1. First, thank the manager or HR employee who invited you to the interview. Make sure you confirm the time and place.

2. Map the route to your destination and determine how long it will take to get there and how you’ll accomplish this. Will you drive, take the train, or ask someone else to transport you? Clarify these details before you make another move.

3. Clear your schedule. If you have other appointments that may crowd into your interview time, cancel as necessary. Just because the interviewer says the meeting will take 30 minutes doesn’t mean it will take 30 minutes. Reset the entire morning or afternoon within an hour or two of your appointment time.

4. Choose clothing that shows respect for the occasion. A suit will usually work, but these days men can also wear a pressed shirt and tie, and women can wear a professional dress or blouse combined with skirt or slacks. Take your clothes to the dry cleaner if you need to.

5. Visit the company website. Find answers to these three questions: What exactly does this company sell or produce? What will you probably be doing every day in this position? How would you describe this company’s culture? I.e. does this seem a like fun/formal/ fast-paced/laid back/conservative/progressive place to work?

6. Come up with a clear, concise answer to this question, an answer you can deliver in less than 60 seconds: What makes you a great fit for this job?

7. Now answer this question: What can you bring to this position that no other candidate can? Practice both answers until you can deliver them in your sleep.

8. Print out ten hard copies of your resume that you can carry with you in a professional-looking portfolio. In the same portfolio, carry a pad of paper and a reliable pen you can use to take notes. (Unless asked, you won’t be taking out, looking at, or in any way fiddling with your phone during a professional job interview. Take a moment before you leave the house to silence all your ringers and alerts.)

9. Work on your body language and non-verbal gestures. Practice sitting up straight, work on your smile, handshake, and eye contact, and control your fidgeting.

10. Come up with five intelligent questions that you can ask your interviewer before the meeting ends.

Finally, confirm your transportation one more time, and then get a full night of sleep before the big day. Still nervous? Reach out to the IA staffing experts

at the Palmer Group and let us answer any final questions you may have about the process. Good luck!

1. Act carefully, but quickly

If you love this candidate, there’s a strong chance that at least a few other employers feel the same way. And some of these employers may be your competitors. In fact, she may already be engaged in the negotiation process elsewhere before she completes her final interview with you. So stay competitive, push through the red tape, and get your offer into your candidate’s hands as quickly as possible.

2. Don’t make lowball offers to highly desirable candidates

Don’t assume that a candidate will respond to a lowball offer with a counteroffer. It’s just as likely that she’ll come back to you with a simple “no thanks”. Conduct careful (but again, quick) research into the market rate for this position in your geographic area, and then factor in this candidate’s specific level of experience, skill, commuting distance, etc, etc. When you arrive at a number, be ready to justify this figure to your payroll department, but be ready to justify it to the candidate as well. If you can’t give her the salary she deserves, increase her benefits package and potential annual bonus rates.

3. Frame your offer with words of encouragement

Don’t just plunk your offer down on the table (or into the mailbox). Instead, make sure you present it with enthusiasm and let the candidate know that you’re excited to bring her on board. Re-emphasize the benefits and highlights of a job with your company.

4. Recognize when it’s time to back away

If a candidate drags her feet her feet or shows pronounced hesitation, think before you push too hard. You may not understand all of the obstacles holding her back, and you don’t want to strong-arm her into a decision you both may later regret. At the same time, if you’ve made a fair– or more than fair—salary offer, there’s no need to keep raising it. This is just another form of pressuring a candidate into a potentially poor decision.

5. Stay in touch after the offer is accepted

The final two-week period in a current workplace can be a precarious and emotional time for candidates, and it’s not uncommon for negotiations to break down during this time as a result of changes of heart or counter salary offers from current employers. Protect yourself from both by staying in communication with your new hire and inviting her to company social events.

If you’ve found the competitive candidate of your dreams, contact the staffing experts at the Palmer Group. We’ll help you out together a strong offer and successfully close the deal.

1. When do you need this by?

Translation: “I need a clear deadline so I can work this project into my already packed schedule.” Employees don’t ask for deadlines if they can simply take a project back to their work stations, complete it, and hand it over. When you’re asked for a timeline, it means the employee in question is booked, double booked, and possibly on the verge of being overloaded. Note: If an employee uses this language instead of simply saying, “I’m really overloaded right now,” it means she’s trying to hide her swamped schedule and manage her priorities on her own. She’s trying as hard as she can to accept the project and not say no. Give her a break without forcing her to ask for one directly.

