One of my very favorite questions to ask during any candidate interview is, "What are your thoughts on customer service?"
For me, this is usually the "make or break" moment in any interview. Depending on this candidate's answer to this question, I may politely turn them to a different employment avenue. I'll admit that the weight that I put on this question is laregely due to my own Customer-Focused attitude, but give me a moment to stress to YOU the importance of this issue in your own interview and screening process.
So often I hear answers like, "Oh gosh, I just can't handle customer service. Put me in the back office because I just don't want to deal with customers all day." Another popular answer goes something like "Oh I just can't handle retail. Customers are so hard to deal with!" The second answer is especially amazing to me. WHEN did I say ANYTHING about retail?? And where did we, as a working society, ever link those two concepts together? It's like nails on a chalkboard, I tell ya!
The truth of the matter is that EVERY job out there - yes, every single one - MUST have a customer-focused individual in it. What people don't understand is that each and every job in this world exists to serve another person or process. WHO is it that asks you to do the things that you do in your job every day? Is it your boss, a computer-generated task request, a pile of filing that builds from a department? All of these things are customers, and if you treat your customers promptly and with respect you will 1) make your customer happy and 2) generate a better relationship with that customer creating better opportunity for you in the future.
Let's look at a couple of examples.
Candidate A is an Executive Assistant. She comes from a privledged family and has had an excellent education. She gradutated from her high school with honors and went on to attend a university. Her higher education was paid for by scholarships earned from her high school performance and a college fund paid for by her family. Four years later, she graduates with a Bachelors' Degree in Business Management and goes out into the world to look for her first (yes, first) job as an Executive Assitant. Miss A considers herself to be a degreed professional and expects to be paid a premium for her skills and degree. She gets herself into a position and immediately struggles. She butts heads with the expectations given to her and has trouble prioritizing and completing tasks appropriately. Her boss is angry and she is frustrated. From a technical skills standpoint, Candidate A is a gem. From a personal relations and customer focus, she is a flop.
Candidate B is an Executive Assistant. She comes from a low-income family. She gradutated from high school with average grades. She always held down a part-time-plus job at a local restaurant to help her family and herself pay for housing, school, and her vehicle. She goes on to college part-time and continues to work in lower-end positions to support herself. She does some restaurant supervising, retail work, and possibly Reception or Mail Clerk for a local business to pay for her tuition. Attending part-time she is able to graduate in four years with an Associate's Degree in Business. Candidate B takes her degree and lands a great job as an Executive Assistant. She quickly blossoms in this position and finds a home with her new company. The company offers her growth with their business and she moves into progressively higher-profile (and higher paid) positions in the company over the next 10 years. Despite her mediocre education, Candidate B's escalating customer service experience turns her into the kind of employee that we all want.
These stories are just examples and many different situations could really occur, but the truth is that many times in our staffing history situations just like this play out every day.
The moral of the story is two-fold.
First, if you are an employer do not automatically assume that the nicer suit and the better education equal a better fit for your position. If you are looking to be served as an employee's customer, are they going to be focused on your needs? Or if you are putting this candidate in front of your actual customers, are they going to act appropriately?
And second, take a look at who your customers are in your current position. I don't care if you make $20,000 a year or $2,000,000 a year, you have them. Ask yourself if you are serving them properly. And if you aren't, take some steps to improve your customer focus. I promise, it can do amazing things for your personally and professionally.
Would you like to take a look at some of my customer-focused candidates? Would you like to BECOME one of them? Give me a shout and we will begin the move in the right direction. And as always, if you'd like to dicsus this further please don't hesitate to send me a message. I'd be happy to sit and chat.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Why Use A Staffing Agency?
Well...the short answer is, "Why not?"
Hahaha...wouldn't that make my life so much easier?
In all seriousness, I'd like to discuss today some benefits that companies will find with using a staffing agency to fill their positions as opposed to recruiting and screening on their own.
