Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Blog

Staffmax joins with Patrice & Associates to expand footprint

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:07:50 GMT

Staffmax Joins With Patrice & Associates To Expand Footprint

Staffmax, a provider of commercial and healthcare staffing, announced a deal with Patrice & Associates to bring the two offerings together through Patrice’s 180 franchised offices.

Under the deal, Staffmax will handle temporary staffing at Patrice’s locations and will get referrals for healthcare staffing needs. Patrice will focus on perm recruitment and executive search.

“This partnership significantly accelerates our US expansion while broadening our service mix,” Staffmax President Kevin Gill said in a press release. “We are now able to deliver temporary and healthcare staffing services across 180 markets, while also enhancing our permanent placement capabilities through the Patrice network.” Staffmax is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and has offices in the US, Australia, Finland, Sweden and the UK.

The deal between the two firms is a “strategic partnership” with profit sharing on commercial staffing and healthcare staffing roles that are referred by Patrice to Staffmax and vice versa, Gill wrote in a note to SIA.

Staffmax will provide operational infrastructure for temporary and healthcare staffing, while Patrice franchise offices will handle permanent placement and executive search services within their local markets.

Staffmax, which also offers franchising, began speaking with Patrice’s owner, Conscious Capital, about two years ago, Gill wrote in a note to SIA. “During these conversations we felt there were synergies between Patrice and Staffmax. This led to going live with this strategic partnership in early 2026.”

Patrice is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and focuses on executive search and permanent recruitment. Hospitality is its strongest suite, though it also works in other staffing segments such as finance/accounting.

“Our franchise owners are well-positioned to expand into complementary service lines through this partnership,” Patrice & Associates CEO Jason Miller said in a press release. “It allows us to broaden our offering while maintaining a disciplined, local approach to recruiting.”

Written By Craig Johnson | March 24, 2026

The Benefits of Partnering with a Staffing Agency for your Hiring Needs

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:42:30 GMT

The Benefits of Partnering with a Staffing Agency for Your Hiring Needs

May 19, 2023

Hiring the right employees is crucial for the success of any organization. It can be a daunting task that requires time, resources, and expertise. This is where partnering with a staffing agency can prove to be a game-changer. Staffing agencies specialize in finding qualified candidates for various industries and can help streamline your hiring process. In this article, we will explore the benefits of partnering with a staffing agency for your hiring needs.

5 Benefits of Staffing Partnerships

1. Access to a Talented Pool of Candidates

2. Time and Cost Savings

3. Flexibility and Scalability

4. Expertise and Industry Knowledge

5. Reduced Risk and Increased Retention

1. Access to a Talented Pool of Candidates

One of the significant advantages of collaborating with a staffing agency is gaining access to a diverse and talented pool of candidates. Staffing agencies have extensive networks and databases of potential candidates, including passive job seekers who may not be actively searching for new opportunities. These agencies have the expertise to identify and evaluate candidates based on your specific requirements, ensuring that you have access to top-notch talent that aligns with your company culture and values.

2. Time and Cost Savings

Hiring can be a time-consuming and costly process. It involves advertising job openings, reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and conducting background checks. By partnering with a staffing agency, you can save valuable time and reduce costs. Staffing agencies handle the initial screening and vetting of candidates, ensuring that only the most qualified individuals are presented to you. This allows your internal HR team to focus on other critical tasks, such as employee development and retention.

3. Flexibility and Scalability

Staffing needs can fluctuate based on seasonal demands, project requirements, or unexpected changes. Partnering with a staffing agency offers the flexibility to quickly scale your workforce up or down as needed. Whether you require temporary staff for short-term projects or permanent employees, staffing agencies can provide you with the right resources. They have access to a wide range of candidates with different skill sets, allowing you to adapt to changing business needs without the hassle of extensive recruitment efforts.

4. Expertise and Industry Knowledge

Staffing agencies specialize in specific industries and have in-depth knowledge of the job market and industry trends. They understand the skill sets required for various positions and can provide valuable insights and guidance during the hiring process. Staffing consultants can assist you in developing job descriptions, determining competitive salaries, and conducting interviews. Leveraging their expertise can significantly improve the quality of your hires and ensure that you find the right candidates for your organization.

5. Reduced Risk and Increased Retention

Making a wrong hire can have serious consequences for your business, resulting in lost productivity, training costs, and potential disruptions to team dynamics. Staffing agencies mitigate this risk by thoroughly evaluating candidates' qualifications, experience, and cultural fit. They have access to comprehensive background checks and can verify references, minimizing the chances of hiring an unsuitable candidate. Additionally, staffing agencies often offer temporary-to-permanent placements, allowing you to assess candidates' performance before
making a long-term commitment.

Partnering with a staffing agency can be a strategic move for any organization looking to enhance their hiring process. The benefits of accessing a talented candidate pool, saving time and costs, gaining flexibility, leveraging expertise, and reducing hiring risks are significant. By collaborating with a staffing agency, you can streamline your recruitment efforts, find qualified candidates efficiently, and ultimately contribute to the growth and success of your business.

10 Reasons Why You Should NEVER Accept a Counter Offer When You Resign

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 15:42:21 GMT

The Counter Offer Doesn't Change the Environment

By Wendy Phan for LinkedIn.com

As a recruiter, I have come across many job seekers who are willing to explore the job market but may not have any apparent reasons to leave their current jobs. These group of job seekers are the most likely to drop-out from a hiring process, even at offer stage, because they are more likely to accept a counter-offer from their current employer. However, is it a wise decision to accept a counter offer? Will the underlying issues that prompted a person to passively explore job opportunities disappear or improve with the counter offer? Or is it all due to fear of change?

Having spoken to many job seekers and understanding their motivation and needs, these are some common reasons that prompted people to seek new job opportunities, either actively or passively:

· Feeling underpaid or unappreciated

· Slow or no career progression

· Long working hours

· Bored with the job scope

· Political culture

· Bad boss

· Distance to work

Whatever the reasons, as a job seeker, you would have attempted to resolve some of these underlying issues. But certain things are beyond your control, so would the problem disappear after accepting a counter offer from your current employer? Very highly no. Many job seekers who accepted counter-offer would, for various reasons, return within months to start their job search again, because counter-offer is a short-term solution to long-term underlying issues. Statistics have shown that four out of five people who accept counter-offers are gone within the year.

So, here are the 10 reasons why you should NOT accept a counter offer:

1. Nothing changes except your salary. The underlying issues that prompted you to consider other job opportunities will remain there – things and people don’t change overnight.

2. Your future employer sees a potential in you that your current employer does not see. Taking on a new hire is a risk, for both the employer and employee. If your future employer is willing to take the risk to groom and grow your potential and future, why not seize the opportunity?

3. Great things never come from staying within your comfort zone. You may feel familiar and comfortable with your current employer, but does it bring you the job satisfaction that you desire? Often, a change will bring growth and transformation.

4. You have not been paid what you are worth for. If your employer is willing to adjust your salary when you “threaten” to resign, then your employer is knowingly underpaying you for your talent and efforts, an indication of non-appreciation of their employees.

5. Are you bringing forward your bonus/promotion/pay rise now rather than when it’s due? Most companies have strict pay scales for each level and position, so you might end up having a lower adjustment when your next pay revision or review is due. Would you be happy then?

6. Trust likely be broken between you and your current employer. Often, resignation is seen as “lack of loyalty”, and your current employer may now question if they can count on you, which will limit your future growth.

7. Your employer may question your convictions knowing now that you can be “bought”. People who accept a counteroffer often feel that they have been bought rather than rewarded for the work they have done. This dissatisfaction will eventually affect your sense of belonging to the company.

8. On average, around 80% of those who accept counter offers reignite their job search within 3 months. You may genuinely still do your best for your current employer, but your employer and co-workers may treat you differently now that you have shown a “lack of loyalty”.

9. Your “lack of loyalty” may likely put you at the top of the pile when they are looking to reduce the number of employees when times get tough.

10. Counter offers are usually just a stalling tactic to give your employer time to find your replacement at a lower salary.

At the end, if you decide to accept the counter offer, my advice is to get everything you want in writing from your current employer. It is also important to be professional and end things gracefully with your future employer and recruiter that worked with you on the new job opportunity – it’s a small industry, you never know when you will cross path again.

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Corp. is pleased to announce expansion into Sweden

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 14:44:42 GMT

STAFFMAX LTD (UK) and STAFFMAX OY (Finland), ANNOUNCE THE FORMATION OF STAFFMAX AB (Sweden), AND EXPANSION INTO SWEDEN.

WINNIPEG, Aug 29, 2022/CNW/ - Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Corp. a Global Workforce Solutions provider is pleased to announce the formation of STAFFMAX AB (Sweden) and expansion into Sweden.

Under the terms of the agreement, wholly owned subsidiaries STAFFMAX LTD (UK) and STAFFMAX OY (Finland) are the sole shareholders in new entity STAFFMAX (AB). The new entity will expand the global footprint of Staffmax while providing staffing, recruitment and EOR (employer of record) services throughout Sweden.

Staffmax AB will be based in Stockholm and led by Staffmax European Director Mika Rauhala.

“We are excited to continue our expansion and look forward to serving the Swedish marketplace.” said Staffmax President Kevin Gill.

“With our success in Finland, our knowledge of the Scandinavian market and our quality service offerings, Sweden was a logical next location for our European growth plans” said Staffmax European Director Mika Rauhala.

About Staffmax:

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Corp., headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada and with offices in Canada, USA, Australia, and Europe is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting, EOR, and Healthcare Staffing Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing companies, Staffmax combines industry leading technology and specialized recruiters to solve their clients staffing & recruiting needs.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.com

staffmax.com

Direct: +1 204-201-1598

Head Office: +1 888-956-7090

STAFFMAX LTD (UK) OCH STAFFMAX OY (Finland), MEDDELAR BILDANDET AV STAFFMAX AB (Sverige) OCH EXPANSION TILL SVERIGE.

WINNIPEG, 29 augusti 2022/CNW/ - Staffmax Staffing &Recruiting Corp.

Enligt villkoren i avtalet är de helägda dotterbolagen STAFFMAX LTD (UK) och STAFFMAX OY (Finland) de enda aktieägarna i den nya enheten STAFFMAX (AB). Den nya enheten kommer att utöka Staffmax globala fotavtryck samtidigt som den tillhandahåller bemanning, rekrytering och EOR-tjänster (employer of record) i hela Sverige. Staffmax AB kommer att vara baserat i Stockholm och ledas av Staffmax Europadirektör Mika Rauhala.

"Vi är glada över att fortsätta vår expansion och ser fram emot att betjäna den svenska marknaden." säger Staffmax VD Kevin Gill.

"Med vår framgång i Finland, vår kunskap om den skandinaviska marknaden och våra kvalitetsserviceerbjudanden var Sverige en logisk nästa plats för våra europeiska tillväxtplaner", säger Staffmax Europeiska direktör Mika Rauhala.

Om Staffmax:

Staffmax Staffing &Recruiting Corp., med huvudkontor i Winnipeg, Kanada och med kontor i Kanada, USA, Australien och Europa är en leverantör av högkvalitativ tillfällig bemanning, fullservice permanent rekrytering, EOR och sjukvårdsbemanningstjänster. Staffmax är erkänt som ett av Kanadas snabbast växande företag och kombinerar branschledande teknik och specialiserade rekryterare för att lösa sina kunders bemannings- och rekryteringsbehov.

För ytterligare information kontakta:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.com

staffmax.com

Direkt: +1 204-201-1598

Huvudkontor: +1 888-956-7090

6 Key Indicators of a High-functioning Hybrid Team

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 19:52:49 GMT

Over the past year, whether intentional or not, companies have become more flexible about where and when employees work.

By Renée Safrata and Dr. Jim Sellner for visier.com

Leaders again are finding themselves on the precipice of change. Many are transitioning to hybrid office environments, where a large number of employees are working remotely sometimes or all of the time. Luckily, being in the same building is not a prerequisite for productivity and high performance.

Vivo Team Development has identified that there are six key indicators that lead to high-performing leaders and teams:

Communication – Clear and open communication reduces misunderstanding, minimizes work delays, and enhances overall productivity.
Interactive Feedback – A feedback culture provides essential information for decision making and performance improvement by reflecting on the past and anticipating future results.
Emotional Intelligence – Identifying and managing your emotions while navigating the emotions of others reduces assumptions and increases psychological safety.
Structures – Unifying and streamlining work processes builds the foundation for efficient and successful teams.
Accountability – Holding one another respectfully accountable drives innovation, trust, and productivity.
Cohesion – Team cohesion increases satisfaction, engagement, and collaboration, resulting in increased success and productivity.

Developing and honing these skills is crucial to meeting and surpassing business objectives, regardless of where or how your team works. But, the story doesn’t end there. Teams and leaders need a few more things to truly thrive in a hybrid environment. Namely leader and team effectiveness, alignment, and measurement.

How targeted training amps up hybrid teams

Effective leaders steer and influence their direct reports toward achieving short and long-term goals. From seasoned, trained leaders to accidental leaders, how they lead—and how well—can look very different. How do you know if your leaders are effective?

Team alignment affects how your employees work together as well as company culture. Teams that are not aligned don’t perform well. Teams who are aligned on goals and priorities are more collaborative and have higher morale. How do you know if your teams are aligned?

It all comes down to the right measurement

73% of talent leaders say people analytics will be a top priority over the next five years. It’s time to speed up that timeline. People analytics is not a new concept and the links to business impact are well established.

By collecting the right data, and continuing to measure and analyze over time, you can pinpoint where to make behaviorally-based performance improvements that will have a significant, positive impact on productivity and retention.

Increased effectiveness = reclaimed costs

A company that experienced an increase in overall team effectiveness factored in the cost of lost productivity in dollars (based on the salaries of the team members). By increasing team effectiveness by 16%, this company reclaimed $70,476 in lost productivity.

Making new data connections

The vast array of people analytics data already available can work in tandem with Vivo Team’s learning and development data to steer decision-making and provide modelling and insights around team and leader performance, retention, and more.

Organizations can integrate team and leader data to predict the impacts of having some roles remote versus those in-office, allowing you to track and measure the productivity and efficiency of your hybrid workforce. These connections and insights can help leaders flag areas that require attention with targeted and effective actions.

Organizations need to provide the tools and training to set up their teams for success. Leaders need to learn how to foster deeper connections and be equipped with insights to help target their focus. Finally, everyone needs to put in the effort to stay connected, whether in person, remotely or both.

Make it a priority to develop the competencies of your people and processes and your company will excel—not just in a hybrid environment, but in any environment—and the data will prove it.

Who are your culture champions?

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 19:35:03 GMT

If you’re not able to readily answer this question, it’s time to take a deep dive into why.

By Renee Safrata ( h/t )

A culture champion is someone who understands that company culture—how work gets done—influences leader and team results. A strong workplace culture can contribute to increased employee engagement, retention, alignment, and productivity. On the other hand, when norms are not established or practiced around what are appropriate behaviors the opposite is true, indicating there could be culture gaps.

You may be thinking, “we have standards and guidelines around how we operate!” That might very well be true, but is everyone in agreement? Does everyone know what they are? Do they practice them? That’s where your culture champions come in! It’s time to seek them out and develop them so they can influence, inspire, and instill confidence in others.

Here are three avenues to explore to help identify your culture champions so they can shape and align your culture and help keep the needle moving in the right direction.

Values lead the head and the heart of every organization. Are your company values driving innovation, boosting

morale, and creating the foundations for quality decision-making? If not, it’s time to dust the rust off them, because they’re not working. This doesn’t necessarily mean a long and arduous strategy session. Start by getting a group of your culture champions (or potential culture champions) around a table and discuss and brainstorm your top values.Start by looking at them one-by-one. If respect is one of your values, think a little harder, unpack it to understand the behaviors that demonstrate respect. For example, if respect is your top value, but in meetings there’s people talking over one another, then that value is not carrying through all aspects of the organization. Make values more relevant and clearer: A culture where all viewpoints and opinions are heard. Then, use tools to ensure a balanced form, such as ending each meeting with appreciations, difficulties, and final statements .

2. You’ve probably heard people say that the best leaders are the ones who tell stories. It’s true, repeating stories builds company intelligence and helps people understand how hiccups and success points were handled in the past.Stories pass information from one to another by building legacies along the way. Imagine if leaders could actually break their stories down into rich headlines that they repeated regularly, over and over again, making those headlines resonate for all the people working at the company, through to the customers, vendors, investors, and board.

3. Boosting morale and building culture means that everyone within the organization has a voice, has an opportunity to participate and influence projects and company growth. Often new hires, emergent leaders, and individual contributors get lost in the shuffle of executive leaders, directors, and managers. That is a wealth of knowledge many are not tapping into. When companies consider accessing the wisdom, the knowledge, and the judgment of these groups they bring forward out-of-the-box thinking and thought-provoking ideas to iterate the status quo.

Consider putting an up-leading culture into practice so that there is a regular vehicle for new hires, emergent leaders, and individual contributors to bring ideas forward to those more seasoned in the organization. They might just be your next culture champions!

Find your culture champions and arm them with clarity of values, norms of behavior, and the courage to up-lead and you will be on the road to attaining a high-performance work culture.

11 Steps To Reduce Unconscious Bias In Hiring Processes

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 15:01:00 GMT

Unconscious bias isn’t something a business can eradicate overnight by passing a mandate

By the Expert Panel for Forbes Coaches Council

Even after outlining the steps that should be taken to improve the hiring process and uncover more diverse talent, implicit bias on the part of recruiters, human resources professionals and managers may derail those efforts, preventing the company from finding the best and brightest.

Below, 11 members of Forbes Coaches Council explore methods a company can use to identify and reduce the impact of the biases that people within the organization may hold, improve hiring practices and enjoy the many documented benefits of a more diverse workforce.

1. Define Diversity And Set Goals

Set business goals so that everyone knows that removing unconscious bias and building diversity is key to the bottom line. Then, define what diversity means in your company. What ethnicities, ages, genders and sexual preference groups are underrepresented? Next, set metrics to achieve at each step in your candidate pipeline: applicant funnels, interview conversion rates and acceptances. Communicate successes. - Loren Margolis , Training & Leadership Success LLC

2. Admit That Implicit Bias Exists

Start by admitting that there is implicit bias. You have to name it to tame it. Even with artificial intelligence, we are feeding datasets to allow it to learn. We need to not only look at qualifications, but also at what diversity is and how an outsider’s perspective can be an advantage. Instead of pretending to not notice differences, ask, “What will someone who is diverse, and in what way, add to our organization?” - Natalie McVeigh , EisnerAmper

3. Create A Foundation Of Trust

Creating a foundation of trust, commitment, accountability and collaboration is critical in supporting a company’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. Offering productive conflict development programs for learning how to better communicate creates unity that is in alignment with vision and values, opens up opportunities for professional growth and strengthens organizational culture and vitality. - Lori Harris , Harris Whitesell Consulting

4. Make Hiring A Collective Effort

Bias could exist in the design of the hiring process itself. Most processes are designed from one perspective (e.g., level, function, identity). In designing the process, make sure that it is a collective effort, with input from differing perspectives and identities. Then, each stage, from job posting and outreach to onboarding, would have a “culture check,” a “bias check” and a “diversity, equity and inclusion check.” - Samara Hakim , CulturGrit

5. Have A Cross-Functional Interview Team

Having a cross-functional interview team is a great way to reduce bias in the hiring process. Another good practice is to have a session with the interview team to brainstorm what to look for and what to watch out for, including potential biases. A best practice is to establish a plan to discuss the candidate in a concerted debrief meeting so that, if biases surface, they can be vetted by the other interviewers. - Kimberly Janson , Janson Associates, LLC

6. Appreciate Diversity In Management

Hire more diverse managers and show appreciation for them. By definition, those with unconscious biases don’t realize they have them. So the best approach is to focus on creating an environment where true diversity at all levels is appreciated. - Donald Hatter , Donald Hatter Inc.

7. Use A Structured Interview

Develop the interview while developing the job description, creating questions to discern candidates’ knowledge, skills and abilities relative to the job. Be disciplined about asking all applicants the same questions, which allows hiring decision makers to base decisions on informed comparisons about applicants’ capabilities rather than their first impressions. - Lisa Coleman , Lisa Coleman Advisory Services, LLC

8. Look Into How Culture Perpetuates Bias

The organizational culture and its contribution to perpetuating biases—such as collective yet subtle assumptions that men are not the primary caregivers, or that nationality or race is a reflection of leadership style—are often ignored. One way to remove unconscious bias is to set company values at the top and exhibit the culture of inclusivity consciously and consistently. - Devika Das , CORE Executive Presence

9. Check Yourself With Project Implicit

Project Implicit is an excellent resource from Harvard. I first encountered it in 2000, and it was quite surprising to see my implicit bias toward men in positions of power. With that awareness, I began to challenge my automatic thoughts. Noticing the impact my biases had on my decisions was illuminating. I still check myself with Project Implicit several times a year to stay consciously aware. - Lyssa deHart , Lyssa deHart, LLC

10. Analyze Each Step Of The Hiring Process

Unconscious biases don’t just happen at the interview stage. Your hiring process is a series of steps, not a single act. Analyze each step and gather data. That will allow you to determine where the problem lies (e.g., advertising for candidates, a small talent pool, the application process, interviews). Once you identify the steps that have inherent, built-in biases, you can resolve them. - Yamini Virani , Celebrus Business Strategies

11. Focus On The Job’s Behavioral Needs

Focus on the behavioral needs of the job role instead of skills and experience. Skills and experience are poor predictors of candidate success; in fact, skills are the easiest to train for. Instead, organizations should focus on assessing people against a behavioral target, followed by a structured behavioral interview designed to uncover alignment with culture and values. - Brad Cousins , Ingage Human Capital Strategies

How to Get a Job Without Experience

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 14:04:19 GMT

You can’t get a job without experience and you can’t get experience without a job. Or can you? Yes to both! Here’s how.

By Elizabeth Bromstein for CareerBeacon.com

As we (hopefully) move out of the COVID pandemic, many people are looking at job and career changes, and might be trying to get into something new. This means they’re lacking experience in the field they want to get into.

And we’ve all heard it before: you can’t get a job without experience and you can’t get experience without a job. Or can you?

Getting a job without experience is certainly more difficult but it’s not necessarily impossible.

Here are a few tips on how to get a job without experience.

TAKE A STEP SIDEWAYS OR DOWN

Let’s get this out of the way. If you’re moving into a whole new field, you’re probably not starting off in management. You may have to move down the ladder and take a pay cut in the beginning, or start in a position that more closely matches your existing experience than your goal job.

For example: if you want to move into Human Resources management ($33/hr average pay), you might be able to get a an administrative assistant job ($18/hr average pay) at a company where you want to work, take some courses and start taking on some HR tasks and expressing your interest in moving in that direction. Get in the door and start moving up.

HIGHLIGHT THE SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS, AND EXPERIENCE YOU DO HAVE

Whether you’re a young, recent graduate or changing careers midlife, you have some type of experience. You’ve taken courses, learned from your hobbies, and/or worked at some job or other. Whatever you have done, find a way to use it to your advantage in the job search. It’s often less about what you have done than it is about how you frame and present it.

FOCUS ON TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

Think about the skills you have developed that can apply to most jobs, like customer service, project management, written and spoken communications, research and computer skills, and relationship-building. Can you manage a team or a budget? These are good skills.

Then find ways to show how your skills and experience apply not to just any job but to the job at hand. If the role requires coding, graphic design, or relationship-building, focus on those.

APPROACH THE HIRING MANAGER DIRECTLY

If you feel you have a lot to offer, get directly in touch with the hiring manager – outside of the standard hiring pathways. Find out who they are and send an email explaining that you’re interested in a role at their company and would be a great fit, that you have little or no related experience related to the role, and are willing to learn. Highlight your unique value and state why you think you should have this job.

I don’t always recommend direct emails to hiring managers, but in this case, it may be your only chance of being heard. An applicant tracking system is likely to overlook your resume – because it looks for related experience and job titles – and your cover letter probably won’t get read in the beginning stages. So, reach out. Start a conversation.

SHOW YOUR GREAT PERSONALITY

A good hiring manager knows that skills can be taught but a good attitude cannot. The highly skilled candidate with a bad attitude will always have a bad attitude but the candidate with a great attitude who is willing to learn will soon have the skills and a good attitude.

BE ENTHUSIASTIC

In a survey I conducted ages ago, asking hiring managers what’s one thing that would set a candidate above another, all things being equal with skills and experience, the number one response was that they would choose the candidate who was more enthusiastic.

Show your enthusiasm for the job and the company.

Get your own experience

Can you build experience on your own that relates to the job? Probably. Looking for an accounting job? Do your friends’ taxes and help them with financial planning. Looking for a teaching job? Start tutoring and create tutorial videos showing your knowledge of your teachables. Writing job? Start a blog and write articles on LinkedIn. Costume design? Dress your friends up, take pictures and post them on your social media.

Volunteer for organizations that needs help with whatever it is you do. Experience is probably available for you to get.

Start thinking of yourself in terms of your value and not your needs

I read this somewhere and I wish I could remember where so I could credit the author but the idea was that you should stop thinking of yourself as someone an employer has to “take a chance on” and start thinking like someone an employer would be lucky to have on their team.

This will have a few positive effects.

1. It forces you to highlight your strengths instead of your weaknesses.
2. It changes the way you view and talk about yourself, which in turn changes how you feel about yourself and gives you more confidence.
3. It changes the way an employer views you. You become someone who has great qualities first, and is missing some experience second, rather than someone who is missing experience first but has some great qualities second. Employers will also appreciate your self-confidence.
4. It makes you focus on the employer’s needs rather than your own needs, allowing you to better see and demonstrate how you can fill them.

Employers don’t hire you because you “need a job” and they should “take a chance on you.” They hire you because they can see how hiring you will solve a problem and improve their business.

A lack of experience is not impossible to overcome. Sometimes you just have to get creative and change your way of thinking.

Hiring previous employees could solve recruitment issues

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 14:04:38 GMT

Boomerang hiring is on the up and this can be good news for employers, if you can ensure you get the onboarding process right.

By Sarah Ronan for HR Magazine

Everyone loves a good comeback. Muhammad Ali in 1970, the Spice Girls at the Olympics, Lesley in finance, last week.

While ‘Lesley’ might not return to a stadium of adoring fans, she will be one of an increasing number of employees receiving a warm welcome from a former employer.

With so much turbulence in the labour market in recent years, former employees have become an attractive talent pool for many organisations.

According to LinkedIn data, 4.5% of all hires by companies using its platform in 2021 were so-called boomerang employees , i.e. those returning to an old place of work, up from 3.9% in 2019, and it’s easy to see why.

They know the business and the role and can help to provide stability during times of change.

“Rehiring former employees is going to be a growing area for a lot of organisations,” predicts Dean Corbett, chief people officer at online training provider Avado. “We’re moving from The Great Resignation to the great return.”

What might prompt that return is difficult to say, but Jo Caine, managing director of recruitment firm Cathedral Appointments, says it’s not uncommon for employees’ priorities to change .

“While their former company may not have offered as much in terms of salary, their remuneration benefits may have been better, their social circle more robust, more flexibility may have been offered and the company may have overall been a much nicer place to be,” says Caine.

“The key phrase we hear from candidates re-entering an old workforce... is that money isn’t everything.”

There is plenty to be gained too for organisations that are prepared to welcome back their former employees. Research published last year in the Academy of Management Journal revealed that boomerangs outperformed new hires and were more likely to be promoted.

David Collings , professor of HRM at Dublin City University Business School and one of the authors of the study, says this is in large part because they already know ‘how to get things done’.

Collings cautions against making assumptions when onboarding returners though; the process should account for their previous experience but not over-rely on it. Alastair Woods, people analytics partner at PwC UK, agrees. He says that while certain elements of the recruitment process, such as reference gathering, can be sped up, HR shouldn’t be tempted to compress onboarding.

Woods says: “I think the biggest challenge for a returning employee is that the place looks the same, but the people and aspects of the culture have changed. There needs to be a bit of re-education on ways of working and HR should make sure that process is not skipped.”

But what should that process look like?

Bringing back the good

In the last six months, Avado has experienced such a noticeable increase in returning employees that it has revisited its onboarding process to ensure it is fit for purpose. Corbett views the onboarding experience as an opportunity to reaffirm the employee’s decision to return.

That process should take into consideration the reasons why someone left in the first place and what that felt like for them, says Corbett. While an exit interview is important intelligence to have, it is the entire offboarding experience that helps to shape the re-joining process.

“Now when someone leaves, we’re asking them what they think they contributed that we didn’t recognise, and what they, therefore, could bring back to us,” adds Corbett.

Avado also encourages departing employees to use their on-demand coaching service. Corbett’s view is that the learnings that arise from coaching and the support the employee receives can help to keep the door open for them to return and make for a smoother onboarding.

Top tips for onboarding former employees

Dean Corbett, chief people officer at Avado, advises three key principles to stick to:

Have a process defined and co-created with a cross-section of your organisation
Make the process human and individualised for the returner. Do that by talking to the individual and giving them the space of freedom to think and reflect on how things have changed
Make it two-way. It should not be something that the business just gives you, it is something
that we do together. That will help to remind them why they came back

David Whitfield, CEO and co-founder of HR DataHub agrees that the best place to begin with onboarding is to look at the original departure. “Generally speaking, companies are pretty poor at recording the way that people leave the organisation,” says Whitfield.

“It’s a worry, to be honest, because it’s such powerful data to have. You need to understand why they left, but also what the motivation is to come back.”

He also suggests that where employers target boomerang parent employees , they might want to shape an onboarding process that allows those parents to ease their way back into the business if they are not ready to return full-time.

Recalling one case at Avado, Corbett says that it is important to acknowledge the experience and skills the person acquires during their time away from the organisation but take the opportunity to remind them why they loved working there in the first place.

“Our onboarding process is very much focused on the individual. In that particular situation, we asked, ‘what did you learn in the last six months that you think we would benefit from?’” says Corbett.

“The employee was taken aback by that question, but as far as we’re concerned, whether you were away for six months or six years, you will have taken something from that experience, and we’d love you to bring that in if you think it’s relevant. When you say that to a returning employee, they think: ‘I remember why I missed Avado’.”

Aideen Whelehan, founder of People & Work, agrees that an individualised approach to onboarding rejoiners will yield the best results, and HR shouldn’t be afraid to solicit feedback .

“That initial induction period is a real opportunity to reconnect and inspire that person to stay,” says Whelehan. “We have these programmes where we say to new employees: ‘We’re all like this’, but with rejoiners you can say ‘Actually, are we really like this?’”.

She argues that an organisation is more likely to experience loyalty and high performance from a returning employee when their input is sought out during onboarding, even more so when their feedback is acted upon.

Reconnecting post-pandemic

While in some cases it will be teams or processes that have changed, for anyone that left the business prior to the pandemic, they may also be returning to a new type of office - or none at all.

As part of the onboarding process for returning employees, HR should be deliberate in connecting people , says Collings, citing research on virtual internships during the pandemic.

Some organisations pre-populated the calendars of new-hires with meetings with a broad range of people from across the organisation.

“For ‘boomerangs’, those meetings might be with people who hold some of those critical roles that are new to the organisation or people that are in areas of the business that have grown or developed since they were last employed there,” adds Collings.

“Those connections are really important when returning to a virtual or hybrid environment where we don’t necessarily have the same opportunity to meet people on the corridor that we would have had traditionally.”

Fostering connections and open dialogue are both vital in helping returning employees navigate the onboarding period. But Whelehan says we’ve seen this with maternity returners too and there are lessons that can be applied to boomerangs.

“There’s a balance to be struck there to ensure that you’re not eroding their confidence on their return,” comments Whelehan. “Because if someone has come back, and everything’s different – and hopefully better – then they could be left wondering what was wrong with the way it used to be.

“The role of HR is to support line managers in how to have those conversations and how they present those changes to
the rejoiner.”

As organisations continue to adapt to events of the last few years, there are likely to be plenty more changes for staff – new and old – to navigate.

Regardless of how much knowledge an employee already has about an organisation, a clearly defined onboarding process and support mechanisms, will help to embed the employee quickly and, more importantly, it will help to ensure they stay.

Seven ways to recruit and retain Gen Z employees

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 18:14:56 GMT

Gen Z workers are in high demand. Those who are in the workforce are hungry, ambitious, and driven to succeed - on their terms.

By Glassdoor Staff for Glassdoor.com

Members of Gen Z were born between 1997 and 2012. Glassdoor's Economic Research Team studied the older sect to learn where Gen Z wants to work by leveraging job application data and company reviews on our platform.

This generation has higher expectations of employers than previous generations. With unemployment at a historical low, competition for these workers is stiff, and these young, vibrant workers are calling the shots.

To attract the best Gen Zers in the market, you'll need to double down on your employer brand and invest in recruiting. Here are some best practices for recruiting and retaining employees in this savvy generation.

Be tech-focused

Gen Z wants to work in tech and with tech. It's no surprise that software engineer is the most searched job by Gen Z applicants.

After tech, a significant number of Gen Z job seekers apply to roles in business services, finance, and retail. IBM , Google , Amazon , Microsoft , and Deloitte are the top five companies where Gen Z applicants have applied via Glassdoor.

It may be because these big companies offer big salaries and the big perks, or it may be they just want to work in a modern company that is on the cutting edge of technology - just like them. If you're not a tech company, step up your recruiting with technologies that appeal to Gen Z. Make sure your hiring practice uses AI tools, recruiting videos, easily scheduled online interview slots, and surveys to follow up and track their experience along the hiring pipeline. A traditional job posting and 30-minute phone screen followed by weeks of interviews isn't going to work for these folks.

"Gen Z is 100% digitally native … They've never known a world without the convenience and speed of digital interaction," says Kurt Heikkinen, CEO of candidate engagement and interview software, Montage. "Much of their time is spent on social media, streaming videos, and gaming online … they expect the exact same experience when it comes to job searches and the hiring process."

Be social

Gen Zers are estimated to spend as much as nine hours per day using social media and other apps that make their lives easier. Using social media for employer branding can help by raising awareness about your company and showing candidates why they should work for you. Some employers view social media as a distraction at work, and participating in it as a block to productivity. While you can implement terms of use policies, avoid banning it during work hours altogether. Instead understand that social media is part of our lives, and you can use it to your advantage . For example:

Employees taking microbreaks to check in on social media is good for productivity. Studies show we don't take enough breaks at work. If people are using social briefly to reset their mind and outlook, it can help them be more productive overall throughout the day.
Use social media to promote good news about your company, and encourage employees to share those updates.
Post open positions on your social channels, encouraging workers to share those positions with their networks.
Improve your culture via social. Companies that are active on social media are perceived to be more modern and fun places to work, with a sense of community. Further, if you are promoting a culture where employees have to "hide" or "sneak around" to use social media, that doesn't build trust or drive retention.

Be flexible in interviews

While you can't generalize about an entire generation, being flexible in how and when you interview can serve you well if you're trying to attract Gen Z candidates.

" 74 percent of Gen Z would rather connect with colleagues face to face than via other formats. But here's the catch: Gen Z doesn't equate face-to-face with in-person," says Heikkinen. "Employers should use mobile-first video interviewing technology with live and on-demand interviewing. This helps recruiters and hiring managers reach and communicate with Gen Z in a manner that they prefer, through technology that's already in their hands nearly 24/7."

