You are here: Home / Archives for Employment

Some Common Hiring Mistakes That Firms Commit

An interview in the Montebello Observatory in ...

Image via Wikipedia

Have you invited dozens of candidates for interviews only to find that nobody is worth employing? Well, blaming the fact that there is no talent in the market today is one option. Another option is to take a look at the person conducting the interview to find out whether he or she is committing these mistakes.

Intimidating the candidate

This mistake occurs without even a conscious effort on the part of the person conducting the interview. The person approaching the panel is already nervous and scared of making a mistake. A few brusque and curt statements all it takes to make the candidate feel intimidated. Is your office filled with people who are rude to each other all the time? If not, why be rude during the interview? Try to create a friendly environment in the interview where the person can do to his or her best potential.

Being too demanding

The person attending the interview is not interested in groveling for a job. Being too demanding and too difficult to please can also backfire. Offering a pittance and demanding the best talent in the world is just not going to work. It is important to know your requirements and necessities. There is no point in rejecting a good candidate simply because you feel he or she should be better.

Paying too smaller salary

This is a fundamental mistake that occurs because the employer is not in sync with the expectations of the labor pool. Try contacting a few people whom you had interviewed and find out whether they liked the payment you offered. If you consistently hear complaints about low payment, perhaps you are paying far too low for the level of talent and skill you demand.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

How To Keep Employees Motivated During Business Training Sessions?

CHENGDU, CHINA - JANUARY 12: Job seekers line...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Many kids love to bunk school and have a good time. We often presume that people outgrow this tendency once they grow up and become adults. However, it is advisable to prepare your business training program in such a manner that it retains interest and prevents participants from losing focus midway. You cannot treat your employees like kids and demand complete attention at all times.

However, the training course is not a formality and plays an integral part in retaining competitive edge in a tough market. In such a scenario, you should focus on encouraging and motivating your employees to use the training process properly. If you do a good job selling the advantages of training to your employees, you will find that they stay interested even if you conclude the session and finalize the certification process.

If you are still not in a position to retain employee interest, it is advisable to take a look at your training course program and the faculty. A person who uses too many words that your employees do not know will obviously fail to connect with them. At the end of the day, your employees will simply end up attending the course as a formality because of the low quality teaching involved.

You can do a good job training your employees only if you pay attention to the minor details. Remember, training is going to be a stressful affair for your employees because it involves learning something that they do not know and implementing the same in their daily business or professional life. You must ensure training provides information and tips for implementation of ideas in real life.

 


Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

Who to Hire

Everyone in the world wants a job, or at least needs one. Given that there are more people than jobs, especially right now, employers have the blessing of having lots of applicants to choose from for a job. Who to hire can be a tough question. Many applicants may be qualified, but who will do the job better? Who will get along with co-workers the best? Who can take directions? Who would make a good manager someday? These are all important questions to keep in mind when reviewing applicants for a position.

Experience is always nice, but much of it doesn’t transfer from job to job. A technician may only know how to work his last company’s products, and will need extensive training to work on yours. A customer service representative may know how to be courteous, but knows zilch about your company policies. Hire people who are trainable and learn well.

It’s important to also remember that in a way, an applicant holds the power; he’s sort of hiring you. You’re looking for someone to do an important job. You need someone who can work hard, get the job done, and be amiable about it. By extending an offer of employment, you are, in fact, saying “pretty please?”

Hiring the wrong person can be a very costly mistake. You have to put up with them if they’re unpersonable. You have to supervise them if they can’t or won’t do their job right. You can always fire them, but that can be expensive and nasty. It’s better just to get it right the first time and choose carefully who you hire.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

How to Get Hired

While we’d all like to sit on a beach drinking fruity drinks and listening the waves crash, the rough truth is that beach chairs cost money, drinks cost money, spiffy hats cost money, and so do phone bills, car insurance, food, and electricity. We have to work. But that’s okay; studies have shown that people are happier when they’re working on something. The important thing is to be paid for something that you like to do. Then you can enjoy yourself and make money: huzzah for win-win situations. Now, how to get hired at that job you want.

There are hundreds of people who will tell you how to dress for an interview, what to say and how to say it, how to impress an interviewer, how to climb the corporate ladder, etc etc.  Here’s a simple rule though: be honest with whoever is doing the hiring. Tell them how much you want the job, and why. Good employers can spot dedication when they see it and if you show them that you’re going to be a good worker, you’ll be a shoo-in.

