Staffing Talk is sponsored by TempWorks Staffing Software and Payroll Funding
Margaret Steen is a freelance writer, editor and writing instructor in Los Altos, Calif. She is a former business reporter for the San Jose Mercury News and writes frequently about business and management.
Contact Margaret at msteen@margaretsteen.com
Demand for foreign languages in staffing can range from needing an in-house supervisor who can communicate with Spanish-speaking industrial workers to filling a translator position for an international law firm. But bilingual staffing is not as easy as just adding a checkbox to your application. [...]
Running a staffing firm can be lonely, and if you’re a woman it’s easy to feel even more isolated. But don’t worry, we caught up with a few women who have dealt with that very thing, and they say if you’re willing to put in [...]
Watching the bottom line to ensure your company is in the black is undoubtedly important, but it can be even more helpful to dig deeper and look at what causes your firm to make money. Crunching numbers beyond the bottom line can help a firm [...]
The constantly evolving labor market makes a knack for reinvention key to a long-lasting staffing business. “I’ve had to realign my business several times,” says Laurie Kahn, founder and president of Media Staffing Network, in Scottsdale, Ariz. “You have to be flexible.” Since she started [...]
How can a staffing firm engage its employees, raise its profile and help make its community a more vibrant place? Teaming up with nonprofits is one way. Partnerships between staffing firms and nonprofits can take many forms. Sometimes a staffing firm works with one nonprofit, [...]
A successful marketing campaign plays to a company’s strengths and establish it as a leader in its niche. For Celarity, a Minneapolis-area staffing firm that specializes in the placement of marketing and interactive professionals, the goal is to be “the go-to source for Minnesota marketing [...]
Staffing firms are finding creative ways to cut costs. The key, say those who have done it, is to make sure the cuts help the firm do business better, not just spend less money. “You cannot cut your way to profitability and still remain effective [...]
Small, local staffing firms face a challenge in competing with larger, national companies. Big companies may be able to offer lower prices, for example, since they can centralize some of their services. But the local connection can also be an advantage – one that smaller [...]
[In this essay, Margaret hits hard on an issue that all of us in staffing recognize intrinsically: 1) great communicators win, and 2) in the internet era it’s written communication that gives the best bang for the buck. Enjoy. –Gregg] There was a time when [...]
At PlaneTechs, there are two types of customers: “customers that pay us and customers that we pay,” says David Pearson, the company’s president. The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., recruits and places aviation technicians all over the country to work on both commercial and [...]
Whether you’re pitching your services to a potential client or coaching a candidate on interview strategies, your interviewer will likely get very similar plugs from your competitors. To rise above the noise, you need to make what you say more memorable than all the other [...]
One candidate you’re trying to place needs to improve her hygiene. Another didn’t get a position he was banking on to end months of unemployment. And a client has asked you to fill a position at a salary that is well below market rate. Being [...]
It’s the time of year when individuals resolve to stop snacking and start exercising — and when forward-looking business owners and managers set goals for the coming year. Some goals may vary depending on the industry in which a firm works, the type of searches [...]
It’s great to stay on top of the latest staffing trends. But it’s even better to be ahead of them: to see where the labor market is going, not just where it is today. So what will the market for contingent workers look like a [...]
Interview with CEO of ManpowerGroup: What’s next for the job market? [Wall Street Journal] Surge in litigation-related work is prompting one in three lawyers to add staff [PR Newswire] Six Indians arrested for swindling 500 students through a fake campus recruitment agency [IBN Live] Survey [...]
This article was sent to us by Josh Tolan, CEO of SparkHire, a video powered hiring solution that allows staffing professionals to collaborate with their clients around video interviews. It’s no secret recruiters and staffing professionals love passive candidates. These candidates have already proven and [...]
This article was sent to us by Josh Tolan, CEO of SparkHire, a video powered hiring solution that allows staffing professionals to collaborate with their clients around video interviews. It’s no secret recruiters and staffing professionals love passive candidates. These candidates have already proven and [...]
My eight-year-old son and I were doing some landscaping in our yard one day when he paused, looked up at me through squinted, sweat-soaked eyes, and said, “Dad, wouldn’t it be great if we never had to work?” To be honest, I can’t say I’ve [...]
“Just how stupid are you?” That’s likely not a question on the job applications in your office. But a couple of Swedish professors say it should be. And they also say the correct answer for the job candidate is, “How stupid do you want me [...]