Share relevant content - reviews, articles, videos, and surveys - about the interview process with Gen Z candidates at each stage of the hiring funnel.

Be real with perks, focus on culture

While free food, game rooms, pet-friendly offices , and company-sponsored vacations may seem like great perks to offer job-seeking Gen Zers, research shows that they care about much more.

Across Glassdoor reviews left by Gen Z, "work environment," "flexible hours," and "good pay" are the most common keywords used to describe the pros of working for their employers. "Free food," "company discounts," and "easy work" also appear in the top 10 most common phrases.

"The competition to catch the attention of the newest generation of workers and potential applicants will likely favor employers who can demonstrate - via their job descriptions, interview processes, and other online forums - that they value culture, career opportunities, and trust in senior leadership, along with a balance of benefits," says Glassdoor Economic Research Analyst Amanda Stansell.

Be a diverse and inclusive workplace

Gen Z grew up around diversity and inclusion , and they are more comfortable in environments where those aspects are recognized and celebrated. Creating a diverse, inclusive workplace starts with examining your recruiting, screening, and interviewing processes to uncover and address biases. When it comes to topics as important as diversity and inclusion, make sure your website clearly shows what your company is doing and demonstrate throughout your application process that your company is focused on attracting and retaining diverse and inclusive employees. Posting a paragraph that says you are an equal opportunity employer isn't enough.

Show prospective candidates and existing employees you take diversity seriously and that you value all voices. Salary transparency can be a great way to level the playing field in your organization. It helps reduce the gender pay gap and increase retention.

Be strategic with marketing

Gen Z workers want to work somewhere with a positive culture and values that reflect their own. Highlight new product developments, philanthropic initiatives, awards, and other positive news about your company in press releases and online. Update your company's Glassdoor profile to tell a more complete story about what it's like to work at your company. If possible, have members of leadership respond to and address any negative comments that might appear on Glassdoor so candidates can see leadership is engaged and working to correct any pain points with the employee experience.

Also consider broadening your location for an employee search. Gen Zers are applying to jobs in the typical major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago. However, Champaign, IL and Raleigh, NC are a couple of metro areas that rank among the top 10 locations for Gen Z applicants. You may have a better chance of landing a top candidate in a larger, more competitive market than in a smaller one.

Be generous when it comes to benefits

Sixty-three percent of job seekers review an employer's benefits when reading a job description. However, many businesses may not realize that their benefit plans are out of date. Some places focus solely on salary - but that's not all that's important.

Consider whether your benefits package is modern enough to match the Gen Z worker. Is it inclusive, offering benefits to domestic partners? Does paternity leave match maternity leave? Is there inclusive language to make sure everyone feels like they will be an important part of the team, including people across the LGBTQ spectrum?

Gen Z employees are at the forefront of driving change, holding companies responsible for their promises and seeking the best for themselves and their families. They're raising the bar on demands for work-life balance, fair and equitable pay, and job satisfaction.

When you break it down, attracting, hiring, and retaining Gen Z workers isn't that much of a mystery, or a challenge. It involves key tenets that apply to any generation: doing the right thing, being transparent, and treating people with respect.

Here's what happens when salary is actually included in job listings

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 19:37:44 GMT

It's Even Becoming Law in Places - Get Ahead of the Trend!

By Kathryn Vasel , CNN Business

Job listings can be extremely detailed, with long lists of responsibilities and required skills, descriptions of company culture and perks, and numerous other reasons for why you might want to work there. But there's often one glaring omission: the pay.

Only about 12% of postings from US online job sites include salary ranges, according to Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. And that's an increase from 8% in 2019.

Part of the reason for the uptick is the stronger job market, Pollak said. "A tightening labor market does appear to have caused more companies to disclose pay rates," she said.

But a growing number of companies will soon be required by their local governments to disclose what they'll pay.

A new law in New York City, for example, requires employers to include a salary range on job listings. The law, which goes into effect in May, applies to employers with four or more employees, and excludes temporary staffing firms.

"Our new law shines a light on pay inequity," Helen Rosenthal, a former City Council member and sponsor of the bill, told CNN in a statement last month . "Including pay ranges in job postings allows job seekers to determine whether they will be able to support themselves and their family when they apply for a job."

Colorado has a similar law that has been in effect since January 2021, and a few other states, like Rhode Island and Maryland, have legislation that requires employers to provide salary ranges upon request.

Why the big secret?

Labor costs are a major expense for companies, and staying mum on what they're willing to pay can enable them to hire candidates for less, said Katie Donovan, founder of consultancy Equal Pay Negotiations.

"Companies don't want informed consumers ... because the more informed the consumer is, the harder it is to negotiate a savings of any kind," she said. "There's definitely a mindset that the job of recruiting and hiring is to bring in the best person at not a penny more than needed. And the best way to do that is don't tell them how much you actually have available."

Keeping the number under wraps can also be a negotiation strategy. "The person who says a number first loses," said Donovan.

Publishing salary information also means that competitors and current employees can see what a company is paying.

In some cases, current employees may discover that they are underpaid, which could lead them to demand more or find a new job.

"That's the scary part, that is why [companies] aren't putting it in writing," she said.

Why it's good for employers

But posting salaries can also be advantageous to companies when it comes to negotiating, said Zoe Cullen, assistant professor of economics at Harvard University.

"Firms that firmly set a price for a particular job have a high degree of bargaining power in the sense that they are announcing to potential job candidates that, 'if you try to negotiate anything higher than this price, it is going to effect everybody else because I will have to publicly adjust the going rate for this job.'"

Sharing salary ranges can also help attract workers.

"When people are searching for work, [compensation] is the most salient concern typically. So if they don't find the [salary] information they need, they may not waste the time going through the process at all," said Pollak.

At the same time, employers can also create a more qualified applicant pool.

"It saves them the time and energy of searching through candidates who are never going to accept the job... people will self-select out when the [salary] is too little," said Donovan.

She added that when companies are more upfront about salaries, it can help create trust. "They feel more respected and apply more when there is the information...it's like 'OK, they are treating me like a human being.'"

Why it's good for job hunters...

For starters, published salary ranges help job seekers understand what the market is willing to pay for certain positions.

"If you have the ability to know what salary is being offered and know what others are earning, then you are in a position to advocate for yourself," said Laurie Berke-Weiss, principal attorney at Berke-Weiss, a labor and employment law firm in New York City.

Knowing what a job pays from the start can also make the job-hunting process more streamlined. In the current tight labor market, candidates are being more selective about what roles they apply for, and advertised salary ranges can help them narrow down their options.

"Role descriptions can be made to sound more than they are and [job seekers] can go deep into the process and realize that the salary is significantly lower than what they make right now," said Rohan Rajiv, group product manager at LinkedIn. He added that LinkedIn job postings that included salary information increased by 50% in January 2022 from January 2021.

Laws requiring salary disclosure, as well as other laws like banning companies from asking about salary history, can also help with pay equity.

Studies show women and people of color tend to be paid less than White men in the same roles. To right the issue would require significant salary increases.

"Mathematically, for a Hispanic women to answer the question: What are you looking to earn in this job? For her to say the same number as a White guy, she would have to increase her current pay by over 100%... just based on statistics," said Donovan.

...And also for existing employees

Posting salary ranges can be enlightening for current employees as well.

"[If employees] see that they can get a 20% increase just by going to the competition, they'll start paying attention to their openings," said Donovan.

Such transparency can also help existing employees know if they're underpaid.

"Most people think that the people with longer tenure [at a company] are making more than the new kid that just started. But no, the new kid is probably making more," said Donovan. "The new kid is getting paid the current market value and your 2% [annual] raise hasn't kept up with the market rate."

Cullen's research shows that employers' public disclosures of pay ranges can reduce a worker's bargaining power and limit their ability to ask for more beyond the range.

But there's more to compensation than what's on a paycheck. Companies can also offer benefits like signing bonuses, stock options, and other perks that they might not always be required to be disclosed.

"You can have a company that is very openly, publicly committed to pay transparency, but if they really want a candidate who requires more to take the job than they initially offer, they can find ways to make that posted salary range still hold," said Pollak. "Companies can find all kinds of creative ways to get around these requirements."

How To Use The STAR Interview Method To Ace Your Next Interview

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Fri, 27 May 2022 13:58:39 GMT

Once you learn the star method, you can give clear, coherent answers that showcase your skills. Here’s how.

By Suzanne Lucas for careercloud.com

Have you heard about the STAR method of interviewing? When a hiring manager or recruiter starts asking, “Can you tell me about a time when…,” you might tense up. Behavioral interview questions are common, but the STAR Method is a trick for answering them.

Once you learn the star method, you can give clear, coherent answers that showcase your skills. Here’s how.

What Is The STAR Interview Response Method?

STAR stands for:

Situation
Task
Action
Result

It describes how you answer a behavioral interview question. Remember, behavioral interview questions often start with, “Tell me about a time…” or “Have you ever….” Let’s walk through what each one of these things means.

SITUATION

Remember that Star Wars Movies start with “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” You can use that to remember the S in star–it’s the Situation or the Setting. Was this your internship at the congressman’s office during your junior year in college? Or did it perhaps happen when you were working late nights in the emergency room? It doesn't have to be flashy or exciting, just accurate.

You want to include who you were at that time as well. Were you the department manager? The new hire? The team lead? A team member? Depending on the job you are applying for, you might want to choose situations that will set you up for success in the new role.

TASK

What task is at the heart of the story? Remember to include details, such as time pressures, whether for an internal or external client or whatever else fleshes out the story.

ACTION

What did you do? Make sure you focus on your actions and speak in an active voice. Active voice is easiest to identify when you have a clear subject that does a clear action. For example:

Passive voice: The client got the report on time.
Active voice: I delivered the report to the client on time.
Passive voice: The employee was weeping until she received help and time off.
Active voice: The employee was weeping, so I sat with her and helped her call the employee assistance program. I then spoke with her boss to ensure she got the time off she needed.

Remember, the interviewer is asking about you and what you’ve done. They aren’t just looking for anecdotes.

RESULTS

What happened? You’ve established the situation (or setting) of the task at hand, and you’ve described your action. Now you need to explain the result. Make sure the result reflects well on you, or pick a different experience. The result needs to be the clear result of your action. Because you did X, Y happened.

How To Prepare For An Interview Using STAR

MEMORIZE THE PATTERN

The first thing to do is memorize the pattern: Situation, Task, Action, Result.

PRACTICE

Then practice it. You may want to write down outlines for your answers to common behavioral interview questions to help you cement your plan in your brain.

BE AWARE OF QUESTIONS YOU MAY ENCOUNTER

For example, here are some questions you might encounter in a job interview :

Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you didn’t get along with.
Can you tell me about a time you went above and beyond in customer service?
Can you tell me about a time you had to fix a problem you didn’t cause?
Can you tell me about a time you had to coach an employee’s poor performance?

How To Use The STAR Interview Response Method In An Interview

If we take one of the questions above, it might look like this.

QUESTION: TELL ME ABOUT A TIME YOU HAD TO WORK WITH SOMEONE YOU DIDN’T GET ALONG WITH.

Situation: I started a new job as a cashier at the same time as three other new employees. One of them, Stephanie, immediately accused me of cheating when I could answer all the trainer’s questions correctly.
Task: I had to gain Stephanie’s trust if we would have a good working relationship.
Action: I showed Stephanie that I had been taking notes on my phone while the trainer spoke. I offered to send her a copy so she could use them for answers.
Result: Stephanie turned down the offer for the notes, and she continued to say bad things about me, but I always offered to help her in any way that I could. Eventually, she started to leave me alone.

QUESTION: CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT A TIME YOU HAD TO FIX A PROBLEM YOU DIDN’T CAUSE?

Situation: I was the first-ever HR manager at a company. For one of my first tasks, I audited the paperwork they had on file.
Task: I found out that they had never collected I-9 forms for their employees! This violates federal law and can get the business in serious trouble. I knew I had to fix this right away.
Action: I started with the CEO. I told her we needed this paperwork for all employees. She said they weren’t a traditional company and didn’t need it. I researched the potential fine the company could face if its paperwork wasn’t in order.
Result: By speaking in a language the CEO understood–dollars and cents–she realized I was right. At the beginning of that job, I learned to translate all my ideas into how they would save or make the company money.

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR A STAR INTERVIEW?

The first thing to do is memorize the pattern: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Then practice it. Remember to stay on track and don’t let your brain wander away from the task at hand.

WHY DO EMPLOYERS USE THE STAR METHOD?

Past performance is often the best predictor of future performance. So, when employers ask you behavioral questions, they want to see what you have done in the past to help them decide if they want you to work for them.

HOW LONG SHOULD STAR INTERVIEW ANSWERS BE?

There isn’t a set answer for this! It depends on the question and what your answer is. But don’t make them too long. If you notice your interviewer looking away or sneaking a peek at her phone, you’re rambling! Plan on 30-60 seconds per STAR point.

The Bottom Line

Interviewing can be scary, but you’ll be prepared to tackle any behavioral questions if you practice the STAR method before speaking to the hiring manager. Now that you know how to use the STAR interview method, it’s time to find positions to interview for!

Our 2022 Salary Guide Is Available

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Wed, 25 May 2022 19:57:38 GMT

Are You Competitve? Now You Can Check!

Staffmax is pleased to share our 2022 Salary Guide for all clients and candidates.

This is a great tool if you'd like to see if you're in the ballpark with your staff, or if you feel it's a good time to barter for a raise. This data was collected based on current market information available from various government and aggregate sources.

You can access the document here .

Want more details? Don't see a job listed? Don't hesitate to contact us at 888-956-7090!

If Your Employees Are Working in the Office, You Should Be There Too

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 19 May 2022 19:31:51 GMT

You're most likely not supporting or leading your in-person team as effectively from home.

BY SUZANNE LUCAS FOR INC.COM

If your business is 100 percent remote, with no one having to come in, that's great. The boss and HR get to work from home as well.

But if you have employees who need to be in the office every day or whom you've asked to work in the office, you need to be there.

It turns out that's not how things are working out. A pulse survey from Future Forum found that it's not the bosses who are commuting . They report:

Non-executive employees are nearly twice as likely as executives to be working from the office five days a week.
Non-executives' work-life balance scores are now 40 percent worse than their bosses', plummeting at five times the rate of executives' over the past quarter.
Non-executives are also reporting more than twice the level of work-related stress and anxiety as executives.

If you want your employees to be in the office, you need to be there. Here's why:

You don't have a job without your employees

The conventional wisdom is that employees should thank their bosses for hiring them. While there is logic there--as the owners and founders take personal risks in opening a business--the reality is that your business is dead in the water without your employees.

You should never ask your employees to do something that you wouldn't be willing to do yourself, including coming into the office.

If the boss and HR are out of the office, you are not supporting your employees

HR managers, especially in a small business, wear many hats, but the most important is to make the company more profitable by ensuring that employees receive proper treatment. If your HR manager sits at home while your employees are in the office, it's a sign that the HR manager's comfort is more important than the employees' well-being.

Yes, your HR manager is also an employee, but an absentee HR manager isn't doing the job correctly if the employees never see them.

If you believe your employees perform better in the office, why aren't you there?

There are good reasons for being in the office, and not everyone works better from home. But what kind of message does it send to your employees if you say, "You work better from the office, but I don't"?

Looking at the survey results, non-executive employees experience higher levels of stress. Could this arrangement be part of this?

Hybrid is fine, but only when it's hybrid for everyone

If an employee wants to work full time in the office, that's great! But if you and your HR person want to work some of the time from the office and sometimes from home , then everyone else needs that opportunity as well.

If your business has people who absolutely have to be onsite (manufacturing, retail, health care, et cetera), then the management team and the employee relations person in HR need to be onsite more often than not. You're not supporting or leading your team from your home office.

You may think that you've worked hard to be the boss, and now you deserve this perk, but bosses earn more money precisely because their jobs are more challenging. Treat your employees as you want to be treated. If you want to work from home, they get to too.

The best pieces of HR advice you can now ignore

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 12 May 2022 13:16:09 GMT

With times changing, here's what you can put to rest.

By Brett Farmiloe for tlnt.com

We’re forever hearing that there is a new reality about the post-pandemic world of work – one that has made a lot of HR best practice obsolete.

But can anyone actually recall the specific pieces of wisdom that HR professionals should now discard and ignore? The answer is probably no – because while it’s easy to say things have changed, it’s much harder to back that up.

However, we believe there is truth to the notion things have moved on. Why? Well we actually posed the question ‘what traditional advice can now be ignored?’ to real HR executives and thought leaders.

So, without further ado, here are 12 HR advice pieces that used to be sworn by – but which can now be easily ignored. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts:

1) Technology solves everything

“Before the pandemic, the HR sector was sprinting towards digital transformation of everything. But the pandemic has made it clear that technology is not the be-all and end-all in organizational design. Zoom meetings allowed some businesses to stay afloat but they have also created “Zoom fatigue.” HR is about people. Technology cannot replace that — and it shouldn’t. There is a balance to be had. What HR tech should replace are repetitive and tedious tasks in the HR process. The goal of HR tech should be to free people up to focus on what’s most important: people.”

Josh Zywein, CMO, Paradox

2) Telecommuting reduces productivity

“After almost two years of remote work, many naysayers now agree that telecommuting does not reduce productivity or engagement, and that non-exempt employees can be as successful as their exempt counterparts. The pandemic forced us to go remote from one day to the next, and experience now tells us that productivity remains at- or is higher than prior to the pandemic. I personally have never been closer to my team as we hold daily or weekly meetings, can we see each other via online collaboration and communication tools, and get to learn more about each other as individuals than ever before.”

Patty Hickok, senior director, employee relations, HRIS & HR Operations, NANA Regional Corporation

3) Traditional Work Schedules

“Gone are the days when employees would just simply conform to a traditional work schedule. To be competitive as an employer of choice in today’s world, you have to offer flexibility in your work environment. Generally speaking, most people have to work to make ends meet, but they don’t necessarily have to work for you or your company; they have options. As the old saying goes, relationships are a two-way street, and that includes working relationships.”

Jenna Hinrichsen, director of recruitment strategy, Advanced RPO

4) The need for in-person meetings

“The pandemic made us realize how well we can meet, celebrate, plan, discuss and strategize with our teams using virtual platforms. Eliminating some previously “in-person only” interactions for safety reasons, we also discovered that virtual interviews can speed our time to hire. We realised that video conferencing made scheduling large group meetings easier, and that many of us work more efficiently through virtual interactions.”

Jessica Miller-Merrell, chief innovation officer, Workology

5) Hire only for your current needs

“In the past, it was common for companies to maintain a cohort of staff that was exactly large enough to satisfy the current workload. This approach leaves no wiggle room if you have multiple employees out sick at the same time or if multiple staff members quit in a short span.. And that’s not even considering employee vacations, sabbaticals, or other absences. In the future, it would serve HR departments to rethink their “hiring par” and redefine their definition of fully-staffed. This may not just mean increasing the total number of employees but also cross-training more of those employees so they can step into key roles when you have unexpected gaps.”

Jon Hill, chairman, The Energists

6) HR Is Support Only

“HR has always been viewed as the support team, but that perception needs to shift. HR’s purpose isn’t to catch everything the company throws its way. HR professionals aren’t just warm bodies cranking through benefits enrollment, onboarding paperwork, and other administrative tasks. Now, HR teams should be driving strategic decisions. Since the pandemic began, HR has moved out from the back office and to a seat at the table; from HR to people ops, they are leading change in new compensation structures, benefits packages, recruiting methods, and everything else that impacts the future of work as we know it.”

Amy Spurling, co-founder and CEO, Compt

7) Employees need to sit under one roof

“Traditionally, HR required employees to sit under one roof in order to be aligned with the organization’s goals and expectations. Now, we must appreciate the agility of our peers. They now have to juggle spreadsheets, deadlines and juice boxes all before the morning zoom meeting.”

Chandra Aiken, Easy Choice Recruiting

8) Candidates with gaps in their resume aren’t great

“Although many coaches say gaps in employment ‘aren’t career limiting’, when push comes to shove these resumes have tended to lose competitive standing quickly in the screening process. But with many workers now leaving long-held positions in exchange for new career paths or even sabbaticals to realign their lives on work that provides fulfillment, gaps may become more common and even the norm. So it’s time to oust the notion that “the perfect candidate” is the one that is the most professionally consistent and without pivots or pauses on paper. In order to hire the most qualified candidate, we must value the whole diversity of a candidate’s background and recognize the profound personal development that occurs in these gaps. It’s time to redefine what makes a great candidate in the modern era. Is it still consistency or is it resiliency?”

Leigh Henderson, brand strategist, HRManifesto, LLC

9) Employees don’t quit jobs, they quit organizations

“HR professionals have long accepted the dogma that “employees don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses.” But data tells us this was never really true, and it is completely out-of-tune with effective post-pandemic human capital management strategy. Covid-19 gave many people the time to consider what is important to them and many are now acting on their conclusions. Certainly, the relationship with a direct supervisor matters, but today’s employee is looking for meaning in their work, wants to buy into the company’s mission and vision, seeks a career path, demands opportunities to acquire new skills and grow professionally, and wants to be connected with colleagues – even in a virtual environment. Talent acquisition, optimization, and retention demands that HR professionals lead a major overhaul of how organizations view and treat their people. Human capital management must become an integral part of organizations’ long-term business strategies.”

Philip Curran, founder and CEO, Newgrange Advisors LLC

10) Age is a factor in talent retention

“The pandemic has forced a rethinking of ‘age’ as an arbitrary predictor of contribution and productivity. Part of our newfound HR responsibility is to help our organizations broaden the ‘talent’ view of age as an end point for a career. Within the mindset of employee thinking is a recognition that age, occupation, and organization are the determinants of the beginning and ending of a career. A talent shortage points to talent development and retention as primary strategies to ensure long-term organizational growth. The enthusiastic naiveté of an 18-year old employee is just as important to organizational growth as the sharpened wisdom of an 80 year old employee. Productivity is the only measure that matters when assessing the value of an employee’s contribution.”

Lee Meadows, CEO, Meadows Consulting

11) Annual reviews are necessary

“Life, the world, businesses, and people change in an instant, so does the impact they have on your employees. Stop over-complicating the review process, provide frequent feedback, and request frequent feedback from your employees. Your business doesn’t exist without them.”

Christina Hogan, CEO, Global Management & Consulting

12) Casting a wider net is always the solution

“HR should always consider the internal pool of candidates before looking externally. This is a great retention strategy, and shows employees that the organization is committed to the growth and development of their employees.”

Chandel Gibbs, HR associate, HARMAN International

How To Ask For A Raise Amid Soaring Inflation

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 05 May 2022 18:08:45 GMT

Amid higher inflation and a labor shortage that's giving workers the upper hand, it's an unusually critical time to ask for a raise.

By Jena McGregor for forbes.com

Despite historically favorable conditions—high inflation, a labor shortage, more transparency about pay—you might still find it hard to negotiate salary. Here, key steps to ask for more pay, and what to do if the response is no.

Consumer price increases are hitting near-record, 40-year highs . A labor shortage is escalating. State pay transparency laws are making it easier to learn what jobs are paid. And a reawakened labor movement is forcing employers to be more responsive to workers’ demands.

If ever there was a good time to ask for a raise, it’s almost certainly now.

“People don’t perceive themselves as having as much leverage and power right now as they do,” says Ben Cook, the CEO of Riva , a salary negotiation startup founded with Harvard Business School experts. “Right now is a phenomenal time to go and ask for a raise.”

Yet despite this unprecedented wave of favorable conditions, you might still find it hard to ask your boss for more salary . For many, touting your own accomplishments—not to mention having a frank talk about money—feels awkward. If you’re a woman, you know you have to navigate tricky gender norms about how assertive people expect you to be.

And even as more workers talk openly about pay , negotiations tend to be information asymmetry at its worst, with managers typically having more data about what jobs are paid than you.

Still, there are ways to go into the conversation with confidence—and come out of it with a raise–or at least something else desirable you want. Below, find key steps to remember when you negotiate salary, and what to do if the response is no.

WAIT FOR A WIN

Timing is everything, especially when asking for a raise. Don’t plan it for when your boss is at her busiest or after a slip-up. And pick a time that immediately follows a win you can claim or a big sale you just clinched. “The timing of the ask makes a huge difference,” says Kathleen Downs, a senior recruiting manager for Robert Half.

You also don’t want to go in too late, after payroll budgets have already been set and promotions have already been decided. The discussion will more likely be a process that takes time. “A raise conversation is not one day, one half hour of time,” says Katie Donovan, a pay equity and salary negotiation consultant based in Boston. “It needs to be planned out usually for next fiscal year. Start it six months ahead. … it’s going to take a while.”

PERFORM YOUR OWN JOB SEARCH

To get started, play the role of job seeker, looking for what not only your company, but others like it, are paying for new hires in similar roles. A small but growing number of localities, like Colorado and, by the start of next year, New York City and Washington state, now require employers to disclose pay ranges for new jobs.

Experts say that’s starting to have an impact on salary information in job ads, with employers publishing ranges elsewhere, too. “Do a theoretical job search—look to see what salaries in those places are offering,” says Linda Babcock, a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University and the author of books on negotiation and women’s careers . “That can help you calibrate your request.”

With inflation soaring and companies having a harder time finding workers, employers fear the new laws will reveal inequities to current workers. Executives say a phenomenon called salary compression—when new workers with less experience are being paid similarly to those with more tenure and skills—is happening more now. A recent survey by Robert Half found that 56% of C-suite executives said they’ve seen pay discrepancies between new hires and more tenured staff in the past year.

If your employer isn’t being so conscious—and you see a job ad at your firm that pays more—it should help you. “Calmly and professionally say ‘explain to me what I’m misunderstanding,” Donovan suggests. “This person will be coming in and doing the job I’m doing right now. … Why would I not get paid what that person would get paid?”

ASK OTHERS WHAT THEY THINK YOU SHOULD MAKE

By now you know to do your homework before you negotiate salary. Look at web sites such as Payscale and Glassdoor . Ask professional associations for salary data. Find databases in your field. Look up Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

But such sources can sometimes be out of date or unspecific; in those cases, ask people who work in your field. If you’re uncomfortable asking someone what they make, says Babcock, ask people who might oversee a role like yours for their expertise instead. “Ask, ‘what do you think I should make for this position?’ They can use all the information they know, and you’re going to get a broader range of data.”

Or, if you ask a peer who works at another company, replace the awkward “how much do you make?” with an offering of your own salary and the question “how would that match up within your organization?” advises Downs. “There are ways to find out what other people are making,” she says, without asking the question too bluntly.

FOR WOMEN, MAKE A COMMUNAL PITCH—AND AIM HIGHER

The actual words you use really matter, particularly for women. Society views women as being “others-focused,” so when they ask for something for themselves, “there’s inherently friction there,” says Kathryn Valentine, the founder of Worthmore Strategies , a negotiation training and consulting firm for executive women.

Therefore, for women, it’s important to keep the conversation collaborative, communal and holistic, says Valentine, making your request in terms of how it can help your boss or the company. A sample pitch might say something like this, she suggests: “Last year I was able to bring in $500,000 in sales. I believe we’re on track to deliver 20% more this year. In order to deliver on that goal, I’d like to bring my compensation in line with market value, which is X. What do you think?”

A simple formula, she says, is to highlight past performance, combine it with future potential and follow up with a direct request. Then stop talking. “To make others feel comfortable, women will continue to talk and in doing that they [hurt their negotiating position],” she says.

Women, suggests Donovan, should ask for at least 75% of the job’s market value. Research has shown that women are more likely than men to be paid in a tight range around the median, and as a result, are less likely to be paid at the top end of the range. “Median pay for everyone is always lower than the median pay of the white guys,” Donovan says.

USE A SPECIFIC NUMBER—AND GO FIRST

Much negotiation advice suggests you should wait for the other person to make the first offer. But unless you have no idea what the pay range should be, says Valentine, research shows it pays to go first . Doing so means you “ anchor ” the conversation with your number, she says. “If you know the bargaining zone, you always put out the first number.”

She also suggests—again, particularly for women—starting with a specific number, rather than a range. At least in her experience with clients, “when you give a range, what they hear is the lowest end of the range,” she says.

Jennifer Trzepacz, the chief people officer for SymphonyAI , agrees. Without a specific number, it’s hard for managers or human resources professionals to know how you’re valuing yourself or what will close the deal. “When they say ‘I’d like a raise’ and they don’t say specifically what [the number] is,” she says of people who request a raise, “there are times when you go back and get them the raise and they’re like ‘that’s not what I wanted.’” As a result, they’ve advocated on your behalf for nothing.

WITH COUNTER-OFFERS, KNOW THE CULTURE

Be careful about using outside salary offers to get a raise unless you know how they’re typically received. “Different companies have different cultures about this,” says Babcock. “At some companies, if you come with an outside offer they say ‘let me help you pack.’ In other companies you don’t get a [raise] unless you have an outside offer, and it will help your supervisor advocate for you. But you really have to know what the organization’s culture is like.” If you’re not sure, ask peers you can trust about their experiences with presenting outside salary offers and how counter offers are viewed.

Negotiation experts suggest using the salary offer you’ve received to inform your market rate, or cast it as a surprise that’s come to an employee who’s committed to the organization. “You can say ‘I have not been looking, but this came my way and I was really surprised to see that they were compensating at 20% more. Can you help me close that gap so I can continue contributing here?’” Valentine suggests.

TURN NO INTO A POLITE ASK

If you still don’t get the raise you want, pay experts say, ask what you need to do to get one—and then don’t let the conversation stop without concrete specifics. “You say, what needs to change so that you can say yes?” says Donovan. If they’re changes you can actually make, do them, and then come back. But if “they keep moving the finish line, then you know you're never going to succeed there. Go look for another job.”

Or, think about what else you might want. If your boss says they can’t boost your base pay, consider negotiating for additional time off, eliminating responsibilities that won’t position you for a raise later or even more equity if it’s a startup. “We really encourage our clients to be as flexible as they can in terms of the currency in which they get paid,” says Riva’s Cook.

KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS

In the end, says Donovan, one of the best strategies for negotiations is just to try and keep asking questions. “You as the employee do not have to have the answers. You’re not teaching them anything they don’t know,” says Donovan. “The more questions you have for each no they give you, the more likely it will be that you get it. The winner of every negotiation is the person who can keep the conversation going. Once I shut you up, I win.”

8 Strategies To Recognize ‘Silent Stars’ Overlooked In The Workplace

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 15:46:06 GMT

"Silent Stars" in the work force are some of the best resources organizations have, yet when they are overlooked, it hurts the company's bottom line.

By Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. for forbes.com

Employers are observing some of their most talented employees abandon ship as the mass exodus of the Great Resignation continues. Many of the top talent are quiet achievers who feel unrecognized and unheard. “Silent Stars” have created a revolving door, quietly headed to companies that will address their grievances. Lack of recognition, burnout and limited growth opportunities are only a few of the reasons employees are quitting. According to Andrea Short , executive sales and marketing leader at Ingram Micro Cloud, there’s another side to the story. She argues that the Silent Stars—those whose goals are less visible and are still working as hard as they can to keep the workflow going—are the most valuable yet forgotten assets for the same companies that are not giving them the recognition they deserve.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

A full 75% of the workforce say they need more recognition in their jobs, and Short insists the Silent Stars are the most easily forgotten at the highest price. “These Silent Stars are known (or not known) for being great observers and honest assessors, self-starters willing to pursue goals that are less visible and for not actively seeking any acknowledgment. Still, they’re not totally indifferent to being constantly overlooked.”

In the past year, businesses have been influenced by fear of talent-loss and many have learned that some talent is simply overlooked based on their personal preference to remain more quiet, introspective or less social in the workplace. “Out of sight, out of mind, has been a prevalent experience for those that may be less externally-oriented, and businesses are beginning to recognize the importance of refocusing attention on all sets of talent by understanding and respecting individual nuances,” Short said. “By actively learning their team’s individuality and putting focus on each unique person, leaders have been able to more appropriately guide their teams, strengthen their foundations and receive more contributions across their entire organization.”

Short believes a retention strategy can be as simple as supporting and representing your talent if a more suited role ever presents. She notes that major drivers of job satisfaction revolve around role enjoyment, career development, paths to advancement, culture inclusivity and appreciation. “Leaders who prioritize better understanding their employee’s individual goals and fulfillment, and encourage transparency around internal recruitment efforts, are providing better possible circumstances for both the organization and your talent’s overall satisfaction.”

Short insisted that during the Great Resignation, companies took one of two paths. They either recognized the importance of the silent-but-driven and learned to anticipate ways to accommodate the needs of these solid team members and making them feel valued. Or they lost these crucial components of their operating dynamic and quickly saw things come unglued. “Many times these Silent Stars are seen as the individuals on a team that ‘just get it done,’ taking on more than their fair share of responsibility,” she said. “In recognizing the importance of these types of associates, it’s imperative that organizations audit and measure the amount of effort a team member puts forth against the amount and type of recognition they deserve.”

8 Strategies To Shine Light On Neglected Talent

Although managers found that losing a rising star in the company was a tough act to replace, they found it even more difficult to find replacements for the Silent Star employees who increasingly burnt themselves out due to the increased demands of the “always on'' remote work environment and their indefatigable drive to complete not only their work, but the work of other team members. Companies can not longer afford to continue business as usual just because that’s the way it’s always been done. In order to evolve with the current trends and stay viable, companies must put a bandage on the bleed. Short notes that merely doling out bonuses for extra hard work won’t cut it. Instead, it’s important to implement some of the following policies that guarantee quiet achievers are recognized and retained.

Identify Silent Stars to optimize their performance in the company without being exploited then focus on prioritizing equality and finding new opportunities for each team member to shine.
Get to know quiet achievers through monthly or quarterly conversations and show interest, empathy and understanding in their current projects.
Promote Silent Stars within their ranks to newer positions in which they can foster greater stability to the organization at a higher level. In the past when this happened, there was nearly always a correlative boost in performance, department-wide.
Allow Silent Star employees to train and motivate new-hires through their calm and steady role-modeling of best practice. They are excellent at this—especially when it comes to practices developed to fit the hybrid-work environment, which gained widespread popularity late last year.
Offer adjustable plans (taking into account the size of the company) with benefits that incentivize employees to stay with the organization such as flexible schedules and work methods (home office, for example).
Determine how the behavior of Silent Stars can be replicated by other team members to cultivate a team that works in unison.
Offer adjustable plans (taking into account the size of the company) and offer benefits.
Create an attractive work plan for a freelancer generation that does not want to be tied to a company.

Short believes organizations have become more aware of their loss of Silent Star employees and are trying to solve the dilemma. Still, she warned that companies cannot afford to join the quiet achievers in their silence if they want to stop the drain. “Your hardest working and sometimes most valuable employees might not ever ask for a raise, but if you give them that opportunity, we’ve seen that they’re capable of unlocking entirely new opportunities all the way up the value chain,” she said. “And sadly, a lot of these really excellent people were the ones quitting last year because they felt overlooked.”

