Paramount Staffing Named "Best Company"
Paramount Staffing, industrial and engineering markets staffing solutions provider, recently received the "Best Company" award from the Great Place to Work® Institute. Selections and rankings are completed by the Great Place to Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management. The competition, now in its ninth year, was divided into two categories: small (50-250 employees) and...
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PC Internet Usage Becoming Extinct, Mobile Rises
More and more people opt for mobile devices over computers when using the internet, a study showed. According to the latest release of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide New Media Market Model, consumers are shifting away from PC-based usage to using mobile devices as their first means of getting on the internet. The U. S. leads this trend; Western Europe and Japan are only around...
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The Future of Video Interviewing
Recruiting, for all the new tools hasn't changed that much in the last decade or so. The goal is still the same, to match the right talent with the right role. When video interviewing leaped onto the scene, no one really thought it would impact the screening and recruiting processes the way it does today. Initially, people thought that video interviewing would save money. Efficiency was the...
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Do We Have to Join Facebook to Prove We Are Not Psychopaths?
The Daily Mail article headline made me do an incredulous double-take: "Is Not Joining Facebook a Sign You're a Psychopath? Some Employers and Psychologists Say Staying Away from Social Media is 'Suspicious'". Well, there's already enough vigilance, if not outright paranoia, these days to not require compounding it with a "See Nothing, Say Something" policy like the one implied...
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Implementation of Obamacare Most Likely to Change Benefit Plans in Red States
As the new health reform act goes fully into effect, participation by companies of all sizes is necessary for successful implementation. A new study by GfK and Research Now shows employers in right-leaning Red states are much more likely to opt for change in their benefits plans if the so-called Obamacare program is fully implemented than those in left-leading Blue states and swing states. Red...
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BrightMove and SimplyHired Partner to Offer Enhanced Visibility for Job Postings
BrightMove's applicant tracking system (ATS) Recruiting Software is now offering a Premium Posting service for customers using Simply Hired. Now, in addition to access to free job boards and hundreds of social networks with its basic subscription, BrightMove's ATS makes jobs more visible to its 30 million subscribers. The enhanced visibility, provided by Simply Hired's Simply Post product,...
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4 Reasons for "Tech-Free" Time in the Office
How many times do you use some form of technology per day? The average person may listen to music or the news via a cell phone, radio or tablet in the morning. Same goes for on the way to work or perhaps he or she may make a call while driving. Once in the office it's onto the computer for emails, Word documents, programs and all types of files. Lunch (if not taken away from the desk) can be...
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PayPal to Eliminate 325 Jobs
Ebay Inc. announced Monday that it will cut 325 full-time jobs from PayPal. The losses come as a part of the company's effort to simply and speed up how products are developed for consumers and merchants. Most of the soon-to-be eliminated positions will come from PayPal's product and technology businesses. Ebay also plans to end contracts with 120 contractors globally. The job cuts were...
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4 Hiring Lessons From Horror Movies
With Halloween around the corner, it might be time to admit recruiting can be a scary task. You want to find the best people for your company before the competition picks them off one by one. More importantly, however, you want to avoid making bad decisions. Some of these hiring mistakes can be truly scary; one in four hiring managers said a bad hire set their company back more than...
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6 Ways to Use Facebook Advertising for Recruiting
Facebook, like recruiting, seems to be ever evolving. While many are up in arms over the changing page and fan terms, a new "custom audience" feature can be used for social recruiting in entirely new ways. Essentially, custom audience campaigns are highly targeted campaigns that go out to laser focused candidates and prospects. Since marketers and recruiters follow very similar guidelines when...
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NJ Bans Employers Seeking Social Media Passwords
The New Jersey State Senate just passed a bill banning employers from asking for their employees' social media passwords. The bill will fine companies $1,000 for requesting or demanding access to workers' (or potential employees') social media profiles. These include sites such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. Job candidates will also have the option to sue for money lost if...
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Should Employers Tell Workers who to Vote for?
Voting is what makes America a democracy. We as citizens have the power to elect who we desire to lead us. We have the power to choose and it is a choice that should not be made lightly. Many things are thrown at us in an attempt to influence our choice: fliers, TV ads and commercials, events and, of course, the candidates themselves. With various things trying to sway us around elections, it...
