Posts by "Roxana"

Employer

How Flexible Staffing Solutions Will Boost Your Bottom Line

August 6, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

What is flexible staffing? Do you need it?

Since time immemorial, employers have been hiring on a temporary or permanent basis. However, due to the dynamics of today’s global market and conditions, businesses need to be much more flexible to survive and thrive.

With flexible staffing, businesses can scale their workforce up or down as necessary to meet changing demands. Each company must adopt it to operate and compete favorably in today’s market and boost the bottom line.

Hiring is an intense process which takes time, money and effort. In cases where there is a sudden expansion of production and a need for quickly hiring trained personnel, the traditional hiring methods may not be successful. This is because there is a high chance that you will hire people who need some form of training before they can be fully functional.

Flexible staffing enables you to hire trained, skilled personnel for as long as you need them. You can keep them for a season or the project duration then hire them permanently. It is also possible to let them go then hire some of them back as demand picks up. Quite a convenient option, right? Listed below are more advantages of flexible staffing

Increased productivity

Whenever you are hiring, you always go to the best people. But hiring is a lengthy process, especially when you are not sure where to find the best talents for the job. The more the people you need and the more specialized the skills required, the longer it will take to hire. In the meantime, productivity drops.

By choosing a flexible staffing solution, you will team up with a staffing agency that will save you all the effort. They have access to skilled labor of all trades and niches, and they know where to find them. Liberty Staffing is a great agency to work with.

You will get people to fill these roles faster and avoid stalling in the production process. Your business bottom lines will improve.

Low labor costs

Having the people you need when you need them is one of the huddles that flexible staffing helps you over. Rather than hiring then training staff, you get a trained and skilled team that is ready to get in and start working, thus saving you training costs.

The one fear that most companies have is letting go of their staff. Usually, you can’t predict if you’ll need them and if they will be willing to come back when you need them. But with flexible staffing, you hire as is necessary and let them go with the guarantee of having them again as needs dictate.

The convenience of flexible staffing need not be overlooked. With the current trend in the global market, it is a resort to be considered and adopted by businesses for active and competitive operation.

Employer

Staffing Agency Role in Helping Small Businesses Find Big Talent

August 1, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

The need for staffing is constant and regular due to many reasons. Sometimes employees quit and pursue other opportunities. Your business may expand and necessitates that you increase the number of staff or new roles may arise, and you need a new set of skills. Whichever the case, ultimately you will have to figure out how and where to get the new staff; that is where a staffing agency comes in handy.

You may opt to post the vacancy in the right places and specify the qualifications you need. But it’s always safest and more convenient to liaise with a staffing agency to find the big talent. Here’s how.

Partnership with a staffing agency

In small businesses, there’s a tendency for both the owner and the employed staff to take on multiple roles. This leads to a situation where they are all ready to take up new challenges, thus creating a self-sufficient kind of environment. During peak season, when the volume of work scales up, burnouts are inevitable, resulting in a large number of sick leaves and requests for vacations afterward.

Often, you and your staff may not be well qualified for all the many roles you’re playing. It becomes hectic and gruesome to look for new staff when a new position that requires an unfamiliar set of skills arises. Team up with a staffing agency help you hire the right number of qualified staff who can perform well within your ability to pay. They are experts at hiring and can provide invaluable advice and recommendation.

Ease flow with the market trends

The constant change in the market also changes the expectations of job seekers. As a small business, hiring is done rarely and you may stay long before bringing in new people. As a result, you focus on the company and are unable to keep up with the job-seeking and hiring market. It is in this regard that the recruitment firms cover you. Their knowledge on the best screening techniques and the right keywords will get you the right staff when you need them and save you the need to keep up with the seeker market.

Access to a wider network

In the vast global market, small businesses are but a speck of the bigger picture. You know several people and contacts within your local business community and LinkedIn. They are majorly the ones from whom you source ideas, network, brainstorm and get employee recommendation. While this is good, it limits you from the advantages that come with an outsider staff, a more extensive network and the growth that comes with unusual challenges.

