A.R. Mazzotta - Connecticut Employment Specialists

Has technology taken the ‘human’ out of Human Resources?

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently published a report on technology trends in the sector, and the overall conclusion was unsurprising:  today’s HR departments leverage IT to benefit almost every aspect of their daily operations.

Continual technology improvements, coupled with declining costs, have fueled a surge in HR’s usage of technology:

• Software is being deployed to manage areas such as internal mobility, appraisal management, succession planning and personal development.
• E-recruitment and performance management software are dramatically improving HR’s ability to effectively execute PRM (people relationship management) and further solidify their organizations’ employer brands.
• Applicant tracking and hiring management systems are streamlining processes and driving down costs.

But will this IT success come at a price for some HR organizations?  While technology can reduce the administrative burden associated with HR and enable them to focus on more strategic issues, HR will always be about people management – which requires human interaction and face-to-face contact.  As a result, HR organizations should attempt to strike a balance between systems and the human element.

As Jeff Phelps, President of WorkforceLogic/ABE Services says, “We can’t ever begin to think of treating people like equipment or some sort of inanimate commodity…The best of all worlds is a holistic solution that combines technology with the human element to facilitate putting the right person in the right job at the right time.”

HR technologies making the biggest impact:

• Employee self-service
• Workflow technologies
• Vendor management systems
• Applicant tracking systems
• Hiring management systems
• E-recruitment software

Learn more.

Find out more about the evolution of IT in HR, as well as key findings from the SHRM’s HR technology survey, by following this link to the HR Management article “Technology aids the human touch.”

When it comes to staffing your business effectively, both IT and the human touch are critical.  A.R. Mazzotta Employment Specialists combines state-of-the-art technologies with distinctly personal service to deliver customized solutions that maximize your staffing ROI.  Contact us today to find out more about our staffing solutions for Connecticut employers.

Hiring the right employees is critical to building a successful business. 

But when I talk to hiring managers, nearly all of them tell me that they wish they could avoid the time, cost and distraction associated with posting jobs and screening résumés.  Many want to keep their hiring in-house, but do not have the time and resources required to carefully screen dozens, even hundreds, of résumés that come across their desks.

In response to the shifting needs of companies and economic cycles, A.R. Mazzotta is pleased to provide Job Posting/ Résumé Screening Services.  Why should you outsource these functions?

Access our state-of-the-art technology and recruiting expertise.  We post your job on the right job boards and search engines to yield maximum response from the right type of candidates for your available position.  Furthermore, our experts spend the time needed to carefully screen résumés, leverage years of diverse recruiting experience to identify candidates with the most potential.

Get the candidates you need, without the headaches.  A.R. Mazzotta will present a shortlist of only those individuals who are genuinely qualified for the position.

Save money.  Candidate recruiting and assessment are our specialties.  We leverage economies of scale to offer the highest quality services more cost-effectively than you could on your own.

Maintain focus on your most important activities.  Offload the time-consuming tasks of posting and screening, and gain back time to tackle your biggest priorities.

Our Job Posting and Résumé Screening Services give you the quality information you need to make the right hiring decision, quickly and confidently.  Contact A.R. Mazzotta today to learn more.

“It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises but only performance is reality.”

– Harold S. Geneen

If you’ve ever managed a single person, then you know that employees make excuses.  They procrastinate, miss deadlines and blame others when they fail.

So how do you get them to consistently perform to the best of their abilities?  Use these smart suggestions to get better results – and fewer excuses – from your staff every day:

Make performance management a daily activity.  Annual and quarterly reviews definitely play their part in gauging performance, but nothing replaces the day-to-day guidance you give to your staff.  So talk to them regularly, leveraging every opportunity to improve employee’s efforts:

• Give them honest feedback about what they’re doing right – and what they need to improve.
• Discuss new projects and the opportunities they present for employee development and growth.
• Talk about overdue assignments or project difficulties and how to resolve them.
• Reinforce the importance of consistently doing a great job.

