Staffing News Online

Submitted by Avionté

Brace yourself, there’s a storm coming.

A storm of order volumes in epic proportions. There will likely come a time (hopefully soon) when the estimated 40 million unemployed Americans will return to the workforce, leaning heavily on staffing firms for help.

Before the storm arrives, now is the ideal time for staffing agencies to discover new ways for their businesses to be more productive, more efficient, and better positioned for growth. Highlighted below is a collection of eight staffing technologies that are designed to help your firm achieve growth now and in the future.

To help out, we asked a variety of our trusted partners to assemble their top technology offerings that can make the biggest positive impact with COVID-19 in mind. The name of the game is growth.

Video Interviewing

How it Helps During COVID-19

With the increase in social distancing restrictions, meeting in-person for an interview may not be a viable option anymore (or at least for the next few months). The Avionté platform allows for effortless two-way video interviewing that improves hire quality and lowers the cost to fill – all while keeping your employees and candidates safe. Not only is this tool beneficial for the staffing firm, 57% of candidates actually prefer live video interviews. In addition, video interviews are 6X faster than phone interviews.

Two-Way-Texting

How it Helps During COVID-19

As the market changes quickly, staffing firms need ways to get in touch with talent and clients effectively, while still delivering a human touch. Given that 90% of people read texts within three minutes and respond within 90 seconds, Sense Messaging is perfect for recruiters and sales teams to drive real engagement and accelerate placements. Leverage templates, use emojis, and move from broadcasts to 1:1 messages to stay efficient and personal while increasing response rates by 50% or more. When you need to make placements quickly, think about how two-way texting can move candidates through the hiring funnel faster over email alone.

I-9 Verification

How it Helps During COVID-19

Employers with employees taking physical proximity precautions due to COVID-19 will not be required to review the employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence. However, once normal operations resume, all employees who were onboarded using remote verification must report to their employer within three business days for in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation. If there are employees physically present at a work location, no exceptions are being implemented at this time for in-person verification of identity and employment eligibility documentation.

MAXIMUS helps employers to achieve compliance with all U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines with easy-to-use electronic I-9 management software. In just minutes, managers can verify each new hire’s information and sign the form electronically. Human errors are virtually eliminated due to validation checks, built right into the software, which prevents progress without first entering the proper information. You no longer have to worry about lost forms or forgotten signatures. You can feel confident that you are getting your I-9s done right the first time, saving time and valuable resources.

Employee Benefits

How It Helps During COVID-19

COVID-19 has swiftly introduced enormous uncertainty into the day-to-day operations of staffing companies. ESC offers a variety of employee benefit plans exclusive to the staffing industry. ESC is part of the largest provider of employee benefits to the Staffing Industry, processing over two million enrollment forms per year, with 750,000 temporary employees enrolling annually.

Automated Engagement

How it Helps During COVID-19

Communicating with your talent and clients is more important than ever, but with recruiters stretched thin across the industry, it’s hard to deliver consistent, personalized messages to everyone. Automate critical outreach to all of your important audiences and streamline your processes with Sense Engage – the leading automation and engagement platform. Build robust workflows with triggered touchpoints, like talent check-ins, client outreach, and NPS surveys, across the talent lifecycle using your AviontéBOLD data to personalize emails and SMS. As hiring picks back up, keep your job board costs low by reactivating dormant candidates hiding in your Avionté database (firms can see a spend reduction up to 25% using automation!).

Tax Credits

How it Helps During COVID-19

To help provide economic support to businesses impacted by the pandemic, the federal government is offering relief through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to staffing firms who qualify. Synergi Partners provides tax credit and consulting services that can help staffing firms discover:

If they are eligible for tax credits under the FFCRA & CARES Acts

How much credit they can review (up to 5K per employee)

If the staffing firms have to pay back the credit

If your firm has been impacted by COVID-19, there’s a good chance you qualify for credits.

Digital Onboarding

How it Helps During COVID-19

With more of your staff working from home, not having to rely on physical office items like printers or fax machines is essential to keeping the onboarding flow in motion. Digital Onboarding from Avionté allows for a seamless digital onboarding process for the candidate and recruiter – all from the comfort of home or another location outside of the office.

Google Analytics

How it Helps During COVID-19

This website analytics power tools helps businesses make informed decisions that can help drive you recruitment marketing strategy. And, this tool is 100% free to use, which makes it especially appealing to leverage during a global pandemic since the only investment is a little bit of time to learn the platform. Google Analytics can help staffing firms answer a variety of questions including:

Which of your social media platforms drive the most traffic?