I'll start with small-to-mid-sized companies. These are companies where, generally, there is little to no HR presence. The owner or office manager handles hiring and firing and keeping up with compensation and payroll. In companies like this, there are rarely individuals in the company that exist solely to recruit and screen top talent. Companies like this generally are very self-sufficient and don't need anyone to tell them what to do, when to do it, or how to do it. But here is the pitfall of companies like this. There is always a time when the hiring owner or office manager is busy with a big project or an important customer and doesn't have a lot of time to devote to hiring. What happens if a crucial hiring MUST take place during this hectic time? Your star receptionist quits just as a new client is coming in to town to tour the facility and decide whether or not you get a big contract. Maybe your biggest client throws a massive order in your lap that is going to require more work from EVERYONE - either including or especially those hiring managers.
How will those one or two people in charge find the time to: post the job, review 50 resumes, interview 10 candidates, screen 10 candidates, make an offer, and greet the new person? Sound impossible? It probably is. Chances are if the company is able to make it happen on their own they will rush the decision and make a bad choice. Or skip an important step. Any number of issues could come up!
THIS is when this company needs to call on an agency. A good relationship with a staffing agency could drop the workload down to: make a call, greet the new employee. Of course, many companies choose to be a BIT more involved in the hiring process, but even if the process goes to: make a call, review 3 resumes, interview 1 candidate, greet the new person - think of the time and trouble that has been saved!
Of course agencies are not just for the small companies.
Large companies with huge money in a recruiting department should have this type of thing handled, right? Well, sure, but there are certainly always possibilities for a staffing agency with a large company as well. Of course the easiest scenario is the vacation and sick fill-in option. You do not want to hire a whole new employee just because one administrative assistant needs to take a week off around Christmas. A staffing agency can easily fill that position for you and simply send an invoice at the end of the week. No payroll expenses, check-cutting, or workers' compensation insurance to hassle with.
As far as long-term assignments - if you are paying in-house recruiters $50-75,000 per year because you need their expertise in hiring high level engineers and technical sales professionals, do you really want to refocus that expense on mail clerks and janitors? Large companies with specialty products or services often run high-dollar recruiting desks in order to find the needle-in-the-haystack professionals that are the top in their field. Let that investment work for what it was designed to do instead of weighing it down with monotonous and routine hiring decisions.
Finally, let's look from a candidate's perspective. Why should an individual come to an agency when looking for employment? The answer is obvious if you are looking for temporary or here-and-there employment. A resume filled with 1 week tenure is not going to benefit you in the future. A staffing agency can remain on your resume for as long as you are registered and available for work. Sure you may have worked at 8 different client locations, but ONE agency on your resume shows the kind of commitment and tenure that employers are looking for. What about those individuals looking for long-term employment? Why is a staffing agency much easier to deal with? The answer is, simply, that there is only ONE of us. When you are in the market for a job you can put your resume out to literally hundreds of companies. You can expect a call back from less than half of these. Then you get to question those callers about their benefits and salaries. Decide from there if you would like to interview with that company. And after all of that, maybe you will get an offer worthy of an acceptance.
When working with an agency a candidate will tell one company (and generally one individual) what their requirements for a job are. How quickly they need to work, how much money they need, and the benefits that they prefer are all kept in mind and the agency goes out and sorts through opportunities. Only those pre-screened opportunities will generally ever make it back to you.
For more information about how a staffing agency could help you find employment or find employees, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll be happy to speak with you!
Hahaha...wouldn't that make my life so much easier?
In all seriousness, I'd like to discuss today some benefits that companies will find with using a staffing agency to fill their positions as opposed to recruiting and screening on their own.
I'll start with small-to-mid-sized companies. These are companies where, generally, there is little to no HR presence. The owner or office manager handles hiring and firing and keeping up with compensation and payroll. In companies like this, there are rarely individuals in the company that exist solely to recruit and screen top talent. Companies like this generally are very self-sufficient and don't need anyone to tell them what to do, when to do it, or how to do it. But here is the pitfall of companies like this. There is always a time when the hiring owner or office manager is busy with a big project or an important customer and doesn't have a lot of time to devote to hiring. What happens if a crucial hiring MUST take place during this hectic time? Your star receptionist quits just as a new client is coming in to town to tour the facility and decide whether or not you get a big contract. Maybe your biggest client throws a massive order in your lap that is going to require more work from EVERYONE - either including or especially those hiring managers.
