Staffing Agency Insurance: The Cost of a Bad Hire

As a staffing professional, it’s your job to make a good hire. You pore through resumes, screen candidates, talk through options with employers, all to find the candidate that is the right fit for the job. You know the importance of making a good hire. But how much do bad hires actually cost a company?

According to Employee Benefit News, a CareerBuilder survey released said more than half the employers in the world’s 10 largest economies reported detrimental effects from hiring the wrong person.

It goes beyond a candidate simply being a bad fit and the pain of firing & hiring a new employee- a bad hire can have a significant negative impact on a company. In the United States, 27% say a bad hire cost them over $50,000. It can have effects across an organization, including wasted time and resources, missed sales opportunities, strained client and employee relations, potential legal issues and resources to hire and train candidates. In particular, American companies noticed an impact in employee morale after a bad hire.

For the staffing industry, industry like this is important in two distinct ways. One, it shows the value of the staffing industry as a whole. Recruiters can help companies save time, guarantee a hire, find employees quicker and most importantly, they work with employers to find qualified candidates for the job.  Hiring mistakes can be costly and time consuming. It also shows the cost of mistakes. While staffing industry has the highest level of expertise, they can still make mistakes. And hiring mistakes open a staffing agency up for liability exposures. Make sure your staffing firm is covered with the proper insurance.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Agency Insurance: Yahoo Expands Maternity Leave

In a blog post a few weeks back, we spoke about Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to end the telecommute policy and require employees to come back to work.

With the decision, she unleashed a huge wave of debate and criticism about women in the workplace. Many felt the demands were unfair, especially to working mothers who require flexible schedules. While Mayer maintained that the decision wasn’t a blanket statement on telecommuting and women in the workforce, it still sparked national debate.

Now, a few months later, Mayer instituted a new policy offering generous new family benefits. Under Yahoo’s new initiative, mothers and fathers can take up to eight weeks of paid child leave with benefits every time they have a new child. New mothers are entitled to an additional eight weeks of paid leave after pregnancy.

The move has garnered significant support from employees and observers. The generous benefits put her on par with companies such as Facebook and Google, and have many who were previously critical now singing her praises.

Employee benefits such as these can go a long way in boosting employee morale. The aim is retention. By lessening employees worries at work by providing amenities such as free daycare, paid maternity leave, smartphones and free lunches, Mayer is working to take care of her employees and boost retention rates.

Employees often cite benefit rates as a top reason for staying with a company. Even if they receive an offer with a higher salary elsewhere, employees are more likely to choose the company with the better benefits. From a recruitment standpoint, benefits can be a key selling point to candidates, even over their salary.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Insurance: The Importance of Nonverbal in the Interview

Being able to articulate your qualifications in an interview is important. However, beyond being able to talk about your work experience, nonverbal cues are a crucial way to create a good first impression. Below are some key nonverbal behaviors to be aware of when your candidate goes to that first interview.

In the lobby. When you enter, make sure the job candidate always greets the receptionist professionally before taking a seat to wait for the interviewer. Even when waiting for the interview to begin, the first impression is crucial. Counsel your candidate not to slouch in a chair reading the latest People, or bury themselves in your phone- it gives an unprofessional air that shows you’d rather be somewhere else.

Posture. Posture can make a huge first impression all on its own. Slumped, hunched over or sloppy posture can indicate indifference, lack of confidence, or even disrespect. Don’t lean back- it could make a candidate look casual and relaxed, like they’re not taking the interview seriously. Instead, it is essential they sit up straight with their shoulders back, and lean slightly in to show interest.

Eye contact. Good eye contact is a key way to express interest and engage with the interviewer.  But eye avoidance or shifting your focus can undermine a candidate’s answers. The candidate should maintain natural eye contact, and smile and nod when appropriate so the interviewer knows they are engaged with what they are saying.

Dress. Wearing appropriate attire for an interview is an instantaneous way to make a good first impression. It can exude confidence and professionalism. On the other hand, dressing too casually or sloppily can give a bad impression to the interviewer before they ask the first question.

While experience and skill set is huge, nonverbal communication can affect an interviewer’s perception of a job candidate before they even answer a single question. In the staffing industry, nonverbal is key.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Industry: Recruiters’ Top Resume Pet Peeves

As a staffing professional, you have read hundreds, even thousands of resumes. You’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

It is difficult to cram a lifetime of experience into one 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. It can be hard to get a full picture of a candidate. And, sometimes, candidates kick themselves in the foot by making a few simple mistakes. Here are some of the top resume mistakes, from recruiters, compiled by Mashable.

