The Society of Human Resource Management released a survey that polled 495 randomly selected HR professionals on the topic of personality tests.  The results show that personality tests may begin to be standard employment procedure. As a human resources professional, you may already have an opinion about the effectiveness of personality tests in the job placement arena.  Whether you believe personality testing to be a must have for long-term job placements or just an expensive gimmick, there are a few points you should consider:

1. Testing can reduce turnover.  An article from Fox Business interviewed Scott Erker, a senior VP for a HR consulting firm.  He was confident that testing can reduce costly turnover for companies.  Replacing an employee can have huge hidden costs that may equate to as much as 6-12 months of salary, stated the article.  A personality test might just save a recruiter the trouble of finding a second replacement later on.
2. Testing can help  small HR infrastructure.  If you’re a smaller company without a huge best practices manual and weeks of conferences for the HR team each quarter, personality tests may be the way to go.  While some of the tests can be costly, there are less expensive options online. An HR team can narrow down a list of candidates and make better informed decisions from a customized rubric they create themselves.  This way, a small business is not spending too many precious resources for one position.

If personality testing is a technique your company has yet to try, take a look at the facts (click here to access results of SHRM survey from 2011).  Maybe using them will build your business in a smart and efficient way.

If you started your own company, you probably got lots of advice both bad and good.  But what advice is really worth taking and what should you toss?  An article from INC gave a few rules that you can break when it comes to running small businesses.  Here are a few:

1. You don’t always need the MBA.  Experience is often the key to success, and book learning will only get you so far with your start-up.  While having the knowledge that an MBA gives could definitely be useful, it’s not always a must.  Bill Gates made things work without a degree, and many other visionaries have as well.  If you’re smart about running your own company and hire savvy employees or partners, you may be ready to go without grad school.
2. Business plans don’t have to be set in stone.  Flexibility is key when it comes to long-term business goals.  The economy doesn’t stand still for very long, making it important for small businesses to be ready to follow wherever the market leads.
3. Sometimes you can work for free.  While everyone knows you went into business to make a profit, there are often occasions where a little bit of charity or a small giveaway can make a big difference.  In Chris Anderson’s audio book, FREE, he shows countless examples of how giving something away will only help your company grow.  Click here for a free download.

Working and thinking smart are the keys to success for any small business.  Being in charge of your business means you are the one who decides which rules to follow and which to break, and innovation in this arena is what will set your company apart.  Hopefully these pointers will help!

The job market has taken a hit in recent years, but the temporary staffing industry may be seeing an increase for 2012.  Career Builder just released a survey showing that approximately 36% of companies anticipate using temp or contract employees in the upcoming year.  Not only are more companies looking at staffing alternatives, but more than a third of them intend to hire their temps on permanently, a win-win situation for staffing agencies and hopeful job seekers.

According to the article, more than a third of companies in the US are functioning on a smaller job force than before the economic recession.  As a result, temp agencies are gaining a place in many different markets.   Here’s a list of a few of the positions that companies are apt to use temp agencies to fill:

Occupational or Physical Therapist

Speech Language Pathologist

Maintenance Technician

CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machinist

Java or .Net Developer

Network Engineer

Business Analyst

Marketing Assistant

If you’re in management at your company and have some authority when it comes to hiring, temp agencies may really be worth your while, especially in today’s new market.  If you’re a job seeker looking to fill in a hole on your resume or explore new career options, a staffing agency may be the way to go.  Either way, Millenium will help you explore your options to create a “win-win” staffing solution.

Whenever it comes to getting advice on succeeding in today’s super-competitive job market, one can never get enough.  Some advice, if taken, could be exactly what gets a potential searcher the job.  While every hiring manager is different, there are a few rules of thumb that have evolved in the last few years that can make the best job seeker look out of date.  So to avoid looking or sounding old-fashioned, follow these three tips, compliments of Bloomberg Business:

