staffing agency

Benefits of Continuing Education

Benefits of Continuing Education

In today’s competitive job market, continuing education is more important than ever. Continuing education programs benefit both businesses and workers. Businesses can benefit when they encourage continuing education as it allows them to maintain a highly skilled and specialized workforce. Workers that partake in continuing education programs benefit by receiving promotions, gaining more power in the job market or simply by becoming more valuable employees.

Continuing education refers to the acquisition or improvement of work-related skills by people who are already in the workforce. Continuing education includes both formal and informal training. Workers participating in continuing education might earn college degrees through formal programs, concentrate on professional development courses or participate in programs that include both formal and informal components. In general, continuing education refers to classes and seminars focused on job-related skills and knowledge.

Continuing education courses are available through:

High schools
Community colleges
Universities
Trade professional societies and organizations

Many of these channels offer night or weekend-only courses to accommodate workers. Training facilities offer state-of-the-art equipment as well as computer based training. Sometimes schools will pair up with businesses to offer programs. In addition, many companies offer their own continuing education programs. By offering these courses, businesses ensure that they maintain a steady supply of qualified workers.

People who continue to improve their work skills and knowledge are able to keep up with the latest technologies and business techniques. They receive the training necessary to climb the corporate ladder and realize additional career goals.

In addition to the most basic benefits, continuing education allows workers to better understand the purpose and goals of their occupation. Continuing education can help advance an individual’s occupation by providing them with the opportunity to obtain both theoretical and practical occupational knowledge while improving their problem-solving skills. However, the best benefit of continuing education is its ability to impart an attitude that encourages workers to find and use the best techniques available at any given time and to realize that these techniques must ultimately be improved or replaced.

iStaffing Agency helps place professional candidates into Management, Senior and Executive level positions . iStaffing Agency specializes in Human Resources, Accountants, Executives, IT Professionals, Loan Officers and other professional candidates in addition to candidates in the Entertainment and Nonprofit sector. For more information about how iStaffing Agency can help you locate your next career opportunity in California, please contact us today.

Top Reasons Why Your Company Should Use a Staffing Agency to Hire Temps

Top Reasons Why Your Company Should Use a Staffing Agency to Hire Temps

Sometimes companies need to hire temporary employees on a short-term, long-term or intermittent basis. To find these employees the company might place an ad, attempt to locate employees themselves or contact a staffing agency. When temporary workers are needed, using a staffing agency offers the most benefits. Following are the top four reasons why your company should use a staffing agency to fill your next temp position:

Reduced Costs
Specialized Expertise
Reduced Training Costs and Time
Increased Productivity

The recruitment and training process can be extremely costly. In order to find and hire competent employees businesses must develop a vacancy announcement and advertise through both print and media, collect and review resumes, schedule and conduct interviews, assess applicants, check references and conduct background checks. Once the company has found the perfect candidate for the job they must then train and orientate the new employee. These activities tie up the company’s resources as existing staff is taken away from their regular duties. Additional costs involved with the hiring process include payroll processing, taxes, unemployment, workers compensation and liability claims. Using a staffing agency eliminates all of these costs.

Staffing agencies specialize in placing the right person in the right job. This is why many staffing agencies only offer candidates for certain industries. These specialized staffing firms are experts in the industries that they deal with. They have a large database of pre-screened candidates to choose from, ensuring the perfect match for even hard to fill positions.

The actual recruitment process of a staffing agency is lengthy and typically more involved than in-house recruitment processes. A staffing firm assesses the skills of applicants and provides additional training in order to strengthen those skills. When a staffing agency employee starts working at your business they should be ready to hit the ground running without needed any additional training.

Staffing agencies typically have pre-screened qualified workers that are ready and willing to work with very little notice. When a staffing firm is able to place a skilled employee in your vacant position quickly, you never have to worry about tasks not being completed on time or your current staff being burdened with other responsibilities.

iStaffing Agency helps companies in California locate, screen and place professional candidates into Management, Senior and Executive level positions. iStaffing Agency specializes in Human Resources, Accountants, Executives, IT Professionals, Loan Officers and other professional candidates in addition to candidates in the Entertainment and Nonprofit sector. For more information about how iStaffing Agency can help your company with their staffing needs, please contact us today.

Questions To Ask a Temp Employment Agency

Questions To Ask a Temp Employment Agency

Workers turn to temporary employment agencies for a variety of reasons. It might be because job seekers are having a difficult time locating permanent work, they might not be available to take on a full-time position or they are simply looking to get their foot in the door for a future permanent position. Temp employment agencies are the perfect choice for all of these situations.

