A.R. Mazzotta - Connecticut Employment Specialists

Feel like fall is passing by too quickly?

There’s good reason.  Across Connecticut, retailers are already setting up their holiday displays, priming consumers to begin their seasonal spending just a little bit earlier.  Despite a flagging recovery, the National Retail Federation still predicts a holiday spending increase of 2.8% (slightly higher than the 10-year average), which means that consumers will indeed be opening their wallets this year.

But as you know, the holiday rush is not limited to retailers.  For companies that deal in manufacturing, hospitality, shipping/delivery, customer service, travel and even finance, the end of the year can be an extremely busy – if not the busiest – time of year.

So although we’ve not yet reached fall’s midpoint, it’s time to gear up if you anticipate a need for seasonal help this year.  Use this list of tips to find the best seasonal employees and get the best results from them:

Find the Best

Bring back your superstars. Start by contacting your best holiday workers from last year.  If you used a staffing service last season, you can even request specific temporary employees again.  Because they’ve already proven themselves on the job, and understand your company and its workflow processes, these workers are the smartest choice.

Consider a variety of sources. If you will be recruiting on your own, cast a wide net to develop your applicant pool.  Sources of potential seasonal employees include job fairs, classified ads, online job sites, social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and referrals from current employees.

Partner with a staffing service. Because they maintain databases of highly skilled candidates who are ready to work, a staffing service can quickly supply the temporary help you need to closely match your fluctuating demand.  As an added benefit, a staffing firm handles all the recruiting, interviewing and background checks you require, so you can stay focused on your most important priorities.  To get the best results, invite the staffing representative to your work location.  Give him a tour of your site, so he can develop a first-hand picture of your exact staff requirements.

Offer competitive pay. Make sure you attract top performers by paying at or above competitors’ rates.  During your busy season, you need high quality supplemental staff who can learn quickly, perform consistently and ultimately increase productivity – so it’s worth it to pay a little more for the right people.

Manage for Success

Start off on the right foot. The seasonal rush can be hard and stressful on everyone – especially workers who are new to your company.  Get everyone on your staff (direct, seasonal and/or temporary employees) together for a pre-rush kick-off to let them know how much they are appreciated.  Use this opportunity to orient and introduce new employees, wrapping up with a formal tour and review of company policies.

Provide adequate training. Although it’s time-consuming, be sure to give seasonal employees the training they need to succeed.  They may only be working for you for a short time, but their performance is no less important to your company’s success.  After an initial orientation, pair each supplemental worker with a permanent employee for practical training and support during the learning curve.  Ultimately, well-trained workers will be more independent, productive and less likely to make costly mistakes.

Closely monitor initial performance. During your busy season, you shouldn’t tolerate – and can’t afford – mediocre performance.  If a seasonal worker isn’t living up to your standards, replace him.  Staffing services provide a distinct advantage in this respect, because most offer replacement guarantees on their temporary workers.  If the assigned employee does not perform as expected within an initial time period, the staffing service will provide a replacement, free of charge.

Consider completion bonuses. Dealing with high turnover during a critical time can disrupt workflow, waste valuable time and potentially cost you customers.  Encourage seasonal workers to stay for the duration of your busy season by offering a cash incentive or gift card for completion.

Plan for Seasonal Staffing Success – This Year and Next

The holiday season is already ramping up, and A.R. Mazzotta is ready to answer your call.  Throughout Connecticut, we deliver the clerical/administrative, light industrial, technical and professional staff our clients need to thrive during their busiest time of year.

Successful seasonal staffing requires careful planning, so learn what you can from this year.  As you progress through the next few months, take notes on what works and what doesn’t.  Keep records of what types and how much supplemental staff you require, so you can refer to this information next year.  Mark your 2012 calendar with dates to begin recruiting early and/or meet with A.R. Mazzotta to plan your seasonal staffing needs.

Want to improve your performance review process?