Limit excuses.  Eliminate the external factors on which employees often blame their poor performance by:

• Ensuring employees have the resources they need to do their jobs;
• Ensuring employees are adequately trained to do their jobs;
• Setting clear, mutually agreed-upon performance expectations for each employee.

Ask the right questions when problems arise.  Uncovering the cause of poor performance is the first step in creating a plan to remedy it.  So when an employee is failing at work, ask the following types of questions to diagnose the reasons why:

• What about the work system (e.g., tools, time, training, support) is causing the employee to fail?
• Does the employee know exactly what you want him/her to do, as well as the expected outcome?
• Does the employee practice effective work management?
• Does the employee feel valued, recognized and fairly compensated for his/her contributions?

Make performance goals SMART goals.  This goal-setting acronym is still widely used for one simple reason:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound goals are more likely to be achieved.  So as you work with your employees to set higher standards for the next quarter or year, teach them how to create SMART performance goals that will get them there.

Create a “performance mentality” among team members.  Football players won’t play their hardest in a game where nobody keeps score.  Likewise, your employees won’t deliver superior results when they merely see themselves as “doing a job” everyday.  Foster a “performance mentality” by showing your team why their efforts matter – and what’s at stake.  Make sure employees understand your mission, how their jobs fit into the “big picture,” and what they need to do to help your company win.

A.R. Mazzotta’s HR Tools for Performance Management

Performance management is a vital component in your organization’s continued success.  Ensure that success with A.R. Mazzotta’s full complement of HR solutions.  From coaching for executives and workteams, to performance appraisal interview training, our Senior Professional Human Resource consultants have the resources to fuel exceptional performance in your company.  Contact us today to learn more.

If yours is like most forward-thinking companies, you are integrating contract employees with direct staff to maximize resources and meet project objectives.  But are you getting the best results from your contract staff?

To get the most from your contract personnel, you must understand their motivations and develop a culture in which they can succeed.  Here are a few best practices to help you successfully manage these valuable contingent resources:

Use Them Only When Appropriate.

Before you begin searching for a contract employee, ask yourself:

• Is the assignment well-defined, with a tight deadline and a measurable end point?
• Does it require special expertise?
• Is it a “one time only” assignment?  (as opposed to repeatable work)
• Do time or economic considerations preclude you from hiring a direct employee?

If you answered “yes” to the questions applicable to your circumstances, you probably have a project well-suited for a contract employee.

Prepare Direct Employees.

Your direct staff may not know what to expect from contractors, or they may have misperceptions about them.  To ensure that the two groups work well together:

• Define the roles of both contractors and direct staff.  Show the value that each brings to the table.
• Assure direct employees that contractors do not pose a threat.  Instead, let them know that contractors’ skills complement their own and improve the chances of project success.
• Cultivate working relationships between contract and direct staff, to encourage idea-sharing and develop rapport.

Communicate Regularly.

Lack of communication is often the greatest obstacle to successful working relationships with contract employees.  At each stage of their assignments, use the following suggestions to stay informed and ensure contractors won’t feel isolated:

• Beginning of assignment.  Orient new contract employees by explaining the parameters of the job, outlining “big picture” impact of the project, and introducing them to the rest of the project team.
• During the assignment. Throughout the project, involve contract employees in relevant meetings, include them in team memos and e-mails, ask for their opinions and ideas, and remember them when you celebrate project milestones.
• End of assignment. Hold a debriefing session to ensure objectives were met, gather necessary documentation, and discuss issues that may arise in the future.

Need specialized talent for an upcoming project?

With over 40 years of experience serving Connecticut’s staffing needs, A.R. Mazzotta Employment Specialists  allows you to access experienced contract professionals who have the skills to do the job right.  Whether you need to cover unique staffing challenges, to meet the transitional staffing requirements between direct hires, or for long or short-term projects, we’re ready to help.  Contact A.R. Mazzotta today.