How will those one or two people in charge find the time to: post the job, review 50 resumes, interview 10 candidates, screen 10 candidates, make an offer, and greet the new person? Sound impossible? It probably is. Chances are if the company is able to make it happen on their own they will rush the decision and make a bad choice. Or skip an important step. Any number of issues could come up!
THIS is when this company needs to call on an agency. A good relationship with a staffing agency could drop the workload down to: make a call, greet the new employee. Of course, many companies choose to be a BIT more involved in the hiring process, but even if the process goes to: make a call, review 3 resumes, interview 1 candidate, greet the new person - think of the time and trouble that has been saved!
Of course agencies are not just for the small companies.
Large companies with huge money in a recruiting department should have this type of thing handled, right? Well, sure, but there are certainly always possibilities for a staffing agency with a large company as well. Of course the easiest scenario is the vacation and sick fill-in option. You do not want to hire a whole new employee just because one administrative assistant needs to take a week off around Christmas. A staffing agency can easily fill that position for you and simply send an invoice at the end of the week. No payroll expenses, check-cutting, or workers' compensation insurance to hassle with.
As far as long-term assignments - if you are paying in-house recruiters $50-75,000 per year because you need their expertise in hiring high level engineers and technical sales professionals, do you really want to refocus that expense on mail clerks and janitors? Large companies with specialty products or services often run high-dollar recruiting desks in order to find the needle-in-the-haystack professionals that are the top in their field. Let that investment work for what it was designed to do instead of weighing it down with monotonous and routine hiring decisions.
Finally, let's look from a candidate's perspective. Why should an individual come to an agency when looking for employment? The answer is obvious if you are looking for temporary or here-and-there employment. A resume filled with 1 week tenure is not going to benefit you in the future. A staffing agency can remain on your resume for as long as you are registered and available for work. Sure you may have worked at 8 different client locations, but ONE agency on your resume shows the kind of commitment and tenure that employers are looking for. What about those individuals looking for long-term employment? Why is a staffing agency much easier to deal with? The answer is, simply, that there is only ONE of us. When you are in the market for a job you can put your resume out to literally hundreds of companies. You can expect a call back from less than half of these. Then you get to question those callers about their benefits and salaries. Decide from there if you would like to interview with that company. And after all of that, maybe you will get an offer worthy of an acceptance.
When working with an agency a candidate will tell one company (and generally one individual) what their requirements for a job are. How quickly they need to work, how much money they need, and the benefits that they prefer are all kept in mind and the agency goes out and sorts through opportunities. Only those pre-screened opportunities will generally ever make it back to you.
For more information about how a staffing agency could help you find employment or find employees, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll be happy to speak with you!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
"An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure"
When is the right time to start asking questions about your recruitment, retention, and staffing issues around your team?
The answer, as usual, is BEFORE there is a problem.
Answer these:
Sure, these examples can be a little extreme, but believe-it-or-not in my experience I have run into situations eerily similar to each of these. In each of these situations a relationship with a local staffing agency can be absolutely key to keeping your office running efficiently and keeping your hiring managers from losing their minds!
There are a lot of things that you can expect from a good staffing relationship. One of the most important of these is honesty. A staffing agency should be confident enough in their ability to serve you WHEN you need it to let you know when you DON'T. One of my favorite things to tell new business contacts is, "If you don't need an agency to solve your staffing problems you will hear it from me!" There are a lot of recruiting and staffing options out there and in many instances an agency is simply not the answer. In many instances, though, it is a valuable tool to keeping things running smoothly. The number one service that I offer to my clients before a contingency contract ever shows up on the table is complimentary consulting. I will use my experience both as an HR professional and a staffing specialist to help you ascertain your actual needs and meet them in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.