Most managers do.  Traditional performance reviews may fall short for any number of reasons:

• Appraisals may be subjective. Appraisals often reflect what a manager remembers (typically the most recent events).  Managers may write traditional reviews based on their opinions, because real performance management takes substantial time and follow-up to do well.
• Evaluators may not be skilled in providing effective feedback.  Most managers aren’t properly trained in how to provide specific feedback based on employee behaviors.  To boot, managers often feel uncomfortable in the role of “judge.”  As a result, they may avoid giving honest, direct feedback in order to maintain workplace harmony.
• Managers may not use performance evaluations properly. Because evaluations have proven ineffective in the past, many managers don’t see the value in conducting them properly.  Alternately, they may misuse reviews as a way to reprimand employees – instead of using them to improve performance.

So if traditional methods don’t work, what does?

The truth is, there is no “right” way to conduct an effective performance review.  An appraisal system that works for one company may not be effective for another.

In recent years, however, an increasing number of organizations have recognized the impact corporate values have on their ability to be competitive.  They’ve realized that when employees’ daily work behaviors support company values, the result is an organization that’s more unified, mission-driven and ultimately more successful.  To evaluate and drive performance, these companies have moved away from the traditional appraisal process, in favor of a values-based review system.

A values-based performance evaluation is exactly what it sounds like – a company uses its core values as the framework on which they build a performance appraisal system.  With a little creativity, you can use these tips for incorporating values-based criteria to build a better review process for your company:

1. Clearly communicate your company’s mission, vision and values. Communicate your values and core beliefs through handbooks, message boards, orientation programs, training and daily reinforcement by company leaders.  If you want employees’ performance to be driven by these values, you must make them clear every day.
2. Articulate your company’s values in terms of behaviors.  For each position, identify a list of specific work behaviors associated with each core value.  For example, if “innovation” is a core value, an effective work behavior might be “redesigning work flow processes, based on changes in the market, operational needs or available resources.”Conversely, an ineffective behavior could be “uses only established methods for getting work done, without considering changes that impact the efficiency of the procedure.”  Strive to identify the 10 to 15 most important values-based work behaviors needed for success in each type of position.
3. Solicit feedback.  No change in your review process will succeed unless you have buy-in from top to bottom.  Once you’ve developed behavior lists, share them with others in your organization (including the employees who will be subject to review) and solicit feedback.  Make sure senior management has the opportunity to review and refine the lists before they’re implemented.
4. Check understanding. Make it clear to your employees that they will be judged on the new criteria you’ve established.  Provide employees with a list of the new standards you will use to evaluate them, so that everyone understands what is expected.
5. Make values a part of everyday management. Once you’ve established new criteria, don’t just file them away until it’s review time.  Make them part of your everyday management.  When you make a decision, relate it to a value.  When you reprimand or praise, refer to a value. Help your employees achieve their performance goals by continually reminding them of what your company stands for.  Small as these actions may sound, they go a long way toward bringing core values alive in your organization – and ultimately driving employee performance.

A.R. Mazzotta was founded on the principle of providing employment services of the finest quality and unsurpassed customer service. Incorporating valuable lessons learned from over 40 years of experience, our company values are the cornerstone of our business culture. Uncompromising integrity and the highest professional ethical principles are woven into every aspect of our business. And, we are committed to the communities in which we work and live.

Remaining true to this founding vision, our expertise is in extending personalized service and crafting customized staffing solutions to produce quality placements. We understand your business, philosophy, culture and goals. We understand the talents and career goals of our candidates. That’s how we deliver positive results. And that is why companies and job seekers have trusted A.R. Mazzotta for generations.

Work/life balance.  It’s one of those nebulous issues with which employers continually wrestle.  On the one hand, work needs to be done.  On the other hand, the pressure to get that work done can lead to a host of problems which zap employees’ productivity.

Financial constraints and demanding work schedules have made work a higher priority than ever for Americans.  A recent study by CareerBuilder shows that, as a result, many U.S. workers are foregoing vacation plans this year:

• 24 percent of full-time workers say they can’t afford to take a vacation in 2011, up from 21 percent in 2010.
• An additional 12 percent can afford a vacation but don’t have plans to take one in 2011.

While these statistics may mean more total hours worked in your organization, your company might actually see greater benefits from encouraging employees to take time-off.

Why?

Overwork can increase absenteeism, burnout and turnover, and make employees more prone to errors on the job.  Conversely, workers with a healthy work/life balance tend to have less burnout, greater creativity and higher quality output.  And when things get stressful on the job, “balanced” employees are better equipped to handle the burden.  Bottom line, taking time-off is vital not only to an employee’s well-being and performance, but to your company’s, too.