When choosing a temp agency to work with, consider asking them the following questions:

Ask the agency for information about their clients. This should include what types of businesses and industries they work with and what kind of employment they seek.
Check which geographic areas the staffing agency works with to ensure that they are convenient for your current transportation situation.
Ensure that the agency is able to offer you work that meets your qualifications and needs.
It is important to find out if the temp agency offers temporary work that might one day turn into a permanent position. If you are seeking this type of employment, be sure to alert the temp agency by asking them for their “temp to hire” listings.
Ask the agency about their expectations regarding overtime and weekend work.
Find out about the temp agency’s pay rate. Figure out if the agency pays weekly or bi-weekly.
Check with the staffing agency about any job training that is offered.
Find out what sick leave policies the agency has in place and how sick leave is handled.
If your employment will be based on a particular project, you will need to find out what will happen when the project ends.
Figure out how the agency will contact you if a position opens up. Sometimes you will need to contact the agency periodically to inquire about new positions. It is also important to find out whether you can turn down a position if it doesn’t fit your skill set or schedule.
Ask the temp agency how many years they have been in business. Respectable staffing agencies will have testimonials that you can reference.

Obtaining Permanent Placement Through a Staffing Agency

Obtaining Permanent Placement Through a Staffing Agency

If you aren’t working with a staffing agency to find your next job then you are probably missing out on several job listings that aren’t being advertised through traditional means. There are several reasons why companies don’t post all of their open positions. It could be because of confidentiality/replacement reasons or simply because they understand that working with a competent staffing agency will get the position filled much faster. One of the main benefits of using a staffing firm to locate your next job is that you can be considered for multiple positions that were not available to find on your own.

There are a few different ways to obtain permanent placement through a staffing agency. For example, you can start out with temporary or contract work. Many companies will start by employing a new hire on a temporary basis in order to make sure that they are a good fit. If the company likes your work, they might offer you a permanent position. Contract work allows you to see if you enjoy the role that you are given in a company without actually being committed to it. These types of positions are often listed as temp-to-perm, meaning that there is a potential for the job to turn into a permanent role, however you are not required to take the position if you do not want to.

Staffing firms that offer direct placement fill permanent positions for companies. Companies hire these types of staffing agencies to find top talent to fill a permanent position. The staffing agency locates the best candidates for the client’s individual needs. When searching for a staffing firm to help you with permanent placement, be sure to choose one that has proven results and good reviews.

Even if you aren’t actively looking for a job it’s a good idea to keep active profiles with a respectable staffing firm. Maintaining good relationships with a staffing agency makes it possible to check in when you are ready to update your professional goals.

Why you Should Use a Staffing Agency for Hard to Fill Vacancies

Why you Should Use a Staffing Agency for Hard to Fill Vacancies

Between lost productivity and lost revenue, most companies lose money on hard to find hires. Usually, the search for these types of employees is more frustrating than successful. This is where a professional staffing agency can help. The right agency can deliver top talent for even the most challenging requirements. Let’s take a closer look at why you should use a staffing agency for your hard to fill vacancies:

Staffing agencies can provide valuable industry expertise
Experienced staffing agencies have direct experience with a variety of niche industries. This makes it possible for the agency to offer unique insight into your specific industry’s current hiring trends and best practices, helping you craft compensation and benefits packages that are specially designed to attract top talent.
Utilizing a staffing agency leads to a faster hiring process
Without experienced help, locating a candidate with a hard to find skill set can take several months. Utilizing the help of an experienced staffing firm can cut your time to hire down to as little as just a few days. Staffing agencies have a large database of talented professionals and recruiters who are focused on niche markets, making it possible for them to quickly pinpoint candidates that match even the most specialized hiring profiles.
Working with a staffing firm reduces friction between hiring managers
Nowadays many businesses have two or more hiring managers. This can actually slow down the hiring process and create quite a lot of internal tension, especially when those involved don’t see eye to eye on hiring profiles. Additionally, positions such as IT, engineering and software development have very specific requirements that can be extremely difficult for talent acquisition generalists who lack direct industry experience. A competent staffing agency can provide valuable industry expertise and help multiple hiring managers reach a consensus on a desired skill set.
Using a staffing agency cuts spending
Attempting to fill a hard to fill vacancy can quickly lead to rogue spending. A staffing agency can help your HR team develop a program with carefully defined guidelines on spending.

iStaffing Agency helps companies in California locate, screen and place professional candidates into Management, Senior and Executive level positions. iStaffing Agency specializes in Human Resources, Accountants, Executives, IT Professionals, Loan Officers and other professional candidates in addition to candidates in the Entertainment and Nonprofit sector. For more information about how iStaffing Agency can help your company with their staffing needs, please contact us today.