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World's Hardest and Easiest Places to Hire
We know the developed economies are at best flat-lining when it comes to economic growth and are facing skill shortages that threaten their domestic competitiveness and expansion potential.The PwC 15th Annual Global CEO Survey 2012 makes the point clearly as its key findings reveal that only 15 percent of CEOs believe that the global economy will improve with the majority view (held by 48 percent...
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Survive Your First Video Interview
Dear Candidate, You're about to embark on your first-ever video interview. It's a little daunting I'm sure, but there are ways to make sure you not only ace your first digital screening but get invited back for another screen-to-screen. 1.) Plan. Prepare. Focus. Treat this interview like it's a real one. Because it is. That means giving yourself plenty of time to prep, researching the...
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What are the Top 10 Internships for 2012?
Career management and job search portal Vault.com just released its list of the Top 10 Internships for 2012. The internship categories included the top finance, non-profit, best perks and overall top internships. Vault's Top Internships result from two surveys with around 130 participants. Companies and non-profit organizations provided an overview of their internship programs, which covered...
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Ford to Close Belgian Factory, 4,300 Jobless
By the end of 2014, Ford Motor Co plans to close a Belgian factory that employs 4,300 workers. The close will shift production to Spain in an attempt to save money and stem European losses. A regional debt crisis, which led to spending cuts and high unemployment, caused Europe's car market to slump and hurt consumer budgets. Factories like the Ford plants in Genk and Valencia have not been...
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Middle Class Sacrificing Retirement to Pay Bills
According to the recent Wells Fargo Retirement Survey, more than one-third of middle-class Americans may end up in poverty in retirement as most (52 percent) feel that their primary financial concerns are paying monthly bills; saving for retirement comes in a distant second at 16 percent. Indeed, 53 percent of respondents say that they are not confident they will have enough money saved before...
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Survey Finds HR not a Priority for Board Directors
The PwC 2012 Annual Corporate Direct Survey found that more than 60 percent of board members see no value in adding board members with HR expertise while 85 percent value industry experience. Additionally, more than 90 percent of new board recruits were nominated due to recommendations by other board members. Nearly one-third of respondents believe that they need to replace their director of the...
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Want to Become an Entrepreneur?
You've always dreamed of becoming your own boss, and after many years and years you're finally about to do it. You have your idea and you're ready to take action. Once your business plan is set, most would tell you the first step is to secure financing. Yet, there may be one other thing you should secure even before worrying about the how's of becoming an entrepreneur, one thing that can...
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Building a Brand Using Tips from Top MBA Programs
Most business leaders agree that building an effective, positive brand identity is one of the most important aspects of company development. Unfortunately, many organizations fail due to critical mistakes made during this process. Today, many prominent MBA programs are exploring various ways for companies to create consistent brands and garner a positive reputation with the public. Washington...
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4 Steps to Successful Hires
Traditionally, the success of the hiring process has been based on more transactional factors such as cost to hire and time to hire, but research from FutureStep, in the form of their Global Talent Impact Study, reveals that hiring success metrics are shifting to more sophisticated measures such as: performance level of the new hire, line manager satisfaction and new hire retention. The...
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3 Areas to Stretch for Workplace Flexibility
Flexibility is extremely important for today's average worker. Most people have numerous other commitments outside of the workplace: family, friends, being members of organizations and clubs and, well... just relaxing and enjoying life. Out of all the aforementioned activities, it seems like, for many people, the latter are the hardest to fit into busy schedules. We go into work at 7am five...
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Businesses Lose Confidence and Optimism for Economy in 2013
Businesses in the third quarter of 2012 experienced a sharp drop in optimism as they look ahead to the next twelve months. Optimism fell from 50 percent in the second quarter of the year down to 19 percent according to the Grant Thornton International Business Report. Despite the steep confidence drop, U.S. businesses remain more optimistic than the rest of the world where the average global...
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Facial Recognition Technology the Foundation for New Workforce Management Solution
Acroprint Time Recording Company has announced the launch of its new timeQplus FaceVerify time tracking system which offers state-of-the-art facial recognition software for a hand-free clock-in solution using biometric verification. FaceVerify lets employees clock in and out in seconds without touching the terminal; verification is obtained from a brief glance at the terminal screen. Facial...