Test Your Knowledge
Co-employment laws are those that govern any situation in which two legally distinct employers (typically a staffing firm and their business client) have employer-employee relationships with the same person.  Over the past several years, co-employment law has rapidly evolved in response to the increased use of temporary and contract staff. 

So how up-to-date is your legal knowledge?  Find out by taking the American Staffing Association’s Staffing Smarts Quiz on Co-Employment Law.  This quick 5-question quiz tests your knowledge of the legal issues involved in temporary and contract staffing arrangements.

Tips for Making Co-Employment Work
When co-employment problems occur, they often stem from situations in which a client company unnecessarily assumes employment responsibilities over temporary or contract workers.  To maximize the effectiveness of your co-employment arrangement, while minimizing the potential for problems, use these practical tips:

• Let the staffing firm do its job.  When you pay a temporary or contract employee’s hourly bill rate, included in that rate are the services the staffing firm provides – recruiting, interviewing, testing and selecting candidates.  To head-off potential problems, allow the staffing service (who is the employer of record for these workers) to perform these tasks.
• Take advantage of on-site coordinators.  If you have a large temporary workforce, ask your staffing service to provide an on-site representative.  This individual can reinforce the staffing service’s role as employer, by carrying out administrative functions, handling performance counseling and addressing disciplinary action.  Although there may be a charge involved, the benefits usually far outweigh the costs of an on-site coordinator.
• Give the staffing firm specific feedback on their employees’ job performance.  If performance issues arise, it may seem natural for you to speak directly with the temporary or contract worker assigned to you.  But to steer clear of potential co-employment problems, you should instead speak with your staffing representative about your concerns.  That way, when the individual is subjected to disciplinary action, the staffing service will be able to provide him or her with the performance-related reason for the action – making the individual far less likely to consider the action to be discriminatory, or to file a charge.
• Allow the staffing firm to handle employee termination.  If you are dissatisfied with a temporary or contract worker, ask your staffing provider to handle disciplinary action and / or termination and replacement.  Provide information about the individual’s work performance to your staffing representative, and then allow them to handle the rest.
• Review your benefit plan descriptions.  Ask an expert to make sure that the language in your benefit plan effectively excludes temporary employees.  To guard against lawsuits that stem from ambivalent wording, be sure to incorporate exclusionary language that makes benefit entitlement dependent upon your employment classifications – regardless of common law definitions.

Ensure Successful Co-Employment with A.R. Mazzotta
As a leading Connecticut staffing firm, A.R. Mazzotta’s staffing experts can work with you to develop effective co-employment procedures from both a legal and operational standpoint.  Give us a call to learn more .

These days, with a greater number of candidates vying for the same openings in your company, you may find yourself having to say “No” more often.  Needless to say, writing rejection letters can be an unpleasant and stressful part of the hiring process.

But even when you can’t offer a job applicant the position, it is important to end the interview process on a positive note.  Here are some quick tips for writing candidate rejection letters in a constructive way, to build good will with candidates and position your company as an employer of choice:

• Send out the rejection letter promptly.  If you’re certain you will not be hiring the individual, let him know that he was not selected as soon as possible.  Even when the news is bad, your timely follow-up will convey a high level of professionalism.
• Always use formal company letterhead for a rejection letter and never handwrite it.
• Address your candidate by name.  Further customize the letter with the position for which he applied, as well as a supportive comment about the applicant’s qualifications, experience or enthusiasm.  Although a rejection letter is basically a form letter, your candidate shouldn’t feel as though it is.
• Be direct, but gracious.  Make it clear that there were other candidates more qualified for the job, but do so in a respectful way.
• When appropriate, encourage further action.  If the candidate is a good culture fit, and may be qualified for other openings with your company, say so.  Encourage him to stay in touch and apply again.
• Always end on a positive note.  Thank the candidate for applying and interviewing.  Wish him good luck in his career development.  Remember, this may be the final impression this individual has of your company – make sure it’s a favorable one.
• Close the letter formally with “Sincerely,” or “Best wishes,” and sign your name.

