Working from home is one the top perks in today’s extremely competitive job market. According to Indeed.com, candidates searched for jobs using the term “Remote” increased 85% in two years. As someone who works with job seekers often, I can tell you the requests for remote or virtual opportunities are more and more frequent. And why not, the employee gets the flexibility to stay home and save money on gasoline, clothes, food, and other work-related expenses while earning a stable paycheck with benefits and having the ability to handle other matters. The employer benefits from remote workers as well, for instance, a case study developed by Nicholas Bloom and graduate student James Liang found that employees who worked from home [...]
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You have a lot to consider when determining how much you should invest in employees. Will they stay with the company long enough to make their highest contributions? Will they continue to improve their skills once they are hired? While it is expensive to screen and hire people to find the right fit a position, one bad hire can cost you in terms of productivity and new hiring expenses if you have to let them go. In this article we are going to discuss: the factors that influence employee attitude the single factor that makes people want to stay with a company longer “employee lifetime value” and how it influences your ROI the four best practices for increasing your company’s ROI in employees Factors that influence em [...]
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Cultural fit - a buzzword in recruitment Though the term cultural fit has gaining popularity in recruitment, many employers are still perplexed by its meaning. So what exactly does a cultural fit mean? Cultural fit is a congruence between the values and behavioral norms of a company and a candidate. It means that candidate’s core values, actions, and goals match yours. A certain candidate might have an impressive skillset and valuable experience. However, this candidate won’t be able to perform his best if he doesn’t fit in with your team, department and company culture. This is why it is crucial to assess cultural fit in the selection process. What is more important in the selection process: A job fit or a cultural fit? [...]
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“I was working for a production company and I was on a shoot for an exercise video… In between takes, I had to clean up their sweat off the floor on my hands and knees.” “I worked at a radio station… the DJ I was working with made me get coffee every day, specifically with one teaspoon of cream and two sugar packets. She fired me for not finding a second sugar packet.” “I had to run an “errand” aka pick up weed.” Those are real quotes from a BuzzFeed article, “17 Intern Horror Stories That Will Make You Want To Quit Your Job.” Sugar packets, cleaning sweat, and running “errands” are not effective uses of an intern’s potential nor does it reflect positively upon the employer. Not only are inter [...]
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With 6.7 million jobs open in the U.S., employers cannot help but take their recruiting strategy back to the drawing board. That drawing board has more and more employers looking at lowering/dropping qualifications and focusing on entry-level hiring. In other words, if the candidate we want isn’t out there in the current labor market, maybe we need to reconsider our requirements. Great employers will use this as an opportunity to play the long game and maximize benefit to employees and the organization. As we continue to see statistics reporting minimum qualifications drifting lower and lower over the last six years we are shifting into a market where entry-level candidates have a greater chance of getting hired. To refocus your orga [...]
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When people write, code, or use Microsoft Office tools, they can often solve the same problem in different ways. All these tasks require either creativity or higher-order thinking skills. However, these skills can’t be easily evaluated. You often need at least two brains. :- ) Organizations want their teams to be creative but are not entirely sure how to select and assess those skills. The question remains: “Can the answers to open questions be measured and evaluated?”, “What assessment tools are available to assist us in recognizing creative thinkers or how they structure their ideas?” “How might we evaluate and compare various ways of addressing the same open question?” eSkill's collaborative assessment solution all [...]
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For many freelancers, their self-owned business is a lifestyle choice, and since they are not company employees, you do not have to cover their vacation pay, employee benefits, or sick leave. The goal is to find freelancers who have a high level of professionalism, complete the work you assign them on deadline and require minimal oversight. The best ones deliver high quality of work at a fraction of what it would cost you to hire a full-time employee. Did you know that 35% of the workforce are freelancers? The top organizations around the world are discovering the benefits of hiring freelancers who work in graphic design, writing, healthcare, human resources and consulting. Since freelancers are not company employees, you will not ha [...]
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What does it mean to have a skills mismatch? A skills mismatch is the gap between an individual’s job skills and the demands of the job itself. With currently low unemployment rates and an evolving job market where overly specific training may become irrelevant, our organization is more than likely experiencing the pains of a skills mismatch, but you can work to fix this. Write better job descriptions. Take the time to write a thorough job description that speaks clearly to your intended audience. Give your supervisors and hiring managers time explore what skills are actually needed for a new hire to start contributing right away. For example, if your company posts a position that requires two years of previous experience, ask “W [...]
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