career choice.

The one thing we can say about evolution is that every entity, whether a living organism or a business ecosystem, undergoes constant change.

In the staffing industry, we can look at the moving target known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). What exactly does this mean for our industry?

While we don’t have definitive answers to those questions yet, what we can take away from Darwin is this: it’s not the strongest who survive a changing ecosystem; it’s those that are most adaptable to change that survive.

How do you comply with a moving target?

ready for change

No one really knows exactly what the Affordable Care Act will bring because deadlines and compliance dates keep changing. Anxiety and uncertainty abound, despite the one-year employer-mandate respite.

This is the main reason Bond developed the 2013 Affordable Care Act Survey Results Report — to put a finger on the collective pulse of the staffing industry.

Our aim is to help you gain clarity regarding the anticipated effects of the ACA. By providing a platform to compare viewpoints with industry peers, ranging from the “ACA presents a great opportunity for staffing companies to evolve” to “this will absolutely kill our business,” we can all benefit from these varying points of view.

Richard Purtell, president and CEO of American Resource Staffing, represents just one of the professionals we surveyed. He’s familiar with healthcare reform as his office has locations in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, two states where similar healthcare reform laws are already in effect.

His belief is that thinking or hoping the law will go away can only make things worse. “The un-savvy ones are going to think that school is out for a year. People think a miracle is going to happen. It’s not going to go away. It’s a law. It’s too far down the road,” he said.

Regardless of how popular or unpopular your personal views are, the ACA is happening and you need to take appropriate action.

I hope you gain insight and direction from this Bond 2013 Affordable Care Act Survey Results Report . Below are perspectives we uncovered of how professionals are handling the questions they face in the staffing and recruiting industry.

Here’s a summary of what they had to say.

1)      A lot of change is coming – at least that’s the popular opinion. More than three out of four respondents anticipate change. This viewpoint vastly outweighs the less than 10% of respondents who expect only slight changes or no change at all.

2)      Costs will increase. The majority of the staffing industry agrees that they “fear” the ACA will increase costs.

3)      Uncertainty prevails but many are getting on board. Indecision was the consensus of the research and garnered the most response. Staffing companies are still determining whether to offer benefits in response to the ACA.

4)      Cautiously optimistic regarding increased demand for temporary workers. The majority of respondents anticipate at least some increased demand, especially with growth in healthcare staffing projected to reach $13.4 billion.

5)      There’s no question that processes and procedures will change. The vast majority of staffing professionals surveyed expect the ACA to alter their current work flow. Those who anticipate “a little” change were the minority in this group.

6)      Doubt about their recruiting software readiness is evident. A majority responding felt their existing technology was not ready for the Affordable Care Act. According to Barry Asin, President, Staffing Industry Analyst, speaking at the SIA Executive Forum last year, “Technology choices and adoption will become critical to success for staffing firms. Catching the innovation wave of talent acquisition technology and using data and analytics will continue to impact recruiters and how they do their job,” he said.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution changed the scientific landscape not unlike the ACA is doing for the staffing environment. And, just like our ancestors, we are moving into a more and more complex work environment. Those staffing agencies that are able to preserve the best of the past combined with the next generation in staffing technology will represent the new model for the industry, and will, ultimately, thrive in this evolving business topography.

To learn what you can do to adapt to the ACA, we invite you to download our 2013 ACA Survey Results Report.

This Is Not Your Father’s World Of Recruiting

As companies jostle to find the best talent in 2014, more and more are offering creative perks in order to attract elusive top candidates.  Just as recruiting software has become more flexible to adapt to a hiring landscape that has very little resemblance to years past, recruiting companies are finding new ways to facelift traditional job offers and packages.

Today, “work-life balance” drips from the lips of many job candidates (active and passive alike). More and more, staffing and recruiting professionals are hearing that “the ability to telecommute” is more than nice to have.

This really is no longer your father’s world of recruiting.

Project manager at the Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council Yonah Freemark shares Why Telecommuting Really Matters. Whereas a mere 2% of Americans spent time working at home in 1994, The U.S. Census Bureau found that by 2012, 9.4 percent of people were telecommuting from home at least one day a week.

For recruiting dogs young and old, this means it’s time to pick up a fresh collection of pretty sophisticated tricks.