Through a staffing agency, you can expend your network. You will source ideas, talents, and skills from a global community in a much more reliable way and have better access to exceptional candidates.

Streamlined hiring process

Staffing agencies understand the job details, write a better job description, specify the qualifications needed, post it in the right places, screen the candidates and carry out the job interview for you. This gets staff on board sooner and at a cheaper cost.

A staffing agency is every recruiter’s most needed companion. Contact StaffAugmentation to get started today!

Employer

How to Choose the Right Tech Stack for Your Project

July 30, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

If you have no idea what a Tech Stack is or how it is going to benefit you, do not worry. You soon will!

A Tech Stack is basically the stack of technology you will use in each part of your project. It’s like preparing everything you need to put in your suitcase for a holiday. Let’s take a closer look!

What is a Tech Stack?

A Tech Stack is the set of tools that are needed in order to build and power an application. It is a mixture of software apps, frameworks, and programming language. As well as the set of tools used, it is also the link that combines the operations.

It can be broken down into the front-end, the side that the client sees and the back-end, the server.

Understanding the Back-end

It is crucial to know that the back-end is the ins and outs of an application. It has to run smoothly, particularly if there are aspects other than just HTML. In terms of structure, the back-end is made up of:

Programming languages- Python, PHP, JavaScript
Frameworks- Swift, Objective-C, Django
Databases- MongoDB, MySQL
Server providers- Apache, Nginx

Each part is interlinked and works with each other. You can’t just add a part because it is funky, this will affect the running of the program. Choose back-end solutions that are commonly used. If one day somebody else works on your program and has no idea about the programming language you use, you might have to start all over again.

Understanding the Front-end

Considering this is the part that app users will see, you have to design a front-end stack that is convenient, accessible and clear. There are typically two main parts to front-end stack:

HTML- structures and puts content in the right place
CSS- the presentation, including backgrounds, colors, and font size and style

If there is an element of interactivity, you will need JavaScript, which will control the where, how and why of the presentation. Libraries are used to control this element, for example, jQuery, and they fit into frameworks, for example, Ember.

What you need to know about Stack Technology

Never take Stack Tech for granted- it is what defines how your app will be. Because of how closely they are linked, you must choose each tool with a lot of thought and listen to developers’ advice. A developer may even be able to show you new technology that is more suitable for you.

New ideas are great if you are just beginning your project. If you have started, you will have to explain to the developer exactly what tech stacks you have used. There are advantages and disadvantages to each technology used. Now we will have a look at how to make your tech stack powerful.

How to make the most out of your Tech Stack

A clearly defined platform

You need to know precisely what your project is going to be able to do so that tech stack documentation can be prepared. You need to know if you are going to make a web application or mobile application, both have different tech stacks. You know how different an Android is to an iPhone, so are their tech stacks.

A good place to start is by knowing about your target audience is. Are they more inclined to pick up their mobile or switch on their desktop? This has to be decided early on so that you can decide on the correct platform to use, whether that is a single platform or multiple.

If you have decided on an MVP, the best option is a single platform. It will be more economical.

Defining the requirements for MVP

Regarding mobile and web applications, MVP is the most important thing. MVP is like a way to proof run of your project, testing its viability and what its competition is like in the real world.

MVPs are your starting point, start with a set of tools that will allow you to achieve your goals. Stacks will normally grow from this. Even though you are just starting out, you still need to have a long-term plan in place that will be built into the configuration from the outset.

Scalability Requirements

While scalability can be adjusted throughout the process, you need to have the foundations before you can make the changes. There are two forms of scalability:

Vertical scalability- adding more elements to your app
Horizontal scalability- being able to run more on a device

They are equally important. Imagine an e-commerce tech stack. Scalability is about keeping both the flexibility and the mastery of the operations.

Is your team an expert in technology?