1. Think modern when it comes to resume packaging. Although the aged-looking resume parchment was popular in the past, a crisper more modern look is what it takes to get noticed in today’s economy.  Often, you may not bring in or mail a resume.  A resume must speak to a recruiter through the computer screen.  Some employers only look at your submission in their company’s standardized format while others use a linkedin profile to find out the information on a potential employee.  Avoid cream colored or thick paper if bringing the resume to the interview.
2. Know your audience. In the cover letter, be sure to do your research and find out the name of the person who will be reading it.  When hiring managers are receiving hundreds of applications, it is important to stand out as someone who has done enough investigating to find out the name of the person with the power.  To Whom It May Concern might get your resume thrown out before anyone gets a chance to glance through it.
3. Consolidate the experience sections. Rather than list out responsibilities, try to quantify what it was that made you invaluable in past jobs.  As the Bloomberg article pointed out, the statement, “‘When our two biggest rivals merged, I launched a grass-roots e-mail marketing campaign that ramped sales 20 percent’—beats the heck out of long lists of tasks and duties or general statements like ‘solved tricky customer service issues.’”

These suggestions may not have worked for employees in the past, but the stage for finding a job today has changed drastically and the competition is fierce.  With these bits of advice, a average job seeker is one step closer to landing the job he or she wants.

If you’re looking to motivate employees, you might automatically think salary increase or bonus.  While these methods are sure to boost employee morale, at least temporarily, there are a few things that you can do that may be more effective and budget friendly.  An article from INC recently outlined some ideas.  Let’s focus on the top 5:

1. Recognition and praise.  Every employee likes to be recognized for contributing.  Calling employees out with praise might make them work harder to contribute more often.  Think about it:  if your boss at your first big job had been a little more appreciative, would you have stayed?  Maybe not, but you would have felt worse about moving on!
2. No criticism.  Every employee makes mistakes.  But the way that the boss handles those mistakes has a lot to do with employee satisfaction.  One suggestion for avoiding criticism is follow-up discussions on projects that could have been better.  By discussing together with your employees what they will do differently next time, you are helping them recognize their errors without being overly critical and harsh.
3. Point out the good examples.  INC suggests, “Highlight your top performers’ strengths and let them know that because of their excellence, you want them to be the example for others.”
4. Party.  Organizing events and social activities for your office can go a long way to boosting employee morale.  Scheduling these events throughout the year can show employees that you care about them, not just when Christmas comes around!
5. Share the successes and failures.  When your company does well, celebrate together and let everyone get a piece of the pie!  Sharing bad news is important too, because it shows employees that you trust them and want their help improving.

A little creativity and a lot of thoughtfulness can really make the difference in a workplace.  Millenium has put some of these to the test, and we have loyal employees and temps to prove that it works.  Try it out and see if employees seem happier and more satisfied even without the pay raise!

Branding your company can be a tricky thing.  Branding it well over time can be even trickier.  Any advertising industry professional will tell you that the success of your business depends on its frequency and reach.  In other words, your business can triumph or fail based on how often and well you connect with the end-user.

While big businesses may have hefty budgets to pay for advertising and public relations to build a good name, smaller businesses typically must rely on a smaller circle of influence and a more concentrated marketing plan in order to reach the end user and inspire trust.

At the end of the day, people will pay for services and products that they trust.  Getting your company’s name out there is the ultimate way to earn trust in the eyes of the consumer.  So what are some methods that small businesses can utilize to become trustworthy without spending a fortune?  Here are a few suggestions:

1. Start small.  Pick a target audience you want to reach first.  Often times a marketing campaign can involve many different avenues and attempt to reach out to every individual.  Chances are, a smaller campaign will be far more effective. An article for the Wall Street Journal stated, “Small businesses are served better by focusing on building a presence in one social media environment, rather than dabbling in three or four.”  Once one client trusts your business, that client can help you in achieving a larger sphere of influence over time.
2. Know your demographic.  If you are a technology based firm, narrow down the target audience.  Middle-aged PC users will require a different plan of attack than will networking engineers. Once you’ve identified who you want to market to, join organizations and attend events that will gain you familiarity with those individuals and/or companies.
3. Use cost effective and free media.  Social media is a huge tool for those who know how to use it.  In the past, buying an advertisement in a newspaper might have been a great way to get business.  Now, there are free and more direct ways to reach the end-user. Free social media tools that allow you to share meaningful information with potential clients are invaluable to the economy of small business. Don’t be afraid to invest the time to learn about the tools, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter to name a few, that are changing the way business interacts with the public.

Gain the trust of your future clients by starting small and marketing effectively.  Bigger is not always better in the world of small business reach!

