Hiring Agency Misfired?

 Hiring Agency Misfired?

 Don’t Want a Round Peg to Fit in a Square Hole?

·         Provide the agency with as much background as possible on the assignment

·         Give the agency a clear and concise job description.

·         Define the skills and experience you require.

·         Specify if the person will work alone or with others.

·         Specify the length of the assignment.

·         State your company's dress code, if you have one

·         Indicate whether the assignment requires client contact.

·         Describe if training will be provided, how many hours per day and how long.

·         Explain how much the employee will be paid during training period.

 

Don’t Want to Ruffle Feathers?

·         Prepare for the arrival of temporary staff.

·         Decide which full-timers will be working with the temp.

·         Prepare the work assignment for the temp clearly, and with the buy-in of the supervisor.

·         Take into consideration the expectations of the role from the supervisor while preparing job description.

·         Set reasonable standards set for productivity for the temp.

·         Share with the supervisor the final exact job description and offer given to the temp.

·         Give the temp the tools necessary to complete the work, including supplies and training

·         Inform the temp regarding who has been assign authority and responsibility for supervision.

·         Outline clearly to fellow-team members about the support they are expected to provide to the temp.

·         Identify who will educate the temp on your company guidelines and fix the time-lines.

·         Encourage feedback, questions and comments from the temp with open=ended questions

·         Temps could offer an "out- sider" perspective and provide out-of-the-box yet applicable ideas for improvement

·         Don’t treat temps as just a contingency measure; treat them as an element of long-range planning

 

 

 

 

Temps or Quiet Hiring…?

                                                      Temps or Quiet Hiring…?

Corporate budget cuts - after Covid 19 - often mean lower headcounts for most operations. This, coupled with the Gen Z workforce that is labelled as the generation that ‘wants it all,’ and the shrinking pool of qualified workers who used to believe that a rolling stone gathers no moss, adds up to finding new ways to staff smarter. 

Temporary employees, since the recession that hit world economy in 2008, are found to be a reliable resource; you can get qualified people, and control costs at the same time.

While retailers, business process outsourcing providers and project-led organizations and industries have been among the early adopters of the temporary hiring model, new sectors such as energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals are turning to contract staff with specialized skills and even for managerial roles.

Hiring permanent employees is akin to making a long-term investment in the business; they can help build a strong foundation. Unlike permanent employees, temporary employees are hired for predetermined periods of time. Hiring the latter is less costly and offers more flexibility.

During the course of a year, America's staffing companies hire 16 million temporary and contract employees. India currently has 1.3 million temporary workers in the organised sector. Experts predict that by 2025, 10% of the overall workforce would be working as contingent workers through various staffing companies.

Using Temporary Staff:

Timing the placement of temps in your operation depends on your business cycle and your personnel needs. At times, the need is predictable: during the transition to a new computerized system; merging businesses or offices; seasonal changes (holidays, for example) in business volume. But there are times, the need for temps is unexpected. Perhaps your department has had an unexpected termination, illness, or resignation. Or you might find your staff serving a new client.

Cost Considerations:

Temporary employees are seen as a cost-effective solution because they are typically on the payroll of the staffing service provider and do not burden the company with benefits that permanent staff are normally provided. But cost is only one of many benefits. Temps reduce overhead expenses, such as insurance and other benefits. Temps can be hired and re-hired as necessary; hiring full-timers only to lay them off in rough times shakes the morale of the entire staff. Long-term temps can provide alternatives to full-timers in high-turnover positions. Using temps at straight-time rates can minimize overtime costs. Seeking a qualified replacement for temps can be easier than finding a qualified replacement for someone who's left. Moreover, they give companies the flexibility to quickly alter the size of their workforce depending on business needs.

Selecting an Agency:

Organizations should not base selection of agencies by price alone. Instead, the decision should be based on each agency's policies on recruiting, testing, hiring, training, and placement guarantees. A better- qualified temp maximizes your investment and increases your profit-potential on each assignment.

Those researching an agency should ask the following questions:

·    Does the agency carry out an identity check? 

·    Does the agency monitor employee performance?

·    Does the agency ensure that temps have references that can be contacted?

·    Does the agency carry insurance to provide against theft or damage by temps?

Emerging Trend:

The emerging trend is Quiet hiring - an informal term for the practice in which an employer fills workforce gaps in ways other than hiring new full-time employees, such as by training and/or shifting existing employees into different roles or using independent contractors to cover certain roles and responsibilities. This is the organic response to the trend of ‘quiet quitting’ started by Gen Z, completing one's minimum work requirements without going above and beyond or bringing work home after hours.

 

When there is Storm in a Teacup

Very often you hear shrill comments and raised voices between two people, but if you know all that huff is to iron out differences between them, you don’t want to poke your nose there.  

Disagreements can be resolved. They are different from a conflict. Disagreement involves a difference of opinion, belief, or idea. The difference does not cause a problem because both parties accept the other's point of view as valid and are courteous with each other as they reach a compromise.

Conflict explodes from a disagreement when one or both of the parties is narrow-minded or egocentric, and the other's perspective is seen as invalid.

All disagreements involve some kind of conflict, yet every disagreement need not reach full-scale pandemonium. If both parties are mature and self-confident, any problem that arises should be solvable between them. If not, conflict is bound to arise often over petty situations. Yes, for others the reasons may look silly, but for those in the thick of the storm, those very same reasons may steal their sleep and deprive them of their dignity.