Behind every good app, there is an excellent team! If your team is struggling to use various technologies, it is absurd to think of a non-tech-savvy person using it. This is more relevant if there is a technology that your team is not used to. An excellent way to resolve this problem is to outsource a team extension.

If you hire a team or just one contractor, make sure that communication and collaboration are above excellent!

Performance Requirements

At the end of the day, the performance of your project is what really matters. You can get performance stats from the business requirement and from seeing what the technology is able to do. It is all very well if the product is concept-wise (it reaches the right target audience), but if it isn’t functioning to the full extent, what is the point?

Performance requirements are related to the speed the system reacts and the number of requests it can process at a certain rate. You need to choose an option that will fulfill the performance requirements for your project. If along the way you don’t feel like it is working, don’t be afraid to move on to alternatives.

The Costs

As with any type of project, you need a budget for your tech stack. Here is where things get a bit more complicated. Software development can cost more than you would think. Here is a break down of potential costs:

Hosting costs for keeping the product
The salaries of developers
Licenses and technology education
Cost for maintaining your project

Keep a close eye on each element of your budget and resist the urge to spend more unless it is absolutely necessary. The fact that software development is so fast-paced, on occasion, it is difficult not to spend in order to keep up.

Examples of Tech Stacks in the Real World

Below you can see two examples of tech stacks. It is not advisable to just copy these. Remember that a tech stack has to be specific to the project.

Spotify tech stack:

Nginx
Python
PostgreSQL
Kafika
Hadoop
Google BigQuery
Google Cloud Dataflow
Bootstrap
Java
Amazon S3
Cassandra
Storm
Google Cloud Bigtable

Slack tech stack:

Javascript
MySQL
Java
PHP
Apache HTTP Server
Android SDK

Conclusion

Hopefully, now you not only understand what a tech stack is but also the importance of selecting tech stacks that are suitable for a certain project. There are numerous options but don’t get overwhelmed or side-tracked by them. Stick to your plan!

Employer

Signs That You Might Be in Need of a Staffing Agency

July 25, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

Employers from all types of industries can benefit from a Staffing Agency, regardless of the size of the business. Perhaps you are looking for just one employee, a team of employees or a specific set of skills that you are currently missing. Staffing Agencies are experts in finding the right employee for you.

In your mind, you might not need a staffing agency or that there are alternative ways to hire new staff. It could even be that you aren’t used to hiring temporary staff.

If you think any of the following sounds familiar to you, it might be time to start using a staffing agency.

You have high staff turnover

Hire staff turnover is a time-consuming issue that may occur because of several reasons:

You hire on a short-term basis
Your company has large highs and lows in production
The people you hire don’t fit your office culture

A staffing agency will be able to solve these issues by finding employees with the ideal skill set and who will suit the working environment in your office. Many staffing agencies have the ability to help you calculate the correct number of employees you need, even for when you hit the highs and lows.

You feel the need to start hiring temporary employees

When you think about how long it takes to find, hire and train new employees, it seems like an inefficient way to spend your time for short-term hires.

A staffing agency has a number of qualified and talented workers waiting to start straight away. They are the experts in temporary hiring. Let them do what they do best so that you can focus on other areas of your business.

If you need more than one position filled

When your business is growing it is a wonderful feeling. But you are also hit with that panic of trying to fill various positions- and quickly. You may also need long-term or permanent workers. Their main area is filling short-term positions but some agencies will negotiate with you if you really like a certain employee and want to work with them on a permanent basis.

It is the job of the staffing agency to have a large talent pool of skilled workers ready and waiting. There might be admins, IT specialists or even managers among a staffing agency’s list of employees.

It is your first hire

If you have never had experience with placing an ad, interviewing and contracting a person, you may prefer to use a staffing agency. They know how to find what you are looking for and they can do so with a lot less stress.

The hiring process is taking too long

The average length of time to complete the hiring process is between 2 and 4 weeks. This is a long time in the world of running a business. It is time that your productivity is not running at its highest.

