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Reducing Stress with a Contingent Workforce

October 10th, 2014

Your busy season is about to begin, and you’re anticipating a flood of new orders and new projects that will roll in like a wave and overwhelm your current teams, just like it did last year (and the year before). Every year, your teams hold on by their fingertips, working overtime and losing sleep, leading them to https://snorebay.com/. And each year at least one or two of them flirt with the idea of leaving. While your employees are running themselves ragged trying to keep up with their demanding workloads, you’re experiencing your own form of stress while you wait for your most talented workers to reach their limit, walk into your office and give their notice.

But you and your employees don’t have to live this way for three, five, or eleven months of the year. Consider a practical alternative: a contingency staffing plan. Here’s how a temporary team can lift your seasonal burden without breaking your budget.

Contingency staffing reduces your financial and personal obligations.

Temporary employees aren’t hired and paid by you; they’re hired and paid by the agency. This means that you don’t have to make any long term promises or plans regarding their relationship with your company. You don’t have to worry about taxes, paperwork, salary negotiations, or insurance. You’ll keep them onboard as long as you need them, and when your workload settles down, the agency will place them elsewhere.

Contingency staffing is flexible.

When a temporary employee enters your workplace, your agency contract will allow the two of you to work together for an extended period of time before either of you decide to make a long term commitment. You can test drive the arrangement to see how well it works for both of you, and when you’re ready, you’ll have the option of taking him or her on as a permanent hire.

Contingency staffing is easy.

An experienced staffing agency will listen carefully to your needs and requirements and find a pool of candidates who fit the bill. Here at Merritt, we have an extensive network of industry contacts and a sophisticated screening and selection process that can help you quickly identify the employees most likely to thrive in your workplace.

When you’re ready to take on some extra hands and tackle your seasonal challenges, put your trust in the Fairfeld County staffing experts at Merritt. Contact our office for a consultation.

Hiring Strategies: Immediate Need Vs Long Term Growth Potential

July 25th, 2014

When you envision your ideal candidate, are you picturing someone who can step into your open position, start contributing immediately, and occupy this role into the indefinite future? Or are you picturing a candidate who will hold this role only long enough to gain the experience and exposure she needs to reach the next level? In other words, are you looking for skilled candidates who can meet your immediate needs, or are you hiring for traits that bring greater returns in the future than they will in the present? Here are a few traits to look for in each case.

Hiring for Immediate Need

If you need a candidate who can step directly into a skilled position and contribute high returns right away, you’ll need someone who already possesses expensive certifications, training and experience that can take years to obtain. On the positive side, these qualifications can be easy to measure, easy to test, and easy to state on a resume. Either the candidate has them or she doesn’t. On the negative side, a well prepared candidate comes with a high salary premium. If you hire an untrained, high potential prospect, you can pay a discounted salary and provide the necessary training at your own expense and under your own aegis.

Hiring For Long Term Growth Potential

As mentioned above, hiring for long term potential places training costs and risk in the employers hands. But these things also become the employer’s responsibility, and if the candidate fails to live out her potential, the cost of the failure falls entirely onto the employer. A high potential candidate has skills and qualifications that can be difficult to measure.

For example, an immediate need candidate holds a degree, a state license, and four years of relevant experience. A high potential candidate holds none of these things, but her personality traits and non-relevant track record suggest that she’s smart and driven and she’ll gather these credentials in due time. Measuring certifications is easy. Measuring intelligence and drive can subjective and complex. Before you pursue this route, review data that show a clear link between the personality traits you’re targeting and success with this position over the long term.

For more information that can help you determine which hiring strategy will better meet your needs, contact the staffing experts at Merritt.

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