How To Lead Through Periods Of Low Morale

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 22:11:34 GMT

Over the past two years, employees across the U.S. and around the world have been dealing with remote working and low morale.

By Julia Wuench for forbes.com

71% of leaders say that engaged, happy employees are pivotal to their company's success, and according to a Gallup survey, companies with highly engaged workforces are as much as 21% more profitable . However, as many as 33% of those polled in a 2018 Korn Ferry Survey reported leaving their jobs as a result of boredom. While 33% isn't necessarily the majority, it's a considerable number.

While the data can be daunting to review, with the right approach, a strong and authentic leader can lead their team through these periods of low morale and help them get their motivation back.

Approach every interaction with transparency

An authentic leader is one who leads with honesty. Those who aren't afraid to be vulnerable and admit when they're wrong are the ones who earn trust from their peers and their employees.

When it comes to company success, it's important to remain transparent, keeping in mind that people can generally sense when something isn't going well. Sugarcoating internal struggles or approaching interactions with team members while adopting an "act as-if" attitude is inauthentic, at best, and is more likely to produce an even lower level of morale.

Adopt a "team-first" attitude in meetings

While numbers are an important part of any business meeting, they shouldn't be the first focus when gathering as a team. That's especially true when morale is low and the team needs some extra motivation.

Instead, start meetings out by focusing on attendees. Open up the floor and give them the opportunity to share successes or ask for input from peers before getting into data. This goes beyond simply boosting team morale and can go a long way in creating a collaborative attitude and an overall sense of shared ownership throughout the team.

Give employees ample opportunities for open discussion

Whether a discussion with an employee is disciplinary in nature or not, an authentic, motivating leader takes the time to give their employee a chance to speak their mind. Instead of lecturing, the best approach is often to ask open-ended questions to gauge how the employee is feeling, why they feel that way and what improvements can be made to boost their morale and increase overall team productivity.

According to a study published by MITSloan , employees who are regularly encouraged to speak out about workplace issues and given a safe space to air grievances are happier and more successful at work.

Leading through periods of low morale requires openness and authenticity

Engaged employees are happy employees and the best way to engage teams, especially in times of low morale, is by maintaining open, honest lines of communication that goes both ways.

Meet Employees’ Needs and Performance Will Follow

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:09:04 GMT

What do your employees want more than anything?

By Suzanne Lucas (The Evil HR Lady) for hracuity.com

Money might be the first thing you think of, but a recent study found that flexibility is more important than salary or benefits . And that super nice office building? Well, 77% say they would prefer to work for a company that gives them flexibility rather than work for a company with a fancy corporate headquarters.

Managers often feel nervous about having employees work from home, even though many have successfully done it for almost two years now. While managers have a point – some people are slacking off, and there have even been cases where people hold down two jobs at once – the key is balancing your employees’ needs with their overall performance. You’ll find that flexibility helps everyone and employee relations teams can work with both managers and employees to make this happen.

Encourage productivity without being “big brother”

Your managers probably don’t stand over their employees’ shoulders when they are in the office. Still, some managers want their remote employees to turn on their cameras, be instantly available on Slack and never step away to get a drink. This is not practical and it’s not flexible.

Employee relations (ER) can work with managers to focus on results and outcomes, rather than whether someone is instantly available when a manager reaches out to them. ER can help managers to set team goals that can be measured by performance and not face time on a video chat, which will help them to distinguish between visibility and performance. ER can achieve this through one-on-one coaching, group training or on-the-fly feedback.

There’s an employee side to this as well. Employees need to understand that flexibility doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. Non-exempt employees still need to track their hours accurately. Managers can set the hours that they expect people to be working – just like in the office – for everyone. Teach people the difference between putting a quick load of laundry in the washing machine and babysitting your sister’s kids for the day “since you’re home anyway.” Boundaries are essential for managers and employees alike. Clear communication and guidelines from ER can eliminate awkward conversations.

Cater to the individual

Some employees desperately need to be in the office to succeed and this doesn’t make them bad employees. Not everyone works well alone, and not everyone has an ideal work-from-home situation. Likewise, some employees work 10 times better in the quiet of their own homes. Others perform best in a hybrid situation.

Help managers and employees to figure out what works best for employees and the core functions of each job. Grocery store cashiers will always need to work in the office, but a graphic design team might be best with a hybrid situation. This requires careful thought and back-and-forth conversations between managers and their employees. ER team members can be called on to facilitate.

Each situation will be different, so it will take a concerted effort by ER to figure out what works best for each department. There’s no one-size-fits all policy here, but if you can help managers learn to listen to their employees, you’ll see great results.

Remember analytics

The best way of teaching managers how to evaluate employees is to use analytics to determine performance. You can look across your organization and see where poor performers cluster. Or where your turnover is. Is it under a particular manager? Is it people working in the office? What are the key differences between people who stay and people who leave?

Each business may have different answers to these questions. That’s what makes your data so important. ER can jump in and fix these pain points when you spot a trend or anomaly. Is it a manager who hovers too much? Or is it an unbearable workload? Or is there a bully lurking in the design team?

Work with your data to uncover these problems, and then work with your people to solve them. A good ER person knows how to translate data into actions that can make a difference.

During the last two years, things have certainly changed in the way we work. ER can help everyone as the workplace continues to evolve. Giving managers and employees the support they need to continue to navigate the new world of hybrid and remote work can make a world of difference for our employees. People may stumble a bit as they learn, but with employee relations there to catch them, you can wind up with a great place to work.

Can’t Afford Raises? 15 Alternative Ways To Keep Top Talent On Board

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 15:44:54 GMT

Working through the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic decline that followed has been challenging for people across all industries.

By the Forbes Coaches Council for forbes.com

Working through the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic decline that followed has been challenging for people across all industries. As a manager, you should look for ways to support your team and make them feel valued during these difficult times. But in an unpredictable economy with already-tight budgets, you may not have the money for raises.

To help you find creative solutions for retaining top talent through lean times, the experts of Forbes Coaches Council shared alternative ways to recognize and reward employees.

If you’re lacking the funds to boost salaries at the moment, try these strategies for boosting morale among your team members to make them feel valued in other ways.

Forbes Coaches Council members explore ways to retain top talent when there isn't money to raise salaries.

1. Find Each Employee’s Individual Motivation ‘Lever’

“ Money” is the worst possible motivator: It is expensive, and it doesn’t work. Every person has his or her own personal levers of engagement and motivation: Fun. Authority. Development. Responsibility. Autonomy. Respect. Recognition. Challenge. Variety. Safety. Figure out what each individual needs, then figure out how to best work towards it. - Antonio Garrido , Absolute Sales Development

2. Make Recognition A Regular Habit

Recognition is much more than awards and pay. It’s acknowledging people regularly for their strengths and their performance. This doesn’t only apply when they’ve gone above and beyond; recognize your employees for simply doing their job. When you make it a habit to point these things out in your conversations, emails and meetings, your employees will be more engaged and loyal and will enjoy work more. - Arathi Ramappa , Arathi Concepts LLC

3. Thank Them For A Job Well Done

Always remember that money is not the only motivator. People stay loyal and motivated when they feel valued by their leaders. It can be as simple as a thank-you, recognition of a job well done, a personal conversation acknowledging good work or a handwritten note. Recently, a company’s employees volunteered to cut their salaries to help their leader save their jobs because they love what they do. - Christine Mann , MANN Consulting, LLC

4. Share What Their Role In Your Vision For The Future Is

Inspire people to want to work with you and each other by sharing your vision and their role in it. Money may be tight, but your eyes are on the future. Tell them about three indicators informing your vision for the future and why those give you confidence. Assure your people that they are building the foundation for a future in which all of them play a part. Be honest, specific, visionary and hopeful. - Kelly Tyler Byrnes , Voyage Consulting Group

5. Let Them Contribute To Their Own Well-Being

Recognize them by allowing them to contribute to their own well-being and the overall success of your organization. Engage them in identifying current strengths and challenges and evolving plans for becoming even more effective, including improving their experience working for you. Often the biggest “reward” is making it clear how much you value and need their input, and then acting on it. - Joel M. Rothaizer , Clear Impact Consulting Group

6. Recognize Their Humanity

The most meaningful way to recognize employees amidst the pandemic economy with a growing social divide is to first and foremost recognize their very humanity. Go beyond the diversity, inclusion, equity and rewards programs to recognize each employee’s unique challenges as the year unfolds. Prioritize time, space and opportunity for them to thrive and reach their goals by guiding their growth. - Kasthuri Henry , KasHenry Inc

7. Rally Everyone Behind A Common Purpose

People want to feel good about their efforts, and their contributions must be recognized. When everyone is behind a common purpose, then their value-add is palpable, particularly when leaders and those they lead roll up their sleeves and work together as a team to achieve their purpose. The feeling of belonging to something bigger and purposeful is more powerful than any monetary compensation. - Jorge Gutierrez , BMOC Group

8. Start With Small But Meaningful Gestures

Appreciation and recognition rank higher in motivating individuals than monetary incentives. Here are some ideas for showing appreciation: Write a heartfelt thank-you card recognizing the impact they’ve had on your company. Give them a glowing recommendation on LinkedIn if you believe they deserve it. Start with small, meaningful gestures, such as a gift card for personal chef service. - Yamini Virani , Celebrus Business Strategies

9. Train Your Managers In Emotional Intelligence

The research says that one of the most important elements of employee satisfaction and retention is the relationship they have with their immediate supervisor. Supervisors who have stronger emotional intelligence capabilities tend to have warmer and more supportive relationships with their teams. Hence, high-quality, directed supervisory training can improve employee retention. - Susan Madsen , Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

10. Communicate An Emotionally-Driven Purpose

Most employees want to feel part of something bigger and proud about it. In addition to rewards and positive feedback, leaders can inspire others by consistently and regularly communicating a clear purpose that people connect with emotionally. It is easy to get mired in the day-to-day details; step back and connect those details to a broader vision. It doesn’t usually require money, but it does require intentionality. - Charles Dormer , APEX STP, LLC

11. Get Employees Directly Involved In The Company

Money is the result of successful work and not a sustainable source of motivation. Other important forms of remuneration include having fun, working on something great, recognizing and appreciating colleagues and the feeling of having achieved something challenging. Coming from this mindset, rather than just exchanging their time for money, it is better to help employees feel involved directly in the company. - Michael Thiemann , Strategy-Lab™

12. Seek Value Alignment With Your Employees

From the beginning, recruit people whose values align with yours. This builds a positive atmosphere and culture, which resonates with people and keeps them on board. Consult with your people, find out what motivates them and build collaborative solutions that inspire their loyalty and commitment. People like to feel included, valued and that their contribution makes a difference. - Mary Gregory , Mary Gregory Ltd

13. Offer Flexibility

In 2021, people value flexibility more than ever. If someone is within a role that can be effectively carried out through flexible work, then offer this. Not only is this hugely rewarding for employees, but it also gives them a sense of comfort, knowing that you trust them to carry out their role effectively and manage their own time. - Rebecca Patterson , Rebecca Patterson

14. Be Specific In Your Appreciation

Tell them often, and with as much detail as possible, what you appreciate about them. Go beyond, “I appreciate you” to “I am grateful I have someone on my team who is so good with clients,” or “I feel lucky to have someone on the team who is so good at problem-solving.” The key is to be specific, sincere and systematic in your approach. - Cheryl Czach , Cheryl Czach Coaching and Consulting, LLC

15. Provide Opportunities To Work On A Cause

Money typically isn’t the motivator most owners think it is. Setting your employees up to work on a cause they feel is greater than themselves and then showing appreciation for their efforts is usually a better way to reward them. - Donald Hatter , Donald Hatter Inc .

11 Trends that Will Shape Work in 2022 and Beyond

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 21:00:59 GMT

We’ve been living through the greatest workplace disruption in generations and the level of volatility will not slow down in 2022.
by Brian Kropp and Emily Rose McRae for Harvard Business Revie w

At the start of 2021, many of us expected the world to return to normalcy. Vaccines were starting to roll out, and many executives felt like it would be a matter of a few short months before we would all return to the workplace .

But 2021 was more volatile than expected, with the rise of new Covid variants, a massive war for talent, quit rates at an all-time high, and the highest inflation levels in a generation.

The level of volatility will only increase in 2022. New variants will continue to emerge and may cause workplaces to temporarily go remote again. Hybrid work will create more unevenness around where, when, and how much different employees are working. Many employees will be greeted with real wage cuts as annual compensation increases fall behind inflation. These realities will be layered on top of longer-term technological transformation, continued DE&I journeys, and ongoing political disruption and uncertainty.

Here are 11 underlying trends that will shape workplace volatility in 2022:

1. Fairness and equity will be the defining issues for organizations.

Debates that have fairness at the core, whether it’s around race, climate change, or Covid vaccine distribution, have become flashpoints in society. According to our analysis of S&P 500 earnings calls, the frequency with which CEOs talk about issues of equity, fairness and inclusion on these calls has increased by 658% since 2018.

And questions of fairness and equity are emerging in new ways:

Who has access to flexible work? We’ve seen organizations where some managers allow their employees flexibility while other managers don’t.
What happens when employees move to locations with a lower cost of living? Should employers lower their compensation even though the impact of their work hasn’t changed?
In today’s labor market, companies are paying 20% compensation premiums to hire new employees. Is it fair to pay new employees so much more than established employees?
Companies are offering new, targeted investments for specific segments of their workforce (e.g., additional financial resources to support employees with children). While these investments are critical to help those employees do their job, employees without children have asked “Why are employees who are parents getting something and I’m not?”

In 2022, executives will need to address how they are managing fairness and equity across the increasingly varied employee experience. In fact, this will be the number one priority for HR executives next year .

2. Despite a strong push, a significant number of employers will not adopt a vaccine mandate, instead relying on testing to keep their workplaces safe.

In January 2021, less than 2% of companies were planning to implement a Covid vaccine mandate . That number steadily increased across the year before plateauing at the end of 2021 at less than 50%. Even with the rise of the Omicron variant, 2022 will not see a significant increase in the number of companies putting a mandate in place. Instead, roughly half of large employers will maintain a testing option in order to comply with the Biden administration rules.

There are several factors causing this. First, employers are concerned that a vaccine mandate will cause a mass turnover event. A Gartner survey found that heads of HR expect to see nearly 7% of the workforce quit if they put a mandate in place. While 7% may not seem like a significant number, and might be an overestimate, whatever turnover occurs will not distribute evenly. Some departments in some geographies might see turnover rates of 15%.

Second, many employers are concerned that a vaccine mandate might not survive a series of ongoing court challenges. Given that risk, they are hesitant to adopt a mandate that may be reversed at some point in the future.

Third, some employers don’t feel that they have the right to make this decision for their employees and contend that it is still an issue of employee choice.

Finally, uncertainty over what being vaccinated means (e.g., do you have to have a booster shot in order to be considered vaccinated?) creates complexity in managing the entire process. Despite the additional effort of managing a testing process, a significant percentage of companies will continue to do so rather than implement a full vaccine mandate.

3. To compete in the war for knowledge worker talent, some companies will shorten the work week rather than increase pay.

Employers are offering significant compensation increases to attract and retain talent in today’s market . Our research has shown that in the U.S., year-to-date salary increases have been more than 4%, compared to a historical norm of 2%.

But when we also consider inflation, real wages have declined. And if inflation continues to rise, employers will find the compensation they offer will be worth less and less in terms of purchasing power for employees.

While some companies are able to compete for talent through compensation alone, others don’t have the financial resources to do so. Rather than trying to win the war for talent by increasing compensation, we are seeing some employers reduce the number of hours worked by employees and keeping compensation flat.

Historically, as wages rise, leisure time becomes more valuable and appealing to workers. Reducing the hours employees need to work gives less liquid employers a better chance to compete with organizations that offer higher overall compensation but don’t offer reduced hours. Ultimately, we’re likely to see a handful of organizations adopt 32-hour work weeks with the same compensation as a new way to compete for knowledge workers.

4. Employee turnover will continue to increase as hybrid and remote work become the norm for knowledge workers.

Flexibility around how, where, and when people work is no longer a differentiator, it’s now table stakes. In the U.S., employees expect flexibility within their job as much as they expect a 401(k). Employers that don’t offer flexibility will see increased turnover as employees move to roles that offer a value proposition that better aligns with their desires.

Unfortunately for many organizations, increasing flexibility will not slow turnover in today’s tight labor market ; in fact, turnover will increase, for two reasons.

First, there will be weaker forces keeping employees in seats. Employees that work hybrid or remotely have fewer friends at work and thus weaker social and emotional connections with their coworkers. These weaker connections make it easier for employees to quit their job by reducing the social pressure that can encourage employees to stay longer.

Second, there will be stronger forces enticing employees away as the pool of potential employers increases. With hybrid and remote work as the norm, the geographic radius of the organizations that someone can work for also expands. This increased attrition risk remains even in a hybrid model where employees are expected to come into the office at least once a week. Employees are much more willing to take on a longer commute when they must do so less frequently; the pool of potential employers expands alongside employees’ commute tolerance.

These factors will lead to sustained, higher turnover rates compared to any historical norms. The great resignation will shift to the sustained resignation.

5. Managerial tasks will be automated away, creating space for managers to build more human relationships with their employees.

The manager-employee relationship has become more important than ever; for hybrid and remote employees, their managers are the primary connection through which they experience their employer. Managers are also the first line in surfacing and elevating fairness concerns and can make the difference between a highly public walkout or a co-created solution to employee concerns.

At the same time, HR tech vendors have been creating products that replace an increasing number of repeatable managerial tasks, such as scheduling, approving expense reports, and monitoring direct reports’ completion of tasks. The next generation of technology will start to replace additional managerial tasks, such as providing performance feedback and supporting employees in building new peer-to-peer connections. Our research shows that up to 65% of the tasks that a manager currently does has the potential to be automated by 2025.

With this growth in automation, companies will be faced with a choice: decrease the number of managers or change the expectations of what it means to be a manager.

Organizations that stretch managers’ spans of control across more direct reports will enable companies to decrease labor costs as they will need fewer managers. Organizations that choose to change the expectations for their managers will need to change managers’ mindsets and skill sets from managing tasks to managing the full experience of employees. This goes beyond managing employees’ specific responsibilities and extends to managing their perception of their career trajectories, the impact of work on their personal lives, and their relationship with the organization as a whole. While this shift may slow attrition, it requires substantially empowering managers.

6. The tools that we use to work remotely will become the tools that help measure and improve performance.

When work becomes more geographically dispersed, managers have less insight into what work their employees are doing. This leads to inaccurate and potentially biased performance ratings based upon where employees work rather than the impact they are having. A Gartner survey in the fall of 2020 of nearly 3,000 managers revealed that 64% of managers and executives believe in-office employees are higher performers than remote employees, and 76% believe in-office workers are more likely to be promoted.

Moving forward, the same tools that employees are currently using to work in a virtual environment will be used to assess the contributions that employees are making. For example, during virtual meetings, new technologies will be able to provide background information about the other people on the call. By knowing more about who is on the call, participants will be able to focus on the issues that are of the most importance to them.

Collaboration technology can also nudge employees to behave in different ways that improve the overall set of interactions across employees. For example, it can nudge managers to call on people who have not been as active in the meeting compared to other people. These nudges will cause participants to adjust the types of interactions they have to improve the quality of the meeting.

7. The complexity of managing a hybrid workforce will drive some employers to require a return to the office.

More than 90% of employers are planning to adopt a hybrid working model for their knowledge workers in 2022. While that will define the start of the year, we expect that there will be numerous high-profile companies that change course and demand that employees return, full time, to the office. Factors driving this shift will include:

Poor business performance that CEOs try to explain away as being caused by hybrid work
Heightened turnover of employees working a hybrid schedule
Anecdotal reporting of hybrid employees working multiple jobs at the same time
Perceived loss of organizational culture

However, organizations that implement a hard return to the office will quickly find that the challenges that they were facing were due to other underlying factors. Demanding employees return to the office will only further exacerbate turnover rates.

8. Wellness will become the newest metric that companies use to understand their employees.

For years, executives have experimented with different metrics, such as employee satisfaction or engagement, to understand their employees. In 2022, organizations will add in new measures that assess their mental, physical, and financial health.

Many companies expanded the wellness support they provided to their employees in the wake of the pandemic. A Gartner 2020 survey of 52 HR executives found that:

94% of companies made significant investments in their well-being programs
85% increased support for mental health benefits
50% increased support for physical well-being
38% increased support for financial well-being

These programs work for those that take advantage of them. Gartner analysis shows that employees who utilize these benefits report 23% higher levels of mental health, 17% higher levels of physical health, and are 23% more likely to say they sleep well at night. These improvements in personal outcomes translate to higher levels of performance and retention.

However, there has been limited uptake of these programs by employees. Across the last 12 months, our data shows that less than 40% of employees have taken advantage of any well-being offering provided by their employer.

In 2022, organizations will adopt new employee well-being measures that capture the financial health, mental health, and physical health of their employees to more accurately predict employee performance and retention.

9. The chief purpose officer will be the next major C-level role.

Issues of politics, culture, and social debate have fully entered the workplace. Employees have been asked to bring their whole self to work as organizations try to create a more inclusive and productive work environment. This is fundamentally different than a decade ago when employees were expected to leave their personal perspectives “at the door.”

Employees also expect their employer to get more involved in the societal and political debates of the day; Gartner analysis found three out of four employees expect their employer to take a view on the societal and political debates of the day.

The combination of these factors is creating conflict in the workplace — a Gartner 2020 survey of more than 500 employees revealed that 44% of employees have actively avoided coworkers because of their political beliefs. Further, Gartner analysis found employee engagement can drop by one-third when employees are disappointed with their employer’s stance on the societal and political debates of the day.

The shifting nature of organizations — how they relate to their employees, communities, and their role in society — is creating the next, new major C-suite role that will emerge in 2022: the chief purpose officer. Currently, these responsibilities are widely diffused across HR, legal, communications, and other roles in the organization. In 2022, these will be consolidated into this new role as ESG becomes even more important to corporate strategies .

10. Sitting is the new smoking.

The shift to working remotely has impacted employees in various ways. Some responded by increasing physical activity and losing weight (35%); however, more became increasingly sedentary (40%) and gained weight, likely due to the lost physical movement associated with commuting and walking around from meeting to meeting in the workplace. The discrepancy in physical movement across segments of the workforce will increase the health risks faced by some remote workers.

In response, organizations will adopt new communication plans, benefits, and technologies to support the physical movement of their remote employees to improve their health. Much like with traditional wellness programs, engagement with these physical wellness programs will often be fairly lackluster, and some companies will go too far and elicit a backlash from employees who don’t think their employer has a role in their physical health. These physical wellness programs also carry DE&I risks, as they could harm the engagement of employees with disabilities.

11. DE&I outcomes will worsen in a hybrid world without intervention.

Gartner analysis has identified that employees who work remotely or on a hybrid schedule perform at equal levels compared to employees who work in the office. However, managers believe that people who work from the office are higher performing and more likely to be promoted than people who work from home. This misguided belief is reinforced by high-profile senior executives making public statements that hybrid and remote employees underperform . Given this, managers are more likely to promote and give bigger raises to their employees who come into the office compared to those who don’t — even though there is no sustained difference in performance between the two groups.

Data also shows that in a hybrid world, women and people of color prefer to work from home compared to white men. Given that, without intervention, gender wage gaps will widen and the degree of diversity within leadership benches will weaken. Without greater intentionality, underrepresented talent could be excluded from critical conversations, career opportunities and other networks that drive career growth.

We’ve all been living through the greatest workplace disruption in generations and the pace will not slow down. What will change is how variable that disruption becomes. In 2022, leaders will need to learn how to thrive in a period of disruption that plays out unevenly across their organizations.

Empathy In The Workplace Is Not Only Walking In Someone’s Shoes— It’s Understanding And Taking Action

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 21:58:11 GMT

Now is the time to shift from transactional interactions to empathetic experiences that earn loyalty

By Jack Kelly for forbes.com

It took a global pandemic for many business leaders to wake up and recognize the need to treat their workers with empathy, respect and dignity. Up until recently, it was accepted practices for CEOs, executives and middle managers to rule with an iron fist.

Workers were paid to do their jobs, and that’s it. There weren't any open and honest conversations held about the mental health and well-being of their employees. The old-school mindset was that if you showed some compassion, it's a sign of weakness.

Progressive CEOs, like Tony Bates , CEO of tech company Genesys , former head of Skype and GoPro and current board member of eBay and VMware, exemplifies the new breed of empathetic leaders. Empathy is the concept of not only walking in someone else's shoes, but also understanding what they are going through and taking action.

Leaders of the most successful companies in this new fast-growing digital economy recognize empathy is not just a buzzword—it’s a proven business strategy that can save corporate culture, while also driving KPIs, as shown in a recent study from the Harvard Business Review that found loyalty leaders grow revenue 2.5X, compared to their peers .

Now is the time to shift from transactional interactions to empathetic experiences that earn customer loyalty. Companies need to manage their businesses from the vantage point of two mission critical assets of their business—the employees and their customers—putting empathy into action, resulting in becoming highly successful.

Bates also leads by example in his personal life. Along with his wife, Bates compassionately works with the Child Mind Institute , a nonprofit dedicated to children struggling with mental health and providing working parents with the tools needed to spot depression in children.

Bates and the Child Mind Institute launched a program centered on balancing child care, work and self-care, coping with fatigue, sadness, isolation, noticing signs of stress in kids and when to worry and parenting kids with ADHD, special needs or depression.

Bates is also on a mission to break down the stigma of mental health by putting company initiatives and policies in place at Genesys that provide resources for its 6,000 employees, particularly working parents, in this age of pandemic parenting.

Technology advancements have greatly improved our lives. There are some downsides too. Without considering the consequences, many businesses deploy artificial intelligence, apps, platforms, software and systems that are at times frustratingly hard to navigate and alienate customers. It's important to thoughtfully consider the experience of clients, consumers and workers. To this end, Genesys , the global leader in cloud customer experience and contact center solutions , gauged the sentiments of 5,000 adults across the world about their customer service experiences.

Here are the highlights of the study:

While a majority (71%) believe that customer service has become more personalized in the last five years through the use of technology, nearly half (48%) still note a distinct lack of compassion in their treatment.

Just 21% say their customer service experiences have become "much more" personalized. Fully half of those surveyed (50%) say their experiences are only "somewhat more" personalized, leaving a lot of room for improvement.

When contacting a company to resolve a support issue, just over half (52%) of survey respondents feel they're shown empathy when they need help. What's worse, participants sense this lack of commiseration from companies with which they regularly do business.

Younger consumers especially recognize the benefits of personalization. They know what they want, how they want it and when and are more willing to share personal details to get it. A full three-quarters of Millennials (76%) and Gen-Zers (76%) in the survey say customer service experiences have become more personalized in the last five years, compared to 69% of Gen-Xers and 66% of Boomers.

Consumers of varying ages expect different levels of empathy, with older generations wanting more understanding from organizations. While most Gen-Zers (63%) believe businesses work to resolve issues with empathy, only half of Gen-Xers (50%) and even fewer Boomers (47%) feel the same.

Perhaps because they're more accustomed to exercising patience, parents seem a bit more likely to hear empathy from customer service representatives. More than three in five parents (61%) say companies show empathy when resolving an issue, significantly more than their child-free peers (48%).

The Genesys survey data also shows that the degree to which consumers recognize personalized service varies depending on where they live. While consumers in Germany (77%) and the U.K. (75%) are the most likely to say that customer service has become more personalized in the past five years, a full third of those in Japan (34%) and New Zealand (33%) think service has become less personalized.

U.S. respondents were the most likely to say they experience empathy from their service providers (58%). It's the reverse in Germany (47%) and Japan (40%), where less than half said the businesses they deal with feel their pain.

Rather surprisingly, city dwellers (58%) are considerably more satisfied with the level of empathy they receive than participants in the suburbs and rural areas (both at 49%). Perhaps, the pace of city life leaves less time for pleasantries, so the empathy bar is lower?

Similar to the global results, 70% of U.S. respondents believe customer service has become more personalized in the last five years. However, 29% see a "much more" personalized experience, versus the 41% who notice "somewhat more" personalization.

Of the rural U.S. participants, 62% notice increased personalization through technology compared to 71% in suburban and 74% in urban areas.

Older folks expect more understanding from the companies with whom they do business. When it comes to gauging empathy, Gen-Xers (63%), Millennials (62%) and Gen-Zers (61%) are similar in their outlook, while Boomers at 51% drag down the U.S. average.

Two-thirds of U.S. survey participants who have children (67%) see companies as empathetic, compared to just 54% of singletons.

Merijn te Booij, GM and EVP of the Genesys Employee Engagement solutions business unit, said about the findings, "Businesses that recognize the inextricable link between empathy and truly personalized experiences hold the key to establishing customer trust and long-term loyalty—especially as we navigate the longer-term impacts of Covid-19."

To learn more about empathy in the workplace, Bates co-authored the book, Empathy In Action .

Why 2022 is the Year of Workplace Culture

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 16:18:56 GMT

The year 2022 will be focused on workplace culture.
By Caroline Crastillon for forbes.com

A new year offers employers the opportunity to reflect on how their organization has adapted to recent challenges. It’s also the perfect time to reimagine workplace culture. That's because employers have struggled to recruit and retain top talent in recent months. And according to a new report from Glassdoor , the tight labor market trends will continue into 2022.

One key to winning the war for top talent is a renewed focus on company culture. The organizations that succeed will rethink employee engagement and develop an employee-centric work environment. Let’s look at five emerging trends and why 2022 is the year of workplace culture.

Flexible work will become permanent

A Harvard Business School survey found that 81% of employees who have been working from home through the pandemic either don't want to go back or prefer a hybrid schedule. "As we're preparing to get back to business as usual, it seems professionals don't want 'business as usual,'" said Harvard Business School executive director Patrick Mullane. "They want flexibility from their employers to allow them to maintain the new work/home balance and productivity they have come to enjoy." Prioritizing flexibility also demonstrates that employers value their employee’s health and well-being. To recruit top performers, embracing a flexible workplace culture will be essential.

Employee recognition will become more important

As we enter a new world of hybrid and remote work, employers will have to reconsider how they define visibility in the workplace. That includes building trust and leveraging data that provides more insight into employee engagement and performance. One key driver of employee engagement is recognition. Yet, a recent Quantum Workplace report revealed that employee recognition is trending downward. At the peak of the pandemic, 81% of employees said they knew they would be recognized if they contributed to the organization's success. However, this percentage dropped to 72% by May of 2021. Employees need to feel appreciated to be satisfied and productive. By creating a workplace culture that celebrates recognition, companies will attract and retain top talent.

Connection will drive workplace culture

ADP Research Institute found that U.S. workers who feel strongly connected to their employer are 75 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not feel connected. With connection being another driver of employee engagement, companies will need to increase their focus on people-centered programs. According to a Gartner survey , those initiatives include diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, which now rank in HR leaders' top priorities for 2022.

Employee development will become a priority

More and more teams have taken on new or changing roles in the last 12 to 18 months. As a result, many workers want to broaden their skillsets. Without opportunities for advancement, employees can feel stagnant and unchallenged. By facilitating professional development, employers ensure their teams remain at the forefront of industry trends and best practices. While this makes employees more valuable, it also gives companies a competitive edge. Another benefit is that workers who receive ongoing training are more likely to stay with the company. When organizations invest in their employees, their abilities, engagement, and retention rates grow.

Technology will play a pivotal role in workplace culture

When technology is well-integrated with a company’s culture, there is a 5x higher likelihood of employee engagement and a 47% lower chance of attrition, according to O.C. Tanner’s 2021 Global Culture Report . With employees more dispersed than ever before, the role of technology in workplace culture can’t be overstated. Applications must be personalized, integrated and easy to use. And the good news is that most employees feel good about the future of technology in the workplace. Based on the O.C. Tanner study, 77% of employees believe advanced technology will improve their work experience, even in organizations where it has eliminated jobs. That’s because they know that it will establish a greater connection with the organization and one another.

There is no question that the pandemic has given workers the upper hand over employers. And the need to build cohesive teams is greater than ever. So how can organizations win the talent war? By cultivating a workplace culture that engages, rewards and, most of all, inspires.

How to Celebrate Holidays (Inclusively) at Work

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:48:28 GMT

Diversity of Workers Means Diversity of Holidays

By Megan Rogers for gather.com

Whether faith-based or cultural, holidays and celebrations are a window into the values of your employee. However, certain holidays receive more attention than others in the workplace. Workplace celebrations are tangible signals of what matters to your organization. It’s important to evaluate which traditions are being highlighted, and which ones might be missing.

Diversity of Workers Means Diversity of Holidays

A balance of perspectives leads to more innovation, 87% better decisions , and often prevents big mistakes. However, it’s unlikely that your diverse talent will share their perspectives and ideas if they don’t feel included. The first step is changing company systems and policies to reflect the diversity of your employees.

Tact and Intentionality

Rather than stress about making the perfect inclusion plan, understand that steps forward aren’t always perfect. As long as your management team is thoughtful and takes a genuine interest in the backgrounds and beliefs of their employees, the outcome is bound to be a net positive.

The First Steps

ASK. ASK. ASK.

The best way to know what your employees care about is to ask. Integrate asking about what holidays employees would like to see recognized into your onboarding process and check in yearly for changes. Consider consulting with your legal advisors to know which questions are appropriate to ask, and be aware that these questions can be personal and sensitive. Keep answering entirely optional.

Some questions to consider asking:

What holidays would you like to see recognized in the office?
What cultural celebrations are important to you?
Is there anything else we should know about the holidays that are important to you?

From here, this information about your employees should inform the path forward.

The First Changes to Make

Use the right tools to hold you accountable for remembering your office’s important celebrations. Some ways to make your systems and policies inclusive:

Representative Leadership. Having diverse leadership in Employee Resource Groups and a variety of perspectives is the best way to avoid insensitive mistakes.
Floating Holidays . Offer flexibility for holiday celebrations. Consider offering floating holidays as part of your paid holiday schedule.
Multicultural Calendar. Upload the holidays that employees celebrate in the company calendar, or create a separate calendar to be displayed in the workplace.
Holiday Announcements Slack Message. Consider incorporating a monthly Slack message about holidays coming up, and offer employees the chance to include a blurb about their holiday. Always ask for permission first before sharing what employees celebrate.

Be aware of employee backgrounds

‍ For example, don’t schedule the holiday party on a day that some employees are fasting for Ramadan.

TIP: A global holiday calendar for the busy holiday season can help to avoid scheduling a meeting during an important holiday. Google Calendars offers an “Add Calendars” feature with calendar add-ins for most countries, religions, and cultural holidays.

Be aware of alcohol‍

Many Muslims don’t drink, and many others prefer to avoid alcohol for other personal reasons.

TIP: Consider having the first part of the party, such as the one with speeches, announcements, and awards, be without alcohol. Then, transition to a more free-flowing event once most of the party itinerary has been covered.

Make holidays non-specific

‍ Make sure decor isn’t super specific to any religion, and be conscious of religious and non-religious dietary restrictions.

TIP: Consider planning a New Year’s party instead of a holiday party. Let the theme of the New Year’s party be about the company’s goals for the new year, and the values that employees can rally around as part of your organization. Venue reservations before or after peak holiday season are much more affordable. These dates are often more convenient for employees as well.