As our economy heals, here are a few recommendations for encouraging your workers to take the time-off they need, while keeping your business running smoothly:

• Require sufficient notice.  If you don’t have one, develop formal policy outlining guidelines for taking vacation (i.e., giving adequate notice, coordinating with other employees’ requests for time-off, scheduling time-off before or after big projects/events, etc.).  The more lead-time you have, the better equipped your company will be to handle the extra workload.
• Encourage shorter, more frequent breaks. If employees can’t take a number of days off at once, suggest they take long weekends or midweek breaks.  Shorter vacations still afford employees the ability to recharge, with less disruption to your workflow.
• Ensure adequate coverage. Require employees to cross-train and prepare co-workers, to ensure adequate coverage while they’re gone.  At a minimum, ask employees to review: critical responsibilities, upcoming deadlines, where information is stored, key contacts and parameters for reaching them while they’re on vacation.
• Lead by example. Are you a workaholic?  If so, here’s a perfect reason to reform your ways.  Management support for work/life balance is critical and must come from the top.  Set an example of maintaining a healthy balance and make it known that the same is expected from rank-and-file employees, too.
• Call A.R. Mazzotta for the support you need. If your business is like most, your staff is already stretched thin.  When one person goes on vacation, it can be difficult for others to manage the additional workload.  Call A.R. Mazzotta to provide the talented, reliable individuals you need during vacation periods.  Our employees hit the ground running and keep your business running smoothly so your employees can take the time-off they deserve.

The use of credit checks has grown over the last several years.  According to a 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 60 percent of employers used credit reports for some or all of their background checks.

Employers use credit reports as a screening tool for a number of reasons:

• They believe it allows them to predict future behavior based on a candidate’s financial history.
• They are trying to prevent employee theft and assess the applicant’s trustworthiness.
• They want to reduce legal liability and negligent hiring.

But checking a job applicant’s credit is not without its potential drawbacks:

• An applicant who has been unemployed for a long period of time may have no choice but to incur inordinate amounts of debt and fall behind in paying bills.  If the candidate has been out of work for months, that doesn’t necessarily mean he should be disqualified for employment.
• Credit reports fail to provide context.  For example, if debt problems are the result of expensive medical procedures, a low credit score may not indicate anything about future job performance.
• Credit reports are not perfect.  Ambiguous, dated, inaccurate and/or redundant data create the potential for credit score errors.  While these errors are generally minor, employers should be aware that they exist.
• Credit reports may not be relevant for the job in question.  Unless the person you’re hiring will have access to sensitive financial information, make financial decisions or handle money, a candidate’s credit report may be of little significance.

Given the potential benefits, as well as the potential drawbacks, are credit checks a legitimate screening tool?  It depends on whom you ask.

According to Christine Walters, a representative for the SHRM during last October’s U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) public hearing on the practice, effectiveness and impact of credit checks as a screening tool, “SHRM believes there is a compelling public interest in enabling our nation’s employers – whether that employer is in the government or the private sector – to assess the skills, abilities and work habits of potential hires.”

She and other hearing panelists pointed out that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) of 1970 restricts employer use of credit reports to employment purposes.  Under the law, the employer must give a job candidate the right to defend himself against (including refuting, explaining or correcting) any collected credit information that might weigh against him.

Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center in Boston, expressed a different opinion.  Given the state of the economy, she said that using credit history as a screening tool is “a practice that we believe is harmful and unfair to American workers.  The use of credit history for job applicants is especially absurd when you are looking at an unemployment rate of 10 percent and have many workers looking for a job.”

As an employer, you are within your rights to check a job candidate’s credit.  Before you do so, you should consider:

• how relevant the information you’re collecting is to the available position;
• the cost involved versus the benefit to be gained;
• whether or not your internal staff is trained in how to interpret the complex information contained in today’s credit reports;
• whether or not there may be potential adverse effects to checking an applicant’s credit.

