Teachers and guardians taught us growing up to be kind to others and to share the good things we have on hand, even at times when we feel reluctant. Perhaps it was a new snack packed for you, a new toy you got for your birthday, or your worn-out favorite shirt. Sometimes it ends with you left with nothing, and looking for something new with a similar quality can be challenging.
Staffing firms may encounter a similar challenge. Your team is out there looking for the best candidates for your clients to hire, but your company own may be struggling to hire or keep the people it really needs to function.
Prioritize your team and think of them as your customers. Keep them happy and contented to continuously grow your staffing firm. Having your staffing firm healthy will benefit your team and the employers and candidates you cater to.
The Pressure of Impractical Employer Checklist
With your years of expertise in the business, you may be confident that getting someone hired is an effortless job to accomplish. You believe in your team and their capabilities, but are you certain that you can form your best team and keep them with you through thick and thin? Here are the reasons why hiring your employees can be quite the hurdle.
The Employer’s Qualifications vs. Falsified Experiences
To get ahead in the staffing industry, you want the best individuals in your team to play the game with you, but are your qualifications even attainable? Maybe you’re looking for degrees and certifications the applicants don’t have. This can lead to some in your candidate pool exaggerating their credibility so that you can notice them.1
Resume Builder said that up to 72 percent of the 1,250 Americans they surveyed had manipulated their applications to contain inaccurate information about their previous work experience.2 Most of the falsified data concerns their education and years of experience. Meanwhile, 65 percent of applicants have landed a higher salary for lying during their hiring process.
The top lie that most candidates had to come up with was their years of experience in their industry. Lies about their skills and abilities come in second.
Another startling dishonesty that 30 percent of people had to tell about was their ethnicity. This can significantly discourage the DEI efforts in the workplace that many employers are doing their best to pursue their workforce.
Tech-Adaptiveness Required vs. the Comfort of Current Skill Sets
It is known to many that innovation and tech are entwined to grow in most industries today. Along with the certifications you may be looking for, you may also require certain work programs to help increase productivity in the office. This can make a few employees disagree, especially those who have been working with you for a long time, because they have now established their own comfortable and practical routines.2
Enriching Your Team, Both the Current and the Upcoming
You may feel anxious about hiring the best people and getting them to stick with you and your visions. You have the resources and the talent pool within your reach. All you need to be mindful of is how you implement them and communicate your plans to your employees.
Empathy and Clear Communication from Day 1
People want to work and be part of places that share genuine empathy with them, those places that make them feel welcomed from the first interview up to the moment they get hired to the moment they get that desired promotion.
Kirsten Hochberg of Omega Partner Solutions said that being a leader isn’t about knowing all the answers but asking the right questions.3 Through their experience as Managing partners, and they could understand the uncertainties of employees. Some told Kirsten that they didn’t know their company’s vision and how they could fit in.
Be the model of free speech by being vocal first. People tend to silence themselves when their leader isn’t speaking to and for them. This can also lead them to find it useless to speak up when issues arise in the business.4
Being able to connect with your people encourages trust and transparency. This will benefit your business even when problems arise, for you will have more minds smoothly working together to resolve issues.
Training Together to Increase Confidence in the Workplace
1. Company-Wide Training
Workplace learning should be for your newly employed and the veterans in your team. Be open to feedback when your people share what challenges they are currently facing at work and what programs and digital tools they recommend to help them be more productive. You should also throw in your ideas, for you will be leading this innovation.
Multi-service platforms can be your starting point in pursuing innovation together. These can help you speed up the onboarding of new hires and more of your business processes.5
2. Skill-Specific Training
Some of your employees, especially those that work closely with technology and creative outputs, may require upgrades to their knowledge. They are the ones who need to adapt to digital trends the most, and you may want to help them be future-proof.
This can open more versatility in the office and may open opportunities for them to reskill when needed. An example of possible reskilling due to training is a Graphic Designer switching to a UI/UX Designer role.
3. Inclusivity and Unconscious Bias Awareness Training
Companies are now hiring more diverse individuals, but are the people in your company open and attentive in treating members of minority groups as equals?
Create a people-first culture through educational DEI efforts with the help of your management team. You can do this starting by encouraging awareness. Make space for movements like the #BlackLivesMatter within your office.6
Encourage women and non-binary, people of color, and people of neuro-divergent backgrounds to tell their stories. You can organize talks with your Human Resources Department where your staff can discuss something unique about their culture. You may also ask them to bring food to share with others or play games that originated from their families.
Involve Your People in an Attainable Future
Giving your candidates a clear view of their future within the company can keep them excited to work with you. Be open to both upskilling and reskilling. Discuss your plans with them and mention opportunities you can see them taking if they want to. Do not guarantee them job positions, but discuss with them the possibilities and what they can do with the skills they possess.
Your Attentiveness Can Keep Your Trusted Team Happy
Your ability to communicate and care for your people will stimulate growth in your staffing firm. If you ever feel lost, always return to your established values and use them to guide you. Be aware of when you need help, and be courageous in asking questions. Your growth is part of how your business advances. Remember that the people you employ are here to help.
SUCCESSFULLY REACH CANDIDATES AND CLIENTS WITH ALLIED INSIGHT.
Tell the unique and authentic story of your staffing firm to widen your brand’s reach. Allied Insight, a full-stack marketing agency, is here to work with you on your effective strategies and executions. We offer services such as Complete Competitive Analysis, Brand Continuity and Design Assessment, SEO Optimization, and White Hat Strategy Development.
References
1 “Top 4 Challenges Facing Staffing Agencies”. https://www.efficienthire.com/top-4-challenges-facing-staffing-agencies/ . January 25, 2019. Accessed last February 22, 2023
2 Jonathan Small. “72 percent of people surveyed said they lied on their résumés — here are the most common fibs”. https://www.businessinsider.com/most-common-lies-people-put-on-resumes-2023-1 . Published last February 24, 2023. Accessed last February 24, 2023.
3 Kirsten Hochberg. “The Single Most Important Technique You Can Use to Retain Employees”. https://www.inc.com/kirsten-hochberg/employee-retention-questions.html . Published last March 28, 2022. Accessed last February 25, 2022.
4 James R. Detert and Ethan Burris. “Can Your Employees Really Speak Freely?” https://hbr.org/2016/01/can-your-employees-really-speak-freely?registration=success. Published last January-February 2016. Accessed last February 25, 2023.
5 Expert Panel® Forbes Councils Member. “14 Ways To Boost Employees’ Confidence And Curiosity In Adopting New Technologies”. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/02/06/14-ways-to-boost-employees-confidence-and-curiosity-in-adopting-new-technologies/?sh=4ddd18dd2ad9. Published last Feb 6, 2023. Accessed last Feb 22, 2023.
6 Expert Panel® Forbes Councils Member. “11 Topics HR Leaders Often Overlook In Employee Training Sessions”. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/02/17/11-topics-hr-leaders-often-overlook-in-employee-training-sessions/?sh=67ad84b14103 . Published last Feb 17, 2023. February 25, 2023.
