Employers

Let’s face it, in many businesses payroll is one the largest (if not the largest) line item on your monthly budgets.  So, it can sometimes be a very difficult decision to add on more staff.  BUT, in some cases adding staff strategically can help drive a lot of profit to your bottom line.

So when do you know it’s time to hire?  Here are a few warning signs:

1. When bottlenecks are holding up production.
   If you find that a certain area of your business is continually a bottleneck, then it’s time to evaluate your talent needs. In many cases, adding one or two new skilled people can have a dramatic effect on production and profits.
2. When you miss out on new business because you don’t have the needed help.
   You’ve probably had a lot of great ideas for new business ventures; however, you may not have the resources to implement those plans. But with temporary or contract workers, you can tap into the resources you need, when you need them, in order to take on new opportunities and grow your business.
3. When being a “do-it-yourselfer” is distracting you from your core job duties. Instead of taking the time to learn a new skill on your own, or spending hours trying to train your staff, bring in an experienced contract employee who can offer you the knowledge and capabilities you need on a temporary basis. There’s no learning curve and once the project is finished, you don’t have to worry about the cost of a full-time employee.

If you’re faced with any of these challenges, we can help. As the leading staffing and recruiting agency in the area, we can provide on-demand temporary staff to help eliminate bottlenecks, or recruit people with the specific skill sets you need.

Contact Us today!

As managers, we intuitively know that giving and getting honest feedback is essential to grow and develop, and to build successful organizations.  So why is it that many of us put off giving feedback to our employees?  Maybe it’s because there are so many ways to mess it up.

Here are some common feedback mistakes:

• Speaking out only when things are wrong.
• Providing generic praise without specifics or an honest underpinning.
• Waiting until performance or behavior is substantially below expectations before acting on it.
• Giving negative feedback in public.
• Criticizing performance without giving suggestions for improvement.
• Not conducting regular performance reviews.

Clearly, giving and receiving constructive feedback is a skill that must be honed.

Developing proficiency in this area is essential to building good relationships with, and motivating peak performance from, your team.  To help get you started, here are four tips for providing feedback the right way:

1. Be proactive. Nip issues in the bud and avoid messy interpersonal tangles that result from neglected communication.  If you meet with employees regularly to give feedback, it conveys, “Your success is important to me, so I want to be accessible to you.”
2. Be specific. Although it’s not easy to provide negative feedback, it’s important to be as clear as possible by giving specific examples that illustrate your point.  Instead of saying, “Your attitude is bad,” say, “When you miss deadlines, then cross your arms and look away when I discuss it with you, it gives me the impression that you don’t care about the quality of your work.  Can you help me understand this behavior better?”
3. Develop a progress plan. Be clear about the specific changes in behavior that you expect in a specific period of time, and follow up as scheduled.
4. Link employees’ performance to organizational goals. Reinforce the value of your employees’ contributions by giving specific examples of how their work and positive behaviors serve the organization and its customers.

We understand and appreciate the value of constructive feedback.  So we’d like to hear from you. Please contact us with your questions, comments, and suggestions.