Being willing to learn is another big thing. People can learn anything. Be candid. If they want someone who knows their way around Photoshop and you don’t know a mask from a monkey wrench, tell them that. But follow it up with a sincere statement that you’re willing to learn. Employers want people who will do things their way. You may be a blank slate, but you can impress on them how you can learn and are looking forward to receiving training.

Don’t be afraid of failure. If you give it your all and still get the “we’ve decided to go in a different direction” email, go find someone else in the same field, or another one that interests you. If a job exists, it’s because somebody wants what it produces. Keep your chin up and keep trucking.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

Handling Budget Cuts in a Corporation

In tough economic times, every corporation has to address the time when the company needs to cut back. This sometimes means not only cutting bonuses and other expenses, but can also mean whittling down your team of workers. These decisions are always difficult to make. Instead of simply laying off a worker, you may want to consider giving one or all of the following suggestions to the employees you are considering letting go.

Cut Hours. Instead of flat-out firing a worker, ask them if they would consider going to work part time instead. In some cases, you may not even need to cut down hours from full time to part time, but can reduce hours from forty to thirty hours a week, or can ask workers to no longer take any overtime work. Over time work can be one of the biggest expenses for a company, so limiting these hours may be important.

Early Retirement. Instead of cutting younger workers, consider going to your older employees who are only a few years away from retirement. Offer them an early retirement package, where they will receive the benefits of their retirement now instead of later. Since you were already going to pay them their retirement, you can save yourself the years of salary you were going to give them. Note that simply terminating an employee and not giving them the retirement you promised should not be practiced, as this can give your company a bad reputation, and will greatly decrease your employee morale (which will already be low due to budget cuts).

Fewer Benefits. You can also offer a worker the option of fewer benefits in order to stay on full time. You can do this through allowing them to find their own insurance, not renewing their company car, or other methods. You can always provide stipend that will go towards these expenses, but will be a smaller cost for you. While you are still lowering their pay by taking away these benefits, your employee may still prefer this to no longer working, or going to part-time work.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

How to Increase Employee Morale

Looking to give your team a little more energy? Here are some ways you can encourage them to do their best on the job.

Incentive. If you need to encourage your workers to increase their productivity, giving incentives and rewards is an excellent way to positively ask for higher output. The incentive could be for the collective office or for individual winners. You can create awards for the top worker in terms of quantity, quality or both. Incentives could be gift cards for specific winners, a catered lunch for the whole office, or even leaving the office early.

Personal interaction. People will work harder and happier when they know they are being heard. If you want to let your employees know that you care about them outside of the workspace, take the time to get to know about them, their life, and their families. It is important that you do not just fake an interest but are actually interested in your employees’ lives. If you take the time to do this, your employees will not feel inclined to hide from you, but will feel comfortable enough to communicate openly about their work, and will also feel an added incentive to do their best while on the job.

Encouragement. The other way to lift up your employees is by taking time to encourage them through words and actions. Tell them what they are good at. Notice and comment on a job well done. This also means working with their schedule, letting them know that you are not trying to leave them in a difficult situation. This requires open communication on your part as well, so do not be afraid to let your employees know what is going in when schedules are made or when changes are put into place. To let your employees know they are important to you, consider giving them a Christmas bonus, or at least a small gift for the holidays. Giving a gift or at least recognizing other holidays can also lift the office mood. These are some of the easiest ways to encourage your office community.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

Consider a Helpful Tool to Improve Your Company

One of the best traits of a good business is the presence of a cohesive group of employees. This requires that they are all on the same page, with similar objectives, as this usually looks best to most clients. One of the easiest ways to show this consistency within the company is by putting the business name and logo on everything from t-shirts to employee business cards.

Most companies attend at least occasional events in which employees are expected to show up and make a good impression. At networking events in particular, employees may be asked for business cards so that other professionals can get in touch with them. This kind of interaction may benefit the employee and even the entire company, so it is important to make a good impression.

Fortunately, doing so often involves as simple a step as ensuring that all employees have the same business cards, with their personal and contact informationbeing the only details that change for each worker. This not only looks professional, but also makes it easier on both company executives and employees, since ordering the cards as a large batch can be the easiest and cheapest way to get them.

