The Unseen Costs of Overtime

Has being understaffed cost you a bundle in overtime? The increased costs of wages may be the least of your concerns if you are consistently running overtime or extended shift hours. Statistics show that prolonged overtime can cause serious health and performance issues for employees.

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Overtime including extended shifts and work weeks extending beyond 40 hours worked, are common in many industries including construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and administration. Some industries including the logistics industry, have set forth strict policies to protect employees from the dangers of overtime. What do they know that others don’t? The undeniable costs.

A University of Massachusetts Medical School study found that those working with overtime schedules were associated with a 61% higher injury rate in comparison to those with a standard work schedule excluding overtime. Over 54% of the work related injuries that were observed during the 13 year study, included extended weekly hours, extended commute times, extended working hours in a day, or overtime.

In addition to work related injuries, those working extended shift hours or extended hours in a work week are more likely to experience the following:

  • Hypertension
  • Stress
  • Depression
  • Cardiac Issues
  • Fatigue
  • Chronic Infections
  • General Health Issues

Reducing the amount of overtime and extended shifts that your staff works can greatly decrease their risks for injury and illness. Adding temporary staff, decreasing overtime hours, and encouraging healthy lifestyles can reduce the chances of your staff experiencing serious health issues and injuries.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent?Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

 

 

Manufacturing Jobs in 2014

While most hiring sectors have increased dramatically in recent years, manufacturing has shown one of the strongest and most stable growth rates. In 2014 alone, manufacturing alone has added 168,000 jobs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Hiring Construction Road Warriors!

Does your organization perform projects in remote areas that struggle to provide qualified local talent? You’re far from alone. Contractors nationwide are experiencing a shortage of qualified talent for commercial and industrial construction projects. While the demand for qualified skilled trades workers has been consistently high over the past few years, the demand for an experienced traveling workforce remains even stronger.

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How Do You Find Your Work / Life Balance?

Managing a fair balance between your personal life and professional life can be challenging, regardless of your career path.

Between summer events and extended work hours, how do you maintain a fair balance between your professional and personal life? Share your advice with others on our social media profiles and be entered to win a $50 VISA gift card! We will share a list of your recommendations with our followers in the next couple of weeks.

Ready, set, share!

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Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent?Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

Professional Development Day…It's Not Just for Teachers

Was the last time you heard the phrase “Professional Development Day” in relation to teachers training while students had the day off? Shouldn’t we all take a day away from our primary responsibilities to refresh our skills and cross train with our peers? Absolutely!

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While it may seem nearly impossible to pull your staff away from their day to day duties, the growth and development could be priceless for your organization. Partnering seasoned staff members with those who are new to the organization or even from different departments, can be great way to gain new insights, ideas, and processes.

Here are just a few of the benefits of getting your team together for some training refreshers:

  • Increased productivity
  • Increased morale
  • Better collaboration between departments
  • Idea generation increases
  • Decreased employee turnover
  • Reduction in costs due to errors or lost productivity
  • Cross training opportunities
  • Increased communication
  • Inefficient processes identified

Training and employee development can be performed as formally or informally as you see fit and can be achieved with very little financial investment. The key components to hosting a successful staff development day are having a well planned and organized agenda outlining what areas you hope to cover and what objectives you have to accomplish. Be sure to consider your audience and set clear expectations for everyone who will be joining on what they should bring, what they should prepare for, and any topics that they should be prepared to speak on.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

 

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

 

Advertising Costs Per Hire- Where Do You Stand?

While many companies track their average cost per hire, many lump all of their recruiting expenses together. Have you taken the time to see where your recruitment expenses come from? A recent study by Software Advice, highlights the average costs that simply advertising for an open position amounts to. You might be surprised to learn where you fall in comparison to other hiring managers.

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With job boards reported as being the primary advertising channel for 85% of companies, there’s no denying the impact the online advertising market has had on recruiting strategies for employers. If you are investing in online job advertisements, be sure to get the most of your investment. Creating an online job posting that attracts talent, shoud involve a combination of creative marketing, SEO value, and sales.