Make holidays truly optional

‍ The holidays can be a hurtful time for those experiencing depression, or the loss of a loved one that they would have celebrated with. For some, steering clear of celebrations is the best option.

TIP: Communicate that employees are not obligated to attend. Keep tabs on who may need support and make a thoughtful effort to communicate your appreciation for them.

Encourage group participation

‍ Rather than a select few members planning the holiday celebration, allow employees to have a voice and share their stories through decor and multicultural events.

TIP: Allow employees to bring in decorations from their faith and background, so that the office can be inclusively decorated in the winter months. This decoration day also works for a potluck. Employees can opt to bring in holiday dishes from their culture, or their favorite winter treats.

Inclusive Cultural Celebrations

Time off of work doesn’t necessarily need to be the solution for celebrations and inclusivity. Often, cultural holidays can be celebrated in the workplace community and can be used to bring awareness.

Examples of cultural holidays include:

Black History Month - February.
Women’s History Month - March
Autism Awareness Month - April
Pride Month - June
Juneteenth - June Nineteenth

Ways to Celebrate Include:

Get involved outside the office. Invite the office to join in for the local Pride Parade. Send out a Facebook invite, details on where to meet, and consider grabbing a meal beforehand.
Get involved in the office. Host a panel discussion for Black History Month. Have an external speaker to come in and teach about LGBTQ+ history.
Highlight Support Groups Available. If there’s an office group that fundraises and hosts events related to that topic, give them the spotlight to ask for donations or plan an awareness event.

The Path Forward

Employees perform best when they feel seen and understood. We hope that celebrating the diversity of your employees is one small step towards creating a more inclusive work environment, and that this inclusivity propels your business forward.

10 Key Talent and Leadership Trends to Expect in 2022

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 17:45:26 GMT

With a shrinking talent pool, employers are searching non-traditional places to find the people and skills they need — a trend that could continue in the year ahead.

By Arina Sofiah for humanresourcesonline.net

Employee turnover, the rise of the career nomad, a greater focus on internal mobility — these are some of the key trends employers can expect in 2022, according to recent findings by Korn Ferry.

In particular, the study has identified 10 key talent and leadership trends to keep an eye on, based on inputs from organizational, talent and leadership experts from across the globe.

1. The Great Resignation is only going to amplify

For some time, companies have struggled with a shrinking talent pool, but the global pandemic accelerated this talent shortage — in fact, a recent Korn Ferry survey showed that 55% of professionals believe employee turnover will increase in 2022, while 31% say they would leave their job even if they do not have another one lined up.

To adapt to this issue, companies are increasing starting salaries, offering more long-term incentives and benefits, and paying sign-on bonuses, even for less-senior hires.

2. The rise of the career nomad

The pandemic has also spurred a change in the way we work — employees can now work anywhere, everywhere, and at any time.

As a result, however, 32% of professionals say they will not go back to the office full time. Similarly, 36% of professionals say they plan to take a different job in the near future because the pandemic has allowed them to re-evaluate what they want and the change they need.

3. Re-establishing connections with colleagues

In 2022, leaders should actively create opportunities for deeper connections within their companies, or risk employees going deeper into silos. organizations must instill a culture of listening, understanding and inspiring employees to feel more connected.

This is especially important given how the pandemic has brought on the move from hour-long in-person meetings, to condensed, half-hour Zoom calls.

4. The people you have will become the people you need

In relation to the first trend, a talent shortage means organizations will start to focus more on internal mobility, and reskilling and upskilling existing employees to prevent attrition and fill niche roles.

To achieve their reskilling goals, some companies are doubling down on their training, development, coaching, and mentorship programs and creating more on-the-job learning experiences, while others are investing in new technologies to help advance careers.

5. Moving from disruption to reinvention

The pandemic has largely shed light on how organizations change what they did and how they did it because they had to, without much consideration or planning for the future.

Taking it further, if companies can harness the agility and flexibility shown by their workforces, they also can make use of the opportunity to reinvent themselves for a new age — i.e., finding solutions for shortages, climate change, digital acceleration, supply chain issues, and ever-shifting consumer demands.

6. Walking the talk in sustainability

ESG and sustainability issues are now firmly on the boardroom agenda and there will be more pressure on organizations to take action in 2022.

More and more organizations are waking up to the reality that science alone will not get them where they need to be. Meaningful transformation requires changes in mindset and skillsets.

7. Employee wellbeing takes centre stage

Unsurprisingly, employees feel increasingly burnt out from an abundance of virtual meetings, a lack of connectedness to colleagues, a lack of separation between work and home, and a myriad of personal challenges rising from the pandemic and social unrest.

Organizations are increasingly putting employee wellbeing centre stage , far beyond mental health initiatives or fitness-related perks. On a wider scale, culture change is required. Leaders need to become skilled at discussing mental and personal health with team members—not an area of leadership development many have focused on before.

8. Wider representation of talent

To overcome the looming aforementioned talent shortage, organizations are easing up on job qualifications, such as four-year college degrees and set years of previous experience, as well as resume gaps. Interestingly, employers are also searching outside of their industry, within the retired workforce, and to other nontraditional places to find the people and skills they need.

9. Employers are accepting more accountability

As remote and hybrid working become normalized, leaders recognize that more time should be devoted to building new working cultures to match. It is likely that there will be frequent check-ins and continuous feedback, where agile, collaborative employees are most likely to thrive.

Increased accountability is hitting the C-suite, too. Corporate leaders are under increasing pressure to hire and develop people from underrepresented groups, pay workers equitably and take stands on social issues.

10. The shift from “me” to “we”

The disruption these past two years have brought us has taught the world that it pays to work together for good. Being a community doesn’t just give us meaning—it gets results. In the year ahead, employers can expect to see a rise in c ollaborative working practices and shared goals .

People Are Quitting Their Jobs En Masse — Here’s What You Can Do To Protect Your Company

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 22:28:50 GMT

People Are Quitting Their Jobs En Masse — Here’s What You Can Do To Protect Your Company

By John Berkowitz, CEO and co-founder of OJO Labs, for forbes.com

As millions of people emerge from what’s felt like a 15-month winter, business leaders need to inspire a recommitment from employees or be left wondering why they’ve just been hit with a deluge of resignation letters. Brought about by a Covid thaw, the coming months will feel like a global spring, with people buzzing as they step out of their homes after more than a year in social stasis.

As reentry gains momentum, Americans are set to reevaluate everything, from where and how they live, to where and how they work. It’s going to be a period of significant change. The optimist in me believes it’ll be great news for the dearth of housing inventory plaguing the market — which, as an executive in the real estate industry, I welcome — but, as a leader, I know there’s also going to be a huge set of fresh challenges.

The good news is that total housing inventory is beginning to trend upward, albeit still near record lows. Total housing inventory was at 1.16 million units at the end of April, according to recent data from the National Association of Realtors, which represents an increase of more than 10% from the previous month, but still down 20% from April 2020.

At the same time, home sales are up 20% year over year from January to April, according to the same report, so there’s this clear appetite for wanting to move, but simply not enough homes for sale on the market. OJO Labs’ home market of Austin, Texas, is ground zero for bidding wars and stiff competition in homeownership.

An increase in total inventory is going to mean more options and give more people a chance at becoming a homeowner — and experiencing all of the joy, safety and generational wealth-building that comes along with that. That’s all really exciting.

But, the same clarity in vision that’s going to be a boon to the housing market is going to rock the business world, and companies that aren’t preparing now are going to suffer. Executives across the country are about to face a massive churn as people begin to see what life will be like on the other side of the pandemic — and again, decide they want to try something new.

For many workers, these are incredibly exciting times. The change that’s coming is giving way to millions of new opportunities. There were more open jobs in April than at any other time in U.S. history, according to the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, released by the U.S. Department of Labor. At the end of the month, the number of openings reached 9.2 million.

Concurrently, the quit rate reached an all-time high of 2.7% in April of this year. So there are more openings than ever before and people are quitting at a higher rate than ever before. For some unprepared employers, it’s a potential nightmare scenario. For the ones with the foresight of what the expectations of a post-Covid world looks like, that means the job market is about to be saturated with talent.

With full alignment to your business model, one powerful way to inspire employee commitment is to connect them with a clear purpose. Articulating a reason to exist beyond making money provides a greater significance to the work and fuels employee passion, even as they reexamine every facet of their lives. It will also ensure your recruiting classes are full of equally passionate and energized new hires who picked your company over dozens of other opportunities.

I’ve seen it firsthand with the tremendous enthusiasm of our new hires. We’ve also had a couple of people leave the company because they didn’t agree with our laser focus on knocking down barriers to homeownership and making the housing journey more equitable, and that’s OK. We’re looking for folks who are fueled by working for a purpose-driven company.

A recent companywide employee engagement survey we conducted found that our median retention score was unchanged from December to June. That tells me people are still inspired by our purpose even as the world opens up, yet we need to make sure leadership is delivering operationally on the commitments we make or we risk losing a cohort of employees.

We’re managing employee engagement in other ways, too. We are constantly bringing our employees into the tent to help shape what our next phase of operations looks like. Holistically, we are taking into account differences across functions and roles, as we optimize our workplace for employee, business and societal impact. We power down a couple of weeks a year and have “unplugged” days off companywide to recharge.

As leaders, we should stress open and transparent communication between employees and leadership, which not only gives us a strong pathway to convey how our purpose defines our work but allows employees to feel comfortable holding leadership accountable to their purpose.

I know we need to lean into it now, more than ever. Every single one of us is waking up, looking in the mirror and asking ourselves, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” If your employees don’t have a compelling answer — one that permeates every facet of the business and is exemplified from the highest levels of the company — then they’re going to be looking elsewhere.

Sometimes, You Need to Cut the Toxic Ones Loose

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 22:36:39 GMT

Why Waiting for Just Cause Isn’t Always Worth It

Employers who are reading…raise hands if you have a toxic mess on your plate.

It can be so hard to justify keeping long term, yet toxic, employees for the simple fact that we have policies, procedures, and most importantly we have legal framework that can make it difficult.

What a lot of employees don’t know is that to prove Just Cause, things have to either be egregious beyond belief or disciplinary issues have to be consistently and thoroughly applied. A Just Cause dismissal can sometimes take a year or more to work on!

However, there lies the rub.

Some employers are so committed to proving Just Cause with longer term employees because they think it costs less in the long run. Why? Because they’ve taken a look at the cost of a Without Cause severance and thought “oh, that’s too much”. The problem is that these employees always know exactly when to behave and how to bully others and commit reprisals bad enough that no one else will want to come forward. As the cycle continues, employers become victims of the sunk cost fallacy.

Sunk Cost Fallacy - the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

We’re here to tell employers everywhere that sometimes, you’re better off cutting them loose and not falling prey to that sunk cost. Why? Here are some financial risks you could experience in keeping your toxic employee around.

Loss of Customers

As the story goes, if you have one of these people on your team chances are they might be treating clients similarly. Calculate that loss and potential loss against that severance. Even if they’re a darling to their customers, the service can still suffer if this person treats colleagues badly. By extending that poor treatment to others, they’re wasting precious service time and enthusiasm – but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Turnover

One of the biggest expenses for any company is turnover. If you’re lucky, it’s $10,000 per person. Work in a specialized field that’s harder to get staff or higher wage? Count for 20% of the leaving person’s salary as your turnover cost.

Loss of Productivity

Here’s a not-so-fun project to try. If you asked the affected staff how many hours a day they have to spend defending themselves against this person, shoving other clients down the queue because of this person, and even just having to step away and take a breather after a condescending interaction, you can calculate the total hours a year spent on this one staff member, divide the staff’s salary into hourly, and put them together. So, let’s say a 6-person team has to deal with person 7 for two hours a day and they all make around $40,000. You’re looking at $87,600 a year alone that’s wasted.

Legal Issues

Now, this is the nuclear “what if” but it’s important. Ask yourself if you want your company to be in the news because someone filed a Human Rights complaint against it – or if anyone decided to litigate the company in a civil case because they felt that the company’s inaction led to health issues and loss of income. It only takes one willing employee to do this. Your legal fees alone would make you cringe, but imagine losing the case. For the Human Rights Tribunal, look at what the maximum remedies are in your area. Now, even if your company wins or it doesn’t get very far you’re still losing money and reputation over one person.

Good Luck Hiring in the Future

Don’t we love Indeed, Glassdoor, Google, etc? The charming reviews that can go up and honestly, you can’t really do much about. It can actually sink your prospects with hiring talent. The only thing that is a brighter red flag than low pay to potential staff is the work environment. This doesn’t even count word-of-mouth feedback. You know for a fact that all those workers feeling small are telling all their friends about it and next thing you know, there’s an entire whisper network of people saying “don’t work there”. Savvy candidates will pass on you and will join your competitors instead.

So…how’s that severance package REALLY looking now?

In the end, run yourself a cost analysis and ask yourself… is this really worth keeping the workplace bully around just in the hopes to catch them enough for Just Cause? More often than not, the answer is no.

Protect your staff and brand using this one easy step…pay them out and show them the door.

What You Should Not Say When Employees Return to Work

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 17:49:01 GMT

As the boss, what you say goes. But first consider these important legal and interpersonal issues.

By Suzanne Lucas for INC.

Let's be clear. This column is about a return to the office but not return to work. Confusing the two is the first thing bosses should not do when talking with employees about plans to switch back to in-person work after a year of remote work. Somehow, many people think that working from home is not working, and therefore, it's just been a lovely 18 months of sitting at home, watching Netflix.

Your employees have been working very hard, so make sure you talk about it as a return to the office and not a return to work. Of course, if you laid people off and are now offering them their old jobs back, that language is fine. But not for the work-at-home crowd.

Here are four other things not to say:

1. If you aren't in the office, we'll change your status to contractor.

Washingtonian CEO Cathy Merrill said she felt like people who work from home should probably be considered contractors because they weren't dedicated to the business. Not only does this demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of labor law, but it's also demoralizing for your employees.

Contractor versus employee status isn't determined by your location (home or office) but by a complex set of regulations. If your employees aren't thrilled about being in the office, threats are not the way to go.

2. Everybody has to be in the office. No exceptions.

Managers, CEOs, and others in leadership roles indeed get to determine whether people work remotely or in the office. But never say never. Depending on someone's role and health conditions, working at home may be considered a "reasonable accommodation" under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Before the pandemic shut them down, businesses could often argue that physical presence was a core function of the job, but you'll be hard-pressed now to find a jury who will agree with you. If someone who has successfully worked from home for the past year now asks for an accommodation under ADA and you say no, you'll probably lose in court.

3. Engaged employees want to be in the office.

WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani claimed that engaged people are in the office and disengaged people want to work from home. There may be some truth overall to groups, but you cannot assume that about any individual in your office.

Some people are highly engaged remote workers and perform at a higher level at home than in the office. Some people love being in an office and find it difficult to concentrate at home. Deal with employees on an individual and true-needs basis.

4. The pandemic is over. I don't know why you're so scared to come in.

A recent Gallup survey found that nearly one in three Americans think the pandemic is over. Some people are fully vaccinated and are ready to throw the mask away and return to normal life. Some people won't get within 10 feet of the vaccine and are ready to throw the mask away and return to normal life. And some people are fully vaccinated and still don't feel comfortable being in public. Some people have rational reasons to be concerned about Covid-19, and some people have irrational reasons for their continued fear.

Regardless, as the boss, telling people they are stupid for their feelings won't help matters. You can assure your employees that you follow all CDC guidelines and they are welcome to stay masked even if vaccinated. If their concerns are due to medical conditions, let them know that you'll be happy to go through the interactive process required by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

If you can't come to a reasonable agreement that works for everyone, your employees are free to move on, but you absolutely should try to come to a solution. Don't lecture an employee about their concerns.

And do remember that most employees want a hybrid situation --where they can work in the office sometimes and at home sometimes. If you want to save yourself from the "Great Resignation," you should probably look to a hybrid model.

Whatever you choose for your business, be careful to present it in a way that supports your employees.

Suzanne Lucas is a freelance writer who spent 10 years in corporate human resources, where she hired, fired, managed the numbers, and double-checked with the lawyers.

@RealEvilHRLad y

The Super Simple Guide To Maximizing LinkedIn For Your Career

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 23:18:46 GMT

By William Arruda, Forbes.com

According to research done by The Knowledge Academy , one of the biggest workplace fears is “Using LinkedIn.” They used Ahrefs to find the monthly global Google searches for common workplace fears, and “how to use LinkedIn” came in at number 2 (right after asking for a promotion). Although it might sound like a random fear that shouldn’t rank so highly, when you think about it, it’s not random at all.

Today, LinkedIn delivers your first impression. It’s the place where you build and nurture your network, learn and grow, source staff, expand your business and share your thought leadership. And when the entire world went virtual thanks to Covid-19, use of LinkedIn increased and its importance to your career success exploded. In short, LinkedIn is the most powerful online tool for building your personal brand in support of your goals. So pushing past the fear of using it is essential.

Over the past several years, I have written more than 100 articles sharing my tips for maximizing LinkedIn. Here, I distill this advice into the most potent and powerful actions to activate this brand-building powerhouse. This is a serial process, so do the steps in this sequence:

1. Get your profile in order.

Your LinkedIn profile is your first impression. Make sure it matches the real you. Focus on these elements:

Headline: Update your headline to include your title, employer, and all the keywords you want to be known for (this helps with being found in searches). Add something to your headline that makes you interesting (like how you do what you do or the results you achieve when you do it). This is how I did it . Use as many of the 220 characters as you need.
Headshot: Make sure your headshot is professional and current, and crop it so that most of the frame is filled by your face. Focus your eyes forward and smile.
About: Your LinkedIn About will be the most-read version of your bio. Craft one that sits at the intersection of credibility and likability . And make sure the first couple of lines are magnetic. That’s all someone sees when they’re checking out your profile. Convince them to read the full text.
Background. Your LinkedIn background provides an opportunity to use an image to help you convey your personal brand. Use it to differentiate your profile from the myriad others and to say something special about yourself without using words.

2. Get your professional contacts up to date.

When you get all your professional contacts in one place , it will be easier to remain visible and stay in touch with people who are important to you. Add everyone from your past roles and get in the habit of adding new contacts as soon as you meet them. Be open to connecting with a diverse community of people and connect with the connected (those members with lots of connections) to rapidly grow your network and visibility.

3. Join groups.

Identify two or three groups that interest you while helping you express your personal brand. Then make a plan to check out what’s going on in your groups at least weekly and engage in conversations with those who are posting valuable content.

4. Create updates.

Make a plan to share valuable content with your connections at regular intervals. Choose a frequency that won’t feel onerous—like twice a week. Then, use the LinkedIn Update feature to share content that will be truly useful to your brand community. You can share things like a new statistic you just found or something interesting you just learned in a webinar you attended.

5. Curate content.

When you visit your favorite websites, you likely find articles, videos, etc. that would benefit your contacts. Take the time to share these resources with your LinkedIn community. When you share, be sure to add your point of view—explaining why this content is important or making the content even more helpful. Curating content will help you remain visible and valuable to your connections and followers. Add all relevant hashtags to what you share to make it visible to even more LinkedIn members.

Bonus actions:

To really up your game and take your LinkedIn profile and activity to the next level, here are three actions for you overachievers:

Create your LinkedIn video cover story —a 30-second introduction that sits behind your headshot. This is a brand-new feature, so if you don’t have access to it yet, you will shortly. Video is a powerful tool for connecting with others in the virtual world.
Share your expertise. When you’re ready, use LinkedIn’s blogging feature to showcase your thought leadership. First, choose your topic. Then, create a compelling title—one that will make people want to click on your article. Select a relevant photo to make it even more enticing. ( Pexels gives you access to free images.) Then share your brilliance in 500 to 1,000 words. Remember to share your article with your groups. And engage with those who like, comment on and share your article.
Enhance your profile. Use the Featured section to showcase your best work. You can include whitepapers, images, videos, infographics, etc. This turns your profile into a portfolio and makes it more visually intriguing.

To make LinkedIn work for you, carve out a few minutes on your calendar each week to work on these actions. When you start now, you’ll be a LinkedIn superstar in no time.

William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and creator of the LinkedIn Profile Type Indicator (LPTI) which measures your LinkedIn profile likability and credibility.

What Do We Like About WFH?

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 15:33:41 GMT

by Vasundhara Sawhney , Harvard Business Review

Nearly a year into working from home because of Covid-19 closures, each day seems exactly like the one before. I wake up at 7 AM, prep meals, help my son with online school, work alone in a makeshift office, exercise, and finally drop into bed exhausted. Personal-professional boundaries—once difficult to manage—have been entirely erased. As many people in similar situations have noted, we aren’t just working from home (WFH) anymore. We are living at our jobs.

For some, this has led to greater productivity. I certainly feel that I’m getting more done: for work, with my family, and around the house. What’s more, I have greater flexibility to decide what to do when, whether that means answering emails in the evening or spending time with loved ones during the day. There’s a reason that WFH was on the rise even before the pandemic, and now both organizations and individuals seem more comfortable with it than ever before. In September 2020 the Conference Board surveyed more than 330 HR executives at large U.S. companies and reported that one-third expect 40% or more of their employees to work virtually past the spring of 2021, while 36% say they are now willing to hire workers who are 100% remote. But are we ready for that?

The downsides of prolonged WFH—monotony, social isolation, burnout—can’t be ignored. According to one survey released in 2020, employees working apart from colleagues were most concerned about diminished collaboration and communication, increased loneliness, and being unable to unplug. And studies show that what remote workers gain in efficiency and productivity, they lose in harder-to-measure benefits such as creativity, innovation, teamwork, trust, and empathy.

Several new books aim to help us figure out this WFH reality—analyzing the pros and cons, offering dos and don’ts, and making predictions about which Covid-era changes we’ll keep and which we’ll jettison. How can we re-create positive real-world interactions and outcomes in mostly virtual settings? Can we reintroduce the office without succumbing to the same old inefficiencies and stressors? Or should we look to a future in which the workplace is more an idea than a location?

In Working from Home: Making the New Normal Work for You , the Salesforce executive Karen Mangia argues that permanent WFH can be a viable career choice as long as you avoid the biggest pitfalls, such as never putting away your laptop. “Like those pretzels or potato chips or donuts right there in your kitchen, work is always available,” she warns. “But you know that always grazing isn’t a healthy strategy.”

Her recommendations for WFH the right way? She suggests separating work and home by means of rules and rituals. Instead of logging in right after you roll out of bed, follow a more traditional morning routine (exercise, walk the dog, grab breakfast). Be deliberate about how you use time throughout the day. Build in “pauses,” taking a few minutes to listen to music, to write in your journal, or to take a walk around the block. This helps preempt the WFH time warp (in which you’ve somehow spent the whole day staring at a computer screen) and makes room for new discoveries.

Perhaps we can take a cue from the 70 location-independent professionals whom the professors Rachael A. Woldoff and Robert C. Litchfield interviewed for their book Digital Nomads: In Search of Freedom, Community, and Meaningful Work in the New Economy . These are mostly Millennials who fled cities, corporate offices, and cultures of busyness in search of more autonomy and mobility and a better quality of life while remaining gainfully employed thanks to telecommuting technologies. Critically, however, they have not done so at the expense of human connection; in fact, the authors note that all the nomads insist on “the necessity of an in-person community” and “meaningful…face-to-face social networks,” whether they’re “in Bali or elsewhere.”

Some, like Oscar, a Canadian life coach and podcaster, also create group accountability rituals that Mangia would appreciate. When friends came to his villa to work with “good Wi-Fi” for the day, he asked them all to write down what they wanted to accomplish. “You show up, you declare what you are doing, and you do it,” he told the authors.

Digital nomads may not be colocated with colleagues who share an employer, but they enjoy working alongside and bonding with a changing cast of characters from diverse companies, industries, and countries. And they find both personal and professional success along the way.

The authors note that although Covid-19 has perhaps disrupted a globe-trotting lifestyle, people can still be mobile and work flexibly within their home countries. And once vaccines have been distributed and travel bans and quarantine rules lifted, we may find many more knowledge workers considering nomadism.

In following Mangia’s and Woldoff and Litchfield’s advice, we can improve remote work for individuals. But how can an organization manage dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of dispersed teams? A recent Slack survey found that only 12% of knowledge workers want to return to the office full-time. Many employers may struggle to go back to business as usual.

In Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere , the Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley offers guidance. Although she acknowledges that “the more time we spend without regular in-person contact with coworkers, the more persistent and urgent questions about bonding, trusting, and alignment become,” she also believes that research-backed best practices can help fill those gaps. Consider, for example, a “launch session”—an open, leader-led discussion during which remote teammates clarify shared goals, individual roles, constraints, resources, and collaboration norms. Neeley recommends that teams communicate via video when possible (but not always), encourage differences of opinion, and spend more time on small talk to build trust.

No one knows what the new normal will be for knowledge workers. But as individuals, teams, and organizations, we all need to find ways to leverage what’s good about WFH while creating better work/life boundaries and staying connected and engaged. I don’t feel the need to get back to my cubicle anytime soon, but I do miss great brainstorming sessions, team lunches, and coworker camaraderie. And I’m still not sure we can replicate all that digitally—despite the sunny attitudes and sound advice to be found in all three of these books.

Vasundhara Sawhney is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

Staffmax expands its reach to Europe and announces its strategic partnership with Staffmax OY

kgill@staffmax.ca (Kevin Gill) — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 23:16:05 GMT

Announcement of strategic partnership between Staffmax Corp/Staffmax LLC/Staffmax PTY and Staffmax OY Finland

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINNIPEG, June 28, 2021/CNW/ - Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting and its subsidiaries (Staffmax Corp/Staffmax LLC/Staffmax PTY) is thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with Staffmax OY of Finland.

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting is Canada’s fastest growing staffing & recruiting agency. Staffmax has offices across Canada to service our clients and candidates. Established in Winnipeg in 2007, our sole focus is changing lives through the recruitment and placement of talented and qualified candidates. For our candidates we get to know you personally - your experience and education, as well as your preferences and career goals. For our clients we are solely driven to remove your staffing challenges.

Staffmax OY is a Lapland-based staffing service that employs hundreds of people yearly in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Their pride is in offering versatile and inspiring jobs within restaurant businesses. Whether staff are new in the industry or are experienced professionals, they are a flexible employer who takes individual needs into account.

With such similar backgrounds, this partnership will be a natural fit that will allow for joint marketing in application notices, as well as joint customer relationships and joint staff deliveries. We will also be able to provide employees with new experiences around the world.

While the purpose of our partnership is to expand the market and serve customers and employees as widely and professionally as possible, our shared goals remain the same. Staffmax provides our clients with a variety of recruitment, candidate selection, and staffing services to meet each company’s individual staffing requirements. We offer the right solutions, including professional search and recruitment as well as several creative approaches to flexible workforce staffing and staff management.

At Staffmax, the most important thing is the recruitment and placement of the most talented and qualified candidates. Whether you are looking for a permanent career change or the flexibility and experience that can be gained from a variety of job roles, we can help.

Staffmax is proud to recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity that the world has to offer. We encourage candidates who are Indigenous, People of Colour, Disabled, and any others who reflect our diverse workforce to self-declare and apply.

About Staffmax:

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Corp., headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices in Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa,

Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, USA & Australia is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing and Full-Service Permanent Recruiting Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing companies, Staffmax combines industry

leading technology and specialized recruiters to solve their clients staffing &recruiting needs.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

Ilmoitus strategisesta kumppanuudesta välillä Staffmax Canada (www.staffmax.ca) ja Staffmax Finland (www.staffmax.fi).

Kumppanuus tarkoittaa yhteismarkkinointia hakuilmoituksissa, sekä yhteisiä asiakkuuksia ja yhteisiä henkilökunnan toimituksia. Tarjota työntekijöille uusia kokemuksia ympäri maailmaa.

Yhteistyön tarkoitus on laajentaa markkinaa ja palvella asiakkaita ja työntekijöitä mahdollisimman laajasti ja asiantuntevasti.

Molempien yritysten tavoite on sama:

Staffmax tarjoaa työnantajille erilaisia rekrytointi-, ehdokasvalinta- ja henkilöstöpalveluita vastaamaan jokaisen työnantajan yksilöllisiä henkilöstövaatimuksia. Tarjoamme oikeat ratkaisut, mukaan lukien ammattitaitoinen haku ja rekrytointi sekä useita luovia lähestymistapoja joustavaan työvoiman henkilöstöön ja henkilöstön hallintaan.

Staffmaxissa tärkein asia on lahjakkaimpien ja pätevimpien ehdokkaiden rekrytointi ja sijoittaminen. Etsitpä sitten pysyvää uramuutosta tai joustavuutta ja kokemusta, joka voidaan saada erilaisista työtehtävistä, voimme auttaa.

Tavoitteenamme on tutustua ehdokkaihimme henkilökohtaisesti. Sitoudumme aikaan ja kehitämme yhteyttä jokaisen ehdokkaan kanssa. Opimme tuntemaan sinut henkilökohtaisesti – kokemuksesi, koulutuksesi, mieltymyksesi ja uratavoitteesi.

The Impact Of The Coronavirus On HR And The New Normal Of Work

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 19:02:48 GMT

The Impact Of The Coronavirus On HR And The New Normal Of Work

By Jeanne Meister via Forbes

Published March 31, 2020

For the past decade I have been writing and speaking about the disruptions in the way we work, learn and communicate. In my article, Humans, Gigs and Robots Are The New Blended Workforce, I saw an increase in full time workers working side by side with gig workers and bots or digital assistants. I went on to say: the pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again!

What I did not envision is we would be working exclusively from our homes while juggling home schooling and trying to figure out how to conduct three Zoom sessions at the same time: one for our own meeting, one for our spouse or partner’s meeting, and one for our child learning at home!

The Covid-19 coronavirus is becoming the accelerator for one of the greatest workplace transformations of our lifetime. How we work, exercise, shop, learn, communicate, and of course, where we work, will be changed forever!

The term VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) first appeared in the media in 1987 by the Army War College . It has taken just a few weeks for the Covid-19 coronavirus to shut down most restaurants, bars, shops, and gyms, as well as mandate or encourage 88% of workers to work from home, regardless of whether or not they are showing symptoms of coronavirus (according to Gartner) , trigger hiring freezes, and, as of last week, a record of 3.3 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits .

But the larger question is: how will this massive transformation impact the workplace, you, your team, and your organization? Future Workplace’s recent survey, entitled The Impact of the Coronavirus in the Workplace, was conducted among 350 HR leaders in the USA to explore this question. I will share some insights on how this new normal of work is evolving within organizations.

Here are our top three findings and my thoughts on the implications of how the Covid-19 coronavirus will accelerate many future of work initiatives for the rest of 2020.

1) Ramp up Training and Investment in Remote Working

Across the globe, companies are dealing with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic by mandating or encouraging employees work from home. As the coronavirus spreads, working from home is the new normal for workers. We are hearing comments like: “It’s the first day of both working from home and home schooling... I never signed up to be a teacher and now I believe teachers should be paid like CEOs!”

What are companies doing to prepare for one of the largest work from home experiments ever? Our research examined the various ways companies are dealing with remote working and one way is training. Our Future Workplace survey, The Impact of the Coronavirus in the Workplace, asked, “In what ways does your company offer training on how to successfully work from home?”

The responses ranged from offering both worker training and manager training, to mentoring, coaching, and even launching Employee Resource Groups targeted to remote workers and their families. See Figure 1:

M icrosoft is going one step further. They created a Guide to Working From Home During COVID-19 . This guide was shared with the Microsoft global workforce and a version was made available to customers as an editable document to use with their own organizations. The link to the customizable version is here: http://www.aka.ms/WFHguide-Customer

Rachel Russell, one of the architects of this document and the Flexible Work Lead at Microsoft says, “We designed the document to support our employees working from home during this outbreak, some for the first time and many with others at home as well. Our guidance ranges from setting up your physical and virtual workspace to managing your time and wellbeing, as well as specific guidance for managers. Everyone’s experience is different, and we continue to offer learning resources and community spaces, like Yammer groups, where employees can ask questions, share anecdotes, and brainstorm ideas for staying healthy, engaged, and productive.”

The Guide to Working From Home balances the mechanics of working from home with the emotional implications of managing it all: work, home, children, and importantly, your own self-care.

Future Workplace summarized the list of successful strategies for remote working following our recent Future Workplace Virtual Summit, and interviewing both Rachel Russell and Stacy Elliot, Senior Director of Communications at Microsoft, a pioneer in remote working for the last 17 years.

2) The Future of Work Is the Future of Worker Wellbeing

My Forbes column, Top Ten HR Trends That Matter Most in the 2020 Workplace, details how companies that focus on the future of work are consumed by the impending disruption of jobs, automation, and changing workforce demographics. All of these are important, but we also need to make worker wellbeing a priority!

Today more than ever, the future of work is the future of worker wellbeing. With the growth of the digital economy, our ‘always on’ way of working, the stresses in managing work-life integration, and now dealing with the coronavirus, assisting workers with their wellbeing has never been more important.

As Cecilia Tse, Wellbeing Strategy Leader, PwC says, “We are committed to helping build our people’s wellbeing and we define this to include their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. But we are going beyond viewing wellbeing as a perk, we are being prescriptive to provide our people guidance and suggestions for habits they can consider forming in each of these areas on our PwC Be well, work well Habit Bank .”

This focus on worker wellbeing is especially important, as workers experience anxiety in dealing with the coronavirus. Our Future Workplace survey asked the question, How is your organization dealing with increased anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic? Our list of suggestions are outlined below in Figure 2.

3) The Coronavirus Can be an Opportunity to Re-define Your Business

The coronavirus pandemic is fundamentally shifting how we live and do business and will accelerate the Fourth Industrial Revolution, fueled by smart technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and mobile supercomputing. The Future Workplace Survey asked HR leaders, How could the Coronavirus be advantageous to your business? Figure 3 shows the range of responses where some HR leaders saw the coronavirus as an opportunity.

Many survey respondents commented on how the coronavirus could be an opportunity to re-think assumptions on their products, services and business model as well as cross training and creating new products to be better prepared for the next pandemic.

As I toward 2021, I see the coronavirus as an accelerator for defining the role of the corporation, remote working, re-skilling, skills based hiring, and the transformation of corporate learning.

CEOs Will Be Bold in Protecting and Investing in Their People

On August, 19, 2019 the Business Roundtable released a statement signed by 181 CEOs acknowledging all of a corporation’s stakeholders- workers, communities, partners- were as valuable as their investor shareholders. This statement now looks to be prescient. In the past few weeks, there have been numerous examples of corporations proving they meant what they acknowledged back in August, 2019.

Microsoft announced that they will keep paying the hourly workers who support their campus during this period of reduced service needs.
Starbucks , identifying the anxiety of this crisis, has extended its mental health benefits and extended therapy sessions to all U.S. based employees and their eligible family members starting April 6th, 2020.
StopTheSpread.org, the blog on Medium authored by Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express, and Rachel Romer Carlson, CEO and co-Founder of Guild Education, asks CEOs to stand together to support coronavirus recovery by funding national healthcare needs such as ventilators, respirators and hospital supplies.