Modern technology plays an important role in staffing agencies. Recruitment software allows them to screen candidates far quicker than we can. This narrows down the potential talent. Making it faster for you to find the most suitable employee.

To sum it all up, whether you have a large or small firm, staffing agencies could be beneficial for you. They can find you suitable, qualified employees and much quicker than you can do it yourself. Not only does a staffing agency make your life easier, but it also frees up your time to focus on other tasks.

Employer

Niche Staffing Firms Finding the Ideal Hires for You

July 23, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

After years of high unemployment, many countries worldwide have got a handle on the issue and unemployment has fallen or even hit all-time lows. This is obviously a positive thing for the workforce, but it does make like harder for employers who are in search of the most qualified candidates.

As unemployment falls, so does the talent pool, which is why you have probably noticed it getting harder to find the candidate who ticks all of your boxes. Not only this but you might notice that the process is taking longer.

If you are nodding your head in agreement, it might be time to look at using a staffing agency to find the perfect hire (or hires) for you.

Niche staffing agencies know your business.

Large staffing agencies are a little bit like a ‘Jack of all trades’. They know about a lot of different industries but they don’t have expert knowledge in any of them. They might not be confident with the particular details of your industry.

The theory behind a niche staffing firm is similar to that of the ‘Jack of all trades’. They are smaller and are able to pay closer attention to your specific industry and business needs. When looking for hire, you need information about the candidates in your field, not the general market. The service a niche staffing agency provides is considered more personal.

Looking in the right place

Large staffing agencies will place rather general recruiting adverts because they aren’t just looking for candidates for you. They look for numbers instead of specific skill sets. This is not a bad thing, it is what they need to do to bring in large numbers of potential employees.

Because the niche staffing firm has more knowledge of what you need, they will search for particular candidates to more suitably fit your requirements. Rather than looking on sites that produce high numbers of applications, they will look for a lower number of applicants in your field.

Large or small- it’s the same technique

Both large agencies and niche agencies use the same methods to recruit candidates. There is a range of tools, techniques and computer software that can streamline the process. The results are different but the process is the same.

Both large and small staffing agencies will be able to assist you when you need to write job descriptions, pre-screen candidates and even interview them. And both agencies have a larger network of candidates, active and passive.

As we have mentioned before the difference comes down to the ability of a niche staffing agency to look for the more appropriate candidates for your needs. And this goes for networking too.

A better result

Not only is a niche staffing agency more able to find the candidates that are more qualified for your particular needs, but you might find they are more willing to do it for a better price.

Large staffing agencies (in general) are looking to work with large companies. Perhaps they aren’t as interested in working with smaller companies because you might only be looking for one or two hires. Their prices might reflect their size!

Before using the most popular staffing agency, have a look around for one that has knowledge in your industry. They will be able to find better candidates for you and probably for a better price.

Employer

How to Speed up Your Mobile App Development Process

July 18, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

The development of mobile apps is through the roof and is only expected to grow. It is estimated that by 2021 350 billion mobile apps will have been downloaded, generating around $200 billion in revenues. Today, you will find 2.8 million apps ready to be downloaded through the Google Play Store and an additional 2.2 million on Apple’s App Store.

The use of mobiles is becoming more and more preferred over a desktop so apps are not about to disappear from our lives, particularly in business and technology industries.

Those who are keen on start-ups will have one burning questions, how long will it take to create an app and how much work will I need to put in?

Existing Data: App Development Takes 3-5 Months

There isn’t actually a lot of proven information to back the websites that claim it only takes around 3-4 months. There are two studies that we found to be reliable.

In 2013, Kinvey performed a survey on 100 mobile app designers to find out the time they thought it would take to build an Android or iOS app. The average response from the 100 designers was 4.5 months, broken down into approximately 10 weeks for backend and 8 weeks for frontend.