Do you feel like you struggle more to attract talent than some of your competitors? You might. Companies with less than 50 employees often spend more money advertising per hire than larger companies. Hiring strategies for small business often require more of a proactive rather than reactive approach. Whether your organization is small or large, the power of internal referrals is undeniable. In a 2011 survey by Jobvite, 70% of employers reported feeling that referred candidates were a better fit for company culture and company values. If your organization does not have a referral program established, now is the time to start!

While the battle for skilled talent is always present, 64% of employers reported advertising entry level positions. A combination of high volume, lower wages, and inexperience often lead employers to experience high turnover for these lower end positions. At a price of $173 per hire in advertising expenses alone, be sure that you have incorporated ways to reduce employee turnover and implemented retention programs even for your less skilled positions.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

 

 

 

New Hire Probationary Period- How To Rock It

If you think the new hire probationary period is just for temps, you are mistaken. Whether your new employer labels it formally or not, your first few months on the job are likely to be viewed closely to determine your long term role in the organization and identify any negative patterns in your performance or attendance. Many employers implement formal and informal meetings during this period to discuss your progress and on-boarding rate, some even provide merit increases for your successful completion of the new hire probationary period. Here are a few tips to help you rock it!

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  • Be Observant: While it may be somewhat acceptable to struggle at some duties during this time period, most tasks are expected to be completed efficiently and independently following this period. Take advantage of this time frame to ask questions, take detailed notes, and perfect processes and procedures.
  • Join The Team: Be sure to begin rapport building with your peers, clients, and supervisors early on. Each of them have valuable insights to offer you and having a strong working relationship with them from the start can have a large impact on your success in your new role. Take an interest in the organization’s goals, achievements, and the projects of those around you. Do you have any suggestions that may help them reach their goals, based on your previous experiences?
  • Prove To Be The Right Hire: Picture your first 90 days as a working interview. Arrive on time, avoid missing work, and be sure to give 100% to your duties and responsibilities. In your first 90 days more than almost any other time, your supervisor will be trying to gauge your dependability, reliability, and ability to perform your essential job duties. Take advantage of this opportunity to draw attention to your strengths and reassure your employer that they’ve made the best hiring decision.
  • Solicit Feedback: Follow up with your supervisor and seek their feedback. Find out what areas you are excelling in, areas for improvement, and what their expectations are for the on-boarding process. When do they expect you to be able to work independently? How often should you expect feedback?

While you have landed the job, you still need to prove yourself to be the right person for the job. As a new employee following protocol and getting along with others is imperative. Be sure that you have familiarized yourself with the employee handbook, understand your employer’s expectations, and are making a strong effort to learn and excel at your responsibilities.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

Workforce Planning 2014…Are You Prepared?

With 2014 only a few days away, have you completed your workforce planning? While many organizations put pencil to paper on budgets, sales projects, and business expansions; many forget how their workforce allows them to meet these goals. Don’t be one of them!

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Entering 2014 many experts are projecting a continued shortage of talent for skilled and professional level positions, that will only continue to worsen with the attrition of the baby boomers. Protect your human capital and ensure that you have the staff in place to keep your business running smoothly in the new year. Here are a few quick tips:

·         Take roll call. Who do you have on staff that is planning to retire or may cut back to part time? Look to your current staff to see if you have the human capital to absorb these responsibilities or whether you may need to add to back fill these roles.

·         Locate your unrealized talent. We all have it. While we tend to focus on unrealized sales or potential business, sometimes we forget that we have unrealized talent already available in our organization. How can these individuals help you meet your goals for the new year? Have you met with them to ensure that they are happy and plan to stay with the organization? If not, now is the time!

·         Plan and plan again. While most organizations plan to fill future openings on their own, in today’s talent shortage that isn’t always possible. As many as 90% of companies partner with a staffing agency to help them locate talent. If this is a possibility for your organization in the upcoming year be sure to account for these costs when budget planning and begin meeting with potential recruiters before your need is to arise. Locating the right recruiter for your organization is imperative. Hiring the wrong recruiter could result in weeks of down time, unrealized sales, and missed opportunities.