It isn’t just the use of the latest tools such as recruitment software that companies need to use to manage top talent these days.  It’s the understanding that the candidates they are approaching want more than the typical hiring package.  Staffing and recruiting firms now must help their clients develop offers that will one-up their competitors. Quite likely they will need to offer telecommuting as a perk to top talent.

Need more proof of the telecommuting movement?  Flexjob.com, a website targeted at employment seekers interested in flexible jobs with flexible work environments that include telecommuting, analyzed their database of over 25,000 pre-screened and vetted companies with flexible work options.  The resulting list of the top 100 companies that offered the best remote jobs was topped by such names as Xerox, United Health Group, Aetna and American Express.

A Greybeard Dell Is Not
homeless manThe number three company on that list, the IT giant Dell, is shaking its cane and orthopedics and leading the telecommuting race.

Business Insider shares that Dell has clearly figured out that flexible options help recruit and keep valuable workers.  Job satisfaction appears to be more readily attained by Dell’s telecommuting offer. The company also saved about $14 million last year by offering work at home flexibility.

And for the environmentally concerned, “these workers also kept 6,735 metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere by no longer commuting.” So how do recruiting companies adjust to top candidates’ need for flexibility?

It’s time for bifocals, baby! It’s time for recruiters and staffers to really see candidates’ and clients’ near and far-off needs. A recruiter needs to dig in. For example, a hot talent may not share – unless probed – that he’s not only passively open to telecommuting but would be heavily swayed by a job that offered such an option.

This is golden data! Recruiters need to be able to attain this critical information and be supported by a recruiting software system which allows easy access to candidates who fit this profile.

The New World DNA Job Candidate
dnaThe old hunt and peck system of matching job seekers with positions has now morphed into a DNA-type search of the ideal candidate.

With high-tech recruiting software, now we’ve got the ability to identify a more perfect DNA job-candidate match. Having a more complete view of the candidate, including interests such as telecommuting makes it easier to find the best fit – and one that will contribute to job satisfaction and retention.

With the limit of qualified candidates, companies have to find ways to become more attractive. Whereas 20 years ago telecommuting wasn’t a word on any seasoned recruiter’s lips, today it’s becoming an essential job perk that can contribute to romancing the right candidate.

Don’t be an old-style recruiter sitting on a park bench continuing to conduct recruiting “business as usual.” Stay current by more effectively profiling candidates.

Oh, and you may also need to persuade your clients that telecommuting benefits are the best way to attract tier-one talent. But isn’t that what we are all in this industry to do? Subtly persuade – where needed – in order to match the best candidates with the best employers!

Top marketing strategies for staffing firms for 2014

Every business is different, there’s no doubt about it, which means how a staffing firm goes about representing itself and trying to market itself to clients matters. After all, the competition is trying equally to gain the attention of potential clients and candidates, which means it’s up to a recruiting firm to act as its own best sales person. A staffing and recruiting firm must market itself to its audience in a variety of ways to ensure that it gains a portion of the market share.

The internet has drastically changed the way  information is shared, which means that staffing and recruiting professionals trying to market their services must deploy new, hard-hitting strategies that reach potential customers. There are a lot of stakeholders in the successful business of building employer and employee relationships, which means that the mediums and messages used in marketing must be as unique and direct as possible.

Convincing a company that hiring a recruiting agency to handle portions of the hiring process takes dedication and the ability to prove and demonstrate the return on investment staffing professionals can bring to the table. By deploying the right marketing strategy, a staffing agency will be better able to do just that. Highlighting key processes, metrics, past success, technologies like staffing software and recruiting software and more, can all help advertise the benefits of selecting a recruiting firm.

Here are some of the top marketing strategies a staffing firm can incorporate to gain the attention of clients and candidates:

1) Invest in mobile. The power of mobile is undeniable at this point. In 2012, more people bought smartphones than computers, according to a study by Canalys. Mobile technology is taking off, as more systems and applications are being designed to meet the needs of consumers, who live very active lives.

“In 2011, we saw a decline in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads,” said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst. “But pads have had negligible impact on smart phone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011. Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone. In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smart phones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices.”