There Will Be a Surge in Remote Working after the Coronavirus

In 2017, FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics estimated the number of people working remotely increased 159% between 2005 and 2017, with a 44% rate of growth in the last five years of that span.

That was only the beginning. Remote work is here to stay! The coronavirus is making companies, employees and their managers more comfortable with working from home. From now on, we will question taking that flight to see a client if we can communicate on a new project using Zoom.

Face time will no longer be the measure of worker productivity. Instead we will finally focus on results! With the benefits of tapping into a geographically and ethnically diverse talent pool, managers will increasingly explore how to make remote working part of their culture.

Skills-based Hiring Will Move from The New Normal to The Normal

More companies will move from hiring based on degree pedigree to hiring based on skills and more apprenticeship jobs will surge.

I sp oke with Ravi Kumar, President of Infosys Ltd, on how the coronavirus will impact businesses. Ravi wrote his point of view in an inspirational LinkedIn article, Thinking Out Loud , on the confluence of opposites born in unprecedented times, such as an increased need for collaboration while we work remotely or the need to reap benefits of global interconnectedness along with local resilience.

Organizations, even as they deal with the challenges of the here and now, are putting into place plans for their post-COVID recovery. Transforming their talent models and digitizing their talent value chains will be a big focus area.

Kumar predicts a surge in skills-based hiring as more companies outsource routine tasks to machines and humans focus on uniquely human skills of creativity and critical thinking. Kumar says, “I see a future where machines will handle problem solving and humans will focus on problem finding.” That vision has committed Infosys to be a leader in the skills-based hiring movement, where the company focuses on recruiting candidates with the skills and capabilities they need rather than on their degree pedigree. Infosys partners with various community colleges in the country to hire for the right skills. In anticipation of the large scale digitization of workplaces, Infosys is stepping up its effort accelerating this with the recently launched Digital Apprentice program for community college students to learn-earn-work in order to land digital backbone jobs.

Learning Will Be Radically Transformed

This new normal of working will drive new ways to learn online. Research and Markets has forecast the e-learning market to triple by 2025 to reach $325 billion.

That was before the coronavirus. This estimate will only increase as companies have no choice but to launch a radical transformation of corporate learning.

We alr eady saw this happening with:

Walmart is partnering with Strivr to use Virtual Reality to prepare Walmart workers for Black Friday in store shopping;
Best Western Hotels is partnering with Mursion to use virtual reality to train front desk clerks in problem solving skills;
Home Depot built a mobile app to train new hires while they are on the job , sharing product information to reduce the need for face to face training.

All of these experiments will be accelerated as business leaders disrupt their old practices which relied heavily on face to face learning and pivot to developing proof of concepts for learning on-the-job using the latest consumer technologies.

Chris Pirie, former CLO of Microsoft and lead faculty for online course Radical Transformation of Learning believes business leaders must find new ways to create engaging experiences which are experiential and fun. That means incorporating more gamification, virtual reality, and augmented reality for corporate learning.

Organizations will Double Down on Re-Skilling Workers

While some organizations like Amazon, SAP, Walmart, AT&T, PwC and Guardian Life Insurance have already announced plans to re-skill large segments of their workforce, the challenge for more companies will be to go beyond designing one-off training programs. This challenge will be much bigger than any one program. Instead, companies will create an ecosystem devoted to creating an AI powered skills inventory, reskilling and and exploring new private partnerships with traditional and non-traditional institutions of learning, as well as ed tech startups.

Welcome to the new normal of wor k. What is clear is none of us can afford to operate as we have in the past. In the words of Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginners Mind , "In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind, there are few." As business leaders we need to see all the possibilities, challenge our perceptions, and lead this disruption of work. This is our opportunity to show how we lead in a crisis as we navigate the unprecedented journey in the coming weeks and months.

Jeanne Meister, is Founding Partner, Future Workplace and faculty in Future Workplace Academy.

How To Improve Your Chances of Finding a Job in the Covid-19 Economy

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 16:52:54 GMT

How to Improve Your Chances of Finding a Job in the Covid-19 Economy

By Janet Alvarez via CNBC

Published July 15, 2020

High unemployment, shifting industry hiring patterns and fundamental changes to the way we work are some of the harsh realities Americans face when looking for jobs amid the Covid-19 crisis. It’s important to be prepared with an understanding of how much has changed in the jobs market to increase your chances of finding a job under the current circumstances.

Here are a few of the basic, sobering facts:

Young workers , those with lower levels of formal education, Hispanic and Asian women , and minority workers more broadly, are among the demographic groups hardest hit by the tens of millions of job losses generated by the Covid pandemic.
Restaurants, travel, hospitality, and retail have fared worse than other industries, extending job losses even to these sectors’ white collar workers.
Small businesses have laid off more employees than larger ones.
States such as Michigan, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Island, have seen the largest share of layoffs .

Preparing for a new job – or entirely new career – requires preparation in this environment. While most of us may be looking for new jobs out of necessity, a crisis such as Covid-19 is also an opportune time for those fortunate enough to still be employed to radically alter a career path.

Here are the questions you should be asking yourself.

Are my resume and online professional presence current? Yes, your resume should be error-free, fully updated, and customized for each job for which you submit an application. But you can do more (and should) if you’re actively searching for a job or to switch careers. Make sure your resume is posted online, where it can be easily seen (social networking platforms such as LinkedIn are an obvious place to start). But also look for job boards or sites specific to your target industry. Consider adding work samples, links to any published work, or a video introduction to your resume. Finally, ensure your resume is SEO-optimized, using keywords that are likeliest to yield results in searches by employers.

Are you looking in the right places? Knowing where to look is half the battle. You should understand hiring trends, such as the rise of freelance work during the Covid recession, as well as companies that are actively hirin g for remote workers. You should also be willing to consider new industries where job opportunities have been stronger, such as technology and health care. And you should be taking the further step of contacting those in your network who might be placed in favorable hiring industries.

Do my skills need refreshing? Now is the t ime to take free or low-cost online courses or obtain certifications in a new skill. (Faced with a job loss during the Great Recession, I taught myself video and audio editing online for less than $100. That helped me land my next job in radio, where audio editing skills were indispensable.)

Learning a new skill can be either complementary to your existing job trajectory, or geared towards a new career. If it’s the latter, the rise of online learning due to Covid-19 means many graduate programs are now lower-priced and online, allowing you to continue working In another capacity more while you complete your studies.

Where am I most competitive? Know your skills, your worth, and your passions – these are the things that help differentiate you, and allow you to thrive in the areas in which you’re most competitive. A good job search is targeted in many ways, including knowing where you’re likeliest to be appreciated and in demand .

Who can help me? Many of us think of our network solely as a place to look for new jobs, but that’s an egregious mistake and misuse of our contacts. Our network can be the best place to advertise our job skills and career ambitions; seek help securing loans or financing to start a new business; assistance in applying or being admitted to a new career training or degree program; or to obtain introductions to others who might be able to help in a job search.

Where do I envision myself in a year? This is perhaps the most critical question . Covid-19 won’t last forever, so don’t make rash job changes or career decisions that can impact you for years to come. If you’ve been laid off and really need the cash, it’s understandable to be in a rush to secure any employment. There’s an argument to be made, however, that it might be best to take gig jobs and other freelance work until you find a career-enhancing position, because you might be compromising too much otherwise. Ask yourself, “Where – and more importantly who – do I want to be when Covid is over?” That’s the best guide to your career search.

How To Get A Job Through A Staffing Agency

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 18:11:15 GMT

How To Get A Job Through A Staffing Agency

By Alison Doyle via The Balance Careers

Published November 21, 2019

Some job seekers don’t want to use a staffing agency because they think these agencies only provide entry-level, temporary jobs. Others think that agencies never provide benefits to workers. None of this is true.

A job seeker can use a staffing agency (also known as an employment agency or staffing company) to find a wide variety of jobs, including permanent jobs, in a number of industries. Staffing agencies hire everyone from entry-level workers to CEOs. Learn what a staffing agency is, and how to use one to find the right job for you.

How a Staffing Agency Works

At a staffing agency, companies pay the agency to find employees for them. Job seekers can apply to specific jobs through the staffing agency, or can simply contact the staffing agency looking for a job. The agency interviews the job seekers and places them in appropriate positions. Typically, the agency then pays the selected candidate to work for the client company.

If the company decides to hire the job seeker permanently, the staffing agency will no longer pay the job seeker. The employee will instead be paid by the company.

Benefits

There are many benefits to using a staffing agency to find a job. Some benefits include:

It’s Free

Because the company (rather than the job seeker) is the client, you don’t have to pay to be considered for jobs at an agency.

They Do the Job Searching for You

When you sign up to work with a staffing agency, they ask you about your skills and experience and let you know if they have a job that might be a good fit for you. You can also search for jobs on their internal job site. Often, they know of job openings that aren’t available on other job sites. It is a great way to get help finding job openings.

There Is Variety

You can find staffing agencies that specialize in almost any industry. You can also find different types of jobs within almost any staffing agency. Jobs range from very short-term positions (as little as a couple of weeks) to permanent positions.

There Are Often Benefits

Some staffing agencies provide benefits after employees have worked a certain number of days or hours. These benefits may include health insurance, a retirement plan, or even tuition reimbursement (or all three).

They Give You Feedback

Most staffing agencies provide you with feedback throughout the job application process. They might give you tips on how to revise your resume or provide advice on how to successfully interview. This kind of free feedback is invaluable.

Types of Available Jobs

Some people think staffing agencies only fill temporary secretarial and administrative jobs, but this is not the case. You can find a job in almost every industry through a staffing agency.

Agencies also offer jobs that last for varying lengths of time. These include:

Temporary Jobs

Companies often look for temporary hires to help during an employee’s absence or period of leave, or during a busy work period. Sometimes they hire temporary workers to complete a particular project. These temporary jobs range in length from a couple of weeks to many months.

Temp-to-Hire Jobs

Also known as temp-to-perm jobs, these positions begin as temporary jobs so that the company can get to know the employee on a trial basis. Then, if the company is happy with the employee’s work, they will likely hire him or her directly. While the staffing agency will typically pay for the worker during the temporary phase, the company will then take over paying the employee when he or she becomes a full-time hire.

Permanent Jobs

Some staffing agencies hire candidates for permanent positions at companies. In these situations, the agency works more like a traditional recruiter, finding, interviewing, and selecting candidates for the company. In this case, the company pays the agency a fee. If the company hires an employee, they pay for the employee.

Many agencies offer a variety of all three of these kinds of jobs, although some specialize.

How to Find the Right Staffing Agency for You

When you are looking for a staffing agency to work with, make sure you know the kinds of industries the agency deals with, and whether they offer temporary, temp-to-hire, or permanent jobs—or all three.

Check out the American Staffing Association’s online directory to find reputable staffing firms. You can search for firms in your area. You can also search by employment options (temporary, long-term, etc.) and industry.

When you interview with a staffing agency, feel free to ask questions. Ask about what benefits (if any) they offer, what kinds of jobs they typically fill, the industries they work with, and the average time it takes for a job seeker to land a job. The recruiter you work with is there to help you, so don’t be afraid to gather all the information you need.

Check into whether or not the agency has any services, such as workshops to help you develop skills or counselors who will help you with your resume and cover letter. If these are available, take advantage of them.

Also, keep in mind that you should never have to pay a staffing agency to help you find a job. Reputable staffing agencies are paid by companies, not by job seekers.

7 Tech Tips To Improve Your Online Video Conference For Interviews

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:29:19 GMT

7 Tech Tips To Improve Your Online Video Conference For Interviews

By William Wong via LinkedIn

Published September 8, 2020

Due to an organization restructure before COVID hit, I was advised that my position was no longer needed. At the beginning of March, I was given an advance lay off notice with an end date of July 31, 2020. In the month of August, I started to apply for various positions and found the new norm in a COVID-19 environment was to do online video conference interviews.

I have done 6 video conference interviews since August and wanted to share 7 tech tips I found helped me to have a successful interview experience.

I made a video and posted it on my YouTube Channel "The Wong Reviewer" which outlines 7 tech tips to improve your online video setup. The video goes into greater detail with examples of the difference between using a standard laptop webcam and microphone versus using your smart phone and a headset.

Tip #1: You want to make sure they interviewer has the best video quality of you. Use the best camera you own. Your SMARTPHONE. The camera on your smartphone is more advance than the tiny built in webcams in your laptop.

Comparison below: My setting and lighting didn't change between the different cameras. The webcam is darker, less crisp versus the phone camera.

I suggest a FREE app for iPhone or android that allows you to use your smartphone camera as a webcam.

Tip #2: Position Your Camera

When you are using your laptop camera, it's located below your head and you have to tilt the camera up so you can see yourself. This is a very unflattering view of your facial features and in some cases, the viewer can see up your nose.

In the comparison below, camera angle also plays an important factor in distractions. On my wall, I have 2 family photos and with the camera angle up, the viewer can see them and can be distracting. When the camera is straight on, it removes that distraction.

I suggest stacking books or boxes to raise your laptop so the camera is showing you straight on. You want the interviewer to be focused on you and not on the pictures on your walls.

Tip #3: Lighting

You want to make sure you're in a well lit room with open windows or a light that can be adjusted. Don't have the window behind you when doing a video interview. The light from the window will cast a shadow in the front making the interviewer hard to see you.

The picture below is WHAT NOT TO DO.

Tip #4 Use an External Microphone

Use an external microphone instead of the built in laptop microphone. Use a wired headset that is plugged into your laptop. Look around, you may have an extra headset laying around that came with your older smartphones. Your built in microphone will provide a really poor sound quality of "tinny" and "echoing". If you watch the video, you can clearly hear the difference and a mic closer to your mouth sounds alot better. You want to make sure the interviewer can hear all of your answers correctly.

Tip #5 Turn off your Phone and Smart Watch notifications

In the video I give 2 examples where my interview was interrupted because the interviewer's phone went off and it broke my pace and concentration of the interview. I also talk about how I instinctively looked at my Apple watch during an interview when I received a text and it didn't leave a good impression.

Tip #6: Use your monitor(s) to help you during the interview.

My current home setup has 2 monitors. Before the interview, I always research the company i'm interviewing for to make sure I have a good idea of what the company is about and in case they ask me "What do you know about the company" type of questions.

During the interview, on my left monitor, I pull up the Company's "About us" page. This page usually contains their history, mission statement, value statement, culture and strategic goals. In my interviews I will try to slip in one of these statements to let them know I have done my research on them.

On my right hand monitor, I have my resume and some bullet point notes of examples to common behavioral or competency questions. I will reference these during the interview if I get stuck or need more examples.

In all my interviews, the person interviewing me is often writing notes or typing notes and is not engaging you in eye contact all the time. This is the opportunity I use to quickly glance at my screens for additional resources.

Tip #7: Test your link / technology ahead of time

This actually happened to me when I didn't check my connection ahead of time and my webcam wouldn't turn on. I spent 10 minutes trying to figure it out. All platforms allow you to test the link to set up your camera and microphone ahead of time. Do it at least the day before. This will give you enough time to troubleshoot and do any configurations ahead of time.

In my scenario, for some reason the platform "Go To Meeting" does not work with my webcam. When an interviewer is using this, I send an email explaining to them it doesn't work and to suggest using Zoom as I know it works. The one time I had to suggest using an alternative, the interviewer had no issues switching platforms. Don't be afraid to explain your situation and ask to make the change. I hope this will demonstrate to the organization that you're being proactive and a problem solver.

I hope the video and article was helpful. I want to encourage those of you who are in the same situation as I am and looking for work. Keep sending out those resumes, reach out to contacts/ recruiters and keep preparing for those interviews. Feel free to message me if you need some encouragement or want to talk about other job seeking strategies.

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Announces New Location in Calgary

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 21:25:14 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STAFFMAX STAFFING & RECRUITING ANNOUNCES NEW LOCATION
IN CALGARY

Calgary – September 11, 2020 – Staffmax is excited to announce that they are expanding their business to the home of The Calgary Stampede! The new office location is 421 7th Ave SW, 30th Floor, Calgary, AB.

While we may be growing and expanding, it is important to note that the service and quality that you have come to expect from Staffmax and its staff remain the same. It is through the loyalty of our clients and candidates, that Staffmax has reached the point of expansion into the Calgary marketplace.

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’ success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

info@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Winnipeg Recruiting Agency Seeing Job Market Come Back to Life

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 18:37:18 GMT

"Winnipeg Recruiting Agency Seeing Job Market Come Back to Life"

A Winnipeg-based recruiting agency says business is booming as of late and believes it signals an economy recovering from the corona virus pandemic.

Kevin Gill, president of Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting , said he is placing more workers now than before the pandemic hit.

“We’re still in COVID, yet we’re getting more requests for employees than we’ve had, really, at any time,” Gill said.

Staffmax , which has offices in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, typically sees more people seeking work than job vacancies, but that is now starting to even out, according to Gill.

“There are certain sectors right now where it’s harder to find workers than it is to get orders for these roles,” Gill said, adding some of the most in-demand jobs are currently in accounting and finance, hospitality and retail.

There a number of reasons believed to be responsible for the spike in available jobs and those looking to fill them.

Gill said he has some clients who have been terminated after they were initially temporarily laid off amid the pandemic, as some business owners are realizing they are able to operate with less staff.

On the other hand, Gill said there are even more companies who are having trouble recovering their laid-off workers.

“(Companies) reached out to some of these workers and some wanted to come back, some did not, some after being laid off found jobs somewhere else, so employers now are really seeking good employees,” Gill said.

Gill believes the current demand for both work and workers points to an upswing in the local economy that he hopes will just grow stronger.

“Hopefully this is not a blip, but this is a trend that’s happening in the Winnipeg marketplace for employees and employers.”

To view the complete interview, please follow this link:

https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/224acf8e-ecc0-11ea-b073-0242ac110003/?jwsource=cl

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Head Office is located in Winnipeg, MB with offices across Canada, Staffmax is well known for their expertise in recruiting and placing talented and qualified candidates both nationally and internationally for term and permanent placements.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

info@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x 101

888-956-7090 ###

6 Benefits of Using a Staffing Agency

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 20:47:27 GMT

6 Benefits of Using a Staffing Agency

Via Celarity

Staffing agencies have proven their worth. With almost $90 billion in annual revenue, the staffing industry employs about 3 million workers daily. These companies play an important role in meeting the growing demand for skilled, qualified employees.

Thinking about using a staffing service? Here Are 6 Advantages of Using a Staffing Company.

Staffing agencies benefit businesses by saving them:

Time by reviewing hundreds of resumes, qualifying candidates, performing background checks, etc.

Money by completing the work the client would have had to pay an in-house employee to perform. They also execute it in less time and with better results.

From the hassles of handling contractor payroll taxes, workers comp, and unemployment benefits.

From competing tasks that in-house hiring managers face on a daily basis. Using a specialized staffing agency generates better candidates and placements for your team.

Other advantages of using a staffing agency:

Employers are able to adjust their workforce to evolving business demands. Companies depend on staffing services to provide them with talented workers who can meet a wide range of needs. Often, these workers become essential, permanent employees.

Staffing agencies have a broad network of candidates and connections . Staffing services have a pipeline of qualified candidates. And, they have a further reach into the community of passive candidates.

Q & A Recap

Q: Couldn’t I have my HR representative handle our hiring?

A: You could, but there’s no guarantee you’ll save money, and you won’t likely save time. Some parts of your business are worth seeking outside expertise; a staffing firm that specializes in the type of position you are looking to fill is one of them.

Q: What happens when I no longer need the services of a temporary employee sourced through a staffing agency?

A: The advantage of using a staffing agency is that you have the ability to adjust your workforce as needed. Most staffing service arrangements are simple – you can let them know you no longer need the temp employee’s services. But, many businesses find that some of their temp employees are valuable enough to hire on permanently.

“STAFFMAX STAFFING & RECRUITING LASER IN ON EXECUTIVE SEARCH”

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 17:13:12 GMT

“STAFFMAX STAFFING & RECRUITING LASER IN ON EXECUTIVE SEARCH”

By: Gloria Thom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

“STAFFMAX STAFFING & RECRUITING LASER IN ON EXECUTIVE SEARCH”

Winnipeg – August 19, 2020 – Though Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting is best known for our expertise in temporary staffing, we do much more than that. If a role exists at the corporate head office and is a senior manager-level role or above, we can help.

A successful executive search requires rigorous original research, creativity, logic and sound judgement. Staffmax provides organizations with the tools to identify and attract extraordinary executives.

Staffmax has worked tirelessly for more than a decade to create a vast, effective Senior Management and Executive Search pool across all industries in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary, Toronto, Mississauga and Vancouver.

As an executive search firm, we are evolving along with our clients to help them define and measure the ability of their leadership to be successful into the future.

“We’ve built and refined a powerful, effective search process, including using advancing technology as part of our ever-evolving recruitment process. However, we remain disruptive in the staffing industry. We engage senior and executive people in life-changing career decisions and this can’t be replaced by technology. With a combination of intelligence and intuition, we have come to realize and expect success.” said Founder and President, Kevin Gill.

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

info@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Top Job Search Tips in 2020 + 7 Tips to Double Your Interviews

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 20:50:35 GMT

Top Job Search Tips in 2020 + 7 Tips to Double Your Interviews

By Caitlin Proctor via ZipJob

Published August 13, 2020

Hiring is at a frenzied pace across the United States, with job openings in nearly every industry. Unfortunately for many job seekers, however, it can still be a challenge to land a good job. That’s because too many candidates approach their job search without an effective job search strategy.

In today’s competitive job search market, it’s not enough to just apply. You need to know the best job hunting strategies and implement them in your search. To help with that effort, we’ve compiled the top job search tips for 2020. Implement them properly, and you can soon double your interviews!

1. Make sure your resume is polished and ATS-friendly

When it comes to job seeking tips and techniques, few are more important than focusing on your resume. You need to ensure that your resume is as polished as can be. Focus on the right areas of importance, make it as clean and concise as possible, and use the right keywords to make it ATS compliant. Those automated screeners need to see those keywords to avoid rejecting your resume out-of-hand.

The good news is that you can typically identify the keywords by examining the job posting. Relevant keywords usually include terms related to the position and necessary qualifications.

If you’re not sure what this means, read our article dedicated to ATS scans and resume formatting tricks.

2. Use online resources, networking, and social media

Use every available resource to identify the right jobs, develop contacts, and promote yourself as a candidate. The internet provides a wealth of information that will help in your job search efforts. That’s why one of the top job search tips in 2020 emphasizes the use of this powerful tool to aid your quest. You can locate job openings, research companies, and even submit applications and resumes.

You should also increase your networking efforts and focus attention on social media as well. Referrals are one of the most effective ways to land an interview and job, so seek them out. According to LinkedIn, 85% of jobs are filled through networking.

Develop a network of like-minded professionals who can alert you to new job openings and provide recommendations. Use social media platforms like LinkedIn to connect to decision-makers and others in your industry.

3. Customize your resume

Instead, create a template resume and modify it for each new job application. That ensures that your resume submission will be unique and targeted to each individual company. When reviewing the top job search tips in 2020, don’t forget this gem: customize your resume. Do not make the mistake of using a generic resume for all your job applications. Trust us: hiring managers will recognize that lack of specificity and are likely to dismiss your candidacy.

4. Identify your skills

Your skills should be your primary focus. Instead of looking for jobs based on titles, you should first identify your own skillset.

That will help you to focus on jobs that require those skills. Even better, that emphasis on your skills may open new job opportunities. While you’re searching for jobs that require your skillset, you may discover that your skills are applicable to more jobs than you realized.

5. Focus on value

One of the top job search tips that too many candidates neglect involves value. At every stage of the process, you should emphasize your value as an employee. In your resume, highlight instances where you provided real, tangible, quantifiable value for prior employers.

Use real numbers that define that value. Employers are not just hiring you to fill a seat; they expect you to add value to their organization right away. If you understand this and emphasize those potential contributions, you’ll increase your odds of landing an interview and a job.

Hiring managers love numbers.

For example:

Increased sales 16% by implementing a Facebook marketing campaign…

6. Make your cover letter work for you

Many people misuse their cover letter, basically using it as a rehash of their resume. They don’t know that one of the top job search tips out there involves using the cover letter the right way. Much has been said and written on this topic, so we’ll stick to the most important information here.

First, your cover letter is not your resume. It should be treated as a separate introduction designed to briefly tell the hiring manager about you as a person and why you’re the right candidate for the job. It’s also a marketing piece that should include some type of call to action.

For example, you can close with something like:

“I am looking forward to meeting with you soon to discuss the position in greater detail.”

“I will follow up with you by email next week to continue this conversation.”

“Please reach out to me by phone or email to schedule a time to further discuss my job fit!”

7. Prepare for your interview

The last of our top job search tips for 2020 deals with the interview process. Think of it as your closing argument: you’ve done the hard job search work and now need to close the deal to land the job.

So, how do you seal that deal and avoid rejection? Prepare properly! No matter how many interviews you’ve done in the past, you should still do your homework every single time.

Begin by researching the firm. Make sure that you understand what they do, and how their corporate culture operates. If you can, learn something about the interviewer as well. Research the company’s products, services, and position in the marketplace. Most of all, make sure that you understand the open position and what the employers expect from you. That will help you to feel more comfortable in the interview and focus on the right areas of concern.

Tip: have a couple questions ready as well. Good hiring managers want to hear your questions!

In fact, when candidates fail to ask any questions, some hiring managers interpret that as a sign of disengagement. They’ll assume that you’re not really interested–or worse, think that you already know everything there is to know.

Summary

Naturally, there are whole host of other things that you can do to increase your job search success. However, if you start with these seven core strategies, you will be well on your way to that dream job.

Add in a dose of hard work and the right amount of follow through, and you’ll be unstoppable! So, incorporate these top job search tips into your job seeking efforts and watch your results dramatically improve.

15 Culture-Building Tips For An All-Remote Team

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 20:46:14 GMT

15 Culture-Building Tips For An All-Remote Team

By Forbes Coaches Council via Forbes

Published February 4, 2020

Working remotely is becoming more and more common among today's professionals. The convenience of being able to work from anywhere allows for more flexibility, greater work-life balance and can even increase productivity. However, when employees are so physically and geographically spread out, it becomes even more difficult to create a sense of camaraderie and teamwork.

So, we asked a panel of Forbes Coaches Council members to share their top strategies for building company culture and improving morale in an all-remote team. Their best responses are below.

1. Develop A Common Cultural Language

Get the team physically together for a leadership training in which all members are able to learn about themselves and each other through a common cultural language. Afterward, hold weekly video meetings where time is withheld for team members to continue to explore themselves and give and receive feedback. Encourage vulnerability and mutual respect.

- Dan Messinger, Cream of the Crop Leaders

2. Stay In Touch Through Video

Give up thinking in the three-dimensional paradigm and get creative. We are completely virtual and flexible, with unlimited PTO. We do many things to stay in touch: a weekly email thread where we share our personal updates, we hold brown bag lunches, have hosted wedding and baby showers, hold an annual holiday party with games, shipped gifts—all using an inexpensive video platform.

- Jennifer Wilson, ConvergenceCoaching, LLC

3. Encourage Cross-Collaboration

As someone that has worked 16-plus years remotely, the single most important cultural tool is cross-collaboration. Remote teams that integrate cross-collaboration among team members tend to create deeper and more personal relationships. It ultimately tends to translate into deeper personal bonds that not only help maintain but also evolve the organizational culture.

- Kamyar Shah, World Consulting Group

4. Host Regular 'Virtual Coffees'

With today's great video conferencing tools, a great tactic is to host regular virtual coffees with the entire team. Everyone literally comes to the conference with a coffee, tea or water to catch up in an informal way. You can have a mixture of topics—work and non-work related sessions—to add a ton of variety. For global teams, remember to rotate times to accommodate the multiple time zones.

- Karan Rhodes, Shockingly Different Leadership

5. Prioritize Two-Way Communication And Dialogue

Communicate, but not the usual way. Yes, sharing info is important—clarifying goals and strategies, celebrating wins. But the secret sauce is two-way dialogue: talking with people, not at them. Fully listening, hearing, understanding and answering what's asked shows your respect. Encourage remote folks to connect and get to know each other. Building engagement builds commitment.

- Sharon Richmond, Richmond Associates Consulting

6. Schedule One-On-Ones And Virtual Office Hours

You don’t have the benefit of being able to walk by someone’s office when you’re working remotely. Be deliberate in scheduling one-on-ones and holding virtual office hours when anyone can “drop by” and catch up or ask questions. Also, be creative—virtual happy hours with non-work related discussions can help build stronger connections.

- Tonya Echols, Vigere

7. Host A Team Retreat

While my team is spread across the entire U.S., once a year we all come together for a few days in person for a team retreat. It doesn't have to be expensive—we rent a house and keep it simple! This is a great opportunity for us to really plan what is next for the business as well as spend some quality time nurturing the team and culture we are building.

- Racheal Cook, Racheal Cook MBA

8. Restate Your Company Mission At The Start Of Team Calls

Our behavior today is a function of the future that we see for ourselves. Keeping the vision, the mission and the future of the company front and center will unify your team no matter where they are. Give them something to brag about. Use your mission to create meaning for the team. Making money isn't meaning. Tell them why you do what you do. Share stories of the difference they are making.

- Matthew Ferry, Matthew Ferry International

9. Ask Your Experts

Ask your team members from far and wide for their ideas and suggestions on how to build culture and improve morale. Suggestions from the top might not hit the mark for virtual workers. Also, what works for one may not work for another, hence why soliciting a variety of responses gets everyone involved, provides a range of ideas and often encourages even more innovative solutions.

- Palena Neale, Ph.D, unabridged

10. Share Progress With Your Colleagues

An issue I frequently run into with clients who have remote teams is that team members often wait until a project is complete (or nearly so) to share it with colleagues. At that point, it might be too late to incorporate helpful feedback. Sharing early—and often—can help teammates feel more connected to each other, build trust and yield better results too!

- Kate Dixon, Dixon Consulting

11. Leverage Digital Engagement For Connectedness And Inclusivity

Utilize digital technologies to increase interaction, strengthen bonds, solicit ideas, provide feedback and amplify the effects of good leadership on remote teams. Use video communication tools so teams see each other live while collaborating. Integrate emojis into digital messaging to reinforce organizational values, positive emotions and intent, show appreciation and promote team connection.

- Jonathan Silk, Bridge 3 LLC

12. Have A Non-Work Group Chat

Remote employees need a place where they can communicate to their colleagues to let off steam. Starting group chats on apps like Slack or WhatsApp where they can build personal connections, poke fun at each other and discuss non-work related topics will go a long way in building morale. I have seen this in other companies and it has worked very well for their remote employees.

- Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience

13. Establish 'Check-In' And 'Check-Out' Processes

Building a sense of community in an all-remote team is essential. Start with a brief "check-in" and end with a brief "check-out" practice. This helps team members to connect with each other at another level before diving into work topics and before signing off. Sometimes it's just one word, sometimes it's a sentence that is shared. Video calls versus audio only also make a big difference.

- Ute Franzen-Waschke, Business English & Culture

14. Regularly Share Best Practices

One of the significant advantages of an all-remote team is the diversity it brings. Teams can leverage this and learn from it. Having regular opportunities to share successes not only helps apply best practices across the whole team, but also creates a sense of unity around a common mission. Each member feels valued and appreciated for their contribution to the team's success.

- Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Leadership Academy

15. Build High-Performing Teams

When building high-performing teams, we need to ensure that we are giving the team the ability to self-direct, and not micromanaging the team members. This is the No. 1 killer of morale when fostering a culture that focuses on team collaboration.

- Brian Tait, Brian Tait International

How to Write a Resume During COVID-19

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 20:38:41 GMT

How to Write a Resume During COVID-19

Published via Indeed

July 30 2020

If you’re out of work due to the impact of COVID-19, you may be searching for jobs available now. Starting a job search can feel overwhelming, especially given the current circumstances. There are, however, several steps you can take to give yourself the best opportunity for success. One of the most important things you can do is to update or create your resume. In this article, we will discuss the best ways to create a resume employers will notice as we weather the impacts of the coronavirus.

To upload your resume on Indeed, visit my.indeed.com/resume. You can also now add #readytowork to your Indeed Resume summary to indicate to hiring employers your immediate availability. Read on to learn more.

The importance of updating and tailoring your resume

As you search for jobs during COVID-19, it is likely that you will either find opportunities in the essential workforce or remote jobs (even if only remote temporarily) as the country practices social distancing. As you search for new positions, it is critical that you update your resume such that your background and experience align with the positions you’re looking for now. To give yourself the best chances of standing out in the candidate pool, it is also important to tailor your resume for each job you apply for, prioritizing key skills and strengths as it relates to each specific job and employer.

This practice is especially important if you’re looking for job titles or industries you haven’t worked in before. For example, if you were a flight attendant and cannot find another flight attendant job in the short-term, you might be looking for other jobs that align with your skills and interests. While you may not have experience with those specific job titles, you can prioritize the transferable skills on your resume that make you a great candidate.

How to write a resume during COVID-19

As you seek job opportunities during COVID-19, consider the following practices to create a resume that will stand out to employers under the current circumstances:

1. Review your resume format and adjust if necessary

2. Update or write a resume summary or objective

3. Review the job description

4. Explain your impact as it relates to the job

5. Make your resume easy to read

6. Upload your resume to Indeed with #readytowork

1. Review your resume format and adjust if necessary

If you already have a resume, you might be using a standard chronological format. This format is useful when you have three to five years of experience in the same job title and industry. If you’re searching for other jobs and industries you haven’t worked in the past, it might be helpful to consider a functional or combination resume format. These format types prioritize your relevant skills as opposed to your professional experience, which may be more useful information for employers when assessing your fitness for the job.

2. Update or write a resume summary or objective

Including a resume summary or objective can be especially useful during these times to provide additional context about your background and situation. A resume summary is a brief statement about your skills, impact and experience and is appropriate for people with at least a year of relevant professional experience. A resume objective is a statement about your short- and long-term goals and may be more appropriate for new graduates or people seeking to change jobs or industries.

It might help to slightly alter the tone and verbiage of your objective or summary to point out the ways your skills and experience will benefit the organization during this time—for example, exquisite customer service, flexibility and adaptability, and eagerness to work in essential roles.

Here are a few resume summary examples that provide context around the COVID-19 job search:

Self-motivated university graduate with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Secondary Education and critical experience in learning technology.

Energetic community outreach manager experienced in creating and completing outreach programs in urban communities.

Organized dental office associate with seven years of experience maintaining effective client schedules, billing policies, and office workflows.

Here are a few resume objective examples that provide context around the COVID-19 job search:

Organized and accomplished flight attendant seeking jobs in customer service to exercise a passion for providing an exceptional customer experience. Proven history of positively affecting flight and pre-flight satisfaction rates by 15%.

Motivated arts graduate and aspiring fashion buyer with advanced communication skills seeking to grow my knowledge of the couture industry with online retail jobs available now.

Accomplished human resources professional seeking to leverage extensive knowledge of employee relations, business and internal communications in a customer-focused position that works directly with clients and ensures a positive experience.