Which of your pages (excluding your homepage) is driving the most candidates to your website?

In terms of geography, what US state brings in the most users?

For a quick how-to-guide to answer these questions with Google Analytics, check out our previous blog on 6 Free Tools to Help With Your Recruitment Marketing.

While initial data is looking promising for an increase in assignments week-over-week, the future is still unpredictable. What will happen next is still uncertain but one thing is clear, staffing firms leveraging the right technology will be in a better position for growth once the economy unthaws. To stay up to date with new trends in the staffing industry, be sure to check out our weekly blog series titled, Avionté RAW, which explores data that offers insights as to where things have been and potentially where they may be headed.

In addition, we have added COVID-19 Resources to our website. This resource center provides information from across the US and Canada that could affect how you do business. Check it frequently for the latest information and business trends occurring during these challenging times.

About Avionté

Avionté is a leader in enterprise staffing and recruiting software solutions, offering innovative end-to-end staffing solutions to over 900 customers and 25,000 users throughout the U.S. and Canada. Avionté delivers a robust platform for clerical, light industrial, IT, and professional staffing firms to maximize profits and boost productivity.

Click here to view the article on Avionte's website.

Submitted by Haley Marketing

Statewide shelter-in-place orders. Mandatory business closures. Unprecedented economic challenges. And now, indications of a "second wave."

In just a few short weeks, the pandemic fundamentally altered the way we think, behave, and of course, work. It brought our economy to a screeching halt. It created panic and uncertainty like we've never known.

Click here to download the article as a PDF.

Submitted by Crimcheck

Over the last few years, you have been conducting your background screening program consistently across your organization. Some have established a few background check packages for different roles within your workforce. While many of Crimcheck’s clients have increased their hiring and background check volumes to keep up with essential service needs of consumers, unfortunately many others need to put hiring initiatives on hold. Whichever side you’re on, now may be an opportune time to spring clean your background screening program.

At Crimcheck, we work consultatively with every client, large or small. We can work with you to audit your current program and screening packages to optimize them for your needs, now and in the future. Making program updates can improve your team’s efficiency and enable you to gather the information you need to make informed hiring decisions.

Custom Package URLs

Crimcheck can customize dedicated package URLs for you to embed in candidate onboarding communications, host on secure computers within your premises, and have qualifying candidates complete at job fairs. Wherever the location, your candidate will be walked through an easy-to-use process in which they provide basic contact information and then e-sign their background check authorization to begin the screening process. 100% hands-free ordering for your team!

eFetch EaseTM Batch Ordering

Do you have a backlog of background checks to conduct, but little time to submit them? Use Crimcheck’s eFetch Ease to simply upload a spreadsheet to us to start the process. Contact your Customer Support representative to obtain our Microsoft Excel template and further information.

Learn More >>

Services You May Need Now More Than Ever

At Crimcheck, we help our clients develop right-sized programs, which means creating background check and drug testing packages relevant to the roles you’re hiring. However, needs evolve and conditions change, creating an opportunity to optimize your program for your needs today and to plan for the future. Here are a few circumstances and services you should consider.

Are some of your employees now performing deliveries? We have restaurant and retail clients who did not conduct a Motor Vehicle Record check on their wait staff, hosts, sales team members, etc. at the time they were hired. Now that these individuals are delivering food and products as part of their duties, clients are conducting MVR searches on them. We can help you quickly run MVR checks on those you need and create a package that includes MVR (if you don’t already have one) to simplify ordering in the future.

Are you up to speed on federal offenses? While we discussed how federal and county searches differ during account setup, for many of you that was a long time ago. Federal cases do not appear in county or statewide searches because they involve violations of federal law. Examples include embezzlement, tax evasion, mail and wire fraud, interstate drug trafficking, kidnapping, and many other serious crimes. Including federal criminal searches in your program is an inexpensive way to safeguard your employees, customers and bottom line.

Do you find that you or your team members are often adding an a la carte search to a current package? We have an easy fix that will improve your efficiency and ensure consistency. The most frequently ordered a la carte service occurs when clients who regularly order a Basic Package add a County Criminal Search to it. If you’re finding that your team is adding any a la carte service more frequently, we can easily add another package to your program to simply your order process. Contact our customer service team to hear more about our Basic Plus package and other available package options!