The second study was published by GoodFirms in 2017. GoodFirms not only asked about the time it would take but also the potential costs to create an app like Instagram or Tinder. They split their findings into the following:

Instagram is a ‘feature-rich highly complex app’ and would take between 4.5 and 5.5 months to develop.
WhatsApp is a ‘medium complexity-compelling app’ and would take approximately 4.6 months to create.
Tinder is a ‘user-friendly app with lesser functionality’ and would take between 3.8 to 4.1 months.

The cost of developing these apps varies from $44,830.20 for an app like Tinder to $64,333.30 for an app like WhatsApp.

We will continue by looking at the principal stages of developing an app. While it might seem like a repetitious process, there are actually distinct stages involved and none of the stages are unconnected.

Stage 1: Research and Planning

As with any type of market research, you will need to focus on two main areas. First, why should this app exist? Do you think it will be useful to people and how? What types of people are going to choose to download the app? Second, is your idea already on the market? If so, how is your app going to be better and more successful than the existing one?

Research must be thorough in order for your app to be successful. You need to think about how your app is going to help or solve a problem that people have, are you going to be able to save people money. Your research must also include the market size and extensive investigations of apps that are considered your competition.

Stage 2: Functions and Features

So, you have completed your research and collected your data into meaningful information. Now it is time to determine the precise functions and features. Here are some questions you might want to be able to answer.

What should your app be able to do?
What operations or tasks will it be able to perform? Are you hoping to integrate it with other apps or use peer-to-peer chat?
How is it going to manage data? Is it going to join existing data frameworks or collect new data?

Once you have this information you get to create your storyboard. A storyboard is a visual portrayal of your app, showing individual screens and how they are going to connect. A storyboard should reveal and issues the user might face and improve their experience.

At this stage, you will also want to create ‘use cases’, which will operate as a template for user interaction. It is a logical assumption that the more features your app has, the longer it will take to develop.

It is also the time to decide on the operating system. Basically, you will have to decide whether your app will run on iOS, Android, Windows or a combination, supporting multiple operating systems. Your choice will have an effect on your timeline. Multiple operating systems will almost always take longer to develop and might also double your budget. Although this is not as significant now, developing an Android app normally takes 20-30% longer due to the fact that there are over 12,000 devices and it is almost impossible to develop an app perfect for each model.

There are two common platforms to develop your app. If you are working on an Android app it is normally done through Java and iOS written in Swift or Objective-C. If you are looking at an app for multiple systems you can either develop two separate programming languages or use a cross-platform development tool such as React Native or Ionic.

Expect to take approximately 3 to 5 weeks on this stage.

Stage 3: Technical Feasibility, Design and Development

It is now time to start working with your technical team to determine what you want your users to see while they interact with your app and what goes on behind the scenes. This means that the frontend and backend have to be compatible.

Frontend systems are the visual aspect of the app, it is what can be seen by the user and it is related to the design. The backend is the technical, software aspect. The central focus it how the site works, it is about the server, application, and database.

Another decision you will need to make is whether you will use a public Application Programming Interface (API) or if you prefer a personal abstraction layer. APIs are what is needed in order for apps to communicate with each other or with other developers. The major global apps like Facebook and Skype use APIs that are publicly available. An example of this is when Tinder uses Facebook profiles to allow users to log in.

Part of the technical stage is to design a wireframe. A wireframe is a 2D image of the app’s interface and its main task is to allow you to see the space allocated to the contents. They are normally black and white and assist in linking the information to the actual design. A wireframe can also shed light on the consistency of how the information is shown, confirm the intentional functions and decide which content can take up the most space and where it should go.

When you choose to create your wireframe is up to you, some developers will create them along with the storyboard as they will help with the visualization of the app while other developers like to complete wireframes in the design stage.

After finishing the wireframe you can begin to work on the GUI (Graphical User Interface) where you choose the theme of your app, colors, fonts, and icons, etc. And now you should have the final look of your app.