3. Review the job description

One of the most important steps you can take when creating or updating a resume is to review the job description for the positions you’re applying for. Doing so can help you understand what the employer is looking for in a candidate, and therefore tailor your resume to prioritize and emphasize those skills, qualities and experiences. Look for keywords under sections such as “requirements,” “education requirements,” “key skills,” and “qualifications.” Place those that align with your background towards the top of your resume so it is easy for employers to find. Weave other keywords throughout your resume, including your professional experience, education and skills sections.

For example, if the job description for an executive assistant says they are looking for a candidate with skills in “accuracy and attention to detail,” you might make one of your experience bullet points read this way: “Reduced spending on office supplies by 15% with new inventory process by exercising accuracy and attention to detail.”

4. Explain your impact as it relates to the job

On any resume, it is critical that you draw clear lines from your previous accomplishments to the job you’re applying for. The easier you make it for employers to understand the impact you can make in the role, the more likely you are to stand out in the candidate pool. If you're working in a coronavirus-affected industry and you're seeking opportunities in another field, highlight what skills and experience you have that can translate to another position. For example, if you have strong time management skills, consider explaining how you can use this skill in a variety of industries and how it's beneficial to a remote position.

Here’s another example: if you are a flight attendant applying for roles in customer service, you should prioritize and explain the impact you made in your past jobs with your customer service skills. In practice, your professional experience section may look something like this:

RIVER AIR

Flight Attendant Lead | 2015–2020

Improved customer satisfaction scores over 20% throughout tenure by continuously planning and implementing service changes.

Trained and mentored over 45 new flight attendants, providing training in customer service skills, emergency management and safety standards.

Coordinated in-flight response and air-to-ground communications to resolve customer emergencies.

7. Make your resume easy to read

Because employers typically only have six seconds to review each resume, it's important that they are able to find key information quickly. To accomplish this, make sure your resume is formatted correctly in the following ways:

Try and keep your resume to one page by removing outdated (jobs older than 10 years) or irrelevant information

Try and use ½” to 1” document margins

Select a plain and professional font such as Arial or Helvetica

Make your font size 10 to 12 points if possible (smaller may be difficult to read and larger may appear unprofessional or distracting)

You should also be sure to prioritize the information on your resume as it relates to the position, for example:

Include your years of experience in your resume summary if it aligns with the employer’s requirements—this can be years of experience with a certain skill or in a specific job or industry

Place your skills section near the top of your resume if the employer emphasizes specific soft or hard skills in the job description such as proficiency with certain software programs or advanced customer service skills

Place your skills section above your professional experience section if you are changing jobs or industries

Place your education section near the top of your resume if you are a recent graduate with little professional experience. Place it near the bottom of your resume if you have at least two years of professional experience. With over five years of experience, you can remove your attendance dates, GPA and other less-relevant information.

8. Upload your resume to Indeed with #readytowork

To easily apply for jobs, upload or create an Indeed Resume. When set to “public,” employers are able to locate your profile on Indeed and reach out with relevant job opportunities. You can also now add a #readytowork tag to your Indeed Resume summary to alert hiring employers of your immediate availability. You can remove the hashtag at any time when you edit your resume summary.

How Managers Can Support Remote Employees

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Sat, 18 Jul 2020 19:08:24 GMT

How Managers Can Support Remote Employees

By Sabina Nawaz via Harvard Business Review

Published April 1, 2020

In the global transition from corporate hallways to home offices, we’ve left something behind: meaningful access to managers. Gone are the instant answers to unblock progress, information streams that managers are privy to before the rest of the organization, informal feedback and coaching while walking together after a meeting, and predictable process and structures for communicating about work and ensuring mutual accountability.

Last week, during a coaching call, a senior director lamented, “I’m stalled because I don’t know how to connect with my manager on the less formal stuff — the way I used to.” He’s not alone. Manager distancing is frustrating employees and stalling work.

But managers are finding themselves struggling, too. For every employee who is trying to reach their manager, a manager is attempting to connect with half a dozen or more direct reports, plus trying to get direction from their own boss. In a poll of my coaching clients last week about their biggest challenges, their key themes were about how to stay connected with each team member, help manage their own and others’ stress, maintain team morale and motivation, run engaged meetings, track and communicate progress, and help their team shed nonessential work.

My coaching clients — managers in a variety of organizations — and I have worked through several scenarios and arrived at these six strategies to augment availability to employees when working remotely. We’re seeing early indications that implementing these strategies can reduce manager and employee stress, address concerns about employee work progress, increase productivity for them and their teams, and restore and maintain healthy communication channels.

Bridge distance through frequent connections.

Yuval*, CEO of a 1,000-person high-tech company, messages or calls his direct reports at least once a day, usually without a specific agenda. He says things like, “Checking to see if you need anything from me,” “What questions do you have for me today?” “Just learned about X and want you to be the first to know,” and “Thinking of you; reminded of our winter team outing and your killer s’mores as I look at the picture on my home office wall.” Instead of simply asking his direct reports to get in touch with him as needed, Yuval proactively manages the frequency of connection. This way, he always has a finger on the pulse of his team, especially those directs hesitant to reach out and add more to their boss’s plate during a crisis.

Blast through questions with office hours.

Managers make dozens of decisions daily and provide their people with scores of data points via informal conversations. These interactions don’t merit full meetings, but when they’re ignored, little things can languish and become looming problems. Marissa, executive director of a non-profit, has started holding office hours: an hour a day in which she invites her directs to join her on a video conferencing app if they have concerns that can be addressed in 10 minutes or less. When one person joins, she locks the meeting — the online version of shutting the office door. Everyone understands they should try back in about 10 minutes if a lock is in place. For more complex issues, Marissa asks her directs to schedule a dedicated meeting. Allocating time to deal with the flurry of daily issues maintains work fluidity and prevents small sore spots from festering into large pain points.

Provide stability through consistent rituals.

In lives riddled with unpredictability and constant change, rituals provide predictability and structure. While we don’t know what challenges we’ll face tomorrow, we do know there will be some. We can better manage the unpredictable by containing it within structured rituals whenever feasible. Here are some examples of how managers have ritualized their availability: 15-minute morning check-ins to regroup on overnight developments and establish a course for the day; opening a meeting by having everyone share one word to describe their current state of mind followed by an elaborative sentence (or saying “pass”); or a theme for each week’s meeting, such as everyone wears a hat. By creating a predictable ritual and leading by example, managers can foster a sense of connection, safety, and fun, even while their teams are buffeted by the forces of change.

Enhance safety through clear boundaries.

Expanding your availability as a manager can also have downsides. Some team members might not desire frequent connection as they continue to adjust to the new normal and wrestle with complex emotions. Others might want more time from you than your capacity allows. Be transparent about your availability plan, then set boundaries and invite others to do the same. You can say, for example, “I’m prioritizing my time with you. I’ll reach out in a variety of ways, from checking in with you daily to having office hours. Let me know if you need some space and don’t want to connect quite so frequently. I’ll also do my best to respond to your messages the same day. However, I’m taking advantage of this unique opportunity to reserve 30 minutes each day at noon to have lunch with my family.” By setting expectations and giving others space, we meet people where they are and give them permission to set their own boundaries.

Stay ahead of the game by inviting problems, not just solutions.

Our previous rules of engagement have gone by the wayside, so no one has definitive solutions. Invite your team to come to you with problems, even if they don’t yet have solutions. Consider saying, “In our current world, we all have questions, few people have answers. If you see signs of trouble, issues that aren’t visible to me, don’t wait to come to me until you have an accompanying solution. Bring me your early indicators and together we’ll devise experiments to tackle the challenge.” Explicitly signaling you want to know about budding problems will enable greater periscopic vision and access to broader sets of solutions.

Enable capacity through feedback.

The subtleties of nonverbal communication are lost in remote work, even with the video turned on. People’s need for recognition and good news is exacerbated in trying times. Reserve time at the end of each day to provide specific, positive feedback for good work (not just great work). Appreciation expressed can help smooth a lot of disruptive discomforts. Also provide timely corrective feedback before shortfalls aggravate your pile of problems. Small and frequent performance guidance circumvents major corrections down the road and allows everyone to stay in sync despite distance and daily change.

Researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer have extensively studied employee motivation and found that making progress in meaningful work is the key to keep employees engaged. While the swift shift to remote work can cause stress and many complications to daily activities, your job as a manager is to remove as many barriers to forward momentum as possible. By communicating a clear availability plan, you can help your team members feel better connected to you and address any concerns or questions as they arise.

8 Ways to Thrive in Uncertain Times

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 02:21:18 GMT

8 Ways to Thrive in Uncertain Times

By Dr. Melissa Smith via Balance Health & Healing

Published March 25, 2020

Times are tough! Talk about uncertainty. We are in the middle of a pandemic that has left us scared and scrambling. Our world has been turned upside down almost overnight and there is an eerie stillness on the streets at night.

How are you hanging in there?

If you’re like most of us, you may still be trying to get your bearings about you. What does this mean for you? Your work? Your family? You may have experienced an initial period of shock—maybe you’re still experiencing it—where you thought “this can’t be happening” and figured “people are over-reacting” or “things will settle down quickly.

But then life didn’t settle down. In fact, things have escalated quickly in the almost two weeks since much of the United States has taken action related to COVID-19. The new reality may be settling in for you now, though there’s no road map for the terrain we find ourselves in now.

However, it is possible to thrive in the face of uncertainty. We need to recognize that we are on new terrain and it may take a bit to get our footing. That’s okay! There’s no perfect map for the terrain that lays ahead. This is totally understandable. We are going to be worn out and frustrated and scared. This often happens when we are forging a new path. So be it.

But, it is possible to be steady on our path even when the path is uncertain. The key to remember is that predictability is an antidote to stress and structure brings order to chaos. Though the future is unpredictable and no one can provide 100% certainty, here are 8 ways to thrive in uncertain times.

Learn something every day. You’ve likely got more time at home. Make it productive time. Learn something new every day, whether via a great audiobook, an old-fashioned book (remember those?), a podcast, YouTube videos, or e-learning options. Challenge yourself and keep your mind active. This will help stave off anxiety and give your mind something productive to focus on.

Get outside every day. Don’t stay cooped up. Just because you’re quarantined, doesn’t mean you need to stay inside. Spend some time outside every day, regardless of the weather. Put on a coat, put on sunscreen, do what you need to do, but get outside and breathe some fresh air. A simple walk will do. A hike is great. A run could be marvelous unless you have a gimpy hip like I do. The point is, enjoy the great outdoors every day. It will do your body and your soul some good.

Have fun every day. Because you’re spending more time at home, it’s important to break up the day and we know that all work and no fun makes you a dull girl (or boy as the case may be). Plan for fun every single day. Play games at the end of the day. Have a movie night. Have a spike ball tournament (with those you can be close to, of course). Have a dance party after dinner. The meme game is strong right now so consider taking time and laughing to some memes or have a family contest of who can find the best memes. Everyone will win. Last week my teens and I watched the Dude Perfect Quarantine Classic over four nights. It was silly and it was fun.

Move your body every day. The gym is closed, but you still need the benefits of regular exercise. This is a great time to be creative with your workouts and try something new. There are a lot of apps offering free memberships right now—check them out! Body weight exercises are very effective. Use some bands, use some canned goods, or use a partner for resistance! The possibilities are endless.

Get quiet every day. We have so many inputs coming at us right now, and so many of the inputs are laden with fear and anxiety. It’s essential to create some boundaries where you can limit the inputs and build in stillness for yourself. This space allows reflection, self-awareness, understanding, presence, and peace. This is an excellent time for journaling, praying, and meditation.

Connect with others every day. Social distancing doesn’t mean social isolation. Make a point to connect with 3-5 loved ones every day via phone, text, email, face-time, skype, zoom, marco polo app, or social media. Relationships matter, they matter a lot! We are all coping with a lot and the ability to process what is happening with those we love can make all the difference in thriving vs. just surviving. There is no need to move through uncertainty alone. You aren’t meant to cope alone.

Stick to the basics every day. Just because the world seems to be falling apart doesn’t mean your schedule needs to fall apart. Remember, predictability is an antidote to stress. Stick to the basics of good sleep hygiene, a good sleep schedule, a predictable daily routine, balanced nutrition that includes fruits and veggies and adequate water intake. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean hygiene should fly out the window! Get up, get showered, get dressed and ready for the day, make your bed. You will feel better about yourself and your contribution to your work.

Be grateful every day. Find a way to be grateful despite the storms raging about you. This isn’t about dismissing or minimizing the difficulties you find yourself in, but it is about acknowledging that there is always something to be grateful for and that the degree to which you can be grateful is the degree to which you will develop resilience. That’s how resilience works. Perspective really matters. Ask yourself “what are the gifts of this time?” and you will be amazed at how you begin to develop eyes to see gifts everywhere you look. Whether it is a new-found appreciation for freedom to move about unimpeded or gratitude for more family time, when you begin to look at your life and circumstance with gratitude, your heart begins to expand and the stress that once was traumatic ceases to be. We call this post-traumatic growth and it is powerful.

Times of uncertainty need not be devastating. They can propel us to personal growth and deeper connection, but we must be willing to cultivate self-compassion, coping skills, and curiosity about our needs. You are meant to thrive, not just when the sun is shining and flowers blooming, but here, today, among the storms.

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Introduces New App

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 19:37:41 GMT

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Releases Brand New “Staffmax” App

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Winnipeg, MB – July 9, 2020 – Staffmax announced today that their brand-new app, “Staffmax”, is available on the App Store and the Google Play for download to your iOS and Android devices.

Internet and job finding resources have advanced and evolved over the years and now here we are in 2020. According to the most *recent economic report released by Glassdoor in 2019, research shows that career professionals in all age groups in the North American workforce rely on mobile devices as a core tool to connect with employers and recruiting agencies online.

This is why high-tech, top trend setting recruiting agencies like Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting have created an intuitive app platform to showcase current roles that are available via Staffmax and allow employers to request staff for quick placements directly through the app. The app walks the user step-by-step thru building a simple profile, allowing the user to be notified when jobs are available that match their predetermined set criteria and skill set in their profile.

Another feature is that the “Staffmax” app has created a streamlined way for candidates to connect and be matched with live recruiting agents across Canada.

About Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

*Reference: Glassdoor Economic Research: The Rise of Mobile Devices in Job Search

https://www.glassdoor.com/research/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/Mobile-Job-Search-1.pdf

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

COVID-19: 6 key questions on the return to work

kellinmackay@gmail.com (Kelli Mackay) — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 20:23:11 GMT

COVID-19: 6 key questions on the return to work

By John Dujay via Canadian HR Reporter

Published April 23, 2020

One day the coronavirus outbreak will end and, en masse, millions of remote employees will be returning to the workplace they knew before.

But what should legal considerations should employers focus on in the transition back to the workplace?

Sara Kauder, senior employment lawyer at Minken Employment Lawyers in Unionville, Ont. shared some insights with Canadian HR Reporter.

Q: How should workers on temporary layoffs be recalled back to work?

A : “Employers will have to assess when the time is right to recall them but, of course, there are certain parameters and timeframes set out in the Employment Standards Act; if they go beyond that, then it becomes a termination.

“Obviously, they’re going to have to look at the financial situation and the health of the company and determine what employees can be recalled, how many, what time; it might need to be staggered depending on the business.

“It might be necessary to recall some but not others; it might be a situation where hard choices are required and terminations may become necessary, in which case there’s going to be the analysis of the termination obligations to these employees. Do you want to have a staggered return to work to make sure that material supplies and all of that is ready so that employees can be productive when the time comes to return to work?

“Employers also want to make sure that confidential information, all company property, is brought back into the workplace because employees have accumulated a lot of data, a lot of company property, and it needs to get back to the workplace.”

Can a reduction of hours and pay become a permanent change?

“Employers are going to have a hard time maintaining that going forward unless they can demonstrate that they’re continuing to suffer, because if it does extend beyond the emergency provisions and restrictions that have been set out by the government, employers are going to be at risk for potential constructive-dismissal claims.

“Something that could potentially be impacted — depending on how much of a reduction there are in the number of hours — will be things like benefits because some benefits are only for full-time employees and not part-time employees.

“If an employee was a full-time employee, but because of COVID they became a part-time employee, the employer might have been able to make an arrangement with the insurance company whereby full benefits would be maintained. But if the reduced hours is going to be maintained, that could then become an issue with the insurance company; it might impact the benefits that the employee has, but it shouldn’t change their overall status.

“They would still be considered an employee, and whether they’re a part-time or a full-time employee, it wouldn’t affect a lot of the protections under the Employment Standards Act or notice entitlements.”

What if an employee was moved into a new role and wants to stay there?

“One thing that an employer would want to think about is whether or not there needs to be changes to an employment agreement to reflect that new position. If compensation is changed, or hours or responsibilities, those are things that may not have been papered as a result of COVID because it was meant to be a temporary measure. But where it’s going to become permanent, employers should think about making those changes more formal and implementing a revised employment agreement or contract if one is already in place.

“If one isn’t in place, it might be a good opportunity for employers to put those types of things in place, [and] they might want to add things like termination clause, non-compete, non-solicits. If those things were not in place before, sometimes it can be risky to slide those things with a change of position if there’s no additional compensation that’s being provided.”

What if an employee refuses to come back to work because they think it’s not safe?

“Employers have to provide a safe working environment under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. An employee can refuse to return to work if they can prove that it’s unsafe or that it’s likely to be unsafe.”

“But if the employer has done what needs to be done to make the place safe, then an employee would potentially be in a risky situation by refusing to return if they don’t have strong grounds to do so and that could be viewed as an abandonment of employment or resignation.

“Certainly, a deep cleaning is something that is a good idea and for businesses that have been closed, a deep cleaning should probably be sufficient. But if we’re talking about a situation where there’s still active cases and there’s cause for concern, then that’s a different story, because then the employer is going to have address those concerns.

“For example, are members of the public coming in and out of the workplace? It would go back along those lines of analyzing who has access to the workplace, what is the potential risk of that, and taking steps to address those concerns.

“We might see a situation where some of these remote work-from-home arrangements may continue in some shape or form because there may be legitimate cause for concern that the immediacy of COVID will not have passed by the time businesses are opening up again. There’s constant talk about a resurgence or a second wave and there’s going to be heightened awareness and heightened sensitivity to that. That is something that employers are going to have to take into consideration and it might be a situation where more interactions with the public with suppliers, customers, are done remotely even for an ongoing basis.”

What if an employee wants to keep working remotely?

“An employer is not obligated to honour that request but it’s a reasonable ask and if there’s a concern about minimizing contacts between employees, even when the situation is better, it might make sense to have rotating situations where some of the week employees are in the workplace.

“But an employer should realistically analyze the request and if it is a situation where it is possible for an employee to work remotely, then they may want to consider having some sort of flex arrangement -- maybe not a situation where all of a sudden the employee is going to 100 per cent be working from home, but it may open the door for a discussion whereby one day a week [is done from home] or there can be a greater amount of flexibility.”

“One of the things that is that is going to come out of this COVID situation is that a lot of businesses can function with workers working remotely; it may not be the way things were done in the past and it may not always be the ideal situation, but this is going to show that a lot of people are able to do that. The world is going to be very different when all this is over. And, when you have a bunch of people all working in cubicles next to each other, we may have to rethink how that works.”

What if an employee has family issues that require accommodation?

“Employers do have a duty to accommodate up to the point of undue hardship. There are certain protected grounds and family responsibilities, childcare, health issues, whether it’s their own or for a family member, those are all things that can trigger the employer’s duty to accommodate.

“Employers need to take those requests more seriously and need to make sure that they are doing their due diligence to investigate: Is there a potential human rights aspect to this request? And is it reasonable to accommodate it in light of those unique circumstances facing that particular employee?”

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Recognizes Success of Staff Member Marnie Tod As “Winner of 2020 Exceptional Experience” Contest Hosted by ACSESS

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 18:42:47 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Recognizes Success of Staff Member Marnie Tod As
“Winner of 2020 Exceptional Experience” Contest Hosted by ACSESS

Winnipeg – June 10, 2020 – Many individuals can relate to the story of Artem Krutilin, a new immigrant

to Canada searching to be swept into the Canadian job marketplace. Quickly Artem located and took

advantage of resources for newcomers, built a new resume and started searching. Gaining little traction in

Ontario, Artem expanded his job search to other Canadian provinces in hopes of a better outcome. An

advertisement for a relevant position in Winnipeg on Staffmax’s website caught Artem’s eye and he

applied, not anticipating quick results.

Enter Marnie Tod, Senior Recruitment Consultant at Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting for the last 5

years. With a total of 16 years in the recruiting business, Marnie has developed a keen eye for spotting

talented individuals and matching them with incredible opportunities. When she saw Artem’s application,

she instinctively had a feeling Artem would be a good match for the role and connected with Artem

immediately, much to his surprise. Artem commented saying - “The interview process was challenging.

However, I had Marnie to guide me and I made it through, with a job offer in hand at the end.” Artem’s

experience with Marnie was enhanced again when she assisted with the transition of Artem moving from

Toronto to Winnipeg.

Because of Artem’s experience with Marnie, he went on to write a submission for a national contest hosted

by ACSESS (The Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services) detailing the joy

Marnie had been to work with during his time of need. This submission would go on to win the 1st place

against entries coming in across Canada. Jason Gill, Vice-President of Operations at Staffmax added

the following comment – “Our Staffmax team has observed Marnie’s level of customer service to our clients and candidates and we are very pleased to see her recognized by her industry peers.” Marnie had this to say about

Staffmax – “I deeply appreciate being a part of a company that shows dedication to ethical practices and

community engagement, it’s a driving force that propels my career forward.”

About Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Head Office is located in Winnipeg, MB with offices across western Canada.

Staffmax is well known for their expertise in recruiting and placing talented and qualified candidates both

nationally and internationally for term and permanent placements.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Are You Prewired To Work From Home?

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 17:48:22 GMT

Are You Prewired To Work From Home?

Reposted article by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic via Forbes

Originally published April 4, 2020

Humanity is still work in progress. That is good news. It means we are able to adapt to new challenges, progress, and evolve. Certain aspects of this journey are only visible when viewed from afar, which requires less focus on the here and now, and more focus on the big picture. For example, our ability to transition from physical to virtual work is the result of centuries of technological advancements, of which the current AI era is only the latest phase. Just before we had Zoom, Slack, and smartphones, we had of course WiFi, blackberries, and cellphones. Long before we blurred the boundaries between work and life, teleworking or flexi-working, a growing proportion of jobs started to require less manual and more cognitive work. The rise of the knowledge economy demanded a big switch, from behavioral tasks (doing) to intellectual tasks (thinking), and their related product (saying). This made the prime ingredients of work less tangible and observable, turning a large proportion of the workforce into symbolic workers who trade ideas and concepts, and are measured less for what they do, and more for what they say. From a behavioral standpoint, if we actually observe knowledge workers while they are doing their jobs, there is no way to distinguish between what they do. Everybody, from a junior IT consultant to a senior investment banker, appears to engage in exactly the same behaviors: looking at a screen, reading and typing messages, presumably with some thinking in between.

A non-trivial consequences of this progression is the downgrading of physical interactions, which in many ways seemed like a luxury – nice to have, but not necessary – long before we were subjected to extreme social distancing and physical isolation. The significant portion of the working population of the world who is now in lockdown will no doubt relish the not-so-distant memories of analogue human interaction, and miss some precious physical moments with coworkers, clients, and even bosses. And yet, at least from a productivity standpoint, humanity has never been better equipped to withdraw from the physical world. In part, because a greater proportion of jobs are now abstract and dispensable; in part, because we have never been better at executing concrete and indispensable jobs remotely. This applies not just to work, but also our personal lives. We have developed an unprecedented capacity to remain connected even in physical isolation. Yes, this is largely thanks to technology, but the only reason we created that very technology is to make social isolation a practical impossibility, even in the absence of physical proximity.

Needless to say, the fact that some will experience physical distancing as a blessing, preferring to spend more time alone than with others, is a powerful reminder of the flexibility, adaptability, and diversity of the human species. Even before the coronavirus pandemic arrived in our lives, we had already acknowledged the inconvenience that certain (near default) office designs, such as open plan work spaces, caused to many workers – e.g., quiet, introverted, private personalities. In general, progress in any area tends to increase choice, and more choices highlight the wide range of preferences, values, and inclinations underpinning human diversity. So, while in hunter-gatherer societies extraverts may have had to limit their social curiosity to interacting with a maximum of 20 people during their entire lives – something that would make you antisocial today, even if you live in a small village – we can now pick between a wide range of jobs, industries, careers, and company cultures based on temperamental fit or value congruence. Flexible working conditions, including the ability to work from home, were already an attractive dimension for in-demand workers, with a clear age-trend indicating higher need for flexibility and independence among younger workers.

Typically, discussions about working from home, virtual working, and flexible working hours focus more on the employer than employees, especially when the goal is to predict organizational outcomes (e.g., engagement, productivity, brand loyalty, etc.). Implicit in such discussions is the assumption that employees are a uniform category, such that they will either all benefit from working from home or not, or all be more productive or not, if they pick their own working hours, stop answering emails after 6PM, or have unlimited vacations. In reality, however, any working modality will be much more compatible with some than with others, and what may be the most appealing form of work to one person, may be the most appalling to another.

In line, a great deal of psychological research shows that certain people are much better predisposed for working from home than others, to the point that they will thrive when they are not in the office. Some people in this group may have been fortunate enough to have forged careers that enable them to avoid setting foot in an office, but others with the same psychological makeup may have suffered by being forced to partake in face to face meetings, client events, and daily visits to the office. Assuming the current crisis doesn’t eliminate their jobs, and that their personal circumstances are not too disruptive, we can expect such employees to experience an uptick in both engagement and productivity, and that they end up hoping for an extended license to work from home even once crisis is over.

How to work from home: Tips on staying healthy and productive

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 22:15:59 GMT

How to work from home: Tips on staying healthy and productive

To help get you through your own ad-hoc, at-home office situation, we turned to our colleagues

Reposted article by Bloomberg News via Human Resources Director

Originally published March 16, 2020

When the novel coronavirus started spreading across Asia in January, forcing the world’s largest work-from-home experiment, not many knew what to expect, least of all Bloomberg’s 400-plus journalists in the region. Six weeks later (and counting), only now are some starting to return to the office.

Meanwhile, the great experiment is going worldwide as Covid-19 cases mount in the U.S. and Europe, with Spain and France joining Italy on lockdown, and cities such as New York grinding to a halt. Chances are that you, too, will be executing a mandatory telecommute sometime soon, if you aren’t already.

To help get you through your own ad-hoc, at-home office situation, we turned to our colleagues in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo for tips and advice.

Maximize Productivity

The biggest piece of advice: “Go” to work.

“Try to stick to some semblance of your original routine from before you started working from home,” says Eric Lam, a cross-asset reporter in Hong Kong. If you needed to be at your desk at 8 a.m., don’t wake up at 7:59. “Give yourself a little bit of time before your start to wake yourself up, have a coffee, make breakfast. Especially for those of us—like me—who are not morning types.”

And dress the part. That means comfortable work clothes—not pajamas.

“It makes me feel awake, fresh, productive, and less slovenly,” says Kristine Servando, deputy head of Asia digital in Hong Kong. “It was part of the mental trick of demarcating between work and the rest of your life.”

“For the boys: Shave,” says Edward Gelband, part of the media distribution team in Tokyo.

Creating an “office environment” is important, too. Try to set up your workspace in a well-lit room or one with as much natural light as possible. Have a good chair. Stand up. Have a lot more meetings: Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Alex Millson, news desk editor in Hong Kong, has an indispensable item to avoid distractions from partners and children: “Noise. Canceling. Headphones.” He adds: “I just bought a pair of AirPods Pro, which are great at drowning out the playgroup we host once a week and other close-quarters distractions.”

He also ordered a lumbar cushion. “It’s totally saved my back—hugely recommend it for slouchers. Of course, it’s no good if you’re working from the sofa.” And his Nespresso Mini Essenza is working overtime. “It’s great because it makes a cup of coffee in 30 seconds. It’s so small, it can sit right next to your workstation.”

And don’t forget the little things, like getting a real mouse. “It’s a game changer. Laptop trackpads just don’t cut it and could lead to mistakes,” says Lam. An external keyboard is a good idea, too, and if you can swing it, a second monitor.

Set Boundaries

When you live in your office, it’s easy to overwork.

Servando in Hong Kong stresses the importance of completely logging off when you’re supposed to. Resist the urge to come back to your computer after dinner. “Otherwise, the work life bleeds into home life, physically and mentally.”

“The biggest surprise for me is how fast the day can go without you realizing it, compared with working in the office,” says Lam. “Cutting out the commute makes me feel much more productive with my day. But on the other hand, it sometimes does not feel like you’re actually done with work when your working hours are up. So it’s important to know when to get up and turn it off.”

If possible, designate an area for work, as opposed to using your kitchen table or bed. It helps get you into a better mental space than you might think. Transitioning to a laptop, slower home internet, and a laggy virtual private network can lead to major frustration. The key is to minimize it.

“I generally try not to sit on the couch until after the workday,” says Alice Truong, digital news editor in Hong Kong, who created a makeshift standing desk, using boxes to raise her keyboard and monitor. “I also got a new router and gooseneck kettle, both of which have been a boost.”

Megan Hess, also in Hong Kong, says the biggest thing for her was “creating an actual physical space to work, which can be tricky in a small apartment space.” She also recommends adhering to regular morning routines, such as listening to a favorite news podcast while getting ready. “I bought a small table and chair to sit at, and advise getting a monitor and separate mouse/keyboard so you’re not slouched over a tiny laptop.”

One major bonus of having a dedicated setup: “After the workday was over, I put all my office ‘supplies’ (notebooks, etc.) away and out of sight till the next morning.”

What if My Kids Are Home, Too?

“Three-year olds are inherently attracted to keyboards, mice, or anything that clicks, so it’s important that you have things that are even more irresistible handy, like their favorite toys or cookies,” says Young-Sam Cho, an editor in Hong Kong. “Saying ‘No, don’t grab that’ or ‘Hey, I’m in the middle of sending an important headline/story’ just won’t cut it. If nothing works, give them the iPad.”

“And don’t ever wake them up.”

Clara Ferreira Marques, 40, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist in Hong Kong who lives with her husband and three kids, stressed the importance of scheduling blocks of child-free time. “This is challenging for most of us who end up alone at home, but not impossible.”

Also: Buy lots of craft material, coloring books, workbooks. Schools will not always provide the right amount of work, and you will need to add/fill in.

“Prepare enough books and toys, but give them to kids only in batches,” says Penny Peng, 32, a news editor in Beijing. Think of activities to give them, such as light housework or cleaning their play mats.

And talk to your kids about what is happening, adds Ferreira Marques. Buy the papers. Explain the age-appropriate details. This is new territory for them, too.

Avoid Isolation

Social distancing isn’t easy, especially if you’re used to a bustling office.

“It’s actually been quite a struggle for me to try to stay sane,” says Jihye Lee, 28, a breaking news reporter in Seoul. “I started making sure I talk to someone on the phone at least once a day.”

And although decompressing over lunch with co-workers might be out of the question, that doesn’t mean meals have to be solitary. “I’ve started eating while watching mukbang,” says Lee, “which is a form of YouTube where people just eat … and talk to you.” Her favorites are Boki, Hamzy, and Hatnim.

You can also try watching movies with your bestie, just remotely. “When my friend in Beijing was under lockdown (and about to go crazy), I scheduled a lot of weekend movie screenings with her over a video call,” says Servando, who used Google Hangouts. “We’d pull up the same movie on Netflix and start streaming at the same time, and then unmute the call if we had a comment.” She kept the fare light and non-gloomy: Top Gun, Taylor Swift’s Miss America documentary.

If happy hour was a regular fixture before working from home, try to recreate it virtually.

One Hong Kong employee said that after three weeks of working from home, a manager helped moderate a video chat for 20 people on their team. With drinks in hand, they talked about their working environment, their pets, their families (some showed their kids on camera), and shared happy and funny stories. The call lasted about 45 minutes.

Although it was strange at first, it was nice to connect to people outside their “office.” Smaller groups of two to three people kept it going over ensuing Fridays.

Most of all: “Be kind to yourself,” says Ferreira Marques. “It’s really hard, and some days all of the above goes out the window.”

Stay Healthy

Lethargy and weight gain can set in faster than you think. Your daily steps are about to go way down. And that 5 p.m. glass of wine is often much too close.

“Stretch out a lot before, during, or after the shift,” says Servando. “It’s so easy to succumb to the magnetic pull of a comfortable couch and pillow-laden bed—and stay there.”

If gyms go on lockdown, as they did in Asia, at-home workouts are a good option. Consider rolling out a yoga mat or doing a 30-minute high intensity set via online exercise videos.

If not that, try pushups: “I’ve been squeezing in pushups throughout my day,” says Truong, “aiming for at least 100.”

For Lee in Seoul, short walks or five-minute workout breaks, such as these free yoga and stretching sessions on YouTube—spread through the day—were also useful.

Millson used the change of routine as an opportunity to eat better. “For me, it’s been all about breaking the bad habits that creep into office life—a pack of chips with morning coffee, dim sum in the office on Friday mornings, things like that.”

He stripped all the snack foods from the cupboards, and he and his wife, who was also working from home, decided to go low-carb with meat, vegetables, and small portions. “And that’s what it’s been like for three weeks. I’ve lost a couple of kilos so far—eight to go. I just wouldn’t have the willpower to do it in the office.”

Peng took 30-minute online gym classes with her 3-year-old daughter. “We use Keep, a Chinese fitness app. While most people were at home, they designed online class for parents and kids. The activities are as simple as situps or very basics for boxing, gymnastics, with music, of course.”

Ferreira Marques instituted a strict schedule that ensured everyone getting out and exercising at least three times a day: “Morning, lunchtime, and evening,” she says. “Otherwise the lethargy takes over.” For her that meant dog walks, football, frisbee, cricket in the park—“and on the weekend, get out into nature as much as you can.”

And if you need to, take a nap. “Japan is one of the countries where people aren’t getting enough sleep,” says Marika Katanuma, 27, digital news editor in Tokyo. A short 15- to 30-minute nap on your lunch break can boost your productivity and keep you focused over a longer day. “It’s a bit like starting a new day.”

Embrace Unexpected Dividends

Working from home might bring fresh stresses—but with them, fresh rewards. You can listen to your own music, cuddle a cat to relieve stress, and get additional sleep. And if you need a second monitor for your computer, it might be the perfect excuse to upgrade your living room TV.

“The irritations of WFH are a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things,” says Rachel Chang, a healthcare and consumer news editor in Hong Kong.

Plus, “now that you’re not commuting, you’ve got extra time to do all the things that build up,” says Millson, who’s using his to run three times a week and spend more time playing games with daughters aged 4 and 5.

“Compile a big to do list, and as soon as you log off, plow through it,” he adds.

Moreover, there’s camaraderie, even outside your company: Everyone understands the challenges right now. “There’s nothing that beats the experience of calling a source and having your toddler crawling toward you because he hears your voice and wants to play with you while the source can hear him playing, or shouting, or crying at times,” says Manuel Baigorri, a deal reporter based in Hong Kong. He finds spending more time with his wife and kid an indisputable upside of working from home.

“Being able to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with them, play during breaks with my kid, and just seeing them around the house and being able to talk to them during the day is priceless.”