Social media background checks have become an increasingly valuable source of information for Crimcheck clients. They reduce the risk of harassment claims, insider threats and negligent hiring by helping you identify these risks before you hire: 1) demonstrations of racism or intolerance, 2) potentially illegal activity, 3) potentially violent conduct, and 4) sexually explicit material. We offer two levels of these searches and would be happy to provide additional information.

As your trusted partner, we’re here to help you when times are good and when they’re challenging. Please contact your Crimcheck representative at 877-992-4325 or crimsupport@crimcheck.com about optimizing your program, any of the solutions described above, or if we can assist you in any other way.

We hope that you, your team and family stay well!

Crimcheck

Click here to view the article on Crimcheck's website.

Submitted by TempWorks Software

In the past several years, emotional intelligence was frequently listed as a top skill that employers sought in their new hires. The onset of the pandemic—and its resulting changes to everyday work life—has only increased the need for workers with high emotional intelligence. It’s a trait that can help us stay resilient, adapt to constantly evolving circumstances, and manage relationships with coworkers to the best of our ability. Outside the workplace, emotional intelligence can also positively affect one’s mental health and quality of life.

But what exactly is emotional intelligence? Loosely defined, emotional intelligence is a person’s level of self-awareness and self-management. It measures traits like empathy, adaptability, emotional self-control, and teamwork. An employee with high emotional intelligence will generally work well with others and adapt quickly to difficult situations. They are also often honest about any difficulties they experience and seek help from coworkers when appropriate, ensuring that projects and tasks are completed in a timely manner. In contrast, someone with low emotional intelligence may be overly sensitive and difficult to work with.

There are many different facets to emotional intelligence, which can be broken down into four areas:

1. Self-Awareness

2. Self-Management (self-control, adaptability, positive outlook)

3. Social Awareness (empathy)

4. Relationship Management (influence, teamwork, leadership)

It’s natural for employees to be strong in some areas and weaker in others. For example, someone might have high levels of empathy, but lack emotional self-control. To incorporate higher levels of emotional intelligence in the workplace, employees should identify which areas they excel in and take steps to improve their weaker areas. For these employees to make substantial advancement, managers should provide coaching and feedback as often as possible.

Fostering emotional intelligence in the workplace is key for maintaining high productivity and good spirits in difficult times. With an emotionally intelligent team, your business will enjoy greater adaptability and success.

The annual National Staffing Employee of the Year program honors a current or former temporary or contract employee with an extraordinary story of staffing success and who best exemplifies one or more of the industry's key messages of bridge and flexibility.

Nominate your Star Employee of the Year -Don't forget it's time to nominate your best employee for Staffing Employee of the Year to be announced at the 2020 Annual Meeting. Please consider nominating one of your outstanding temporary or contract employees for this award. Click here for the nomination form.

The NJSA Nominating Committee is soliciting nominations for the 2021 Board of Directors. The term of each Director is for two years. Board service requires participation in monthly board meetings (in-person or via conference call) and NJSA committees. Volunteering on the NJSA Board of Directors is an investment in your career and an opportunity to expand your staffing contacts and resources.  Please click here to download the nomination form.  Self nominations are encouraged!

The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 18, 2020.

Submitted by Matt Lozar with Haley Marketing

It is easy to assume that in desperate times, job seekers will take anything they can get, but that’s not necessarily the case. No matter what is happening with the economy, it is important to remember that candidates choose you. Even during this period of unprecedented unemployment, candidates have choices.

Talented and experienced job seekers can and will be selective, even in a pandemic. In fact, it could be argued that many people will be more selective than usual as they must weigh their health and safety above all else when re-entering or moving about the workforce.

That’s why it is imperative to focus on building and communicating an employer brand right now.

Employment branding is about defining your staffing company’s unique value proposition to candidates and proactively taking charge of how you are seen. When done well, employment branding makes your advertising and social recruiting more effective, even amid unprecedented circumstances like a global pandemic.

Define Your Employee Value Proposition

Do you have an employee value proposition (EVP)?

Your EVP tells people the unique value you bring to the table for employees and is a powerful magnet for attracting candidates.

As you think about your EVP, ask yourself:

• What does your staffing company do for your candidates, temporary workers and employees that your competitors do not?
• What are some of the positive things candidates and employees say about working with you?
• Why do happy employees continue to work with your company?

When you determine what makes your firm different, showcase it. Talk about your EVP in your social media marketing, on your company website and in your job postings. Remember, job descriptions are typically the first step in attracting applicants, so it’s important to stand out right away by showing how you are unique.

How Is Your Company Navigating the Pandemic?

