(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

While some employers have intentionally, and most likely illegally, shed their older workers in an effort to reduce costs, some companies are struggling to find experienced talent and are finding creative ways to find and retain it, according to a recent Washington Post article.

Older workers come with leadership and maturity that simply cannot be taught.  As they reach retirement age, they often want to cut back on work, but they don’t want to quit altogether.  Companies that can find ways to retain them or bring them back can benefit from their knowledge and experience.

One agency that has done this successfully is the U.S. Agriculture Department, according to the article.  Working with the National Older Worker Career Center, the department is hiring these workers on a temporary or part-time basis, often to complete specific projects.

As more retirees put off retirement, either due to the economy or their own desire to stay active, these types of retiree re-staffing arrangements are becoming more and more common.  We have even seen some recruiting firms focus their efforts solely on finding contract assignments for retirees.

If you have clients struggling to retain experienced talent and/or older candidates needing more flexible work, this is a niche you might want to look into.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

A recent article by Harvard Business Review focuses on how employers can retain their Generation X talent, but it appears that many workers from this generation may be better suited for contract assignments.

According to the article, 70% of Gen Xers surveyed by the Center for Talent Innovation stated that they prefer to work independently.  Consider the following quotes from workers interviewed for the survey:

• “Once I’ve learned my job, I like to move on.”
• “I need something new to keep things fresh.”
• “If it’s the right thing, I’d jump. I won’t stop learning or growing just to have a job.”

The article recommends that, in order to retain these employees, employers should invest in mentoring programs and allow employees to rotate through different types of jobs.

Another option is for these workers to consider contract assignments.  Contracting would allow them to try different companies, projects, industries, and job functions.

Do you have Generation X candidates who have a lot of talent but seem restless and easily bored?  If so, you may want to encourage them to consider contract assignments.

By placing them in positions that meet their career goals, you could find yourself a quality pool of contract candidates that will come to you again and again for more contract opportunities.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

Do your clients know how to hire for attitude?

According to Mark Murphy, author of Hiring for Attitude, employers’ inability to successfully assess candidates’ attitudes during the hiring process is the reason why so many fail so quickly.

In a recent Forbes interview, Murphy said that of the 200,000 new hires his research company recently tracked, 46% failed within the first 18 months.  Attitudinal reasons, such as lack of coachability, low levels of emotional intelligence, motivation, and temperament, accounted for 89% of those bad hires.

Attitude is harder to assess than skills because candidates can easily be tested for skills.  But if a candidate doesn’t possess all the necessary skills, they may be able to gain them through training.  However, training can’t change a candidate’s attitude.

So how can employers find candidates with the right attitudes?  Murphy recommends asking better interview questions and getting referrals from their star employees.  But the only way to truly know if a candidate’s attitude meshes with the company culture is to see them in action.

Your clients can do that by initially bringing workers in on a contract-to-direct basis.  That way, they can assess a candidate’s attitude for a certain amount of time before making the risky, and often costly, direct-hire commitment.

There are some things that the traditional job interview just cannot tell an employer.  By allowing your clients to try-before-they-buy, you can help them reduce their bad hires and become their valued partner as a result.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

Most people in recruitment expect that when the economy recovers from a recession, there will be a spike in the use of contractors.  But is contract staffing’s current growth just a knee-jerk reaction to the recession, or is it something more?

Well, a recent Washington Post article suggests that it could actually be “a fundamental change in the way Americans work,” one that both companies and workers are driving.  Companies plan to increase their use of contractors by 26% in the next two years, according to Staffing Industry Analysts.

Meanwhile, more workers are considering themselves “free agents,” jumping from project to project.  While many may have turned to contracting out of necessity when they couldn’t find traditional, full-time jobs, many now prefer it because they feel like they have more control.

The article echoes what we have been hearing from recruiters and what Top Echelon Contracting has been experiencing as a business.  Last year, we saw a 22% increase in the number of commercial contractors placed through our back-office.  We have written extensively on employers’ shift toward contractors and why workers want to be contractors in our quarterly newsletter, Contracting Corner.

Only time will tell, but it certainly does seem that the traditional workforce is changing.  If you are only taking direct-hire job orders, you may want to keep an eye on this issue and how it may affect your business.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

Despite government funding, Healthcare organizations are struggling to obtain the Health IT staff needed to automate their processes.

The federal government is funding several initiatives to help Healthcare organizations invest in IT.  For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is providing funding for implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) through the The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

But according to the HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Leadership Survey, money is not enough.  Twenty-five percent of respondents said that the main barrier to IT implementation  is inadequate staffing resources.  Additionally, two-thirds said that their IT staff will increase in the next year.

Sounds like this is an area that is in major need of Health IT recruiters!  In fact, we have been hearing from recruiters that we work with that Health IT is a very hot area right now for both contract and direct job orders, so much so that some recruiters are even switching niches to take advantage of this need.