2. Do you have a minute?

Translation: “There’s something on my mind that I need to discuss with you. Can I trust you to listen?” Employees who ask for a minute sometimes need much more than a minute to express themselves. When an employee asks this, invite her in, put your work aside, hang up the phone and give her your full attention. If you can’t do this at that exact moment, ask her to come back at a specific time. Write the appointment down and treat it with respect.

3. You’re the boss.

Translation: “I disagree with you about what’s best for the company, but I know my place in the hierarchy, so I won’t push the issue.” If you hear this, don’t try to force the employee to break the rigid rules of social order right at that moment, in public. But if you’re really interested in his opinion (which you probably should be) ask him later to share what’s on his mind.

4. What do you think?

Translation: “I want your honest and genuine feedback.” Respect your employees– and earn their respect in return—by recognizing when they’re subtly asking for your honest opinion about their performance. They take their jobs seriously, and sometimes that means they really need your approval, correction, or coaching. Accommodate them, even if there’s no formal review cycle on the horizon.

Reach out to the staffing experts at the Palmer Group for more tips on communicating in the workplace and make sure you and your employees are on the same page.

1. Keep an eye on three items: your coffee cup, your coat, and your gum. Even if you don’t, your interviewer will. The coffee cup goes into the trash before you enter the building. The coat should be handed over if the interviewer offers to take it—otherwise it should be taken off and draped neatly over the back of a nearby chair. And the gum shouldn’t even play a role in this scene. Spit it out before you step within a mile of your interview destination.

2. Manage your hands and arms. Humans communicate with their hands just as much as their voices. And if you don’t control them, they’ll speak for you. They’ll say things like “I’m so nervous!” and “Please forgive me—I don’t know what I’m doing.” The solution: rest your arms gently at your sides, draped parallel with the arms of your chair. Keep your hands open and relaxed when you aren’t speaking. When you are speaking, bring in them in front of you to help make your points, then return them to a relaxed position at your sides when you’re finished.

3. Don’t act as if your interviewer is the only person on earth who matters. Inexperienced candidates tend to go into a trance all morning long, focusing on this one conversation to the exclusion of all else. They don’t make eye contact with the receptionist, they ignore everyone in the waiting area, and they fiddle with their phones so they won’t have to speak to anyone until they’re sitting across from their interviewer. Then they light up. Don’t do this. Relax, engage, look around, and connect with everyone you encounter on your way in and out of the building.

4.  If someone asks you “Why should you be hired for this job?” have an excellent, articulate answer ready, word for word, that you can deliver within 30 seconds. This question is a universal part of any job search, but candidates are continually caught off guard by it all the same.

For more simple tools and mental exercises that can help you control your nerves and think on your feet during job interviews, reach out to the Des Moines Staffing and employment experts at the Palmer Group.

Present Your Company Honestly

There’s nothing more annoying to candidates than being sold a bill of goods. And though they’ll correct their mistake eventually if they sign on under false pretenses, the process will be expensive for both of you in terms of wasted time and the high cost of hiring and turnover. So be honest. From the first moment of contact (your job posting), make sure you describe the position accurately. Don’t exaggerate the glamour, the challenge, or the opportunities this position offers for growth. And of course, try not to misrepresent your company’s culture.

Insist on the Truth

Just as you show respect to your candidates by describing your culture and company as they are—not in terms you think your audience wants to hear—you should expect the same honestly in return. In fact, you should insist on it. Ask direct, meaningful questions during your interviews, and as you do so, make it safe and easy for your candidates to provide honest answers and share their true feelings. If they want something the company can’t offer, or vice versa, it’s better for both parties to learn this during the application process, not six months down the road.

Share the Same Passions

It’s been said that perfect love isn’t two people looking at each other; it’s two people looking in the same direction. Before you make a commitment to your candidate and expect her to do the same for you, make sure that you share the same vision for the near and distant future. Do her one, three, and five-year plans line up well with your company’s needs? Can you provide the resources and support she’ll need to take her career where she wants it to go? If you plan to take the company in a specific direction, can she offer the skill sets and attitude that can make this happen? If not, think twice. The two of you may get off to a rosy start, but what happens when the honeymoon ends?