Until a reliable treatment or vaccine is available, COVID-19 will continue to threaten people’s health and livelihoods. This means for the foreseeable future, the pandemic will influence the way candidates perceive your staffing company.

Applicants will want to know how you're taking care of employees and associates:

• How are you treating laid-off employees?
• Are your recruiters trying to help out-of-work people enter new industries that are hiring?
• How are you keeping workers safe?
• Are you providing additional resources for employees who went above and beyond?
• Are you remaining in contact with out-of-work temporary employees?

If you have real examples of steps you took or are taking for your associates, share them on social media, your company website and in job postings.

You can make your job posts stand out to job seekers navigating a pandemic by:

• Highlighting that a job can be done remotely.
• Advertising the fact that you or your client provides PPE for employees on-site.
• Talking about other measures clients provide on-site as far as safety, cleanliness and social distancing.
• Showcasing jobs that offer healthcare benefits.

If a client you are recruiting for has done an exceptional job keeping workers safe, share it. Don’t be afraid to promote this information – these are the things people will be looking for as they re-enter the workforce.

Be Consistent and Authentic

The key to building a great employer brand that attracts candidates is to be consistent and authentic. By regularly sharing and showcasing the positive things you’ve been doing for your employees during dark times, you’ll be able to keep yourself top-of-mind as an employer of choice.

Everyone wants to work for a company that values them, and as people continue re-entering the workforce, they will demand it. By authentically showing the world that you care about the people you employ, you’ll build a powerful employer brand.

Are You Ready to Build Your Employer Brand?

Haley Marketing is here to help. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can help you build a strong brand, so you are poised to help your clients fill their most critical job openings. And for more advice on business strategy and marketing ideas that help staffing agencies survive and thrive, please check out our COVID-19 Recovery Center.

Submitted by TempWorks Software

In one of our recent blogs, we spoke about how to use remote communication more efficiently in your workday. In this article, we’ll expand on that topic and talk about how to maintain professionalism when our only modes of contact are through tech.

Honor Office Hours and Respect Boundaries

Widespread remote working has blurred the boundaries between work and home. Many of us have limited private office space and are unable to manage traditional office hours. It’s important to respect these new restrictions. Ask someone about their availability before reaching out with questions and avoid messaging coworkers about work-related items outside of their workday. In addition to being respectful, these practices will also help combat burnout and decreased productivity.

Use Appropriate Technology

Email, phone, video, and instant messaging give us the opportunity to connect with one another in an efficient and convenient manner, and each method has its own advantages and flaws. Understanding these differences is essential for maintaining professionalism when you reach out to coworkers. Consider the goals of your communication. Do you need to ask a quick question or have a lengthy discussion? How many people do you need to contact? Establishing your various needs and restrictions can help you choose the appropriate technology. For example, a typical workplace generally reserves instant messaging for urgent requests and uses email for less time-sensitive communications. A brainstorming session between multiple team members might require a video conference. If some of your coworkers are unable to achieve the required privacy in their at-home workspace, then a group phone call can be an effective alternative to video.

Accept Informality

Although we often associate formality with professional behavior, being professional has more to do with respect and competence. The reality of the pandemic is that many of us are working from our kitchens, living rooms, or studio apartments, making a formal appearance in a video call difficult to attain. A change in our standards is necessary as we continue to adjust. Just as it’s important to respect a coworker’s time restraints and other obstacles of remote work, respecting the informality of our individual makeshift offices will help maintain professional interactions with coworkers.

As the pandemic has pushed us into extraordinary circumstances, our expectations of what it means to be professional has changed. Most of our communications are restricted to technology, and many of us are unable to emulate the formality of the office in our homes. Adjusting our standards and ensuring we remain respectful towards one another will not only reflect well on ourselves, but our workplaces as well.

Submitted by E3 HR

Safety culture can be defined in many different ways but the most prominent is the way OSHA defines it. “Safety cultures consist of shared beliefs, practices, and attitudes that exist at an establishment. Culture is the atmosphere created by those beliefs, attitudes, etc., which shape our behavior. I simplify this a little more. Simply, it is a sincere feeling that employees are cared for by the company and each other. It’s really that simple. OK. Simple to understand, not so simple to execute. It is however important when assessing risk at a worksite.

Now more than ever safety and health is on the forefront of employers minds. It has quickly evolved to become priority number one for most. For those employers who already had a strong and engaging safety and health culture in place, the roll out of additional precautions to handle the current pandemic went smoothly. Employers who have never integrated safety and health into their everyday operations might have struggled a bit.