Trillium is excited to be entering our 30th year of business in 2014 and is truly grateful to our over 5,000 clients nationwide that count on us to deliver them the talent they need to excel in their industries. We appreciate the opportunity to help you locate your greatest asset, your team!

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

 

Traveling Contract Workforce: A Modern Contractor's Solution

While temporary and contract labor have long been a part of the design of most skilled workforces, traveling contract labor has given many contractors their competitive edge in recent years. After establishing a credible resource, having a pool of traveling contract labor to provide skilled and unskilled workforce solutions for your projects in remote locations can be as easy as a phone call or email.

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Attrition has been a growing battle for several industries and is a continuous battle for drivers, heavy industrial workforce, and environmental remediation staff.  Locating staff on short notice and in remote areas of the country only increases the difficulty to have a qualified and safe workforce to staff your projects. Access to a mobile workforce of skilled and unskilled labor can reduce your overhead, delays in scheduling, and allow your organization to take on additional projects above what your current workforce is able to complete.

While many contractors focus on locating a local staffing provider in areas that they do not typically do business, they may open themselves up for unnecessary liabilities and costly mistakes. Industrial and environmental contractors often require temporary staff that are trained, certified, and screened to perform specific duties in unique environments and conditions. Many staffing companies and day labor providers are unable to locate a workforce capable of these type of duties quickly. Having the wrong staff in place can often end up worse than having no staff in place. Mistakes made by unqualified help can result in costly scrap materials, overtime, and injuries. In addition to the initial costs the effects on your OSHA log, EMR rates, and overall job site moral can be long lasting. Completing due diligence to find the right provider for talent, can have a large impact on the success of your individual projects and your organization as a whole.

A company who excels in providing a mobile workforce should be able to provide you with testimonials from other clients, an outline of where they have offices and satellite branches for employee recruitment and screening, and be well versed in handling employment issues that come with a mobile workforce. Traveling workforces present their own set of challenges to an inexperienced recruiter. Inquire with potential partners on what their biggest challenges are managing a traveling workforce, what resources they make available to their staff, and how they have handled challenges in the past.

 

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

 


Conducting Seasonal Layoffs? Don't Miss This!

Many HR professionals and hiring managers would agree that cutting staff is one of their least favorite job responsibilities. Unfortunately, it happens. For even the most experienced managers, conducting layoffs can be a difficult situation. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are conducting a layoff!

0061. Show your staff respect and professional courtesy. Whenever possible, a layoff should be communicated in a face to face setting. Sending out a company wide email can come across as insensitive, cause speculations, and disrupt the entire workforce. Conducting an in person meeting can allow for some questions and answers, shows your employees that you share in their concerns, and can eliminate a lot of speculation and rumors in the workplace. Be prepared for a wide range of emotions and responses and understand that you may not be able to provide answers to all of their questions.

2. Be a strong communicator. Make sure that your management team has clear boundaries about what information is being shared and what must remain confidential. Having pieces of information released sporadically can cause additional emotions for your staff and cause larger issues. Set a clear and concise understanding of what information is public and be prepared to comment on only those topics during meetings, staff inquiries, etc. Make sure to communicate any updates or lack there of with your staff regularly. Employees will have a better comfort level if they are aware of what changes and developments are occurring as they happen without having to seek out information.

3. Be honest. While you may not be able to share certain details about the state of the company, business projections, or a specific individual’s future; there is always some information that you can share. If you anticipate further layoffs in the future, avoid denying it to your staff. If you have a clear idea of how many positions may be affected, be honest and upfront.

4. Offer solutions. One of the best ways to show professional courtesy to your staff members during this difficult time is to offer them some solutions. If you are aware of job opportunities in a different location, division, or department that may be viable alternatives for staff that is effected by the layoff, share the information. Do you have a staffing partner? Contact them! Many staffing agencies are industry specialized and would love an opportunity to come meet with those who are being effected and possibly provide future career opportunities. Be as flexible as possible including allowing employees to make interview arrangements during the day.

Maintaining a productive and respectful workplace is essential for any business to continue to move forward. Creating an environment that includes chaos, rumors, and gossip will work against you in the long run. While having these frank conversations is never easy, the alternative is most certainly worse.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, driver, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job board  for more information!  Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.