Beyond Onboarding: How to help new hires

With so many job seekers in the industry these days, finding the right person for the job can be a gratifying feeling. When the hiring process is done, however, many employers fail to fully integrate their new employee into the company. As a result, employees lose focus and quickly jump ship.

To avoid high and frequent turnover, here are a few suggestions for helping your new hires stay active, interested, and engaged:

Go Beyond Onboarding

Most organizations have some type of initial training or onboarding process that helps the new employee become familiar with organizational processes and procedures, along with strategies for communicating with the team.

Onboarding should involve much more than manuals and hand-holding-- onboarding should also explore your new hire’s personal and professional goals and talents.

Help your new hire set quarterly goals and establish areas for professional development. Provide them with the necessary tools to help accomplish their goals and with opportunities where they can shine.

During review processes, be sure to highlight their talents, gifts, and what they bring to the team.  By promoting their successes, you let your new hire know you see their value.

Give Them Training Wheels

Establish a thorough training process: outline precisely what you want your new hire to do--and how you want them to do it.

Sometimes, strict boundaries help the new hire avoid errors that may cost you time. By clearly communicating your expectations, you help the employee feel they are getting the job done.

Over time, however, be sure to offer opportunities to innovate: as the new hire demonstrates their capabilities, invite them to make modifications or changes to processes and procedures that would better suit your company and enhance their productivity.

Further, offer leadership opportunities to help your employee grow. They will know they are trusted with greater responsibilities, and in turn, will likely commit to staying with the company.

Be Patient

Truth be told, it take about three months for anyone starting a new job to feel comfortable with their environment, their coworkers, and the job itself. Spending eight or more hours a day at an organization requires a lot of trust, understanding, and commitment.

While you may expect a new hire to hit the ground running, be patient as they adapt to their new environment, both mentally and emotionally. Know that they ultimately chose to be a part of your organization, and like in any long-term partnership, a little bit of patience goes a long way.

Tips for Job seekers: How to stand out from the crowd

So, you’re looking for a new job. Great! So is everybody else!

These days, especially in the technology world, there is so much competition, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. But don’t be discouraged! With a few small tweaks to your job-seeking approach, you’ll be a head of the rest!

Be Picky

When you’re starting out looking for new employment, spend some time finding the right fit for your skillset. Avoid sending out tons of resumes to tons of places. Less is more, so be picky on where you apply.

Most job seekers create a one-size-fits-all resume, and a one-size-fits-all cover letter. But what they fail to see is that savvy employers are looking for much more than a living resume-- they want to find a person who truly shines, stands out, and who will bring something new and innovative to their team.

By selecting just a few places to apply at first, you establish value for yourself and your abilities.

Be Creative

When crafting a resume, uniquely tailor its tone and tenor to the company. Do an initial assessment: Is the company new or a start-up? Is it an established organization or corporate? Is it a small team or a robust organization with a spanning hierarchy?  Get a feel for the company culture-- it will in turn will help you craft a custom resume that speaks their language.

Moreover, study the job description: does your skill set actually fit? Say you’re more the developer type and the job you’re looking for is looking for a growth hacker; can you squeeze into the mold or are you better off sticking to what you know?

It’s great to expand your skillset and horizons, but don’t overreach so far that you’ll be dipping your toes in a pool better suited to other candidates. You want to stand out from the crowd as being the best at what you do rather than swimming up stream.

Be sure to draft a well-crafted cover letter. A great cover letter is essential for getting your foot in the door. Don't be fooled by other advice sites that claim employers don’t read cover letters - malarky!

Hiring managers and employers appreciate the personal touch; find out who’s doing the hiring or screening process and tailor a well-written - and thoroughly edited- cover letter that summarizes your skills, promotes your special qualities, and outlines what you can bring to the table. Be confident: speak your truth, know you are the best person for the job, and don’t be afraid to state it!