The answer, as usual, is BEFORE there is a problem.
Answer these:
- What would you do tomorrow if you found out that the catered lunch you had today was full of contaminated lunchmeat and 80% of your staff is out with food poisoning?
- What would you do tomorrow if your super-star receptionist/office manager/general admin/EVERYTHING do-er in your office decided to pack up and marry her new boyfriend Bruno and leave for a tour with the Peace Corps?
- What would you do if your top salesman lands a GREAT account tomorrow that requires an almost immediate 150% increase in output from your entire office?
Sure, these examples can be a little extreme, but believe-it-or-not in my experience I have run into situations eerily similar to each of these. In each of these situations a relationship with a local staffing agency can be absolutely key to keeping your office running efficiently and keeping your hiring managers from losing their minds!
There are a lot of things that you can expect from a good staffing relationship. One of the most important of these is honesty. A staffing agency should be confident enough in their ability to serve you WHEN you need it to let you know when you DON'T. One of my favorite things to tell new business contacts is, "If you don't need an agency to solve your staffing problems you will hear it from me!" There are a lot of recruiting and staffing options out there and in many instances an agency is simply not the answer. In many instances, though, it is a valuable tool to keeping things running smoothly. The number one service that I offer to my clients before a contingency contract ever shows up on the table is complimentary consulting. I will use my experience both as an HR professional and a staffing specialist to help you ascertain your actual needs and meet them in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Lessons Learned
My first six months working in the staffing industry were humbling ones. I had crossed the desk - moved from being one of the coveted HR contacts to coveting those contacts. I was immediately *appalled* at the way that companies treated my agency when we made contacts, or even when they were calling to place an order with us! And then I was even MORE appalled when I realized that, when working behind the desk, my company had done exactly the same thing.
I'll pause for a moment to clarify that it was not necessarily *I* who was acting so horribly as it was my supervisor. You see, I was only the gatekeeper and information gatherer. When it came to deciding on who we would use or not use I was an advisor but not the final decision-maker. My boss would sit back in her office at the end of the hall and refuse any visits or phone calls from any staffing agency. I would do what I could, talking to sales reps and accepting gifts on her behalf. When the time came to call an agency, my boss would take the information I offered, possibly some advice, and direct me to call someone.
Invariably, I would call an agency to request some help and we would go through the revolving-door process of filling the position or positions. When we would get too aggrivated with one company's disappointing results we might call another. And another. And another.
What was wrong with this picture? And what was the lesson that I learned, and hoped to pass on to others?
STAFFING IS A RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS!
Because of my supervisor's disdain for speaking with the sales reps that came into our office day in and day out, none of these companies really KNEW anything about our company. Sure, they had the basics - name, address, phone, product or service - but WHAT about any of this information will really tell you what you need to know to make a good fit with an office? In fact, what a sales rep might glean from our behavior is that our office is filled with a bunch of hermits with major social interaction issues! Of course, the kind of person we were usually looking for was completely the opposite. No wonder there was a problem.
There were a slew of other lessons that I learned during that first six month period - tons of instances where I could see that hindsight was, indeed, 20/20. My first objective as a staffing professional today is to talk with clients and coach them on how to get the most out of my service. I'd love to sit down and talk with anyone at their office about these issues in depth. But in the end it all comes down to that famous line from Jerry Maguire:
"Help ME....help YOOOOOOOOOU!"
I'll pause for a moment to clarify that it was not necessarily *I* who was acting so horribly as it was my supervisor. You see, I was only the gatekeeper and information gatherer. When it came to deciding on who we would use or not use I was an advisor but not the final decision-maker. My boss would sit back in her office at the end of the hall and refuse any visits or phone calls from any staffing agency. I would do what I could, talking to sales reps and accepting gifts on her behalf. When the time came to call an agency, my boss would take the information I offered, possibly some advice, and direct me to call someone.