In some ways, a great staffing firm is like a great matchmaker. Here at the Palmer Group, our experienced Des Moines staffing pros have what it takes to help you find your perfect employee. We’re great listeners, and our candidate contacts cover a wide range of industries at every career level. Make an appointment today and let us introduce you to the candidate of your dreams.

The Youngest Professional Employees (Gen Y)

The youngest members of your team have recently been released from the world of academia into the world of commerce, and they’re probably still adjusting to the sudden shift in what’s expected of them. Young workers soon recognize that at the entry level, blind obedience can be valuable, but those who accept this too quickly may need extra instructions and hand holding before approaching a task. Young workers may lack practical or technical confidence, and they may not register opinions or ask questions as often as they should. Those who struggle with blind obedience and have too much confidence may speak up and offer ideas and opinions that demonstrate an incomplete grasp of the larger picture. In either case, younger workers tend to be eager to please, naïve, and enthusiastic.

Mid-Level Employees (Generation X)

Mid-level workers have had a chance to hone their independence and critical thinking abilities, and they’ve typically abandoned blind obedience for broader decision-making skills. While younger workers need to be coached from an academic to a commercial mindset, mid-level workers sometimes need coaching from an employee mindset to that of a leader/manager. In exchange for the attention and motivation employers provide, mid-level workers offer the best of both energy and experience. They provide bold ideas, but these ideas are rooted in an understanding of the business as a whole. They know what they’re doing, they’re confident, they’re energetic, and they’re learning how to balance the professional and personal aspects of their lives. The primary HR challenge of this group comes from the pull of their complex lives and non-work related responsibilities. 

Older Workers (Baby Boomers)

Older workers approaching retirement have often mastered the most complex skill sets and broadest institutional knowledge required by their professions. They know how the business works, they understand their roles in the big picture, and they know how to initiate and control large scale change within that picture. They may not always be familiar with newer software platforms, but pairing them with younger workers can allow each to benefit from the knowledge and experience of the other. The primary HR challenge of this group often comes from the succession planning and institutional knowledge transfers that need to take place as they retire.

For more specific information on how to manage your diverse teams of employees—and hire the right candidates regardless of age—reach out to the Des Moines staffing pros at the Palmer Group.

1. Unclear instructions and goals.

Nothing dismantles respect and alienates a team from their leader faster than mixed signals. Before you tell anyone to do anything, from signing off on a million dollar project to making a coffee run, be absolutely sure the person understands your instructions and has the resources they need to carry out your order. And if possible, make sure they understand why they’re being asked to do it.

2. Too much concern with how the work gets done.

If your employees are getting the job done, don’t worry too much about how they do it. If they work on a flexible schedule or keep regular hours, team up or do it alone, take a step back and try not to micromanage. This is especially important if the work involves new idea generation and creativity.

3. Deadlines and rigid demands that kill innovation.

If you’re asking your employees to come up with original ideas, give them time, room to breathe, and the freedom to suggest misses and make mistakes. If you punish less than-perfect suggestions or force them to adhere to unrealistic deadlines, you’ll only push them to cut corners, recycle stale ideas, and resent you.

4. A lack of fairness.

Pay close attention to how you distribute rewards and credit. This includes seemingly insignificant rewards like your approval and attention. Even the smallest smiles and verbal thank-yous can cause serious morale problems if they’re withheld or misdirected.

5. Setting a poor example.

Never ask your employees to do things you wouldn’t do yourself, and work hard to model the behavior and dedication you expect from them. If you want them to come in at nine, be at your desk by 8:30. And if you disregard a company policy—from misusing office resources to neglecting to wear a hard hat in a safety zone— expect your employees to follow suit.

For more guidance on how manager and supervisor behavior can directly influence employee morale in the workplace, consult with the Des Moines staffing experts at the Palmer Group.

There’s a huge difference between these two statements. And now that the mystery has been resolved, rattled HR managers and employers can settle back down and chalk this up to a simple media error…But should they? Cyberloafing may not be an out-of-control epidemic, but does that mean managers should ignore it altogether? Here are few considerations to keep in mind the next time you walk past an internet-surfing employee and your anxiety levels begin to rise.

Cyberloafing: Can it Really Hurt Your Business?

1. Recognize that non-work related loafing takes many forms, and a few minutes of private break time every hour actually make employees more productive, not less. Would you feel the same anxiety if you saw your employee standing up to stretch, chat with a coworker or pour a cup of coffee? Probably not.