Ensure the Success of Your Next Placement with A.R. Mazzotta

Finding the perfect candidates for your organization requires experience, in-depth market knowledge and a comprehensive screening process.  A.R. Mazzotta Employment Specialists combines all of these to ensure hiring success.  Partner with A.R. Mazzotta today and connect with Connecticut’s finest office, administrative, light industrial and professional talent.

The BLS Employment Situation Summary continues to paint an anemic economic picture.

Economists continue to talk about a “jobless recovery,” with many employers focusing on productivity gains, as opposed to hiring, to manage any increases in business.

What’s the upside?

Well, if your company isn’t focused on hiring right now, it may be the perfect time for you to review and improve your employment screening process.  Doing so could help you:

• increase compliance;
• reduce theft, fraud and accidents;
• prepare you to make even better hires when the time comes.

As experts in employment screening, A.R. Mazzotta Employment Specialists recommends taking the following steps to reduce the potential for negligent hiring and discrimination:

Consult with your attorney. If you hire on your own, you should have your legal counsel review your screening process to ensure you’re complying with all current legislation and hiring regulations.

Be consistent. Your screening process should be the same for all candidates within comparable job descriptions.  If you do a background check on one manager, you should also conduct the same background check with candidates for all similar positions.  In addition to preventing anyone from “slipping through the cracks,” a uniform process helps minimize your exposure to litigation.

Use social media carefully. Social media has made access to candidate information fast, easy and free.  But if you intend to use this publicly available information to screen candidates, make sure that you obtain written permission and follow all EEOC and FCRA provisions.

Formalize and document your process. If you don’t already have one in place, now is the time to standardize, formalize and document your background screening policies and procedures.  Creating a formal policy makes screening more effective, efficient and consistent.  Furthermore, should a problem arise, your ability to show that you applied fair, consistent and documented screening processes will limit your legal exposure.

Reduce your risks and make better quality hires with A.R. Mazzotta.

Hiring top talent – honest, hardworking individuals who do what they claim they can do – is critical to your organization’s continued success.  A.R. Mazzotta’s Recruiting for Direct Hire can help ensure that success.  Here are just a few of the benefits our comprehensive, rigorous screening process provides:

• transfer employment screening risks such as discrimination and negligent hiring;
• create a safer work environment;
• build a more productive workforce;
• save time and eliminate process bottlenecks employment screening creates;
• hire the best talent available – pre-screened, reference-checked, skills-verified and ready to perform for you.

Work with A.R. Mazzotta and your hiring decisions can be made with confidence – guaranteed.

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 .

Temporary employees can be a great asset to your organization.  They can help you meet critical deadlines, fill-in for unplanned absences and free your core staff to focus on their most important tasks.

But if your company uses large numbers of temporary employees, it’s easy for your direct staff to fall into an “Us vs. Them” mentality.  And while treating temporary workers as an entirely separate workforce may seem innocuous, the practice can have unintended consequences for your direct employees.

For example, research from the University of Arizona has found that direct employees (particularly at lower levels) are less satisfied with co-workers and bosses when working with a higher proportion of temporary employees.  Why?  The responsibility of training and socializing temporary workers on company-specific processes is often assigned to direct employees.  As a result, having more temporaries can complicate full-time workers’ jobs.

Here are a few suggestions for improving the working relationship between temporary and direct employees to achieve even better staffing results:

• Make temporary employees feel welcome.  While temporaries are, in fact, a separate part of your workforce (and must be treated differently because of co-employment laws), you and your staff can still make them feel welcome in your organization.  By encouraging social interaction (e.g., formal or informal introductions) among all workers, you can foster social ties that are essential to a cohesive workforce.
• Educate your direct staff.  Take the time to clearly explain the role and value of temporary workers.  The better your direct employees understand the benefits temporary help provides, the more likely they’ll be to work productively with them.
• Take advantage of training.  If you use large numbers of temporaries, many staffing services will develop customized orientation and training programs for specific positions.  This shifts the time-consuming burden of getting new temporary employees up-to-speed off your direct employees’ shoulders.

Click here for more tips on keeping your temporary employees productive and efficient.

Bottom line, there are a number of steps you can take keep relations between temporary and direct employees positive.  And the more positive their working relationship, the better your results will be.  Contact A.R. Mazzotta Employment Specialists today to learn more about our staffing services for Connecticut employers.