According to the recruiting marketing firm, Staffing Robot, in 2012, 90 percent of the company’s customers requested the development of a mobile website. Mobile site traffic for staffing agencies ranges from 6 percent to 27 percent. Internet sites that are not designed for mobile viewership experience a 60 percent to 80 percent bounce rate. As a result, the firm’s data suggests that staffing firms without mobile accessible websites are losing between 30 and 150 potential candidates per month for companies. A staffing firm that really wants to make sure that it is gaining the attention of potential clients and candidates needs to make sure its website and other digital accounts are mobile friendly. Responsive design has grown in popularity with web developers for just this reason.

2) Improve content marketing offerings. Unlike almost any other marketing strategy in the last decade, content marketing has developed fast. Not many people could have guessed the importance this strategy would have in determining how well a company does online. Content marketing is one way that allows companies to establish themselves as an authority on a subject matter and gain the trust of customers. By publishing blog posts, news articles, white papers and infographics, a staffing firm can demonstrate the skills, experiences and insights into the industry that make the company an ideal business partner.

Content marketing is on the rise and relevant and timely text, video and image content types should be an integral part of any staffing company’s marketing strategy. According to an infographic by BlueGlass, 90 percent of marketers are already using content marketing. As of 2013, 60 percent of business-to-business organizations plan to spend more on content marketing in the future, while only 26 percent have actually dedicated the time and funds to this endeavor. The most popular content marketing types for B2B companies, like staffing firms, include articles, social media, blogs, e-Newsletters, case studies and in-person events.

Because of the variety of types of content available for staffing firms to choose from, when designing a marketing strategy, this strategic tool is flexible enough for the fast-paced world of recruiting. Regardless of industry, content marketing is making an impact on how people find, research and view companies each and every day.

3) Measure customer satisfaction. While it’s common for companies to measure and track customer satisfaction, it may surprise the head of marketing for a staffing firm that this metric is crucial for the department. High or improved levels of customer satisfaction and customer service are considered a marketing investment. As staffing firms gain a reputation for success, satisfaction levels increase and provide new metrics for advertising professionals to focus on. In the game of reputation management, customer satisfaction can never be forgotten.

“By focusing on a positive work environment and encouraging your employees to provide unparalleled customer service, your staffing business will be rewarded by lasting customer loyalty. If you aren’t doing so already, 2013 is the year to start measuring customer satisfaction and rewarding your employees for delivering it,” said Tony Hsieh from Zappos, according to Staffing Robot.

HRK, Leading Polish HR Management Company Selects Bond Adapt

HRK Logo 168x100

HRK selected UK-based Bond International Software after it was unable to find a suitable recruitment system in the local market. The Bond Adapt solution is able to manage HRK’s entire placement process, and has the flexibility and ease of use required by the organisation. The in-built CV Parsing and Search & Match functionality offered by Bond Adapt means that large amounts of candidate data can be read and processed quickly. As a result, HRK expects its consultants to deal with requests and match roles to suitable candidates in a fraction of the time it took previously, and continue to deliver a superior customer service.

A leading HR Management company in the Polish market, HRK’s services include Search & Selection, Executive Search, and HR consulting solutions – Executive candidates are placed across Poland primarily and Germany, Ukraine, Czech Republic and the Baltic States as required. Previously, HRK relied on manual in-house processes that could not be adjusted quickly enough to keep up with market demands. It also meant that consultants spent too much time carrying out administrative processes instead of delivering added value to the company’s first-rate candidates.

Zbigniew Wozniakowski, CEO at HRK, comments: “We work with highly educated and highly experienced candidates that expect the best. In order to keep our competitive advantage it was essential to upgrade from our in-house processes to a software solution that is adaptable to our business and makes us work smarter. Bond Adapt offers us everything we were looking for: flexibility, functionality and ease of use. As it works in the background flagging up suitable candidates to incoming roles, our consultants are free to build better relationships with our candidates and client organisations, which will give us the edge over the competition.”

Tim Richards, UK Managing Director at Bond International Software, comments: “We are very pleased to have been selected by HRK and to be able to make a difference to the Polish high-end recruitment market. Bond Adapt is currently being implemented in the four HRK offices that offer recruitment services: the software is being tailored to deliver the required functionality, but without any administrative headache. We look forward to seeing HRK achieve even greater business heights within their region.”