We are not going to discuss the technical information related to developing an app. If you are somewhat familiar with coding you might be able to use software programs or you may want to use a professional service. Keep in mind it will be the most complex part of developing your app.

Stage 4: Testing and Refinement

In reality, your testing will be a continuous process, as programmers will be fixing errors along the way. This is known as internal testing or alpha testing because it is your own team who is doing it. Once the team has completed the internal testing, your app is ready to be tested by a limited public, known as beta testing.

You know your app inside out, you know how it should be used, but beta testing gives everyday users the chance to use it as they see fit. You should only begin with beta testing once alpha testing is 100% complete.

To beta test your app, you can use any number of websites that have been specifically designed for this purpose. Here are a few suggestions:

BetaFamily
NetaList
ErliBird
PreApps
TestElf

Websites such as Reddit and UserTesting are sites that will beta test and provide feedback through options like screenshots and recordings of interactions with the apps.

Assuming your alpha testing was completed to the highest levels, the beta testing stage should last just 3 to 4 weeks.

In Conclusion

By looking at our breakdown and the two studies, we can conclude that you will be looking at a couple of months to complete all of the four stages involved in app development. It is not something that can be thought up and created over a weekend and it is going to take a lot of dedication.

Using a staffing agency can be greatly advantageous. Staffing agencies are specialized in the industries they serve. That means they can find suitable candidates quickly, and they know exactly what to look for according to the position you need to fill.

Because staffing agency recruiters keep a pool of readily available talent for a variety of jobs, a job opening can easily be filled within a matter of days.

Employer

Using Staffing Agencies To Resolve Your Hiring Issues

July 16, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

It may creep up on you but all of a sudden you will find yourself short of staff. The size of the issue is irrelevant; it could be the need for a large number of people or for just a few specialized roles. Either way, there isn’t the time available for you to find the necessary staff. And all the time you spend searching for hires is time wasted on more crucial business matters.

A staffing agency will literally save your bacon! You can find the particular staff you need and at the same time, your output and income won’t suffer. We are going to explain how a staffing agency can solve staffing issues within a business.

Joining Your Business With Qualified Workers

The hiring process can be long and costly and sometimes not an option, particularly if you work in a seasonal industry such as hotels. A staffing agency has numerous specialized workers ready to fill vacant positions. When you use a staffing agency you will ensure that your current staff aren’t overworked and/or working additional hours.

If your project requires a certain skill set, an agency will have a wide range of extremely qualified hires that are ready to begin your project. This means that your staff won’t need to attempt tasks that are beyond their skills.

Imagine you have a new project that is due to take a short period of time and your team is available and able to complete it. However, you are missing someone who is able to lead the project. A staffing agency will have a project manager that ticks all of your requirements.

Staffing Agencies Can Fill High Priority Positions

If one of your crucial team members leaves without warning, it can have a huge effect on the daily running of your business. In a panic, you will be tempted to fill the position with someone who may not be the most ideal.

Staffing agencies will be able to provide you with managerial staff with the qualifications and experience to keep your business running. In some cases, you will find that the agency worker is the perfect fit for your team and you might be able to negotiate a deal with the staffing agency. By doing so it is like having a candidate on a trial period without the stress and cost of searching for someone to fill the role. Normally, the specialized staff from an agency will require little training so productivity will be back up and running with minimal disturbance.

Staffing Agencies Taking Away Time Consuming Jobs

Hiring staff requires more than just an interview. There is the payroll, taxes, contracts and much more. Not only will the work get done with temporary staff but the agency will take on those jobs involved with hiring people that take too much of your time, freeing you up to dedicate your time to more crucial areas of your business. This is a great advantage if you do not feel you are in the right financial situation to hire permanent staff or if you need a large number of employees.

Employer Staff Augmentation

3 IT Employment Hiring Styles and When to Use Them

July 11, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

It is necessary for a business to hire the most suitable candidates to match the objectives and to do this you need to offer positions that attract the right candidate.