2. Recognize that most honest employees are not actively trying to take advantage of the company when they drift onto the internet for a few minutes at a time. In fact, taking care of small errands online (buying a retirement gift, checking in with a childcare provider, or looking for a reliable local plumber) can actually help employees manage their personal responsibilities and get them out of the way. This means more time focused on work and less time spent coming in early and leaving late to deal with competing obligations.

3.  You always have the option of blocking internet access on the company network, but this isn’t recommended. Draconian measures like these don’t usually make employees more productive, only more resentful. Remember: trust is the cornerstone of a strong employee-manager relationship. 

The Des Moines staffing experts at the Palmer Group are standing by to answer any questions you may have about the Newswire study, cyberloafing, or any issue related to productivity and business management. Reach out to our office and arrange a consultation today.

Unlike most other departments, HR challenges and goals aren’t always easy to quantify. That’s because we deal in a currency of human beings and human capital, and it goes against our nature to distill human needs, value, and problems into straightforward metrics. A high turnover problem, for example, may require budget resources to resolve. But it can be hard to make this case to upper management without putting a number on the problem first.

So how can you gather metrics that allow executives to make sense of the challenges you face? And among these varied data streams, which ones matter the most to company success?

Metrics and Hiring
 
When you decide to quantify “successful hiring”, what does your company focus on most? If speed matters, measure the time it takes to fill each position and look for cost effective ways to reduce that number. But keep in mind the fast/cheap/good paradox. Almost every resource it takes to run a business—including employees—can be obtained fast, at a low cost, or with high value. And as the saying goes, you can have any two of these, but you can’t have all three.

If “good” hires are the goal, define those terms. Are good hires employees who last more than a year? More than five years? Consider handing surveys to managers of new hires and ask how they rate the success of each hire after one, three and five years. If “cheap” hires are the most valuable, how can you target undervalued candidates with high upside potential? And once they’re onboard, how can you get the most productivity from these workers while keeping salary costs under control?

Metrics and Retention

Hiring isn’t the only element of staffing that can be quantified and measured. In order to measure and control retention, you’ll need to find ways to put numbers on worker satisfaction. You’ll also need to quantify how your company stacks up against the competition in terms of salary data, workplace culture, perks, and opportunities for advancement.

Start by distributing surveys at least once a year among your teams, and balance this survey data against that of thoughtfully designed exit interviews. Make sure you draw as much information as possible out of departing employees, and find ways to crunch their reviews into meaningful data points that can be used to generate change. For more information on how to do this, reach out the Des Moines staffing and HR experts at The Palmer Group.

But interviews are like any other aspect of business operations: reaching your destination is only part of the goal. You also want to reach that destination in a way that’s efficient, cost effective, fast and risk free. You don’t just want a candidate who will keep a chair warm and not turn into an expensive mistake. You want a candidate with the specific skill sets the position demands, and a candidate who cares as much about your business as you do.

To that end, it’s time to cut the fat and skip the interview questions that are merely “good.” Rebuild your interview script from the ground up by starting with the most important question any efficient manager can ask: “Describe your most important accomplishment in this role/this industry.”

Why is this One Question so Valuable?

This question forms the foundation of the rest of your twenty minute session with the candidate.  Use this as a starting point, and help the candidate flesh out a detailed twenty-minute response by asking the following supporting questions:

1. How did you find yourself facing this task or project?
2. Why were you chosen instead of someone else?
3. What was your first step, second step, etc, and how did you formulate this plan?
4. Did you need to enlist the help of others, and if so, how did this go?
5. Did your team encounter any interpersonal problems on the way? How were they solved?
6. What personal challenges did you face?
7. What team challenges did you face?
8. Was your project ultimately successful? If not, what did you learn and how did the experience make you proud?
9. If the project was a success, what did you learn from the process and to what do you credit the success?
10. If you could tackle this project again, what would you do differently?

Wrap your interview tightly around one key incident, and you’ll help your candidate tell the story of his or her professional life. You’ll gain a strong sense of who she is as a protagonist, where her strengths lie, and how she’ll leverage her unique contributions to support her next employer.

Best of all, you’ll clear an efficient path to your goal: identifying the candidate best suited to this position. For more guidance on how to keep your interview process focused, lean, and meaningful, reach out the Des Moines staffing experts at the Palmer Group.