HRK website

Eliassen Group Achieves Sustainable Performance Growth with erecruit

erecruit’s enterprise staffing software platform streamlines business processes and increases operational efficiency 


BOSTON — March 11, 2014 — 
erecruit, the emerging leader in enterprise staffing software for large firms, Eliassen-180x110-logo.fwannounced today that it has partnered with Eliassen Group, one of the fastest growing, privately held IT staffing and consulting firms in the nation, and deployed erecruit across all its locations nationwide. Eliassen Group has realized rapid end-user adoption, implemented staffing best practice processes and increased productivity gains with erecruit’s flexible and fully integrated solution.

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Staffing Tip: Leveraging information to attract passive job seekers

The growing competition in the marketplace is demonstrating the power of having a reputable recruiting firm provide access to in-demand professionals. According to Jobvite’s annual Social Job Seeker Survey, fewer Americans are looking for a job, yet many professionals are open to new opportunities if they come calling. The organization surveyed 1,029 workers, with 9 percent saying they were actively looking for a new position – much less than the 16 percent recorded in 2011.

Despite the fact that many professionals stated that they were not working toward finding a new position, the number of passive seekers who would accept a job offer if it were made increased significantly. A passive job seeker is defined as someone who is already employed, but also open to new opportunities. They are not necessarily unhappy with their current position, but may be willing to switch companies if the right offer was presented. ERE reported that 69 percent of workers would be open to hearing about a potential position, compared to 61 percent recorded for the previous year.

Although the percentage of workers who are looking for a new job has declined and passive job seeking is on the rise, it’s up to staffing and recruiting professionals to use all of the resources available to them to meet clients’ needs.

How to attract a passive job seeker

Unlike workers who are actively trying to find a new position, a passive job seeker isn’t going to be sending out their resume via the internet each and every day. Instead, many will keep a close look out for new positions that sound positive through their personal network – largely LinkedIn and other social media networks. Chances are that the best way to make initial contact with a passive job seeker is to communicate via LinkedIn with a personalized introductory email. Mentioning or linking to a job posting that seems like an ideal fit or offering to discuss the options are key ways to intrigue the individual enough to get a message back.

Sometimes, passive job seekers may not feel as if the position a staffing professional first contacted them about is an ideal fit, but that doesn’t mean the person should be crossed off the contact list. Having this person fill out a complete profile or submit a resume that will be integrated into staffing software and recruiting software will allow a recruiter to flag this individual for potential future work. Staffing and recruiting software provides a quick and easy way to organize candidates who could meet the needs of clients.

Key factors to highlight about positions

Following the recession and the subsequent mass layoffs, many workers find that stability is a precious commodity. According to the Towers Watson 2011/2012 Talent Management and Rewards Study, employers are underestimating the importance of stability when advertising their business and job opening. Research found that job security was the number one reason a worker would leave a job to join a company. The second most important factor, which was less of a surprise, was pay. Passive job seekers are aware of their market value and want to be compensated fairly. While it is not possible for a staffing professional looking for candidates to promise any type of salary, it is possible to indicate a salary range or make note of the competitive compensation package that many workers receive.

The Growing Demand for a Contingent Workforce Requires Staffing and Recruiting Adaption

Shake the sand from our shoes, the forecast is looking good.  Let’s even celebrate  successfully dragging ourselves out of the quicksand surrounding the worst recession in 75 years. After quite a few years of pawing and scratching ourselves back to the surface of staffing and recruiting stability we have cause to breath. No, even chuckle. Alright, let’s do it. Let’s just go ahead and crack a smile.

Why? Well among many growth indicators in our sector, Staffing Industry Analysts say it best: “The U.S. temporary employment penetration rate matched its all-time high of 2.03 percent in November… The rate of 2.03 matches the all-time high set in April 2000, at the height of the dot-com economic boom.”

hand in sandTemporary jobs are on the rise! Yet if there is a single lesson we’ve learned from recent post boom collapses it is to be implicitly aware of our surroundings. Knowing the market drivers of the contingent workforce boom can help us to see the world in a single grain of sand. Ultimately our awareness can help us make sound operations decisions.

I talk with savvy staffing and recruiting clients and Bond colleagues every day. And we usually agree that there are many drivers of the growing need for a contingent workforce. These are 3 of my personal favorite drivers because they truly speak to where we’ve come from, where we are and where we are destined to be. 