Don’t want to write rejection letters?

Call A.R. Mazzotta Employment Specialists, a leading Connecticut staffing firm, with your direct placement needs.  We’ll handle every step of the process – from recruiting to testing and initial interviews – and only present you with the most qualified candidates.  If you decide not to hire an individual we refer, just let us know and we’ll take care of the rest.

Learn more about the benefits of A.R. Mazzotta’s direct placement services.

An effective mentoring program provides a wide range of business benefits:

• Facilitated onboarding. Mentoring speeds up the process of bringing on new hires as well as redeploying existing employees into new lines of work.
• Increased employee satisfaction and retention. Research has shown that employees who participate in mentoring programs have higher job satisfaction and reduced turnover.
• Improved employee productivity. When employees are mentored, they can get answers to common problems quickly – without wasting time on rediscovering or re-inventing solutions.
• Effective career growth / succession planning. Mentoring programs help employees reach their full career potential, grooming them to fill key roles as part of an organization’s succession plan.
• Knowledge management and retention. Mentoring promotes effective knowledge sharing, to reduce the risk of losing critical skills and knowledge when employees leave.

Obviously, mentors can play an important role in ensuring your company’s continued success.  But while identifying a budding protégé may be straightforward, identifying a potential mentor can be more complex.  Whether that person is you, one of your managers, or an outside expert, a mentor should possess the following professional and personal attributes:

1. Senior-level business experience. To provide guidance, the expert should have several years experience working in senior corporate positions.  At a minimum, the expert should be a professional peer to the protégé.
2. Interpersonal and political “know-how.” The expert ought to be proficient in handling all sorts of complex interpersonal dynamics within the context of office politics.  To be an effective trainer, the expert must be able to help the protégé navigate the tricky political waters of his organization.
3. Integrity and confidentiality. Professional development involves discussing high-level, strategic, off-the-record information, as well as sensitive personal issues.  Honesty and discretion are essential when broaching these confidential topics.
4. Organizational and personal insight. The expert must have an in-depth understanding of the company’s objectives, needs and hierarchy.  Equally, he must also appreciate the protégé’s strengths, weaknesses and goals.  To achieve professional development goals, the trainer must align both the company’s and the protégé’s interests.
5. Flexibility and ingenuity. When egos, ambitions and agendas collide, sparks fly.  What works for an organization one day may be thrown out the window the next.  An expert trainer must be able to shift gears, develop solutions on the fly, throw out tactics that prove ineffective and come up with new ones – fast.  He must be comfortable dealing with uncertainty to navigate a corporate environment rife with change.

A.R. Mazzotta Professional Development and Coaching Services
As a premier Connecticut employment agency, A.R. Mazzotta offers a variety of HR resources – including coaching for executives, key staff and work teams – to assist your company through the entire employee cycle.  Contact us today to learn more.

Tips for Successful Salary Negotiations

Congratulations!  You’ve found a superstar with the ideal skills, personality and experience for the position.

But you still have one hurdle to overcome – salary negotiations.  Landing the cream of the crop without blowing your personnel budget can be tricky.  To help, here is a quick list of strategies for negotiating salary with high performers:

1. Have the right mindset.  Negotiation is a process, not a war.  At all costs, avoid the pitfalls of the “us vs. him/her” mentality.  Instead, enter the salary negotiation process open-minded, with the ultimate goal of hiring the best possible candidate for your company.
2. Do your homework.  Rest assured your candidate will have done his.  Before heading into negotiations, prepare yourself by:  reviewing the candidate’s salary history; consulting relevant salary surveys; knowing what your competitors are paying; understanding current market and economic conditions; factoring in cost-of-living differences; and developing a comprehensive compensation package.
3. Use a negotiating point person.  In multiple interview situations, a candidate may ask salary questions of more than one interviewer.  Be prepared.  Prevent potentially catastrophic communication errors by designating a single person to discuss and negotiate salary with a candidate.
4. Never lowball a candidate if there is a good fit.  A top candidate knows what he’s/she’s worth.  If you lowball him/her in an attempt to save a few dollars, he/she will likely be insulted and reject the offer without even countering.
5. Sell the intangibles.  Identify a candidate’s “hot buttons” – intangibles which are just as important to him/her as money.  Leverage these intangibles (e.g. company culture, stability, challenging work, opportunity for advancement, flexible hours, etc.) to sweeten the deal when your pay range is maxed out.
6. Be up-front if you can’t negotiate.  If your initial offer is not negotiable (because of budgetary or other constraints), tell the candidate when making the offer.  If possible, provide an explanation.  The candidate will understand that your base salary offer is firm, and will then move on to negotiating other parts of the compensation package.

Work with A.R. Mazzotta.  Avoid the pitfalls of salary negotiations by using our Recruiting Services for Direct Hire.  We can handle every step of the process from initial screening through salary negotiations, to ensure you land a top performer without breaking the bank.

What’s the single most important variable in the success (or failure) of your business?

Your staff.

Steven Berchem, Certified Staffing Professional and Vice President of the American Staffing Association, posted a great article on the ASA website which addresses the ways today’s businesses are using staffing to gain real competitive advantage. 

Here are a few of the article’s salient points:

• As agility becomes more essential to success, smart companies are rejecting traditional hiring models and taking bold approaches to staffing.  They are moving away from lengthy hiring processes and no longer see the wisdom of filling every position with a permanent employee.
• These changes in key business practices have led companies to use more temporary and contract employees in diverse and highly skilled professions, including: accountants, attorneys, chief executives, doctors, graphic designers, IT professionals and even pilots.
• Today’s staffing employees are motivated, satisfied and educated.  In a survey conducted by the ASA, nine out of 10 staffing employees said they would recommend temporary or contract work to a friend or relative.  And while it may come as a surprise, staffing employees are actually better educated than the overall workforce, with 74% having at least some college education (compared to 62% of the traditional workforce).
• Staffing firms provide the only means of accessing some of America’s best talent.  In fact, the majority of staffing employees either use temporary or contract work as their sole means of finding a “permanent” job, or they simply prefer their current work arrangement over traditional employment.

To read or download the full article, click here.

Maximize the Value of Your Human Resources with A. R. Mazzotta

If you’d like to maximize the value of your staff as a source of competitive advantage for your company, contact A.R. Mazzotta today.  We can show you how to use staffing to become more agile, efficient and profitable.  Together, we can develop a smart staffing plan that will enable your organization to compete – and win.

After an extremely difficult year for the domestic and international economies, business leaders worldwide are looking for signs of growth.  The staffing industry is a good place to start.

Why?  According to the American Staffing Association, the staffing industry has long been considered both a coincident economic indicator and a leading employment indicator.  In other words, changes in the staffing industry occur at the same time as changes in the overall economy; changes in staffing industry employment occur before changes in overall employment.

But new ASA research (statistical analyses of 36 years of government data) has further refined the relationship between the staffing industry and the economy as a whole:

• Temporary help employment is a strong coincident economic indicator when the economy is emerging from a recession.  This suggests that a sustained upturn in temporary help would signal the end of the current recession.
• Staffing industry employment is a strong leading indicator for total nonfarm employment by about three months when the economy is emerging from a recession.

Bottom line, the results suggest that a sustained upturn in temporary and contract staffing employment would signal the end of the current recession.  Additionally, total nonfarm employment would begin to grow about three months later.

Want to learn more?
Visit the American Staffing Association’s website to view and download reference documents that detail this research.  To learn more about the services and benefits A.R. Mazzotta offers, please visit our website.