The IT industry is one of the most variable in terms of arrangements available for both employees and employers. Arrangements from full-time to freelancing will attract particular types of candidates and provide employers with specific results.

In order to find skills that are ideal for your needs, you will need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the most typical arrangements that are available. If you keep reading you will discover what encourages job seekers to continue with certain job offers.

Full-time Employment

A full-time hire is someone who is directly contracted by the company and is probably the most standard type of hire across the majority of industries. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of a full-time hire.

Pros:

The job offers security and stability while particular perks attract candidates for all positions.
Candidates who are more experienced are drawn to the upward mobility and the possibilities of long-term commitment in full-time positions.
Those who are already employed but tempted by other jobs (passive job seekers) are more attracted to full-time positions because of the better set of circumstances.
Employing someone full-time increases the employees feeling of investment within a company. They feel part of something rather than just a job.

Contract Placement:

Here the candidates are employed by a third party such as a staffing agency and work on a contract for a set period of times. The time normally varies between 6 and 12 months although it is possible to extend this period.

Pros:

When hiring a contract placement, the employer is able to make the most of skilled labor only for the necessary time required for a project.
The agency is responsible for all costs that are incurred such as salaries, benefits, and taxes.
Upon completion of the project, the company and the contractor are able to start completely new projects.
There are frequently tax benefits for hiring contractors so even though the hourly rate is more it can work out cheaper for the employer.
Contractors provide expert support when a company’s permanent staff is unable to work.
The idea of working flexible hours is great for some people.

Contract To Hire Placement

These workers begin their employment through an agency, typically for a period of 3 to 6 months and then they are transitioned into becoming a full-time worker.

Pros:

It’s a great chance for the employee and the employer to get a feel of the working opportunity. Employees get a sense of the job and the employer is able to see how a candidate works.
Both parties are able to move on after the contract time has been completed if they are not happy.
During the initial contract period, it is the agency who is responsible for the hiring costs, this reduces the risk of taking on a full-time contract and the new hire leaving.
People who have just left university are able to gain valuable work experience in their field without needing 3 to 5 years of experience required for a full-time position.
Employers are able to develop their employee during the contract period.

While a company has the possibility to hire using any of the three arrangements, it is still necessary to take into consideration the company’s financial situation and culture as well as the reasons for needing to hire extra staff. The final decision should be based on the company’s expectations and they type of candidate you are looking for. Even when you have made a decision, it might not be straightforward convincing your candidate of the contract terms.

Employer

The Advantages Of Using Temp Workers

July 9, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

No matter how prepared you are, it always happens, your busy season approaches fast and you need to help of a staffing agency. Your type of business is irrelevant, there will come a point when you need extra workers to cope with excess work. Temporary workers, or temps, are a great solution to get more staff quickly without having to commit to long-term contracts.

Temporary Workers versus Contracted Employees

It is important that we have a clear understanding of the two types of workers. A temporary worker is placed to work with you through an agency. They are normally hired to complete short-term projects ranging from a day to months. Your company contracts the agency and the agency is responsible for the temp’s salary, taxes, and all the necessary paperwork.

A contract worker or employee is someone who your company has hired directly. You have recruited them and agreed upon a contract period but this is normally longer than that of a temp. You are responsible for payments, taxes and the paperwork.

When to think about bringing in Temporary Workers

The job description of a temporary worker has changed since the concept first began. Originally, the idea of a temp was to cover administrative roles and general laborers and the pay was rather low for these positions. While these types of jobs are still among the most popular positions, nowadays you will find a huge variety of temp roles from accounting to high-level tasks.