Nondescript objectives. Simply stating “I want to fill “X” position at “Y” company is a surefire way to not get the job. It is bland, generic, and doesn’t convey why you truly want the position.

Small fonts. Sorting through hundreds of resumes can be exhausting. Add eye strain struggling to read a too- small font, and it immediately turns a reader off.

Not following instructions. Staffing professionals know this one well. Candidates oftentimes don’t follow directions. One ad asked candidates not to send a generic cover letter, but to take a look at the website and explain why they would be a good fit. 70% of respondents replied to the posting with a non-customized resume. Ninety percent didn’t have a cover letter.

Missing the details. One recruiter lamented over unfinished resumes. Candidates didn’t include details such as starting and ending dates for each position they held.

What are some of your resume pet peeves?

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing: Women Still Feel They Face Bias

Between Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer’s choice to bring all remote workers back in to Sheryl Sandberg’s call for women to “lean in” to their careers, women in the workplace has been a prominent topic in the news spotlight.

However despite the discussion, women still feel they face significant hurdles in the workplace. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey, 84 percent of women say men are being paid more for similar work. Over four in ten women have face gender discrimination personally. The survey was based on nationwide telephone interviews of 1,000 adults.

What’s significant about the findings is not only the sheer numbers, but the fact that the results haven’t changed much from a survey that was conducted in 1997. There has been some change. The percentage of respondents who said women “can’t have it all” changed from 78 to 66 percent.

In general, attitudes and perceptions about women in the workplace have changed very little, especially when compared against other social issues. In general, public opinion has changed rapidly in regards to immigration, and away from other challenges facing families such as divorce or violence in the media.

Male’s diverged from women slightly on the ability to balance work and home but they were less likely than women to experience discrimination in the workplace.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics show that women who work full-time earn 79 percent of the weekly pay that men bring home. In general, a woman’s median earnings lag behind men’s in almost every occupation.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Recruitment Trend Twitter is the New Resume

Twitter is the last place most would think to go in the job hunt. Only 140 characters? It’s hard enough cramming an entire career onto one 8.5×11 page. But, the newest recruiting tactic is Twitter, and it’s trending.

Twitter has become not only a new alternative job board, but a concise way to put out your resume as well. Recruiters are increasingly turning to social media sites to post jobs, hunt for candidates and research applicants.

For companies looking for social media marketing positions, it works seamlessly. For example, the Wall Street Journal gave one example of a firm who recruited a social media marketing position exclusively on Twitter. The firm promoted the position through tweets and only accepted candidates who had over 1,000 Twitter followers and used the hashtag “#socialCV.”

There are some basic guidelines on how to use Twitter in your recruiting tactics:

• Follow companies, candidates, and organizations you’re interested in. If you are a recruiter for a particular industry or field, follow everyone and everything related to that niche.
• Tweet. When you’re looking for candidates, make sure it’s known.
• Define yourself. Just as candidates will create 140 word “resumes,” identify yourself as a recruiter. Let your followers know what you’re looking for, so they can better help you.

Proponents say recruiting over Twitters helps them get a better sense of the candidate. They can see how they interact, what their position is, who their followers are, etc. However, while interesting, the trend remains small. In a poll of 37 large U.S. companies, none was using Twitter extensively for posting jobs or for identifying candidates. Nevertheless, social media has undoubtedly affected the staffing industry, and will continue to have an impact.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Agency Insurance: Hiring Process Impacts Retention

Talent is hard to come by. A company that not only can attract but retain good talent can boost their corporate health and longevity.

The hiring process is difficult and lengthy for candidates and employers. It is difficult to sort through large volumes of applications and resist the urge to find a candidate as quickly as possible. As a recruiter, it is your role to play the middle man and find that ideal fit.

Retention begins with clarity and clear communication in the recruiting process. Recruiter.com suggests that employers can improve retention rates “by avoiding a false image of a candidate’s role, corporate culture, and expectations during the hiring process.” It is tempting to say anything and everything to convince a candidate to take a position. But if they do not know key facets of the position, such as company culture, they may be more likely to leave.

Clear communication involves speaking not only to the candidate, but extensively with the employer as well to understand the company culture, position expectations, and then be able to communicate them to candidates. They should have a detailed picture of the position before they accept the job.

Typically it is in the first three to six months that an employee decides whether to stay or leave a new job. In the recruiting industry, finding the right candidate for the job goes beyond just finding a quick fit. Increasing a company’s retention begins in the hiring process. The more realistically a job is portrayed by the recruiter, the more accurate candidate assessments.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Agency: What Do Recruiters Look for in Resumes?