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HR Overlooking Staff Retention, Corporate Image
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) most recent Reward Risk survey found that businesses are starting to overlook the importance of both attracting and retaining talent in lieu of focusing on creating benefits packages to spur motivation and engagement. Company appeal and retention have both fallen out of the top ten list of concerns measured in the CIPD survey; the...
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5 Reasons Why We Like "5 Reasons Why..." Analyses
Perhaps it all started with the Ten Commandments. The list mongering persists more than 3,000 years later in the titling of popular articles about any subject, including employment and recruiting, e.g., "Top 10 Secrets of a Great Resume", "7 Ways to Impress an HR manager" or "5 Reasons You Didn't Get That Job". Whether you are a writer or a reader, finding out why such lists...
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The Inequity of Benefits
Recently, I spent an hour on the phone with my sister. After landing her dream job working with special needs children, she was at her wit's end. Four months into her new career, she was emotionally and physically exhausted, frustrated at how much her energy was being sapped both at work and at home. We talked for awhile about options and discussed getting a cleaning service (no small cost on...
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Say "NO" to Your Boss in 4 Steps
A lot of people pleasing takes place in the office, especially when it comes to the boss. Most employees want to make a good impression not just to earn the title of "great employee" but to score brownie points for moving up the ladder one day. When it comes to a higher authority level, we wouldn't think of saying no. Sure, that extra project means I'll have to stay twice as late at...
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Gas Prices Down 13.2 Cents, Largest Decline Since 2008
Here is some good news for all those planning to fill up at the pump this week: Gas prices are down. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's latest report, the national average price of gasoline for the week ending Oct. 22 dropped by 13.2 cents. This is the largest week-over-week decline since 2008, said Michael Green, AAA spokesman. The average price fell to $3.648 a...
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Evidence Suggests HR Pros Using Tech at Accelerating Pace
Evidence from two new pieces of research strongly suggest that HR professionals are turning to technology at an accelerating rate as they attempt to improve their image through increased productivity and decreased churn. A report by Relocate Magazine found that many business executives hold a very negative view of HR and feel HR professionals need to approach data with a more scientific approach....
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Fired for a Soliloquy?—The Case of Office Hamlets
As the elevator door closes, but before it begins its descent, the boss or HR manager on the other side of the door hears an employee impulsively mutter what he thought was an entirely private thought, "x!@!!*!# boss!...#!*@!!x! job!", after swiftly calculating that it was safe to do that, since no one was (supposed to be) within earshot. Should the boss or manager do anything with that...
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6 Ways to Prepare for the 2013 Talent Crunch
The temporary staffing market is expected to exceed its historical high next year according to Staffing Industry Analysts, as companies continue to rely on contingent workers as the economy remains slow – and this will see employers hire greater numbers of contract workers than we have ever seen before. The Staffing Industry Analysts' report forecasts 9 percent industry growth and 6 percent...
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Acquisition: Aon Hewitt Purchases OmniPoint's Workday Services Branch
Global human resources solutions firm Aon Hewitt has announced it will acquire Workday Services from OmniPoint. Workday Services is a leading deployment and integration firm and a partner of SaaS HR solutions leader Workday. Aon Hewitt seeks to expand its Workday capabilities including its HR technology services to large firms and global organizations. The acquisition will distinguish Aon Hewitt...
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Talent Chaser Offers Evidence-Based Recruitment Solution
With current trends in human capital management relying more on social collaboration and mobile computer technologies, a new HR technology solution from Talent Chaser is introduced as an alternative evidence-based technology that assists with recruitment and daily management tasks and combines them into a single function. Talent Chaser's unique applicant screening system offers the reliability...
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HR Pros Favor Romney
While the upcoming presidential election is expected to be neck and neck, a recent poll by HR Morning has shown a strong preference among human resource professionals. When asked which candidate would most benefit HR, 66 percent of polled HR pros said Mitt Romney and 24 percent of the votes went to Barack Obama. The remaining respondents were either currently unsure of their pick or saw no...
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Survey Predicts Continued Hiring Growth Rate in Q4 2012
According to a survey released by Express Employment, many employers are planning to add new staff for commercial and administrative jobs. About one-third of employers are planning new hires for commercial and light industrial jobs while 14 percent revealed that they plan to add administrative and clerical staff. Administrative and office clerical staff have the most favorable outlook in the...