Leadership In The Time Of COVID-19

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 21:26:08 GMT

Leadership In The Time Of COVID-19

Reposted article by Mark Nevins via Forbes

Originally published March 19, 2020

The reality of life post-COVID-19 has not fully sunk in yet, and its consequences for our businesses, organizations, economy, and society will play out over the rest of 2020 and beyond. Right now, we really need sober, smart, values-driven, and focused leadership. Remember the old adage, “Crisis does not build character, it reveals it.”

Eighteen months ago, my friend John Hillen and I published a book on leadership titled What Happens Now? The book’s core argument is that leaders, even (and especially) highly successful ones, must reinvent and change themselves or risk being outrun by their businesses. No matter how effective you were yesterday, you will find that today and tomorrow are likely to make new and different demands on you as a leader. If you fail to reinvent and adapt, you and your organization will stall and fail.

There’s no “playbook” for leadership when the stakes are high, and there’s certainly no playbook for what to do in the face of a 21st Century pandemic. We are all facing threats on multiple fronts at once: to self, family, employees, customers, suppliers and business partners, governmental and financial systems, and potentially our social fabric. Even the Dean of the Harvard Business School can only offer a few good insights for companies facing this new reality, but no silver-bullet solutions.

So, what should you do if you’re responsible for a team, organization, or company? Following are a few suggestions.

First and foremost, educate yourself. This means going beyond just watching the TV news. Don’t get sucked into the melodrama that characterizes the media (and especially social media) these days—and don’t project melodrama onto others. One good source to monitor is the Daily Situation Report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website has pragmatic advice on how to protect yourself as well as interim guidance for businesses and employers.

Recognize as well that in business and economic terms, things are changing on a daily or even hourly basis. Today’s realities are quite different than they were on Monday, and vastly different from just last week. Be flexible, be adaptive, and be willing to make difficult choices. Nobody has a crystal ball, but read up on the macroeconomic implications for your business/industry/sector so you can make better decisions. I’ve been following feeds from The Economist, The Brookings Institution, Moody’s, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and I plan to add more.

Next, anchor everything in what’s most important : the safety of everyone you’re responsible for. Ensure that you have clear business protocols and expectations in place and fine-tune them as necessary. Work-from-home is only the first step: what else needs to happen in your organization for people to feel safe, engaged, informed, and useful? One of my clients, perhaps the toughest CEO you’ll ever meet and leader of an aggressively sales-driven global company, spent the first 20 minutes of his Town Hall on Monday underscoring that what mattered most to him was that his people felt physically and psychologically safe. This isn’t a touchy-feely thing—making people feel safe is one of your most important jobs as a leader.

At the same time, build a clear plan for your organization. Several of my CEO clients have urged the importance of “thinking global and acting local”—that is, sketch out plans that are as detailed as possible for the longer-term (at least through the end of 3rd Q), recognizing that much will change, but at the same time be extremely focused on your game-plan week-by-week and even day-by-day. Things are changing at an incredible rate. Put together a tactical set of steps for this new way of working. Think strategically, conduct (and re-conduct) scenario planning—Plans B, C, and D—and be willing to adapt quickly. If you ever wondered what “VUCA” really looks like, this is it.

Be sure to leverage your team. You’re not in this alone, you shouldn’t try to be a superhero, and as one of my mentors once noted, “all of us is smarter than any of us.” Bring your team together to ensure alignment on plans, priorities, and contingencies. Engage them in doing that scenario-planning. Work with them to differentiate the truly important from the merely urgent—and help them do the same with their teams. Ask them how they and their families feel, to help ensure everyone is tapping into his emotional intelligence to lead and manage in the right ways. Even in “normal” times, working with remote teams presents extra challenges; here are some great suggestions for making virtual teams work.

Over-invest in communication . As my friends and clients hear me say often, “No executive has ever been faulted for over-communication.” You must communicate with credibility and optimism. Be realistic but be positive. With most people now working remotely, set up multiple and new ways to keep in touch. As a leader, pay attention to your communication style and tactics, be deliberate, and be as “visible” as you can possibly be. Set the right type and frequency of communication for your organization: maybe even a short weekly town hall for the next few weeks? Be clear and specific with your messaging (what do people need to hear?) and don’t be afraid to repeat the key themes. Help people focus on what they can control: this is not a bad time to practice some Stoic leadership.

Following on the topic of communication, be judicious in your formal communication to the whole company. Churchill didn’t do a daily radio address even at the height of the Second World War, and neither should you. While CEOs and other enterprise leaders must ensure that overall company communication is increased, they should not overdo all-hands calls or company-wide e-mails. Rather, drill your direct reports regularly in the right messages about what the company is doing and how their people should be responding, including as things change. All company leaders should be telling the same story, with confidence, compassion, and optimism: how to keep safe, how to work together, and how to ensure that everyone is focused what’s most essential for the business and its customers.

Find new ways to create connections. As above, communicate as much as you can, especially informally, and be sure that people can get hold of you: nothing is worse than a leader who fades away when the chips are down. Be available and be comfortable talking about personal concerns as well as the business. If your organization doesn’t make use of videoconferencing, now is the time to put it in place. Many tools are free (Skype, WhatsApp), and some of the major players in the space (e.g., Microsoft and Google) are currently giving away enterprise conferencing tools in response to COVID-19. Many of my clients have moved to regular videoconferencing over the last few years—and once you get comfortable with it you’ll find it can enhance the sense of engagement and dialogue. If you’re new to conducting calls or meetings via video, here are some tips to help you get more comfortable. And here are some great pointers on how to get people to participate.

Remember to be authentic. Don't forget why people have come to trust and follow you, and tap into your natural persona to create calm and focus. In times of crisis people crave the familiar. Now is not a good time to change your style: you don’t need to be like General Patton or Al Haig (am I dating myself?) to be an effective leader in times of crisis. Don’t hide bad news. Be honest, including saying “I don’t know” if you don’t know. You don’t need to know all the answers—but you should take the time to understand what your people are asking and why they are asking it. Here’s a an excellent set of questions you can use for yourself and your team: can you answer these?

Most of all, manage yourself. You’re a human being, and you’re stressed like everyone else—and probably in ways you may not even realize. Don’t let yourself get to the end of your rope. Take the time to make sure you yourself are as prepared and focused as you can be. Stay balanced: get your exercise, eat properly, and make time for the people who are most important to you. Your family and friends need your attention and leadership as much as your employees and customers do.

As a closing: recall that one of last Fall’s biggest stories was The Business Roundtable reversing its longstanding position that “corporations exist principally to serve their shareholders.” Rather, those 180 CEOs unanimously agreed, every company must balance the needs of and commitments to all stakeholders—including customers, employees, suppliers, and local communities. If nothing else, the COVID-19 crisis may show us which companies really know how to do this.

Be a leader of one of those companies. Your employees will remember for a long time how they were treated during this crisis. Nothing drives employee loyalty and engagement more than knowing “my boss cares about me as a human being.” As a leader you should treat this COVID-19 crisis as a defining moment for yourself and your organization. Step up and lead accordingly.

Special thanks to John Hillen, Fred Voccola, and Kurt Elia, who each contributed substantively to this article.

Top 10 Leadership (and Management) Tips for All Around Success

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 18:46:13 GMT

Top 10 Leadership (and Management) Tips for All Around Success

Reposted article by Roberta Matuson via Talent Management & HR

Popular leadership books often use the phrase “born leader” to describe those who possess a natural ability to lead others. What many fail to mention is the number of “natural” leaders who had help along the way.

It can take years to become an overnight success. If you are willing to do the work and follow this advice, you can certainly cut that time in half.

Here are 10 leadership tips for succeeding all around:

Move forward by looking backward. Have you been successful because of your leadership, or in spite of it? I’ve watched time and time again as companies and leaders succeed in spite of poor management skills. Now, imagine the levels of success they could have achieved if those who were in charge had great leadership skills? Or even just good leadership skills? Gather feedback about your management style and adjust accordingly.

Lead by example. Behave as you would want your employees to behave, but also understand that your role is different from that of your employees.

Surround yourself with the right people. Hire for fit, train for skill, and if the opportunity presents itself, hire people who are better than you. Be prepared for the arrival of new hires so they immediately feel connected to the organization.

Stop the blame game. It’s always someone or something that is at fault. But in the end, the buck stops with you. Sure, you may not have inherited a stellar team, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for mediocrity. You have the power to inspire people to exceed expectations. You also have the power to release people who aren’t making the grade. What you don’t get to do is blame everyone else for your team’s failure to perform.

Cut your losses early. Mismatches happen, no matter how good you are at interviewing. Take action quickly to avoid having the rest of the team distracted by a poor hire.

Invest in yourself and your people. Can you name one organization that has cut its way to exceptional customer service? I can’t. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is. If your firm prides itself on customer service then invest in more people to reduce the wait times, especially during peak calling hours. And while you are at it, give your employees the tools and training they need to provide exceptional service.

Build on strengths. Everyone focuses on improving weaknesses. You can distinguish yourself by paying particular attention to areas of strength, as this is where you’ll receive the greatest return for your investment.

It’s better to be respected than love. As human beings, we have a natural tendency to want to be loved. But what happens when your desire to be loved interferes with your ability to lead? Effective leaders recognize it is more important to be respected by their people than adored. They make the tough decisions that are needed to secure the future of those around them, including their direct reports.

Your success depends on the success of others. To succeed as a manager, you will need to shift your focus from “me” to “we.” Going forward, your success will no longer be measured by your individual contribution. Instead, you will be evaluated on your ability to create and maintain a highly engaged team that is willing to give it their all.

Find a coach or a mentor. You are ultimately responsible for your own success. If you are lucky, you may get approval to attend a training session this year. It’s a start, however training isn’t going to ultimately get you where you want to go. Find a coach or a mentor who can swiftly guide you through the landmines that exist in every organization.

It’s time to try something new if what you’ve been doing all along isn’t getting you the results you are seeking. Choose one or two of the above tips and move those items forward. Then select a few more. Before long, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a natural leader who is succeeding all around.

6 Job Search Tips That Are So Basic People Forget Them

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 19:52:20 GMT

6 Job Search Tips That Are So Basic People Forget Them

Reposted article by Jenny Foss via The Muse

The irony of job search advice: There’s so much available that you don’t have to spend more than four seconds Googling before you land on some nugget of wisdom or another.

Yet, at the same time, there’s so much available (some of which completely contradicts other advice you’ll find) that it can easily overwhelm you. Which, in fact, is probably the exact opposite outcome you’re looking for when you go sleuthing for genuinely useful counsel in the first place.

So let’s do this: Let’s boil things down to a short list of sound, timeless job searching tips that’ll help you fine-tune your strategy so that you may sail through the process (or at least cut out some of the unnecessary time and frustration).

1. Make Yourself a “Smack-in-the-Forehead” Obvious Fit

When you apply for a job via an online application process, it’s very likely that your resume will first be screened by an applicant tracking system and then (assuming you make this first cut) move onto human eyeballs. The first human eyeballs that review your resume are often those of a lower level HR person or recruiter, who may or may not understand all of the nuances of that job for which you’re applying.

Thus, it behooves you to make it very simple for both the computer and the human to quickly connect their “Here’s what we’re looking for” to your “Here’s what you can walk through our doors and deliver.”

Tip

Study the job description and any available information you have on the position. Are you mirroring the words and phrases in the job description? Are you showcasing your strengths in the areas that seem to be of paramount importance to this role? Line it up. Line it up.

2. Don’t Limit Yourself to Online Applications During Your Job Search

You want that job search to last and last? Well, then continue to rely solely on submitting online applications. You want to accelerate this bad boy? Don’t stop once you apply online for that position. Start finding and then endearing yourself to people working at that company of interest. Schedule informational interviews with would-be peers. Approach an internal recruiter and ask a few questions. Get on the radar of the very people who might influence you getting an interview. (More on that here.)

Tip

By lining up with people on the inside of the companies at which you want to work, you will instantly set yourself apart. Decision makers interview people who come recommended or by way of a personal referral before they start sorting through the blob of resumes that arrives by way of the ATS.

3. Remember That Your Resume (and LinkedIn Profile) Is Not a Tattoo

Yes, your new resume is lovely. Your LinkedIn profile, breathtaking. However, if they don’t position you as a direct match for a particular role that you’re gunning for, don’t be afraid to modify wording, switch around key terms, and swap bullet points in and out. Your resume is not a tattoo, nor is your LinkedIn profile. Treat them as living, breathing documents throughout your job search (and career).

Tip

If you’re a covert job seeker, remember to turn off your activity broadcasts (within privacy and settings) when you make edits to your LinkedIn profile. If your current boss or colleagues are connected to you on LinkedIn, they may get suspicious about all the frequent changes.

4. Accept That You Will Never Bore Anyone Into Hiring You

Don’t get me wrong—you absolutely must come across as polished, articulate, and professional throughout your job search. However, many people translate this into: Must. Be. Boring.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Realize that few people get hired because they had perfect white space on their cover letters, memorized all of the “correct” interview questions or used incredibly safe, common phraseology (i.e., clichés) throughout their resumes. All of this correctness is going to make you look staged and non-genuine. Instead, give yourself permission to be both polished and endearing. Memorable, likable candidates are almost always the ones who go the distance.

5. If You’re Not on LinkedIn, You Very Nearly Don’t Exist

Considering that more than 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary search tool, this is not an understatement. If you’re a professional, you need to not only be on LinkedIn, you need to be using it to your full advantage. Don’t believe me? Think about it this way: If tomorrow morning, a recruiter logs onto LinkedIn looking for someone in your geography, with expertise in what you do, and you’re not there? Guess who they’re going to find and contact? Yes, that person’s name is “not you.”

Tip

If you figure out how to harness the power of no other social media tool for job search, figure out LinkedIn. It’s (by far) the best resource we have available today for career and job search networking, for finding people working at companies of interest, and for positioning yourself to be found by a recruiter who has a relevant job opening.

6. Thank You Matters

I once placed a candidate into an engineering role with a company that manufactures packaging equipment. He was competing head-to-head with another engineer, who had similar talents and wanted the job just as badly. My candidate sent a thoughtful, non-robotic thank you note to each person with whom he’d interviewed, within about two hours of leaving their offices. The other candidate sent nothing.

Guess why my candidate got the job offer? Yep, the thoughtful, non-robotic thank you notes. They sealed the deal for him, especially considering the other front-runner sent nothing.

Tip

Consider crafting, original, genuine thank you notes (one for each interviewer) the moment you get back to a computer, following the interview. The speed with which you send the notes, and the quality, will make an impact.

And finally, remember that the interviewer cares much more about what you can do for them than what you want out of the deal. Certainly, they’re going to care a bunch about what you want once you establish your worth. But during the interview, you must demonstrate why you make business sense to hire, period.

Now, go forth and show your job search exactly who is the boss.

The Best Hiring Advice for Founders

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 16:15:46 GMT

The Best Hiring Advice for Founders

Maynard Webb’s weekly advice column offers practical wisdom on how to hire the best people. The short answer? Always be recruiting.

Reposted article by Maynard Webb via Fast Company

Originally published January 9, 2020

Editor’s Note: Each week Maynard Webb, former CEO of LiveOps and the former COO of eBay, will offer candid, practical, and sometimes surprising advice to entrepreneurs and founders. To submit a question, write to Webb at dearfounder@fastcompany.com .

Q. What are insights you’ve discovered on the hiring process you wish you knew earlier?

—Founder of a growing startup

Dear Founder,

You must always be recruiting. That may sound obvious, but it’s so rarely done. That’s because so many people view it as a task they don’t like, or are not good at, or one that they think someone else owns.

This may be tangential, but it reminds me of how people say they don’t like fundraising or asking for money, but founders must always be fundraising if they want to grow a startup. Similarly, if you are successful, you must always be recruiting and adding new people.

It’s a fallacy to think there is something so important that you simply can use an excuse that you are not good at it. Instead, it’s time to build a muscle around it and get over the excuses. Acknowledge the importance of recruiting, and get good at it—better yet, get fabulous at it.

How do you do that? Find one to two potential candidates (internally or externally) for every key role.

Q. How can I avoid mistakes in hiring?

Dear Founder,

That’s a tricky question. I have made my share of mistakes. The best way to make an informed decision is to try to get to know the candidates well. Things you should consider:

Ask them for their backstory—the long version. Learn about troubles they had growing up, challenges they’ve overcome.

Spend time together. You can’t make a decision based on one interaction, so plan several opportunities to get together. Hang factor matters a lot, but relationships are not built based on who is the most entertaining. Ultimately, it’s about feeling proud of the contributions you make when you are together.

It’s not about finding people who are like you—that gets you into trouble. A lot of times, people hire people who look and seem like them. Instead look for people who are different. You’ll need to make sure to hire well-rounded and capable teams. Get to know candidates with diverse and varied backgrounds, and be open about the job and what it will require.

Make sure they can bring two to three other people with them. (That means that they work well with and inspire others, but also bear in mind this could lead to creating insular cultures, so as always, keep an eye on diversity and inclusion.)

Keep the whole lifecycle in mind. Sometimes you can have a great hire, but then they become disenchanted. Figure out how to keep people motivated and engaged. They key is fixing any issues quickly and focusing on top performers, not just bottom performers. Sometimes, unfortunately, some people don’t grow with a company, and they need to go. If you’ve done everything you can and nothing has changed, let them go.

How To Recruit Leaders

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 20:40:38 GMT

How to Recruit Leaders

Reposted Article by Ken Sundheim via Forbes

Originally published October 23, 2013

Recruiting leaders for many companies can often be arduous, time consuming, costly and stressful. Despite this, it is critical to any firm’s success as staffing leaders will either enable or prevent an organization from reaching its revenue goals.

While nobody can get it perfect every time, there are certain implementations that a hiring manager can utilize in order to heighten the odds of a successful outcome. Below, I’ve outlined a basic platform to ensure a company is recruiting leaders:

Defining Leadership

Before being able to effectively headhunt leaders, we must be able to define the traits that comprise these individuals. While leaders come in all different sizes, personalities and backgrounds, here are 5 things they share in common:

1. Leaders are trustworthy. They are transparent and give credit where credit is due.

2. Leaders carry a positive, optimistic attitude and are able to energize a group.

3. Leaders build self-confidence in their subordinates. They consistently grow others always taking time to upgrade employee performance.

4. Leaders set goals and a firm vision for the organization. Then, they convey that mission loud and clear.

5. Leaders are passionate, knowledgeable and decisive. They have the ability to make firm decisions even if those decisions are not the most popular.

Recruitment Facts

Once a hiring manager has the traits that they are seeking when recruiting, it is important to know some facts about staffing leaders.

1. Recruiting is about selling. Think about what makes the job and your organization attractive to potential hires. Is it the company’s product, the potential earning power or the ability to have creative control over a team? Is it all of the above?

2. Know that you have to pay for top talent. When staffing leaders, you are going to have to provide financial incentive for them to leave their current position.

While overpaying has its detriments, underpaying is one of the worst compensation polices that can be implemented during the recruitment process. Money isn’t everything, though it sure is something.

3. The more flexible you are on background requirements, the more candidates you will have to choose from. Occasionally, companies will have too many staffing requirements, thus severely limiting their hiring options. Keeping an open mind during the recruitment process will allow a firm to recruit based on leadership skills rather than trying to perfectly match a resume to the search criteria.

4. Nobody will ever be 100% perfect. Sometimes, organizations will overly scrutinize candidates to the extent where the search drags on too long and the opportunity cost of not having someone in that position begins to rise. In this case, it’s best that the hiring manager think of applicants as stocks - recruiting on future potential rather than what they can do at this moment.

5. Efficient recruiting takes time, though not too much time. When staffing leaders, a firm wants to do its due diligence by interviewing each applicant 3 (4 maximum) times. Anything less, a company risks making the wrong decision. Anything more, a company risks losing candidates to other offers.

Moreover, each candidate should be interviewed around the same time so the hiring manager can compare the applicants against each other and mitigate the odds of losing them to other firms.

Steps

In order to save time, money and increase the odds of a successful hire, methodical steps should be implemented in the recruiting process. Many times, firms make this out to be much more complicated than it is.

1. Write a job description that attracts candidates, describes what the organization does, lists requirements, sets forth expectations and details the daily tasks. The job description should be no longer than 3 pages, but should be at least 3/4 of a MS Word page using bullet points and short sentences.

2. Be proactive. Many hiring managers will simply post an open job and hope for the best. In conjunction with posting, it is recommended that organizations serious about hiring leaders utilize job boards, social media sites and networking to proactively prospect fitting applicants. While this takes more time, it will broaden the options a firm has and will serve as a significant addition to the recruiting arsenal.

3. Narrow the resumes down to the top 5 - 8 and begin with an email to the prospective applicants that is personalized and comprehensive. Remember, job seekers (especially the more desired ones) will receive interview offers from a substantial amount of companies. They will only respond to a small percentage of those. The more personalized you make an email, the better chance of them getting back.

4. Begin the interviewing process and weed the applicants down to the top 2 choices. It is recommended that any firm keep two viable candidates as a hiring manager does not always get their first choice and, thus will risk having to do a 4 to 6 week process over again with no guarantee of success.

5. Provide consistent performance feedback once the applicant starts. An effective hiring manager will let the employee know where they stand on a recurring, frequent basis. They will complement these evaluations with positive feedback and will encourage risk taking.

8 HR Predictions For 2020

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 05:42:18 GMT

8 HR Predictions For 2020

Reposed article by Eric Mosley via Forbes

Originally published December 23, 2019

Entering a new decade, in the midst of a global technology revolution, business leaders recognize that the driving force behind every innovation has been human(s): employees who believed in the organization’s vision and were empowered to do the best work of their lives.

In 2020, organizations will need to create positive employee experiences that make employees feel valued, appreciated, and energized to invest their entire selves in the workplace. When employees experience higher levels of humanity at work, they perform better, are more likely to exert extra effort at their jobs, and are less likely to quit.

These eight HR predictions – validated by some of the world’s sharpest thought leaders – offer insights to help companies position their employees and themselves for success in 2020 and beyond.

Employers will ensure workplace rights for all employees.

In the 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report, CEOs cited “impact on society, including income equality, diversity, and the environment” as the most important measure of an organization’s success. Additionally, 181 CEOs signed the Business Roundtable’s statement, redefining a public corporation’s primary purpose, from existing to benefit shareholders to existing to serve all their stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers, and the community as well as shareholders. These statements represent a step in the right direction for workplace rights.

Corporate social responsibility will be a business imperative.

Whether inspired by social pressure or self-interest, leading companies are adopting a moral case for their role in the betterment of society. They have listened to the arguments, often made by employees and customers, that their responsibilities go beyond the bottom line.

Modern employees have deep concern and passion for making the world a better place for themselves, their children, and future generations. Activism is incredibly important to them, and they care deeply about doing meaningful work for a responsible organization whose values align with theirs. Because of this, companies are shifting away from the traditional approach to people strategies and focusing more on employee recognition and creating a culture that helps unite their employees in working toward shared goals.

“Employee experience” will expand and elevate to a “human experience.”

More than ever, the strength of a company’s financial performance will depend on its ability to win the hearts and minds of every employee.

Shawn Achor, founder and CEO, GoodThink, sees an opportunity for companies to adapt to the stress of change by deepening social bonds, practicing gratitude, and identifying meaning in the stress. “Together, we can actually create more happiness and connection even amid change. Think how strongly people bond in boot camp or in combat, or how friendships deepen when people overcome hard times together. In good times, happiness is a luxury item, but in challenging times it becomes a necessity if we want to see our full potential."

Christine Porath, Ph.D., associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, agrees. “It's in leaders' and organizations' best interest to create workplaces where people can thrive. Organizations are starting to separate themselves by being known for their culture.”

Susan Cain, cofounder and CEO of Quiet Revolution and best-selling author, says, “I predict that the movement toward a more humanistic work culture will only accelerate. Based on my conversations with various companies in different sectors during my travels, I see a near-universal acknowledgment of the importance of psychology, and psychological safety.”

Nataly Kogan, founder, Happier Inc. and Happier @ Work, concurs. "More and more leaders and companies will make creating a culture of gratitude, kindness, and psychological safety a strategic priority in 2020.”

Kat Cole, COO and president, FOCUS Brands, says, “In 2020, companies that win are the ones that connect the real-life needs of humans who are customers to the humans at work. The customer-employee connection is more important than ever. Customers care more about how employees are treated and the employee/employer brand than ever before.”

Employers and employees will share accountability for engagement and productivity.

Cy Wakeman, international keynote speaker and New York Times best-selling author, says, “Shared accountability will be the name of the game in 2020. Employers will need to work to create empowering and engaging workplaces and employees will need to bring their most evolved selves to work – willing, able, and ready to work to meet the challenges at hand full-on.”

Josh Bersin, global industry analyst and dean, says, “As companies become more service-driven and networked, organizations are going through one of the biggest changes in structure and management in decades. The biggest challenge for 2020 is going to be ‘driving productivity at work’ – not just focusing on employee engagement, growth, and culture, but helping people and leaders learn how to ‘get things done.’”

Flexibility will help retain and attract great employees.

Adam Grant, Ph.D., Wharton professor and best-selling author, also predicts more flexibility in when and how employees will be able to work. “I’m anticipating three trends that make work more human – the rise of the four-day work week and the six-hour workday, more companies offering returnships for parents transitioning back into the workforce, and the growth of job-sharing, where two people can work part time in one role.”

Ozan Varol, best-selling author, says the 9-to-5 workday and the five-day work week are both arbitrary benchmarks. “Most businesses continue to operate under this structure, not because it leads to more productive employees (it doesn't), but because it happens to be the status quo. In 2020, I expect that more businesses will experiment with flexible schedules and shorter workdays and weeks, which boost the productivity, happiness, and well-being of employees."

Data and analytics will become even more important strategic tools.

Gabrielle Thompson, Cisco’s SVP of Acquisitions and Total Rewards, says “the consolidation and predictive analytics using data throughout the organization, crossing functional boundaries, will drive more thought-provoking conversations about current and future talent.”

Jason Averbook , Leapgen CEO and cofounder, says, “Data will be crucial for all in HR to ensure they are delivering experiences to the workforce that matter as well as finally crossing the chasm, delivering insights that show the impact that talent tools are making on the business.”

The widespread use of misinformation in politics could spread to the workplace.

Daniel Pink, author of WHEN and DRIVE, fears that “the assault on truth we’re seeing in politics — from peddling demonstrably false conspiracy theories to labeling a free press the ‘enemy of the people’ — could begin to infiltrate the workplace. If people feel free to call anything they disagree with ‘fake news,’ what happens to the integrity of financial statements, performance reviews, resumes, and so on?"

More companies will encourage employees to invest in colleagues’ success.

Michelle Gielan, best-selling author, says, “In an era of increasing stress and hyper-competition at work, professionals focused on their own high performance and supporting colleagues will win out in 2020 and beyond. Our research shows those investing in the success of others versus merely their own are 40% more likely to receive a promotion over the next year. Additionally, strengthening relationships at work fuels engagement and well-being. Social connection is the biggest predictor of happiness in life. Understanding how to meaningfully invest in others will be an important competitive advantage during this next decade.

185 Powerful Action Verbs That Will Make Your Resume Awesome

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 05:30:37 GMT

185 Powerful Action Verbs That Will Make Your Resume Awesome

Reposted article via The Muse

Led…

Handled…

Managed…

Responsible for…

Most resume bullet points start with the same words. Frankly, the same tired old words hiring managers have heard over and over—to the point where they’ve lost a lot of their meaning and don’t do much to show off your accomplishments.

So, let’s get a little more creative, shall we? Next time you update your resume, switch up a few of those common words and phrases with strong, compelling action verbs that will catch hiring managers’ eyes.

No matter what duty or accomplishment you’re trying to show off, we’ve got just the resume action verb for you. Check out the list below, and get ready to make your resume way more exciting.

Action Verbs 1-12

You Led a Project

If you were in charge of a project or initiative from start to finish, skip “led” and instead try:

Chaired

Controlled

Coordinated

Executed

Headed

Operated

Orchestrated

Organized

Oversaw

Planned

Produced

Programmed

Action Verbs 13-33

You Envisioned and Brought a Project to Life

And if you actually developed, created, or introduced that project into your company? Try:

Administered

Built

Charted

Created

Designed

Developed

Devised

Founded

Engineered

Established

Formalized

Formed

Formulated

Implemented

Incorporated

Initiated

Instituted

Introduced

Launched

Pioneered

Spearheaded

Action Verbs 34-42

You Saved the Company Time or Money

Hiring managers love candidates who’ve helped a team operate more efficiently or cost-effectively. To show just how much you saved, try:

Conserved

Consolidated

Decreased

Deducted

Diagnosed

Lessened

Reconciled

Reduced

Yielded

Action Verbs 43-61

You Increased Efficiency, Sales, Revenue, or Customer Satisfaction

Along similar lines, if you can show that your work boosted the company’s numbers in some way, you’re bound to impress. In these cases, consider:

Accelerated

Achieved

Advanced

Amplified

Boosted

Capitalized

Delivered

Enhanced

Expanded

Expedited

Furthered

Gained

Generated

Improved

Lifted

Maximized

Outpaced

Stimulated

Sustained

Action Verbs 62-87

You Changed or Improved Something

So, you brought your department’s invoicing system out of the Stone Age and onto the interwebs? Talk about the amazing changes you made at your office with these words:

Centralized

Clarified

Converted

Customized

Influenced

Integrated

Merged

Modified

Overhauled

Redesigned

Refined

Refocused

Rehabilitated

Remodeled

Reorganized

Replaced

Restructured

Revamped

Revitalized

Simplified

Standardized

Streamlined

Strengthened

Updated

Upgraded

Transformed

Action Verbs 88-107

You Managed a Team

Instead of reciting your management duties, like “Led a team…” or “Managed employees…” show what an inspirational leader you were with terms like:

Aligned

Cultivated

Directed

Enabled

Facilitated

Fostered

Guided

Hired

Inspired

Mentored

Mobilized

Motivated

Recruited

Regulated

Shaped

Supervised

Taught

Trained

Unified

United

Action Verbs 108-113

You Brought in Partners, Funding, or Resources

Were you “responsible for” a great new partner, sponsor, or source of funding? Try:

Acquired

Forged

Navigated

Negotiated

Partnered

Secured

Action Verbs 114-122

You Supported Customers

Because manning the phones or answering questions really means you’re advising customers and meeting their needs, use:

Advised

Advocated

Arbitrated

Coached

Consulted

Educated

Fielded

Informed

Resolved

Action Verbs 123-142

You Were a Research Machine

Did your job include research, analysis, or fact-finding? Mix up your verbiage with these words:

Analyzed

Assembled

Assessed

Audited

Calculated

Discovered

Evaluated

Examined

Explored

Forecasted

Identified

Interpreted

Investigated

Mapped

Measured

Qualified

Quantified

Surveyed

Tested

Tracked

Action Verbs 143-161

You Wrote or Communicated

Was writing, speaking, lobbying, or otherwise communicating part of your gig? You can explain just how compelling you were with words like:

Authored

Briefed

Campaigned

Co-authored

Composed

Conveyed

Convinced

Corresponded

Counseled

Critiqued

Defined

Documented

Edited

Illustrated

Lobbied

Persuaded

Promoted

Publicized

Reviewed

Action Verbs 162-173

You Oversaw or Regulated

Whether you enforced protocol or managed your department’s requests, describe what you really did, better, with these words:

Authorized

Blocked

Delegated

Dispatched

Enforced

Ensured

Inspected

Itemized

Monitored

Screened

Scrutinized

Verified

Action Verbs 174-185

You Achieved Something

Did you hit your goals? Win a coveted department award? Don’t forget to include that on your resume, with words like:

Attained

Awarded

Completed

Demonstrated

Earned

Exceeded

Outperformed

Reached

Showcased

Succeeded

Surpassed

Targeted

12 Surprisingly Effective Yet Unconventional Team-Building Exercises

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 05:18:48 GMT

12 Surprisingly Effective Yet Unconventional Team-Building Exercises

Reposted article by Forbes Human Resource Council via Forbes

Originally published December 30, 2019

Team-building is necessary for any business or group that needs to function as a unified entity. It builds cooperation, trust and anticipation of the needs of other team members.

However, as many professionals can attest, not all team-building exercises are the same in terms of effectiveness. It depends heavily on the type of individuals that make up the team. The group’s ability to work together as a unit is also of critical importance.

Despite these limitations, there are a few practical exercises and activities that many human resources departments may overlook because of how outlandish they seem. Here, 12 associates of Forbes Human Resources Council share the strange yet effective team-building exercises they've actually seen work.

1. Employee Trivia Games

Twice a year, we ask employees to send us some details about themselves and we arrange that information into a Jeopardy-style game board. All employees clear their schedules to come and play a loosely-scored, super-fun round of "employee trivia." People see they can safely open up, and the fun facts we learn help build conversations and relationships. - Gina Deciani, Association for Supply Chain Management

2. Making Your Own Job Title

I love this exercise! In a group of peers, think about your role and how it impacts your organization. Now make up your own, ideal job title given your role. Then go around and discuss. This opens up a dialogue on what people value and don't value in their roles and how they view their role in the overall company. This can be helpful for peers and managers to understand when doing projects. - Kelly Loudermilk, BuildHR, Inc.

3. Personality Assessments

Personality and working style assessments like StrengthFinder and Myers Briggs are a great way to create empathy within a team. The discussions that arise from sharing your personal scores help develop inclusivity and collaboration. They can also help you uncover gaps or strengths within the team, allowing you to customize and improve your hiring and training strategies. - Katie Evans-Reber, Wonolo

4. Escape Rooms

One of the most fun and effective team-building activities I've been a part of was teaming up for escape rooms. Teams were chosen at random and each event had great incentives for those who did the best. The reason why escape room team building was so great was because everyone had a chance to contribute to their team's success, assess each other's problem-solving skills and test their equanimity. - Dr. Timothy J. Giardino, Cantata Health & Meta Healthcare IT Solutions

5. Unexpected Team Experiences

Having an interesting and unexpected team experience takes teams out of the everyday and creates a shared, memorable moment. We've had a professional juggler teach us how to juggle, and an artist lead us on an exploration of inspiration through creativity. Both allowed our team to share with and learn from each other and created an unforgettable memory. - Sara Whitman, Hot Paper Lantern

6. Creating A Mantra For The Year

I was attending a small intimate event for HR leaders designed to bring in the personal along with the professional for a close community experience. We were asked to think about what mantra or phrase best represented our year behind, as well as one that would represent our hope for the year ahead. We went around the group to share our mantra and the context of each. It was so insightful. - Bianca McCann, SAP SuccessFactors

7. Physical Activity Paired With Creative Thinking

A great team-building and brainstorming activity can be combined with the fresh perspective of getting outside. Take a Frisbee or a ball, bring your team outside, and whoever catches the object needs to share their idea or build upon the last idea. Physical activity combined with creative thinking is a great way to get the team to let their guard down and learn how to work together. - Cat Graham, Cheer Partners

8. Working Hard Together

A good way to build teamwork is to actually do work. Are you working hard as a team? When you work hard as a team you learn how others handle stress and pressure. Many teams who work hard at work, do not need teamwork activities. If you are working hard together and want to get closer, do an activity that causes you to think and work hard together (e.g., canoeing, serving the homeless, etc.). - Ben Martinez, Ramp Talent

9. Team Videos

We created our own "Workers Compensation Safety" video. It was good fun and silly, and since the employers were the actors, camera and sound people, they really learned to lift by using their knees. - Patricia Sharkey, IMI People

10. Leadership Simulations

Team-building activities like cooking school, obstacle course, escape room, scavenger hunt, comedy improv or mini golf can help build trust and align teams to a common goal and direction. Investment in these exercises is known to bridge differences -- organizational, geographic and cultural. They also build leaders, enhance commitment and bond teams. - MJ Vigil, PEMCO Insurance

11. Volunteering As A Team

Though it’s become more conventional in recent years, volunteering provides an opportunity for employees to work together in a team-building environment, while giving back to the community or helping those less fortunate. This provides a sense of camaraderie among coworkers, demonstrates servant leadership and helps boost the employer brand, all while serving a greater good. - John Feldmann, Insperity

12. Practicing Gratitude

Practicing gratitude together as a team is an excellent team-building exercise. One great idea is to send note cards around the table and have team members take one and write what they’re grateful for and proud of as a member of the team. This builds team spirit and great energy to help create results. Opening up and talking about these "softer" topics really helps connect people within a team. - Anne Iversen, TimeXtender

The 9 most common interview mistakes that cost you the job

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 05:06:36 GMT

The 9 most common interview mistakes that cost you the job

Reposted article by Workopolis

Originally published April 11, 2017

You got the interview. Congrats! Now the real fun (and pressure) begins … don’t mess things up!