Be Patient

Finally, be gracious. At the end of the day, you’ll want to make sure that the hiring manager knows you appreciate their time, as finding a new hire can be a lengthy and often difficult process. Be patient while you wait for callbacks and correspondences. Putting your best face forward in the job seeking process is the best way to get your foot in the door!

Tips for Hiring Managers: How to Find Top Talent in Tech

If you’re the hiring manager at a technology company, it’s important to find talented individuals who can help your organization succeed. These days, with so many job seekers in the talent pool, it can be a challenge to find the best of the bunch who will also prove to be great long-term employees.

Here are a few tips to help you find the best candidate for your company, streamline the process, and create company solidarity:

Define & Refine Your Focus

Design an employee “avatar”- a template of specific attributes you’ll look for in a new hire. Whether it's certain skillsets, depth of education,  or personality traits, define your scope first before you craft a job post.

Also, be sure to think outside of the box: beyond experience and education, finding a candidate who fits your  company’s culture is as important as finding an adept developer.

Have a Streamlined Process in Place

Interview processes can be as quick or as lengthy as necessary, but no matter your approach, make sure that it’s systematized and streamlined.

Truncate exhaustive interview processes by omitting skill set tests; resumes, references, and work history can help define those parameters for you. Spend more time reviewing the candidate’s own goals, and assess if a candidate will bring something new and valuable to your company.

Make it a Team Effort

Invite in other managers and staff members to the interview. Managers and staff members have different perspectives and in combination, can give a well-rounded evaluation.  

While managers evaluate skillsets, coworkers look for new comrades. Creating a company culture built on solidarity and cooperation is essential for any organization's long-term success.

Be Flexible

At the end of the day, what's most important is finding a candidate that is excited about working for your company.. You’ll want to hire someone who will bring to your organization a positive, productive presence; a focused and ambitious mindset that will help your company succeed beyond measure.

How Staffing Agencies Help Startups

These days, technology startups are cropping up everywhere. Entrepreneurs are striking out on their own and partnering up to create new businesses and innovative solutions in the industry.

Although starting a new business isn’t easy and requires a lot of work, many entrepreneurs are rolling-up their sleeves, sticking to it, and finding the process to be rewarding and fulfilling.

When “starting-up,” you’ll need to have a solid game plan, backing capital, and the patience of a monk before the ROI rolls in.  For many organizations, however, the biggest hurdle is finding the right people to bring into the business early on who can hang in there for the long haul.

This is where staffing agencies come in handy, and in the tech world, finding a solid staffing firm that specializes in finding talent will help streamline and speed up the process.

If you’re the head of a start-up company or small business in the technology sector, you’re likely experiencing the “octopus effect” -  wearing many hats, hands in every pot, sometimes struggling to juggle all of the tactical and practical components of running a company. From financial considerations to managing operations, finding and hiring talent can take many hours, days, weeks even months, which can slow down your progress.

Staffing agencies free-up your time, a different kind of ROI. Using a staffing agency will return to you precious, invaluable time that you can reinvest in your business development efforts.

So, how do you find a great staffing firm who can help to find you the right fit for your organization? Here are a few tips:

Research

Thoroughly research staffing organizations that can best serve your organization. You want to find an agency that offers a personal touch -  account managers who tailor their services to suit your needs and work closely with you find the right talent.  

Commit

Finding candidates to fill open positions is no small task. This process often involves a thorough vetting and interview process. This is where patience - again - comes in handy. While finding the best candidate may take a little time, staffing firms can considerably speed up the process.

Be Specific

When working with a staffing agency, it’s important to be clear on who you want to work  for your company. Prefer a recent grad? Need an industry veteran?  Providing as many specific details to your agency will help your staffing managers find your ideal new hire.

Most of all, it’s important to remember that working with a staffing agency is doing much more than taking a few things off your plate: it’s working in a partnership with hiring experts who are as invested in your success as you are!

To learn more about how Anchor Staffing Group can help you find the best candidate for your organization, visit our Website at www.AnchorStaffingGroup.com