Increasing Productivity in the Workplace

Increasing Productivity in the Workplace

There are many reasons why your company might need to increase its workplace productivity. Increased demand, entering a new market or the release of a new product can all require your organization to increase its output. Let’s take a closer look at the best ways to increase productivity in the workplace.

One proven method for increasing workplace productivity involves improving the physical surroundings of your employees. This might include incorporating more daylight, colors, open spaces and ergonomics into the design of your workspace. In addition, modifying workstations, improving safety or utilizing technology have all been shown to increase productivity and contribute to a company’s bottom line.

Consider creating an opinion survey to find out how employees view working for your organization. Be sure to use open-ended questions that encourage employees to explain how you can help them to be more efficient and productive.

Involve department supervisors and managers by scheduling a meeting to discuss strategies for increasing productivity. Effective strategies might include adding staff and reassigning jobs. Adjusting staffing levels can significantly improve lagging productivity. Introducing flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting and job-sharing can improve the utilization of your existing workforce.

When you are considering adding staff to increase productivity, be sure to calculate your cost to hire and compare it against your potential increase in revenue. While an immediate return on investment might be difficult to achieve, the additional staff is likely worthwhile for achieving long-term results. Utilizing a competent staffing agency can ensure that you locate top talent without having to use up your company’s resources to fill positions.

It’s extremely important to match your employees’ abilities and qualifications to the work that they perform. Employees that are unable to complete their work are probably in the wrong job. Your employees’ skill sets should always match their job requirements and responsibilities.

Once you have gathered all of the necessary information, compare the costs of increasing productivity using additional staff, improving the work environment and reassigning jobs. Be sure to consider the information received in your employee opinion surveys when deciding the benefits of each.

Understanding the Difference Between a Staffing Agency and a Temp Agency

Understanding the Difference Between a Staffing Agency and a Temp Agency

Most people group the terms staffing agency and temp agency together. Both organizations have overlapping business models and sometimes provide the same services. However, staffing agencies usually offer a wider range of options with more solutions to suit their client’s labor issues and needs.

Both staffing agencies and temp agencies provide their corporate clientele with workers that match a particular skill set and experience level. Depending on the needs of the company, corporate clients might ask the agency to fill a short term position on very short notice or they might provide advance notice of an upcoming need for a long-term or permanent position. Regardless of the type of position, when a corporate client needs a worker they will contact the staffing firm and request an individual with a certain level of experience and skills. The staffing firm consults its worker database, contacts a qualified worker and sends them directly to the corporate client.

Temp agencies and staffing agencies offer temporary workers to their clients. Both types of staffing firm provides short-term labor to help companies deal with unexpected absences, busy periods, illnesses, maternity leaves and special projects. The agencies, employees and clients understand that temporary assignments do not last forever.

While temp agencies only offer temporary work, staffing agencies focus on the long term needs of their clients. For example, staffing agencies that specialize in information technology professionals frequently supply companies with programmers and hardware specialists that are needed to work on projects lasting more than one year.

Temporary labor is much more expensive for a company than permanent employees are. However, when a temporary absence creates the need for short term help, the higher cost might be the company’s only option. When companies have positions available they usually prefer to fill them in order to avoid the high hourly rate of temporary workers. Staffing agencies provide several different staffing solutions including the recruitment of qualified individuals and the permanent placement of full-time employees.

Preparing for a Temp Agency Test

Preparing for a Temp Agency Test

Today, experienced individuals have many options when looking for a job. An employment agency is an ideal place to start. Some job seekers chose to use temp agencies. Temp agencies provide short-term employment opportunities. Applying for a job with a temp agency involves completing an application, interviewing with a recruiter at the agency and taking a skills test. The test is used to evaluate certain skills, which allows the agency to match job seekers with the perfect job. Preparing for a temp agency test is not difficult and can go a long way towards finding the right opportunity.

Before you arrive at the temp agency, find out which tests will be required. Typically a temp agency will use different tests for different career fields. For example, a position as an administration assistant will include a typing test. Since the agency might require testing on specific software programs, you should also ask which software versions will be used.

If you are unfamiliar with the software or you lack skills that will be tested, consider taking a training course. Most community colleges offer one-day workshops, and the internet is full of free training courses. Even if you are familiar with the software that will be used during the testing, it is still wise to take a training course to refresh your skills.

Perhaps the most important part of preparing for a temp agency test is practice. Understanding how a program works or how to use your skills is not always enough to do well on the tests. Many temp agency tests are timed. Practicing your skills significantly improves your speed and accuracy.

The day of testing you must be both mentally and physically prepared. Make sure that you get a full night’s rest the night before the test and eat a healthy breakfast. When you arrive at the temp agency, turn off your cell phone and take a few extra minutes to refocus your mind so that you are able to properly invest your energy on the test.