Nipping it in the Bud.

Your role as a leader is to observe when you have to step in as mediator. This becomes necessary only when the conflicting parties cannot reach an amicable solution, when it takes too long to make a commitment, if insults fly in the open, if team functioning and results head towards a limbo, or if the solution reached is insufficient to bring about lasting peace.

Once you decide that intervention is necessary, you may want to confront the parties separately. Only after you have met with each individually, it is desirable that you meet them together.

The intervention should be in a neutral setting. It must be a down-to-earth chat. Don't indulge in management fundamentals and long lectures. Don't try bully tactics to get staffers to behave. Talk the problem out and really try to see the point of view of each party. Let them spell it out for you, even if they say they have discussed this with each other. 

Very often, when the conflicting parties meet by themselves, even when it is presumably to find out if they can reach a via-media, during the confrontation the listening is clouded with judgement and anger. Now when they do it in front of you, they have already expressed their angst several times, the anger is diffused, so both the speaker and listener pay attention from a different zone. If the parties seem to be reaching a solution, let them continue. You are only a mediator.

The cause of the conflict must be first determined. If both parties stubbornly refuse to agree on what happened, more importantly, why it happened, you may need to wipe the slate clean. That is, you need to tell them you want them to start anew and forget the incident. Actually, they may jump at the chance to do this. If the conflict has gone beyond that, you need to work with the parties to reach a solution on which they will both agree.

There will always be times when the parties won't agree on a single solution. In such a case, use your own judgment. Dragging out problem solving can backfire and end up making the problem worse.

Of course, once a solution has been decided on and implemented, you need to check regularly to see that the agreement is being kept. If the process is successful, both parties should be attempting to work the situation out. If the parties just cannot get along, it may be time to do some departmental reorganizing.

Put the Horse before the Cart.

Ideally, the best way to handle conflict is through prevention. There are several ways to avoid conflict in an organization. All it takes is a little creative thinking. For instance:

1. Have an employee assistance program specifically to address inter-personal issues.

2. Help staff recognize that they share a common goal to make the team/organization successful.

3. Inculcate by being an inspiring example that our focus should be on our contribution to the organization rather than our personal status.

4. Instill openness between co-workers, without compromising on their privacy.

5.   Display tips for handling conflicts in public areas such as canteen, hobby rooms and so on. 

6. Organize a workshop on conflict resolution.

How Do Informal Leaders Emerge?

 How Do Informal Leaders Emerge? 

In volunteering organizations at times you are assigned to a committee or to a task force with several of your peers. At times the objectives are identified, and people who are passionate about the causes espoused join the committee. No one is initially appointed a leader. One of those who sign up becomes the informal head of the group. Sometimes this is not acknowledged, but it always happens. 

In practice, this is a good development. Someone has to be in charge; if one person simply emerges as the likeliest candidate, chances are that this is the right person. 

How can we use the dynamics of the group to make the team work? How do we bestow leadership on the most able people? How to control the situation so that the leadership is productive? How to allow the role of leader to shift to another person if need be? How to put yourself forward as a potential group leader if you so desire? 

How Can We Spot a Leader?

Very early in any group situation, you'll see the group gravitating toward one individual. The person's physical presence, the aura, ability to communicate - these are likely to provide the initial attraction. However, it is continuous consistent action tha will sustain it. 

Typically, the group will notice that person has a quick grasp of the main issue; makes positive, decisive, informed statements; and will defer when necessary to people with more knowledge, experience or talent. 

How Can We Help the Leader Emerge? 

In your group's earliest discussions, float the issues around as informally as possible. Watch how the group interacts, see who appears to be emerging as the one to whom others look for guidance, and see if you find yourself agreeing with them. 

If you can, encourage the person to lead. Rely on relevant expertise the person already has to draw him or her into leadership. To be able to do this, you must know the people in your team well - their professional profile, specific talents, interests, hobbies that are likely to have a bearing on this role.  

Probably you could say, “ Sameer, you used to be a Procurement Manager. Maybe you should be our spokesperson when we talk to vendors about those cell phones we wish to donate. You will be able to get the best models as required by the beneficiaries and may be strike a win-win deal that benefits the vendor as well. 

If the leader is shy about taking charge, leave the role open and let him or her fill it by default. "Sameer, I don't think the rest of us have any experience in  product comparisons. What are the issues we have to be concerned with?" 

This will not only bring Sameer out of his shell, but also let other members in the team recognize that you are aware of the value every member brings to the team. This will also infuse confidence in Sameer to be more forthcoming and eventually put in his best foot forward to take up leadership. 

How Do You Emerge as a Leader?

 Leaders are rare. Often, members of a group will be subconsciously looking for someone to follow. If you are eager to lead, simply share that you're willing to do so, probably also share your experience or expertise, then follow it up with action. You may be surprised at how positively the other members in the team will react. 

No one can appoint oneself as leader. Then it smacks of authoritarianism, which is an absolute put-off for teams. 

Leadership is bestowed, not taken. That is why if your group is struggling with the issues - pushing and pulling and getting nowhere - it might be a good idea to just stand back. Keep quiet, observe, note the key issues, pain points, and areas of conflict. When the members have exhausted all other possibilities, you can say, "I have a suggestion…” That certainly will evoke positive response.