 

3 Contingent Staffing Growth Drivers

hourglassWe’ve been conditioned

The recession forced many companies into hiring contingent labor. It had to be done so that employers could flexibly increase and decrease staff in response to an economy in flux. Now the market is not only conditioned, but indeed it is transitioning to seeing the benefits of a flexible work force. And it doesn’t want to go back.

Fear & Doubt and More Fear and Doubt

While employers certainly enjoy a dedicated and loyal work force they are also keeping their organizations safe by stepping away from an – all too close – sucking sound in the earth. Many employers are deliberately planning not to make too many permanent hires.

If economic conditions change, no one wants to wave goodbye again to a former full-time workforce sent home with boxes and final checks in hand. A temporary workforce can much more easily be cut back. And the messaging associated with ending a temporary worker’s contract is much easier for remaining staff to understand and deal with. And when moral is high, performance improves!

In fact President of Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), Barry Asin, agrees. Recently he shared with Bond that “Contingent work is an excellent solution to organizations needing to deal with uncertainty in their business.  Our research over the years shows repeatedly that uncertainty and variability in work levels is the number one driver of the use of contingent workers.”

Mobile, Mobile and More Mobile

Not only is the talent we recruit mobile, but more and more are staying mobile after hire. This is because work that can be done online is on the rise. In fact Staffing Industry Analysts projects online staffing growth of 15 to (under the right market conditions) 50 Billion by 2020.

Where a staffing professional should be focusing?

2013-Contract-Placement-IndustriesAccording to Top Echelon Contracting, 2013 showed healthcare,  business professionals and support staff as well as STEM positions as the highest demand contract placement positions.

How can your staffing and recruiting firm not only adapt, but capitalize on this market shift? Ask yourself these questions:

Do I have a streamlined onboarding process?

A broader contingent workforce means more hires coming on board. Establish a workflow that conveys to new team members:

  1. clear goals
  2. clear measurement
  3. clear time to achieve goals and measure

Without a clear understanding of goals, measurement and time to achieve, staffers can be setup to fail. When they fail, you fail. Too many failures like this and your brand gets damaged. And in a word of mouth industry you can’t afford anything less than stellar brand reputation. 

Do I plan to, or currently offer, healthcare coverage?

That’s right; we’re back to the ongoing ACA conversation. When, where how and how much is this going to cost me is on all of our minds.  30 hours a week is all it takes to designate a temporary or permanent employee as full-time.  If you offer health care coverage you may want to consider structuring your operations so that you can manage temp staffers to stay below the 30 hour full-time threshold.

There are other ways to manage your costs of course. Really, the point is to be deliberate and walk through the sands of temporary health care with protective eye gear in tow!

Does my recruiting software system effectively manage a contingent workforce?

Tools at your fingertips, like templates for job orders you fill regularly, can help you be more efficient in an environment poised to continue demand for contingent workers.

You should have a system in place which helps you monitor and evaluate your temporary workforce any time during their assignments. You should be able to track temp worker:

–          Dependability
–          Attendance
–          Work quality

And ultimately you want a system that stores this information for future hiring decisions. The sooner you have recruiting software that gets you efficient, the sooner you can go play with your kids (or grandkids) in the back yard sandbox!

Do I have a clear provisioning process?

clock in sandContingent workers mean more employees exiting placements. Period. You and your client may be exposed when short term and project-based employees walk away with all kinds of intellectual capital.  Do you have non-disclosures in place? Do you have a provisioning process in place? Do you walk through your employment contracts with staffers at the end of a job to ensure they are reminded of what they can and cannot say and even publish on their social networks?

Remember, your temporary workforce is an extension of you. They walk in and out of your client’s facility with your company’s name stamped on their forehead. They should clearly represent the values you have worked hard to instill in your permanent team. And the only way to do that is to spend the time educating and sharing clearly what your expectations are.

The contingent workforce has been with us for a while out of economic necessity. Now, it is here to stay out of practicality, risk management and cost containment.

Be wise as to how you manage this workforce for as the foot prints of the past recession will ultimately blow away, the future dunes of the staffing and recruiting industry will be here for a long, long time.

Here’s to our future with a contingent workforce being a smooth, glorious walk on the beach.