Here are the nine most common interview mistakes that can cost you the job.

Not doing your research

The most common complaint from hiring managers is that candidates don’t do their research about the role and the company. Why? Hiring managers want enthusiastic people who show initiative, and the best way to demonstrate this during an interview is to come prepared.

“If you haven’t done any research into the company, and you don’t know anything about its products, services, or culture, it’s going to become evident during the course of the conversation,” says Shawn D’Souza, Workopolis’ talent acquisition manager. “This doesn’t mean you have to become an expert in everything the company has ever done, but you should have enough information to ask questions and to demonstrate how you might add value. Preparing yourself tells the hiring manager that you’re taking the opportunity serious, and that you’re truly interested in the role,” he says.

Being late

In simplest terms, you shouldn’t be late to an interview. Ever.

“It definitely is not the best way to make a first impression,” D’Souza says. “It shows a lack of respect for the hiring manager’s time, and even a lack of preparation and organization. That said, we do realize that things happen. You can get stuck in traffic or in a subway delay. If something like that happens, do what you can to get in touch with your interviewer. You can salvage a lot and maintain an appearance of professionalism if you warn them that you will be late.”

Not dressing appropriately

We recently made some suggestions for what to wear to a job interview, but the importance of your appearance bears repeating: you need to dress the part.

“The key thing is to know the company culture. Do they wear suits to the office or t-shirts? Check out the company’s career page and social media profiles for photos of employees and events, and you’ll be able to get a sense of their culture and dress code. Either way, though, business casual is a good way to go, as it ensures you’ll be presentable and professional looking,” D’Souza says.

Not making eye contact

Meeting the interviewer’s gaze is essential to making a good impression.

“If you can’t look your interviewer in the eye it can seem as if you’re lacking in confidence, or even hiding something. I understand that this might be more challenging for people that are shy, but it’s important to make that connection,” D’Souza says.

Talking in clichés

“I’m a team player.”
“I work too hard.”
“I’m a perfectionist.”

Sound familiar? If you’re using these to answer questions like “Tell me about yourself” and “What’s your greatest weakness?” it’s time you put them out to pasture.

“Both sides can sometimes be guilty of using clichés, but just because you’re asked a question like this, it doesn’t mean you have to answer with something obvious and played out. Instead, I think you should look at it as an opportunity to differentiate yourself. Say something real that they haven’t heard before and they will be more likely to remember you,” D’Souza says.

Trash talking your previous employer

Don’t say negative things about people or companies – no matter how much you feel they deserve it. It makes you look childish and petty, and people don’t want to hire people who are childish and petty.

“If you’re leaving a company because of an issue you had, you can say so, but be diplomatic and professional about it, and more importantly, try to frame it in a way that relates to your career goals and ambition,” D’Souza says.

Not asking questions

At some point the interviewer is going to ask “Do you have any questions for me?” and you should not say “no.”

“Obviously, a lot of this depends on what has been covered already in the interview, but typically, you should have questions prepared or questions about something that was discussed. It speaks to your professionalism and ambition and lets hiring managers know that you are a serious candidate,” D’Souza says.

Playing with your phone

A recent study found that a full third of millennials think it’s acceptable to text during the job interview.

“I spend a lot of time on my phone as well, so I understand the struggle, but you have to put it away for the interview. It’s highly disrespectful to be checking your phone, and it really does not say much for your ability to focus on the task at hand,” D’Souza says.

Lying

Fifty-eight percent of employers have caught a candidate in a resume lie, while 31% of people admit to having lied on a resume. That’s a lot of lying. And, if you lie on a resume, you have to keep the lie up during the interview. Don’t do this.

“It’s not worth it. If you get caught – and there’s a good chance you will, as many employers will conduct background checks – you not only won’t get the job, you’ll have wasted everyone’s time, and burned a bridge for the future,” D’Souza says.

There you have it; nine interview mistakes that can cost you the job. Good luck!

7 Interview Tips That Will Help You Get Hired

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 04:53:49 GMT

7 Interview Tips That Will Help You Get Hired

Reposted article by Alison Doyle via The Balance Careers

Originally published December 27, 2019

Even when you have gone on more interviews than you can count, job interviewing never seems to get any easier. With each job interview, you are meeting new people, selling yourself and your skills, and often getting the third degree about what you know or don't know. And, you need to stay upbeat and enthusiastic through it all. This can be a challenge, especially when you're interviewing for a job you would love to get hired for.

That said, there are ways to make a job interview feel much less stressful. Just a little preparation time can go a long way. The more time you take in advance to get ready, the more comfortable you'll feel during the actual interview. Remember, though, that a job interview is not an exam: you don’t need to study for hours on end. Rather, you just need to do due diligence in researching the company, understand exactly what they are looking for in a new hire, and ensure that you’re able to discuss your experience and what makes you a great fit for the job.

Ultimately, the key to effective interviewing is to project confidence, stay positive, and be able to share examples of your workplace skills and your qualifications for the job. Take the time to work on your interview skills so that you can develop effective interview strategies to use in all of your interviews.

With some advance preparation, you'll be able to nail the interview and showcase the experience that makes you the ideal candidate for the company's next new employee.

7 Interview Tips That Will Help You Get the Job

Here are some job interview tips that can help you interview effectively. Proper preparation will help alleviate some of the stress involved in job interviews and position you for a positive and successful interviewing experience.

1. Practice and Prepare

Review the typical job interview questions employers ask and practice your answers. Strong answers are those that are specific but concise, drawing on concrete examples that highlight your skills and back up your resume. Your answers should also emphasize the skills that are most important to the employer and relevant to the position. Be sure to review the job listing, make a list of the requirements, and match them to your experience.

Note that even the most well-prepared response will fall short if it does not answer the exact question you are being asked. While it’s important to familiarize yourself with best answers, it’s equally important to listen carefully during your interview in order to ensure your responses give the interviewer the information they are looking for.

Also, have a list of your own questions to ask the employer ready. In almost every interview, you’ll be asked if you have any questions for the interviewer. It is important to have at least one or two questions prepared in order to demonstrate your interest in the organization. Otherwise, you might come across as apathetic, which is a major turnoff for hiring managers.

2. Develop a Connection With the Interviewer

In addition to indicating what you know about the company, you should also try to develop a connection with your interviewer. Know the interviewer's name, and use it during the job interview. (If you're not sure of the name, call and ask prior to the interview. And, listen very carefully during introductions. If you’re prone to forgetting names, jot it down somewhere discreet, like in small letters at the bottom of your notepad.)

Ultimately, building rapport and making a personal connection with your interviewer can up your chances of getting hired. People tend to hire candidates they like and who seems to be a good fit for the company's culture. Here's how to get the hiring manager on your side.

3. Research the Company, and Show What You Know

Do your homework and research the employer and the industry, so you are ready for the interview question, "What do you know about this company?" If this question is not asked, you should try to demonstrate what you know about the company on your own.

You can do this by tying what you’ve learned about the company into your responses. For example, you might say, “I noticed that when you implemented a new software system last year, your customer satisfaction ratings improved dramatically. I am well-versed in the latest technologies from my experience with developing software at ABC, and appreciate a company who strives to be a leader in its industry.”

You should be able to find out a lot of information about the company’s history, mission and values, staff, culture, and recent successes on its website. If the company has a blog and a social media presence, they can be useful places to look, too.

4. Get Ready Ahead of Time

Don't wait until the last minute to pick out an interview outfit, print extra copies of your resume, or find a notepad and pen. Have one good interview outfit ready, so you can interview on short notice without having to worry about what to wear. When you have an interview lined up, get everything ready the night before.

Not only will planning out everything (from what shoes you will wear, to how you’ll style your hair, to what time you will leave and how you’ll get there) buy you time in the morning, it can help reduce job search anxiety, and it will also save you from having to make decisions, which means you can use that brain power for your interview.

Make sure your interview attire is neat, tidy, and appropriate for the type of firm you are interviewing with. Bring a nice portfolio with extra copies of your resume. Include a pen and paper for note-taking.

5. Be on Time (That Means Early)

Be on time for the interview. On time means five to ten minutes early. If need be, drive to the interview location ahead of time so you know exactly where you are going and how long it will take to get there. Take into account the time of your interview so you can adjust for local traffic patterns at that time. Give yourself a few extra minutes to visit the restroom, check your outfit, and calm your nerves.

6. Try to Stay Calm

During the job interview, try to relax and stay as calm as possible. Remember that your body language says as much about you as your answers to the questions. Proper preparation will allow you to exude confidence.

As you answer questions, maintain eye contact with the interviewer. Be sure to pay attention to the question so that you don’t forget it, and listen to the entire question (using active listening) before you answer, so you know exactly what the interviewer is asking. Avoid cutting off the interviewer at all costs, especially when he or she is asking questions. If you need to take a moment to think about your answer, that’s totally fine, and is a better option than starting out with multiple “ums” or “uhs.”

Check out these tips on avoiding job interview stress to help keep your nerves calm. If the thought of a job interview puts you in panic mode, reviewing these interview tips for introverts will be a great place to start.

7. Follow-Up After the Interview

Always follow up with a thank-you note reiterating your interest in the position. You can also include any details you may have forgotten to mention during your interview. If you interview with multiple people from the same company, send each one a personal note. Send your thank-you email within 24 hours of your interview.

A complete guide to answering the “What is your greatest weakness?” question

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 04:26:48 GMT

A complete guide to answering the “What is your greatest weakness?” question

Reposted article by Robert Carnevale via Ladders

Originally published December 16, 2019

“What is your greatest weakness?” Can you answer that honestly? Most can, but won’t want to—especially if a job interviewer’s perception of you depends on the answer given.

It’s a tricky question, though, because an interviewer can easily suss out a lie as well as a “dodge” answer. They’ll roll their eyes if you answer the infamous “what is your greatest weakness” question with a not-so-subtle humblebrag like “I’m too much of a perfectionist” or some other tired cliche designed to avoid exposing a real flaw about yourself. At the same time, you don’t want to tell the employer you’re incompetent, have a drinking problem, or suffer from some other serious weakness that makes you undesirable.

So what’s a smart answer to “what is your greatest weakness?” Thankfully, there’s more than one, and they can be adapted to fit your specific needs.

Honesty, relevancy, and a story

The most basic, straightforward way to answer the question is, to be honest. Pick a flaw of yours that has some sort of relevance to the position you’re interested in, explain how it’s affected you in the past, what steps you’re taking to overcome the weakness, and what you’ve learned as a result of working to improve yourself.

This safe advice comes courtesy of Ashira Prossack’s article for Forbes on the topic of common but tricky interview questions. She argues that being realistic about your imperfections, specifically in terms of how they relate to your viability as a job candidate, shows you’re capable of self-assessment. Prossack also feels it shows humbleness.

Prossack recommends packaging all of these items within the confines of an anecdote. Short stories are an effective way to get someone’s attention and convey information, so if there’s a flaw you have that can be illustrated in a simple format such as “there was a time at work when X happened and my Y flaw led to Z outcome,” that can help you make your point more efficiently.

The goal is to end on a positive note, reassuring the interviewer that you’re growing past the flaw and not letting it define you. After all, everyone likes a good character arc, right?…

Sidestepping

There will be times when an employer is not looking for an employee with an arc. Sometimes, they just want someone who can get a job done quickly and competently. If you’re interviewing with someone who doesn’t have room in their crew for flawed operators, then reconsider the direct approach mentioned above. Instead, take a note from Alison Doyle’s article on The Balance Careers that discusses the “greatest weakness” question. She gives valuable advice on how you can avoid landing yourself in hot water with your answer.

One method Doyle recommends is to be honest about your flaws but focus on non-essential ones. She gives an example, saying that if someone applies for a nursing job, they might want to name a flaw like “being bad at giving group presentations.” As a nurse, your one-on-one skills are going to be far more important than group skills, so by identifying the former as strength of yours and the latter as a weakness, you’ll be cementing your relevancy in the employer’s eyes while still being honest and showing your capacity for self-assessment.

If you’re truly afraid an employer won’t be interested in a worker who has even a single pertinent flaw, that says a lot more about them than you—still, if you want the gig, this is one tactic to help score it. Just be careful; if the company is this strict in the interview process, you’ll likely be perpetually walking on eggshells once you manage to get on the inside.

Laugh it off

Humor is a special tool that only a select group of people can employ. If you are one of said people, congrats: you’ve unlocked the secret smart answer to the question “what is your greatest weakness?”

As long as the interviewer is playful and more interested in hearing an engaging answer than in hearing you chip away at your own self-esteem, humor can be viable. Again, though, this method only works for, and on, certain folks, so use it sparingly.

For some chuckles to help inspire your strategy, visit the fine minds over at the internet’s busiest pub, Reddit. User jumper34017 gives this advice for those stumped on how to answer the “greatest weakness” question: “Remain silent, and pull an index card out of your pocket that says “I over-prepare.”

Cheeky, right? You could always whip out a response like “Kryponite and bullets tend to have a bad effect on me,” or something equally silly but endearing, as long as you’re getting the right vibe from the interviewer. In most cases you’ll want to follow up this faux answer with a genuine flaw delivered via one of the other two methods mentioned in this article, but this is a great way to disarm the interviewer and mitigate the significance of whatever weakness you reveal.

Humor works because you’ll be masking your flaw with a strong demonstration of your interpersonal skills. And depending on how the interviewer takes the joke, you might inadvertently answer the question by showing that your weakness is an inability to handle serious subjects without comedic deflection! I jest, but the point stands: whether served as an appetizer or as the main course, humor can go a long way in preventing your weakness from defining you.

“What is your greatest weakness,” exposed

As with any interview, anything can happen. Even if you slip up and say the forbidden phrase “I have no weaknesses,” you still might get called back. Just read the room and figure out if blatant honesty, selective honesty, or a dash of humor will rub the person across from you the right way.

Also, don’t forget: in some interviews, the hiring manager might ask you what your three biggest weaknesses are. At which point, you can whip out each of these strategies in reverse chronological order to absolutely floor the interviewer.

Career Boot Camp: Job Seeking Basics

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 20:12:32 GMT

Career Boot Camp: Job Seeking Basics

Reposted article by author Lisa Quast via Forbes

Originally published March 4, 2013

This month I want to take it back to the basics with my "Career Boot Camp" blog series. First up, ensure you have your job search fundamentals down!

Over the last few years I’ve seen and heard it all when it comes to the crazy things people have done to get a job, everything from auctioning themselves off on eBay to purchasing online ads boasting their work skills to singing their résumé in a YouTube video, even mailing hiring managers their name and contact information in frosting on top of a gigantic cookie.

I don’t disagree that these are creative ideas, but while sending hiring managers your résumé in a pop up box that explodes glittering stars when opened might get you noticed, it probably won’t get you hired if you haven’t already mastered the job seeking basics.

Make 2013 the year you get the basics right when it comes to obtaining your dream job:

Update your résumé: Think of it as a personal advertisement that sells you and your skills as the perfect ‘product’ for the job. Use strong action words such as created, implemented, or achieved instead of words like assisted or helped. Quantify your accomplishments, ensure there are no spelling or grammar errors, and ask family or friends to review and provide feedback.

Connect the dots: Know the job you are applying for by reading the description carefully and thoroughly, and then boldly call out the skills and experience you embody in your résumé. If there are gaps, be prepared to address them in your résumé, cover letter, and during potential interviews.

Use LinkedIn to create a highly professional electronic résumé: This includes writing a succinct profile summary, adding current job information, past job experience, education, skills, awards, uploading a professional-looking profile picture, and obtaining recommendations from previous managers, co-workers, or direct reports.

Research, research, research: Educate yourself on the company and industry by conducting research. The knowledge you gain will help you sell yourself as the best candidate for the position and help you prepare questions to ask the interviewer.

Find an insider: Using your networking skills, try to track down at least one or more “sponsors” or “internal coaches” who can provide inside tips about the company and potential position. Your insiders can also serve as your advocates or references as you compete for a position.

Conduct mock interviews: Think about the questions you might be asked from the following five categories: 1.) Background, 2.) Job/Company/Industry, 3.) Style/Personality, 4.) Skills/Experience, and 5.) Future Goals/Aspirations. Then create answers and practice conducting the interview in front of the mirror or with a trusted friend or family member.

Dress for positive impact: Use your attire to create the right image of the type of person you are and how you’ll fit into the desired position. Need help with your wardrobe? Go to a large department store and request a personal shopper, or hire a personal stylist. Once that’s done, assess your hair and makeup to ensure both convey that you take pride in yourself and stay on top of current trends.

Be highly prepared for job interviews: Show up with all the documents you’ll need for your interview (copies of your résumé, reference list, letters of recommendation, driver’s license, social security card, passport, fact sheet, portfolio of work, paper and pen to take notes, etc.) and bring questions to ask the hiring manager.

Bottom line: Before attempting any new or trendy job-seeking tactics, first ensure you have the basics covered. The basics are the “must haves” whereas creative maneuvers should come only after the basics are well executed.

STAFFMAX STAFFING & RECRUITING PARTNERS WITH THE OTTAWA SENATORS

roger@pocwebbuilder.com (Roger van Maris) — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 20:21:12 GMT

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STAFFMAX STAFFING & RECRUITING PARTNERS WITH THE OTTAWA SENATORS

OTTAWA, Jan 28, 2020/CNW/ - Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting is pleased to announce a major sponsorship with the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club.

Under the terms of the agreement, staffing and recruiting firm Staffmax will be the Official Sponsor of the “Staffmax Ice Crew & Promotions Team”. It’s logo will be on the Ice Crew shovels and will be highly visible during the ice clearing portions of the game. In addition, the Staffmax logo will be featured in LED signage on the Power Bar and the Scoreboard during the Ice Crew appearances. Staffmax will also appear on Rinkboard advertisements.

“We are very proud to be official sponsors with the Ottawa Senators. This further expands our brand in Ottawa and promotes us to the entire National Capital Region Community. As long-term sponsors of the Winnipeg Jets, we have found great value in NHL sponsorships,” said Staffmax President Kevin Gill.

Staffmax has also partnered with and made a donation to the Ottawa Food Bank.

About Staffmax:

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices in Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa and Vancouver is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing and Full-Service Permanent Recruiting Services across Canada. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing companies, Staffmax combines High-Tech with High-Touch to solve their clients staffing & recruiting needs. Staffmax.ca

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

Let’s Talk? Instead, Let’s Do It!

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 17:34:56 GMT

Let's Talk? Instead, Let's Do It!

Supporting Mental Illness in the Workplace

By Anelle McLaughlin

The struggle to have mental illness recognized has been a long battle. It was rarely taken seriously, seen as weak, and little support was available. Personally, I grew to hate lines like “it’s all in your head”. Well, where else would it be then in the head? It’s called mental illness for a reason! Of course, I imagine it’s easier to buy into a physical illness. You can’t exactly ignore when your staff and colleagues look like they rose from the grave that morning, are taking some extra bathroom breaks, or you’re hearing that death rattle cough that sends everyone into a prayer circle of hoping they’re not the next to get hit.

When the wonderful Clara Hughes became the face of Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign, it almost felt like a watershed moment for some of us who struggle. Here is an amazing athlete with six Olympic medals in both summer and winter games, with all the success and publicity behind her, an Order of Manitoba and Officer of the Order of Canada and a billion other accolades. Here she is using this huge platform to say that she, too, struggles. Mental health issues tends to make one feel isolated and like no one understands, so knowing that if can affect anyone no matter what their life is like was a bit of a rallying point.

It’s no wonder that the campaign has grown significantly and has gone from some commercials and Facebook profile picture changes to companies talking about it. LinkedIn and other social media outlets are peppered every year with companies supporting this campaign and making their annual post about opening the discussion on mental illness, but why is it still hard to materially work with staff and colleagues’ struggles? They aren’t always visible and after so many years of stigma and minimization how can we be comfortable saying out loud what has been brushed off for so long?

Let’s change “Let’s Talk” into “This is What We Do”

To be frank and a little stern, it’s not enough to just talk. It’s not enough to make a post once a year. Have you asked staff either up front or via an anonymous survey how they feel about mental health initiatives? Do you have any in place? Do you post #letstalk and donate to Bell with one hand but penalize struggling staff with the other? What is your reputation amongst staff and former staff when it comes to mental health? What would truly be your reaction if an employee texted you with unvarnished honestly about what’s happening – sorry, I woke up this morning and was hit with a crushing wave of disappointment that I was alive and can’t even look at myself so I need a bit of time to deal with those thoughts – what is your honest reaction? What’s your plan for an employee who does end up self-harming or worse? Have you ever assessed if you are in fact, part of the problem?

Does your talk actually match what’s happening in your company? What do you DO to support your staff with mental illness?

As our culture evolves to understanding mental illness and treating it as a legitimate issue and as our technology changes why not harness these factors and take a more holistic approach? We’re not just talking EAPs and having therapy reimbursement as part of benefits. Anyone who suffers from mental illness can tell you that issues don’t just magically disappear after a phone call or a session. In fact, sometimes things crater before they get better after seeing a therapist! It’s not just about being a little tired and sad, mental illness can make the smallest things overwhelming and it’s so hard to have the confidence to tell your boss that you are struggling.

So ask yourself…do my practices hold up with the image I am trying to project? If not, here are some ideas to help you get started:

Change your mentality – Chances are if you are the kind of manager who doesn’t have a lot of awareness and come from the world of “suck it up”, the first change that needs to be made is you. Educate yourself on mental health, how it affects the brain, how it relates to productivity and the workplace, and start treating it like the medical condition that it is. Don’t be afraid to talk to staff too. Even an anonymous survey could be eye opening!

Lead from the top down – Often times, people in senior management and C-suite positions themselves have experienced mental health challenges and understand where it’s coming from. In some cases, these experiences had led leadership to create in-house initiatives to help everyone. But you don’t need to experience it to lead the charge. Do some research, maybe talk to connections in companies who have done this work, and see what you can come up with!

Foster an open environment – Opening up at work can be a nightmare for the best of people. Many fear losing out on career growth, other opportunities, losing out on promotions, and maybe even lose the job itself. Senior leadership can help shatter this stigma and lead open spaces and show a desire to help.

Curate mental health training – Did you know that you can train people on mental health first aid? That’s always a good start. You can also register for seminars, webinars, or even sign up for/develop your own online classroom programs. Teaching especially line managers about their duty of care can make a world of difference and help decrease stress and isolation.

Accommodations might help – Accommodation strategies can include working remotely, shifted start/end times to coincide with medications, split shifts to help with waves, opportunities to make up lost time or flexible scheduling, peppering smaller breaks throughout the day, have exchange of duties between employees. You may also want to consider a proactive approach and include the employee on various action plans, consider management approach, and keep meeting to see what’s working. Accommodations can also be cost effective!

Be prepared for the worst – It’s not everyone’s favourite thing to think about and it can be uncomfortable, but have a crisis plan in place that is both reactive and proactive. This is where considering mental health first aid training is a great idea. Also consider including post-crisis workplace care and return to work plans.

Educate your staff – The word of the day of course is stigma, and if you’d like to provide leadership and understanding to support staff with mental health issues while keeping employee confidentiality then keep these initiatives and resources visible. This will not only eliminate some questions from staff not involved, but also create awareness, support, and understanding. It can also enable employees who are struggling to come forward and access the help you now have available.

Share your wellness programs – Believe it or not, how you support mental illness in the workplace can also be a benefit to candidate attraction and staff retention. Younger workers and the next wave of management have grown up acutely aware of mental health issues and in a society that has been slowly encouraging self-care, openness, and support. They have also grown up with the wonders of technology and know that for most jobs out there, remote access and work and other accommodations are possible. A workplace that takes care of their staff is an attractive workplace. Absolutely take advantage of social media leverage and show what you offer and how seriously you take your duty of care.

There are plenty other of ideas and practices right at your fingertips, so I encourage everyone to dive deep and see how they can help employees struggling with mental health issues perform their best. While it always helps the bottom line to keep staff, reduce turnover and absenteeism, and attract candidates you can also count on the satisfaction of having your employees out in the world speaking highly of your organization. Who knows, when they’re making their personal posts on next year’s “Let’s Talk” Day maybe they’ll talk about the amazing strides their employers made in understanding and supporting mental health.

Make 2020 the year you change “Let’s Talk” to “Let’s Do It”.

Staffmax Moves to New Location in Mississauga, ON

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 23:08:49 GMT

Staffmax Moves to New Location in Mississauga, ON

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Mississauga – January, 2020 – With tremendous thanks to all candidates and clients we have been privileged to work with, Staffmax is pleased to announce the opening of our latest office in Mississauga, ON. Previously located at 2 Robert Speck Pkwy., Suite 750, Mississauga, our new location can be found at 1450 Meyerside Dr., Suite 200, Mississauga, ON. It is our great pleasure to continue to serve the regions of the entire Peel Region, including Mississauga, Brampton, Etobicoke and the Western GTA.

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting:

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Holidays Have Your Staff Flatlining? Bring Back the Pulse!

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 20:08:24 GMT

Holidays Have Your Staff Flatlining? Bring Back the Pulse!

How To Combat Employee Disengagement Over the Holidays

By Anelle McLaughlin

HR Manager, Staffmax

We all know what happens around this time of year. The actual vacations haven’t happened yet but mentally…oh boy, they’re already there! Everyone is thinking about their shopping lists, food and baking needs, which dinners they’re going to and when, how they will avoid that one uncle who just wants to talk politics, how they might lose all hope if that Boney M Christmas album is played one more time (looking at you, Ashley), or if they’re lucky enough, that vacation to the warm regions coming up.

That’s right. The big old holiday checkout.

Thing is, work still needs to get done and companies don’t stop just because Janice in Accounting can’t get Jingle Bells out of her head! Of course, we always hope our staff stays self-motivated and keeps the grind going until the last moment, but human nature is what it is. The good news is that managers and owners can help. So how do you engage your employees around the holidays? By doing something that seems counterintuitive.

Bring. The. Fun.

Yes, we know holiday parties are pretty standard but why not continue the holiday cheer in little ways that make your staff feel jolly and appreciated? We know that work is work and expectations are ever present but why not fuel engagement and lead by example? Celebrating almost any occasion builds office morale and increases employee motivation. These are two components of a very important workplace equation: MORALE + MOTIVATION = PRODUCTIVITY!

Some of my own personal recommendations include:

Secret Santa gift exchange
Hot chocolate with marshmallows and candy canes
Holiday centered baked goods/dainties
Potluck lunch – or take them out to lunch!
Staff decorating activities
Contests – can be ugly sweater, trivia, or even ugly fruitcake!
Holiday “happy hour” with some egg nog and seasonal themed items – peppermint, ginger, caramel flavours are a hit
Volunteer together with a charitable organization
Have a “Santa’s Workshop” family day with decorations and some treats
Gift wrapping party
Pajama party and lunch hour boardgames

These little morale boosts don’t have to be a whole to-do, but little things that bring a touch of cheer. Ideas like the hot chocolate and PJ party are really cost effective and can easily be done around the workflow. Small activities will also encourage your staff to take much needed breaks, which also improve productivity and morale.

The biggest boost to you personally? Your staff will be looking into the New Year feeling like they are appreciated and their work really means a lot to you. This means you can start leaving turnover behind in 2019 and say hello to retention. Some might say you’ll have…..2020 vision!!

Staffmax is a recruiting agency based in Winnipeg with locations across Canada. Our sole focus is the recruitment and placement of the most talented and qualified candidates. Blog author, Anelle McLaughlin , is Staffmax's Senior Recruitment Consultant and HR Manager based in Winnipeg.

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, Proud Sponsor of The Dream Factory

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 21:41:40 GMT

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, Proud Sponsor of The Dream Factory

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Winnipeg – October, 2019 – At The Dream Factory, their mission is clear: to make dreams come true for kids in Manitoba battling life-threatening illnesses. Uniquely based out of Manitoba, all of the funds raised stay in the province to help sick kids in our community and their families. Since 1983, when they were founded as The Rainbow Society, The Dream Factory has helped to create cherished memories and dreams come true for nearly 800 families in Manitoba.

Staffmax has caught the vision together with The Dream Factory and is proud to be a local sponsor. President & Founder, Kevin Gill of Staffmax had this to say; “Partnering with organizations in a Manitoba-based community such as The Dream Factory is an honor and we are proud to be an official Dream sponsor for 2019.”

Staffmax would like to take this opportunity to encourage other local businesses to become involved with The Dream Factory. The Dream Factory was built on the values of imagination, hope, and most importantly: fun. Please consider becoming a sponsor for The Dream Factory. Their dream is for a world where there are no sick kids, but until that is possible The Dream Factory is working to ensure every sick child in Manitoba has the opportunity to have their personal dream come true.

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting:

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Staffmax Announces New Location in Mississauga, ON

Sun, 18 Feb 2018 21:11:18 GMT

Staffmax Announces New Location in Mississauga, ON

Winnipeg – February 18, 2018 - Due to remarkable growth, Staffmax is pleased to announce the opening of our latest office in Mississauga, ON. Located at 2 Robert Speck Pkwy Suite 750, Mississauga, ON, this office will support our growth in the entire Peel Region, including Mississauga, Brampton, Etobicoke and the Western GTA.

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Staffmax Expands Its Reach to Vancouver, B.C.

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 21:30:06 GMT

Staffmax Expands Its Reach to Vancouver, B.C.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Vancouver – November, 2017 – Staffmax is excited to announce that they are expanding their business to Vancouver, British Columbia! The new office location is 666 Burrard Street, Suite 500, Vancouver, BC.

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Staffmax Makes It’s Move in Winnipeg, MB

Fri, 03 Jun 2016 21:47:57 GMT

Staffmax Makes It’s Move in Winnipeg, MB

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Winnipeg – June, 2016 – We’ve moved – but we haven’t gone far! Due to growth within the company, we have realized the need for new, expanded space for our Winnipeg location. Staffmax would like to send a big thank-you to all the clients and candidates that have put their trust in us over the years, and we look forward to meeting many more of you in the years to come! Come by and see us at our new central location at 206-1661 Portage Ave, Winnipeg. The pleasure would be ours!

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting:

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Staffmax Partners With YES! Winnipeg as Inaugural Sponsor

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:00:57 GMT

Staffmax Partners With YES! Winnipeg as Inaugural Sponsor

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Winnipeg – January, 2012 – Staffmax is proud to sponsor and partner alongside YES! Winnipeg. YES! Winnipeg is an Economic Development Winnipeg’s business development team, promoting the city as the ideal location for new business, expansion, investment and top talent. YES! Winnipeg’s experts serve as a concierge for businesses, making it easy to grow and invest in Winnipeg through a suite of specialized services, market intelligence and business connections. YES! Winnipeg is driven by a community of local business leaders and responds directly to the needs of the industry.

Staffmax President, Kevin Gill commented on the sponsorship saying that “Staffmax is excited to align with YES! Winnipeg as there is a direct synergy to attract and retain top talent in Winnipeg. We are working hard to promote Winnipeg as a great place to do business, focusing on providing a supportive community of businesses and industries to work and thrive in.”

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###

Winnipeg’s Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting makes PROFIT HOT 50 List

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:48:41 GMT

Winnipeg’s Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting makes PROFIT HOT 50 List

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Winnipeg - September 16, 2010 - Staffmax , a Winnipeg-based firm specializing in high quality temporary office, administrative and clerical staffing ranked 23rd in the 11th annual PROFIT HOT 50 ranking. The PROFIT HOT 50, compiled by PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success, is the definitive ranking of Canada’s Emerging Growth Companies. Published in the October issue of PROFIT magazine and online at PROFITguide.com , the PROFIT HOT 50 ranks young firms by two-year revenue growth.

From 2007 to 2009, Staffmax has experienced a growth in revenues of 376%. Staffmax attributes its ongoing success to their ability to quickly provide ready, reliable and experienced temporary employees.

“Our growth has been a function of the great relationships we’ve formed with our clients who see us as solutions providers, more than simply a staffing agency,” we “fix their problems” says Kevin Gill, President of Staffmax. “The need for quality staffing has continued to climb and we’ve been able to assert ourselves as a leader in this area.”

Last month, Staffmax was chosen to recruit and manage 60 temporary employees at the LPGA CN Canadian Women's Open at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg. In 2010, Staffmax opened a Toronto branch office and also partnered with Legacy Bowes Group, a Winnipeg Management and Executive Search firm. This partnership helped to expand Staffmax’s ability to effectively and efficiently solve client issues in a timely fashion.

“Creativity, foresight and focus are just some of the traits required to launch a successful business in today’s volatile marketplace,” says PROFIT editor Ian Portsmouth. “This year’s PROFIT HOT 50 leaders have these qualities in abundance, plus many effective management ideas that other business owners would do well to borrow.”

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x 101

###

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Opens New Location In Toronto, ON

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:05:51 GMT

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Opens New Location In Toronto, ON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto – Aug, 2010 – In the wake of substantial growth in 2009 and 2010, Staffmax Staffing and Recruiting are thrilled to be joining the Toronto marketplace at 2 Bloor Street West Suite 700, Toronto, ON.

Staffmax has a recruitment solution for every employer and every job. Clients know the right person can make the world of difference in performance and productivity and it is with this principle in mind that we look forward to working with clients and candidates in the great city of Toronto,

About Staffmax, Staffing & Recruiting

Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, headquartered in Winnipeg and with offices across Canada, is a provider of High-Quality Temporary Staffing, Full-Service Permanent Recruiting and HR Services. Recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing staffing and recruiting companies, Staffmax’s success is based on specialized recruiters, sophisticated technology and strong client relationships.

For further information please contact:

Staffmax Public Relations

anelle.mclaughlin@staffmax.ca

staffmax.ca

204-956-7090 x101

888-956-7090

###