We are true believers that having a healthy safety culture is the best defense in keeping employees safe, healthy, and productive. Not to mention keeping workers compensation costs down.

Staffing businesses find themselves in a tricky situation when it comes to the health and safety of their associates (not to mention how tricky it is for a PEO). They not only need to make sure that they are doing all they can to keep their associates safe, but also have to rely on clients to provide a safe atmosphere everyday. The most successful relationship comes with a complete understanding of each other’s culture.

Now is a great time to visit your client’s worksites to gauge the safety culture and make an impact. For example, If you walk in right now and don’t notice the site taking any of the recommended precautions related to COVID-19 you can pretty much get an idea of the current safety culture in twenty seconds or less. Now comes the challenging part. Influencing the client to take the proper precautions.

Telling the client how to run their business is not the goal here. The goal is to help your client protect their business which includes your shared workforce. Frame the conversation that way. Let them know you are concerned for people’s health and also want to help keep the client compliant. Make it a true partnership. Be honest about the changes you had to make in your own business. Give examples of things they can do such as screening employees, posting signage, distancing work stations, providing PPE, etc. Let them know you can assist them with some of these precautions and follow through. This is a great ice breaker for explaining your safety culture and also laying the groundwork for future safety and health conversations.

While the spotlight is currently on worker health and safety, use it as an opportunity to integrate your safety culture with your clients. Keep the culture focused on caring for the employees first. An employee who feels cared for is one who will pay you back by going above and beyond in caring for your business.

Submitted by Freedman & Friedland LLC

Just recently on June 18, 2020, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued “Guidance on Returning to Work". The Guidance can be found at: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA4045.pdf.

OSHA, which is part of the federal Department of Labor, is responsible for overseeing, implementing and enforcing health and safety standards in the workplace. OSHA applies to most private employers, unless a particular state has a federally-approved OSHA plan in which case private employers are covered by that state’s OSHA-approved plan. New Jersey and New York, for example, only have OSHA-approved plans for public employees; so, private employees are covered by OSHA.

Staffing firms already have existing obligations to comply with OSHA health and safety requirements with respect to both internal staff employees and temporary employees. Staffing firms share this responsibility with their clients as joint employers, although both the staffing firm and the client have independent compliance obligations. The following OSHA website contains some helpful guidance on staffing firm obligations with respect to temporary employees: https://www.osha.gov/temp_workers/

The Guidance supplements the previously issued “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19" by OSHA and “Guidelines for Opening Up America Again” by the White House. The purpose of the Guidance is to help employers safely reopen their businesses and employees safely return to work as state and local governments begin the process of lifting stay-at-home orders and shelter-in-place orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Reopening Guidance is in addition to existing and future guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other guidance that might be issued at the federal, state or local level.

In particular, the Guidance includes “Guiding Principles” with corresponding “Examples of How to Implement” those principles. Specifically: hazard assessment; basic hygiene (ie, hands, respiratory etiquette, and cleaning and disinfection); social distancing; identifying and isolating sick workers; returning to work after illness or exposure; employer controls (ie, engineering controls, administrative controls, and safe work practices); workplace flexibilities (ie, telecommuting and sick leave); employee training; and anti-retaliation measures.

The Guidance also includes six “Employer Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQs) that address: COVID-19 testing, temperature checks and other health screenings, the process for doing so, and compliance with employment laws (for example, possible related discrimination issues under applicable federal, state and local law); returning to work; and the need for personal protective equipment (PPE).

Lastly, the Guidance details other OSHA resources that address both COVID-19-related and general workplace health and safety requirements and that are available as additional resources for employers, as well as attaches an Appendix outlining some of those requirements.

We recommend that staffing firms continue to monitor health and safety developments related to COVID-19 at the federal level (ie, OSHA and the CDC), as well as at the state and local level to the extent a staffing firm has any internal staff employees and/or temporary employees working in other states (for example, California has an OSHA-approved state plan covering private employers, and its Division of Occupational Safety and Health also recently published related COVID-19 guidance: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/Health-Care-General-Industry.html).

This article is intended to provide a limited overview of select federal, state and local health and safety issues. It is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide specific legal advice to any reader.

This article was written by Steven M. Friedland and Marc D. Freedman of Freedman & Friedland LLC. Freedman & Friedland LLC is a law firm with offices in New Jersey and New York that specializes in the laws pertaining to and affecting staffing firms, including, but not limited to, employment matters, co-employment, licensing/registration, mergers and acquisitions, restrictive covenants, trade secret protection, and litigation.