The biggest and most recognized companies in corporate America are naturally appealing to those with fresh talent.  In many ways, the large companies have the advantage when it comes to acquiring talent. Visibility, job security, and great benefits are just a few of the perks that attract the best employees.  Despite having the upper hand in the job recruiting market, corporations often have difficulty retaining talent in the long run.  An article from Forbes pointed out key factors that can cause the big guy to lose out.  Here are three few points from that article to focus on.

1. Bureaucracy.  When a company or corporation is huge, it can be tricky to allow for the creative license and freedom that a lot of talented individuals need in order to be happy in their careers.  Bureaucracy, in some ways, is unavoidable.  However, if a talented employee has an idea that might require some manipulation of an accepted practice, an employer would do well to listen and dig into it.  Going the extra mile to get past red tape might be all it takes to keep that talent around.
2. Lack of passion.  When an employee is truly talented, he or she may not find workplace happiness in the mundane and less creative aspects of his or her job.  Of course there will be less appealing aspects to any job, but companies that listen to employees and help them find roles they are passionate about are more likely to retain the talent.  For example, Google allows employees to spend a large percentage of time working on personal development projects that they are excited about.  While this doesn’t mean all their employees have stayed loyal to the company over time, Google ranks 4th on the 2011 Best Places to Work list.
3. Limited company vision.  Large corporations will always have some vision or common goal, but how easy is it for the employee to relate to?  If the future of your company doesn’t sound exciting, talented individuals may move one. The goals of a company might sound great, like “inspire each individual to innovate.”  However, if there are no clear initiatives set in place to make this happen, employees might not feel the need to continue into the unknown with a company.  For example, lots of companies have some sort of mission relating to sustainability, but what does that really mean in simple terms?  Clarity in vision will keep the talent moving forward with the company instead of moving on.

Whether you are part of a huge corporation of a small start up, these principles for keeping talented employees remains the same.  Avoiding some of these mistakes may be easier for smaller companies, but possible for any size.  In all three of these points, there is a consistent strain: Employers need to listen to what their employees are saying and help them feel involved and excited in the process.

You’re sitting at your desk working on a report when an icon pops up on the screen.  New email!  You may be tempted to check the email right then, but will doing so decrease your productivity?  While the reviews are mixed, there is evidence to suggest that workplace distractions and multitasking can actually decrease IQ and efficiency.

A British psychiatrist, Dr. Glenn Wilson, conducted clinical trials and found surprising results:  individuals who attempted to juggling messages while working experienced an IQ drop of ten points, the equivalent of missing an entire night’s sleep.

And it makes sense.  It is impossible to truly multitask as the brain is only capable of truly focusing on one thing at a time.  Medina, author of Brain Rules, said:

“Multitasking, when it comes to paying attention, is a myth. The brain naturally focuses on concepts sequentially, one at a time….To put it bluntly, research shows that we can’t multitask. We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.”

With that said, waiting to read your emails or check your voice mail messages until certain times of the day might be a practice worth adopting.  If your attention remains focused on the task at hand, you will be able to work more effectively and efficiently, perhaps eliminating stress related to a heavy workload or multiple deadlines.

Creating rules like this might make the work day seem longer and less enjoyable.  The average employee likes a distraction every once in a while.  The New York Times reported “a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites.”  Mental breaks are a common malady in many workplaces and can represent a lot of wasted investment on the part of the employer.  From the same article by the New York Times comes this estimate.  “The cost of interruptions to the American economy [is] at nearly $650 billion a year.”

Maybe tomorrow at the office you’ll be more aware of the interruptions and messages that inhibit your ability to work.  Perhaps cutting back on multitasking is just the remedy you need.

This holiday season, Millenium Staffing would like to express our appreciation to all the companies and individuals who have contributed to our charity efforts this year.

One of these events was Millenium Staffing’s Annual Food Drive, which was a tremendous success.  The food drive benefited Safe Nest, City Mission of Las Vegas and the Whitney Elementary School.  Donations were made by Millenium Staffing, Bonanza Gifts, Johnson Jacobson Wilcox, Las Vegas Review Journal, & the office of Dr. Bruce Crowley.  We had boxes and boxes of food to donate to these organizations in need thanks to the benevolence of the community.  Donna Lattanzio, CEO of Millenium Staffing, is pictured below with the mounds of food we received.