If you’re considering switching niches, this may be an area to consider!

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

With unemployment remaining steady around nine percent, the perception is that companies simply aren’t hiring.  But there are, in fact, many companies that say they are interested in hiring, but can’t find workers with the right skills.

How can that be when, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are an average of 4.7 unemployed people for every vacant job?  In a previous blog post, we talked about how employers are asking recruiters for more candidates even after the recruiter presents a great prospect because, with the unemployment rate so high, they don’t just want “great,” they want the “perfect candidate.”  But some experts are saying that this quest for perfection stymies the hiring process way before the interview process.

Specifically, hiring managers are over-emphasizing skills, certifications, and experience in specific roles in their requirements for open positions, according to Lou Adler, CEO and founder of talent management consulting firm The Adler Group.

“So if you’re focused completely on specific skills and experience, you’ll end up with average people and exclude the high potentials, who have a broad mix of skills,” Adler said in the Human Resources Executive Online article, “A Shortage of Talent? Really?”  “A better approach would be to define the work before you define the person you’re looking for, and then look for people who have done comparable work in comparable industries.”

But the problem is that employers don’t want to take the time to train those types of people, Peter Cappelli said in his Wall Street Journal article titled, “Why Companies Aren’t Getting the Employees They Need.”  They want someone who can perform the job immediately without any training.  Cappelli said these employers are creating a “catch-22,” where in order to get a job, candidates must already be doing essentially the same job.

So what’s the solution?  Cappelli said that employers need to give up on finding the “perfect candidate” and instead find someone who could do the job with just a little bit of training.  He advocates extended probationary periods during which the company could pay a little less until the worker is up to speed.

This is similar to the advice we’ve provided in previous articles about employers’ “perfect candidate” mindset.  You might be able to get your clients to give great candidates a chance by allowing them to “try-before-they-buy” with contract-to-direct arrangements.  In this scenario, the worker you place with them is employed by a contracting back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting, during the trial period.  During that time, the company saves money because they don’t pay for the employer share of taxes, employee benefits contributions, unemployment or Workers’ Compensation premiums, etc.

Better yet, if the candidate is not working out, your client won’t feel like they have to keep investing time to develop them, like they would if the worker was an employee.  They can end the contract assignment and try someone else.  By giving candidates who have potential a chance, your clients might find themselves with a talent surplus rather than a talent shortage!

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

While the recession has supposedly been over for quite some time, many people are still feeling its effects. And it is quite possible that Baby Boomers are having the hardest time bouncing back.

A recent U.S. News & World Report article examines “The Recession’s Impact on Baby Boomer Retirement.”  Here are some of the key take-away points from the article:

• Although the recession affected all age groups, Baby Boomers may not have enough time to rebuild their retirement savings, forcing many to put off retirement.
• On the other side of the coin, some were forced into early retirement because they were unable to find new employment after losing jobs during the recession.
• This has caused household income for those ages 55-64 to fall by 6 percent.

As a result, employers need to be ready for older workers who are either remaining in the workforce longer than expected or who are returning to the workforce on a part-time basis to supplement a less than sufficient retirement income.  A recent Staffing Industry Analysts article listed policy issues that employers will have to re-examine in light of this trend.  At the top of the list?  Offering “more flexible work patterns,” including telecommuting, consulting, and reduced hours.

This all plays into the retiree re-staffing trend we have been reporting on for the past couple of years.  By bringing older workers in a on part-time, consulting, or contract basis, employers can gain or retain these workers’ knowledge, while the workers can supplement their income and remain active on a more flexible basis so they can enjoy other activities and time with their family.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.

(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

Like they often do with unemployed candidates, employers tend to automatically eliminate any candidates deemed to be overqualified.  Employers assume that overqualified candidates will not be satisfied and, as a result, will not stick around long.

But according to a recent Business News Daily article, employers who blindly dismiss all overqualified job candidates could be putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.  A recent study discussed in the article found that if these candidates are given challenging assignments, they can have a positive impact on a company.

According to the article, overqualified candidates can thrive in complex positions where they:

• Can freely make decisions
• Coordinate or lead others
• Be responsible for the outcomes of their work actions

Hmmm . . . those sound like common attributes of contract assignments.  Contractors are often brought in to take on challenging projects where they are expected to have the knowledge and skills to get the job done without a ton of oversight.  They usually decide the best way to get the job done and are responsible for the successful final outcome of a project.  Sometimes, they are even project team leaders.

Better yet, for overqualified candidates who crave a constant challenge, contracting is the perfect solution because contract assignments are only for a specific period of time.  When the project is done, they can move on to a new assignment, where they can once again put themselves to the test.

If you have candidates you are having trouble placing due to the perception that they are overqualified, you may want to consider offering them as contractors.  What may be considered a weakness in a direct-hire situation could be a great asset in a contractor.

— — —

888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
Follow Debbie on Twitter.