The main advantage of using Temp Workers when necessary

One of the principal advantages of using a temp worker is the flexibility that comes with it. You can start and stop work as soon as the job starts and finishes. Benefits may be specific to each individual business but here are a few overall benefits:

Takes some of the pressure and workload of existing staff
Temps may have specific skills for a project that current staff does not have
Allows you to meet deadlines you have set and take on more work, increasing your productivity
You are increasing your productivity but not employing new staff as the agency is the employer
There might be the opportunity to hire them on a long-term basis if you are happy with their work, this will depend on negotiations with the staffing agency

Making the most of the time with a temp

One area to really take advantage of a temp in your location is that they will probably have up to date training provided by the staffing agency. This extra knowledge should be shared with your current employees in order to maximize your productivity.

This being said, a temp worker will still need some basic onboarding. Your temp will need to know who is who, where things are and the office procedures. It is a good idea to assign a current employee to make sure the temp is comfortable and has all the resources available to do their job.

Appreciation is so valuable for your staff and your temporary workers. Showing your gratitude will add to the experience of their time with you. Happy workers are more likely to reach targets!

Although a temp won’t be around for long, they should still be treated as a member of the team and most importantly, with respect. Welcome them and encourage your staff to welcome them too. Don’t just assume that a temp will know exactly what to do, be there to offer support and answer any questions they may have.

Employer

10 Advantages of Utilizing a Staffing Agency

July 4, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

Every now and again, a company will receive a huge wave of extra work, whether in the form of new contracts or seasonal work. The first decision a company has to make is whether they can fill the extra positions created or if it is time to use a staffing agency. We will look at 10 reasons why a staffing agency will make your life easier.

Being able to test the water before committing- It is important that all new hires get on well with the rest of the team in order to achieve maximum results. It is also crucial to know if the hire has adequate skills to complete the necessary task. Both of these are very difficult to discover in an interview. With a staffing agency, if the hire doesn’t fit in with the team or if they aren’t able to meet the standards, you can have them replaced. It is not only beneficial for the employer but also for the employee. Both parties can decide if the position is suitable without concerns for the long term.

Having access to expert skills and roles for the short term- Sometimes a new project will require a set of skills that your team does not have. An agency can refine their search for the specific skills you are looking for, this person can come in to complete that particular part of the task and there is no fear of having to find them more work afterward.

Being able to level out resources- There is a similar theory to the point we made before with expert skills. When a company doesn’t have the resources available to complete a project, an agency will be able to provide a source for the short term.

Speedy way to find employees without the stress- The hiring process is one that takes more work and effort than most people realize. As well as the time and stress, it can be costly. This is particularly counter-productive for short-term placements. An agency will take away all of this stress as well as handling the excessive paperwork.

Avoiding ACA limits- Once a company has 50 employees they are obliged to provide their employees with health insurance. Small or new companies may not have the means to do this and this is where an agency is a big advantage. Using contractors through an agency means the work gets done but you are not actually employing the staff.

Costs are categorized differently- When you use staff through an agency, the cost can be allocated to a project and then capitalized. The cost is related to the hours they work on a project. An employee contracted will work an eight hour day but how many of those hours can be associated with the project itself?

More talent available- Agencies will always have workers waiting for jobs. For a company to have the same potential number of qualified candidates, it would need to be constantly advertising. Using an agency allows you to see the workers who are skilled for your specific project while filtering out those who are looking for long-term career opportunities.

Your company’s reputational problems are not involved- Even when we try our hardest to stay squeaky-clean it is possible that our company will have some problems with its reputation. While this may put candidates off who are looking for a job, a contracted worker through an agency doesn’t have the option to choose the company. They are also not interested in office politics and gossip! They arrive, do their job and are gone again.

Training at a reduced cost- Who wouldn’t want to hire an expert in the industry to come in and train your existing team? Unfortunately, this is not always in our budget. An expert contractor can train others in your team and share valuable insights without you having to pay extra.

Reduce or eliminate firing- It’s probably the worst part of being the boss! Whether it’s because of a lack of capital or the position isn’t working out, at some point, you may need to fire someone. Agency workers are not worried about losing their job because they know it is limited to the project. You will not feel the pressure of having to maintain a position.