The average recruiter will read thousands of resumes in their career. They are experts on what to look for, what stands out in a resume, and what immediately sends an application to the rejection pile.

But how does the staffing agency add up as a whole? It’s always interesting to see trends; what are resume pet peeves, how recruiters evaluate candidates, etc.

There are thousands of articles on resumes do’s and don’ts. But let’s be honest. Even in the recruiting industry, we are all still human, and we make mistakes. We also have pet peeves. Every now and then, stopping to evaluate the way you evaluate candidates can make sure you are looking for the right qualities, and help you become a better recruiter. Below is a summary based on points in Staffing Talk of what recruiters look for in resumes.

First impressions matter. Just under half of all recruiters speed-read or scan resumes. A quarter of recruiters jump straight to the most important material, and the other quarter reads it from top to bottom. As far as content, the key words or experience have to be in the first half of the page. And, tailoring resumes specifically for the position is the quickest way to grab attention. A sense of personality ranked second, followed by extracurricular and volunteer activities.

Overall, recruiters’ biggest pet peeves are pretty standard overall: outright lies and grammar/spelling mistakes. It signifies that you aren’t educated, careless, or don’t pay attention to the details, none of which are good conclusions. And overall, recruiters aren’t too impressed. Almost half of all recruiters surveyed said most candidates needed a “major resume overhaul.” However, most recruiters acknowledged that it didn’t necessarily indicate the talents of the particular job seeker, just their resume writing skills.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Insurance: Why Young Grads are Losing Out

There is a huge influx of college students entering the job market every year. Enthusiastic, intelligent, and ready to start their first job, they enter the job hunt ready to take on the interview process. But many also lack the experience to put their best foot forward.

Two key hurdles young jobseekers face are a lack of interview technique and identifying appropriate skills. In one survey, two out of every five participants (ages 16-24), said a poor interview technique let them down. A quarter said they struggled to identify how skills they learned in the experience, such as school awards, research, classes, volunteer work, and sports transferred into credible experience in the workplace.

The results of the survey shows a disconnect between young grads entering the job market for the first time and the employers looking to hire them. The positions are available, but if grads can’t communicate their skill sets competently in an interview setting, they will miss out on opportunities.

As the middle person in the exchange, a recruiter has the unique position of helping to bridge the gap, to the benefit of both the employer and candidate. Prepping candidates before the interview so they know the job requirements clearly and how to articulate their skills can help. Asking employers for interview feedback benefits twofold: the recruiter gets a clearer picture of what the employer is looking for and candidates can get feedback on their interview performance they can improve upon.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing agency insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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Staffing Agency: The Talent Paradox

In Deloitte’s most recent global survey of employees, 80 percent indicated they planned to stay with their same employer in the next year. Yet, almost one third of employees were not satisfied with their jobs. It’s the paradox of employee talent. Are they truly satisfied at their jobs? Or simply making do? Does the distinction even make a difference?

The answer is yes- employee satisfaction makes a considerable difference. Satisfied employees increases retention and helps companies recruit and keep top talent. So what are the factors that increase employee satisfaction?

Engage employees with meaningful work. As our economy continues to recover, unsatisfied employees, gaining confidence in the growing opportunities beyond their job, are more likely to head for the exit. In contrast, work that challenges and engages employees is often a top factor in high employee retention rates.

Focus on “turnover red zones.” There are several key traits that may indicate a high likelihood of turnover. Employees with less than two years on the job express the strongest turnover intentions. In the study, two years seems to be the threshold mark: keeping high performers past two years increases the likelihood of them pursuing a significant portion of their career with the company. Millennials also have a high turnover risk; by identifying these target groups and trends, employers can focus on better meeting employee needs and reducing turnover.

Leadership matters. 62 percent of employees who planned to stay with their current employees reported high levels of trust in their corporate leadership. And, 26 percent of those who planned to leave their jobs in the next year cited a lack of trust in leadership as a key factor. A strong executive voice can clearly articulate the vision of a company and provides guidance to employees.

So how does this matter to the staffing industry? Depending on the position you recruit for, it could be a lot. Knowing the employment market, the trends (are workers leaving or staying at their jobs?) can help you get a more accurate picture overall. It can also help you pitch jobs to candidates. If you know leadership and engaging material are important to employees, maybe company culture is what you should present to candidates- it can be an additional recruiting strategy.

World Wide Specialty Programs has always had a singular purpose – to design, develop and provide staffing insurance programs for the staffing industry. Working with over 2,000 insurance brokers nationwide, we know the staffing industry better than anyone, and can provide great options for your staffing industry insurance needs. Contact us today for more information about our staffing agency insurance solutions. (877) 256-0468.

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