Invariably, I would call an agency to request some help and we would go through the revolving-door process of filling the position or positions. When we would get too aggrivated with one company's disappointing results we might call another. And another. And another.
What was wrong with this picture? And what was the lesson that I learned, and hoped to pass on to others?
STAFFING IS A RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS!
Because of my supervisor's disdain for speaking with the sales reps that came into our office day in and day out, none of these companies really KNEW anything about our company. Sure, they had the basics - name, address, phone, product or service - but WHAT about any of this information will really tell you what you need to know to make a good fit with an office? In fact, what a sales rep might glean from our behavior is that our office is filled with a bunch of hermits with major social interaction issues! Of course, the kind of person we were usually looking for was completely the opposite. No wonder there was a problem.
There were a slew of other lessons that I learned during that first six month period - tons of instances where I could see that hindsight was, indeed, 20/20. My first objective as a staffing professional today is to talk with clients and coach them on how to get the most out of my service. I'd love to sit down and talk with anyone at their office about these issues in depth. But in the end it all comes down to that famous line from Jerry Maguire:
"Help ME....help YOOOOOOOOOU!"
Friday, August 10, 2007
General Introductions...
My name is Darbi. I currently work for a company called Paradigm Outsourcing Services in Spring, Texas. I've worked for two other agencies in the last couple of years (as a professional, I am aware this makes for a somewhat crappy resume!). The first, where I received the bulk of my staffing experience, was full-service - meaning we handled Admin/Clerical as well as Light Industrial staffing. The second primarily staffed for CDL drivers but was attempting to break into those other markets. They layed me off after 3 months, and before I could bring the booming full-service business into their office. Silly, silly corporations....
Prior to moving into the staffing industry I worked for 5 years at an oilfield product manufacturing facility. I started out as a general admin, quickly moved to an HR admin position, and eventually full-time as an HR support person. I mention this mostly because I like to point out that I once worked on the OTHER side of the desk. I was the haughty HR professional that was visited daily and weekly by multiple area agencies. I held the power (bwa-ha-ha!) and abused it accordingly. I can now run my business from the STAFFING end of things knowing how best to serve the STAFFED.
But enough about me...
Now to let you all know why I have decided to start up a blog about staffing. I feel that in the time that I have spent working both in HR and staffing I have accumulated a lot of knowlege on both ends. This is a way for me to be able to share that information with colleagues, clients, co-workers, and friends. My mom always wanted me to be a teacher. I always told her they didn't get paid well enough for the hours they worked (Mom is a teacher). So I guess this is a little way to pay homage to her and the calling she wished I had.
Through the postings on this blog, if any of you ever have any questions please leave a comment. I will try to address general comments and questions in a subsequent blog. Anything I feel should be handled more personally, I would love to meet up with you to speak on the matter more in depth.
More soon, and welcome to my little staffing blog on the web.
Prior to moving into the staffing industry I worked for 5 years at an oilfield product manufacturing facility. I started out as a general admin, quickly moved to an HR admin position, and eventually full-time as an HR support person. I mention this mostly because I like to point out that I once worked on the OTHER side of the desk. I was the haughty HR professional that was visited daily and weekly by multiple area agencies. I held the power (bwa-ha-ha!) and abused it accordingly. I can now run my business from the STAFFING end of things knowing how best to serve the STAFFED.
But enough about me...
Now to let you all know why I have decided to start up a blog about staffing. I feel that in the time that I have spent working both in HR and staffing I have accumulated a lot of knowlege on both ends. This is a way for me to be able to share that information with colleagues, clients, co-workers, and friends. My mom always wanted me to be a teacher. I always told her they didn't get paid well enough for the hours they worked (Mom is a teacher). So I guess this is a little way to pay homage to her and the calling she wished I had.
Through the postings on this blog, if any of you ever have any questions please leave a comment. I will try to address general comments and questions in a subsequent blog. Anything I feel should be handled more personally, I would love to meet up with you to speak on the matter more in depth.
More soon, and welcome to my little staffing blog on the web.
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