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How to Turn your Group of Workers into a Team of Players
Teamwork is a funny thing – the saying goes that you are only as strong as your weakest link. When it comes to project management, this saying is especially true; especially when it comes to working with a team of individuals who all rely on each other to make a project work. Creating a synergy between employees from different backgrounds, with different interests and different experiences...
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New Technology from BackgroundNow Seeks to Make PIs Obsolete
A new alias/name matching technology provided by BackgroundNow is looking to replace the oft-used private investigators employed when performing in-depth screenings. BackgroundNow improves upon previous online background checks by allowing search criteria to be more flexible. Typically, online background searches require an exact match between the search term and the sought after...
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Swing States Experience Stable or Falling Unemployment Rates as Election Nears
Of the 41 states the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reports to have experienced drops in unemployment during September, seven of them were key swing states pivotal for the re-election of Barack Obama. The DOL report also found that unemployment rates rose in six states and remained unchanged in three; two of which are also swing states. Rates dropped in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa,...
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jobdreaming Unveils Open Beta of Hiring App to Match Job Seekers With Employers
jobdreaming, an innovative web-based service from KMC Software that matches active and passive candidates with recruiters and employers, just announced the open beta launch of its web app. Job seekers can use the app to describe the types of jobs they're looking for in one fill-in-the-blank sentence. Then they are matched with job openings created by recruiters and employers. The new app...
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Click 4 Compliance Launches Customizable Compliance App
Click 4 Compliance, a provider of best-in-class online training for reducing compliance risks, announced the launch of a fully customizable mobile app that gives access to practical compliance tips from any iOS mobile device. The app, C4C Mobile Compliance Officer, is available for free in the iTunes App Store and can be customized for any company. The tool can be customized with company...
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Unemployment Benefits Claims Experience Increase after Drop in Unemployment
The U.S. Department of Labor has reported that weekly applications for unemployment benefits rose by 46,000 claims last week reaching the highest level in four months. The sharp increase is due to a rebound effect from the previous week's fall. The four-week claims average rose to 365,000, which is consistent with modest hiring. Both high and low swings are blamed on technical factors such as...
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How have Recruiters Changed Over the Past 4 Decades? [infographic]
According to the infographic from RecruitLoop, "The Evolution of the Recruitment Consultant," over the past four decades, recruiters have transformed from sales-driven corporates to more social, relationship-focused cyber-sleuths. The infographic broke down this transformation from the 1980s to the 2010s, even offering a prediction for the 2020s. 1980s: Recruitment Top Gun The 80s tech...
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Oh %#&*! Just how Common is Cursing in the Workplace?
How common is cursing in the workplace? And more importantly, how do certain words affect you or your job? According to a survey by CareerBuilder this past July, 64 percent of employers reported they would think less of an employee who repeatedly uses curse words. Fifty-seven percent reported to be less likely to promote an individual who swears in the workplace. The survey results came...
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7 Ways to Network Better
There are few sureties in this world but if you are looking for a job or actively recruiting, one of them is, that someone will tell you to "get out there and network"! The enthusiasm behind this is paramount, but the specifications of "networking" sometimes get lost in the shuffle. For a fairly linear person (me) it took some trial and error and then thoughtful analysis of what worked and what...
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Recruiter 'Kwan'—The Wisdom and Warts of the 'Jerry McGuire' Business Model
"Jerry McGuire", the Tom Cruise/Cuba Gooding, Jr. now-classic 1996 movie in the recruiter/agent genre of films, in which Cruise portrays an idealistic sports agent battling "the system", is, apart from the charm of its "feel-good" message, worth seeing (again) as a training film for recruiters. Actually, to really understand the message and lessons of most movies, including "Jerry...
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Video Series Released to Educate Retirement Plan Sponsors
Gross Strategic Marketing (GSM) announced the release of its Plan Sponsor Video Series, which creates a new avenue for pursuing the education of retirement plan sponsors in getting the attention of clients. The series offers broadcast-quality streamed content that supports email messaging and analytics. The videos combine high-definition video with the guidance of industry experts that use...
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Are we putting too much weight on background investigations?
Hiring an uneducated Axe-Murderer as your next CFO is bad for business; but so is a cubicle-farm full of under-performers. Mitigating risk and reducing legal liability is a critical component of the hiring process, and background checks and pre-employment drug screenings have become a staple in the HR professional's toolkit. Some HR and Talent Acquisition pros often weigh them more than a...
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