Of course, ensuring that the employees all have the same card is a good way to get some inexpensive advertising for the company. This is because they will be handed out in various locations, both to business contacts and friends of the employee. Cards that have the company’s name, logo, website, and any other information that is helpful for potential customers can bring in new business. When you allow each employee to make their own card, you risk them leaving out details like the website or company logo, which can result in you missing out on easy advertising for your company.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

A Healthy Work Environment

Keeping a clean and healthy workspace for your employees is both courteous and necessary. Creating a healthy work environment will also help your workers reach a fuller satisfaction in their jobs, as they will not be discouraged by their daily surroundings. These are some suggestions for ensuring that your work area is a healthy space.

Keep it clean. Unpleasant smells and stained countertops can distract and discourage your employees. Mold poses a serious health risk and must be dealt with thoroughly, as it can cause serious illness. There is more to cleaning than vacuuming and taking out the trash, however. If you are having difficulty cleaning your work area sufficiently, you may need to consider hiring an additional cleaning team. For the health of all employees, delegate a smoking area away from other employees. It is also important to promote good hygiene in the office by placing hand sanitizers in central location in the office, such as by the water fountain and at the reception desk. Disinfectant wipes should also be placed in the lunch room to clean tables and counters.

Improve Ventilation. Good airflow can keep your employees from becoming tired, and can give them a increase of motivation. You can help implement this kind of ventilation by providing or encouraging working windows and fans. The building’s temperature is also very important, as the discomfort from high or low temperatures can lower productivity and energy and increase job dissatisfaction. This can also increase office conflict as members are more irritable because of their environment. If you cannot allow the temperature to be adjusted throughout the building, consider providing or encouraging the use of portable heaters or fans.

Encouraging Natural Light. A dingy, dark office can decrease employee morale and productivity. Natural light is always a better alternative than an overhead light, however. Big windows are ideal, but sufficient overhead lighting is a necessity. Natural light provides a lighter and more refreshing environment. If you are truly concerned about the lack of vibrancy in your work area, consider providing office plants to bring the outdoors inside your office.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

Organizing Office Space

Organized workspace means better productivity and higher cost efficiency. By creating a chart, or organizing your system for tools or even archived folders, you can have a better use of space and a much less chaotic work environment. Here are some things you can do.

Create a regulation folder for employees. This is information that the federal or state government publishes. Your employees should have easy access for such regulation so that they can be familiar with them and follow the guidelines. Also note that there are some mandatory federal information that must be displayed somewhere where an employee can easily see it.

You can also add to this file your own requirements for work behavior and protocol. This allows your employees to know what is expected of them, and lays clearer grounds for explaining to a struggling employee how they need to conform to meet your office standard.

Keep organized archives. Don’t be afraid to move old information out of the main files, but also consider keeping this information for a number of years. Most places recommend that you keep a job file archived for seven years before throwing it out. Other information, such as patient information, may need to be kept for much longer. Create a system for your employees to follow on what information needs to be kept, and for organized purging in the archives.

Create an accessible supply closet. If you are still having trouble with supplies, or put someone in charge of supplies. Whether workers simply need highlighters and copy paper or if they need tools, brushes, or tape, having a central location for these supplies will make it much easier to assess when you need to restock. If you are having trouble with too many supplies going missing or being over used or used carelessly, assign a certain number of tools to your workers, such as one pair of safety gloves that they must keep up with (instead of your workers constantly losing them and needing you to buy them replacements). Adding this extra structure can help you create a better working environment.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With: , ,

Finding The Right Employees

One of the biggest challenges business owners face is finding the right people. It’s a truism that a business’s people are its most important asset. Since business owners – especially small business owners – are often involved in the interview process, it’s important for them to think about how to best attract the right job applicants. It can be helpful to break down the whole cycle of recruiting and hiring an employee to see what can be learned to help facilitate the process. Here are a few thoughts about how to best attract quality employees for your business.

1. Advertise Specifically

Often business owners delegate job postings to lower-level staff, but they would do well to be more intimately involved with the language of job advertisements. First of all, making jobs ads more specific will greatly reduce the number of applicants for a position, making human resources’ job much easier. Also, it helps ensure that qualified people will see the ad, since many of those people are searching for something specific. It’s a good idea to make it clear that applicants must have certain qualifications. This will hopefully discourage unqualified applicants from wasting your time and theirs.

2. Pay Well

The old adage that “you get what you pay for” is certainly true in the U.S. If you want a quality employee, advertise the job with a salary range. Otherwise, you risk missing out on certain people who will only join your company if the price is right. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t negotiate with a new employee, but avoid the temptation to be stingy. After all, you want your new employee to be happy at your company and not be lured away by a competitor that offers more money or better benefits. And happy employees are productive employees.

Filed Under: General Finance · Tagged With:
« Older Posts