Healthcare

What Makes Temp Employees Stay on the Job Longer?

Greta Cline

Partner, CFO/COO

October 5, 2017

With unemployment rates still at an all-time low, retaining temporary workers continues to be top of mind for employers and staffing agencies like That’s Good HR.

The current debate regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not help as benefits are a top reason talent is retained. That’s Good HR offers the required ACA health care plans to all full-time temporary workers, but there is low participation in these plans.

We are committed to our candidates and want to attract the highest caliber employees for our clients. One of the ways we do this is to offer other health insurance options, including a fixed indemnity insurance plan. Indemnity plans offer the freedom for employees to choose their own health care professionals and visit almost any hospital they choose. Employers have been using traditional indemnity plans since the World War II era. Interestingly, before World War II only 10% of employees had health coverage from any source, but by 1955 (10 years after the War) nearly 70% of workers had health insurance, according to The Essentials of Managed Health Care.

We believed that this type of insurance plan could be a better fit and more useful to a temporary employee. This month a study was released that confirmed that this was the right decision. Essential Staff Care, known as ESC, tabulated data from more than half a million temporary staffing employees across the country. The study revealed that temporary employees enrolled in an ESC Indemnity Plan stayed on their assignment 47% longer than employees not enrolled in an indemnity plan. That is good news for That’s Good HR, since this type of plan is the most popular option for our candidates. Another benefit to them? The plan rates – which are paid weekly – have remained unchanged since 2010.

Offering insurance options to our candidates helps attract better and more qualified candidates to fill open positions. The ACA requires us to offer specific plans to maintain compliance, but we also chose to offer the indemnity plan that temporary workers can afford and use. Temporary employees with this health insurance are more likely to recommend their employer to other job seekers and have fewer health related absences, according to the study.

According to the study, more than half of Americans hold less than $1,000 in savings, meaning that one illness or injury could result in significant hardship. Medical benefits rank as the number one job perk that employees are looking for and 69 percent of candidates nationally say they would consider one job over another if the benefits were better. Having the option to enroll in the indemnity insurance helps alleviate financial stress and gives temporary employees an affordable option in addition to the ACA compliant plans that we offer.

Providing this insurance and explaining the options to employees is just one of the many services That’s Good HR provides our clients – saving them time and money. The American Staffing Association states 60% of employers feel overwhelmed with the increased complexity of managing benefits packages and 7 out of 10 employers believe they cannot keep up with the changes. The good news? That’s Good HR isn’t one of them. Give us a call, we’ll take it from here. In your newfound free time, read the full study by ESC.

HR Insights

Benefits to Using a Staffing Agency

Tiffany Moore

VP, Client Partnerships

August 23, 2017

According to a recent infographic released by American Staffing Association, staffing agencies are among the top 5 job search resources. Surprised? We aren’t. Here’s why:

Options, options and more options. We focus on finding temporary employees, employees that begin as temps then can be hired on full time or employees for direct hire. So you can decide what option is right for your open position. Whatever you choose, we’ve got options.
Take your pick. You tell us what you need and then we deliver a selection of candidates for you to choose from.
Save time. According to the most recent benchmarking study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average time it takes to fill a position is 42 days. Our goal is to provide you with resumes for review within 24 hours. That’s 98% faster than average!
Deep bench. We have a deep network to find folks for your position fast. Every day our trained recruiters are actively interviewing candidates. They get to know their technical skills, but also those important soft skills that you didn’t even know you were looking for.
Listen Up. We listen to what you need to understand what type of employee would be a good fit. Then we head to our aforementioned bench to find you top talent.

You deserve strategic staffing solutions, not some one-size-fits-all quick fix. We’re known in Indy for our personal, authentic approach to staffing that delivers long-term results. Reach out today and I’ll show you.

HR Insights

Interview and Resume Red Flags

Tiffany Moore

VP, Client Partnerships

February 11, 2017

Hiring new employees is never an easy task. Sifting through dozens—or even hundreds—of resumes and interviewing candidates can feel daunting and draining. But discerning who the right candidate is for your position doesn’t have to feel impossible. Next time you’re hiring, look for these resume and interview warning signs to narrow the pool and find your ideal employee faster.

Resume Red Flags

Multiple Career/Industry Changes: Many people change careers over their lifetime, but multiple career hops over a short period of time may be a sign your candidate lacks interest or abilities.
Sloppy Resume: Poor grammar or spelling, disorganization, and vague descriptions can be a sign your candidate lacks basic skills, education, and a willingness to put in effort.
Unexplained Gaps: While some employment gaps make sense and are unavoidable—illness, education, or staying home to care for children—suspicious employment gaps can convey a lack of motivation or inability to handle responsibility.
Inconsistencies: If information on an applicant’s resume doesn’t align with what they’re telling you verbally or on an application, there might be reason to suspect dishonesty.
Job Hopping: Unless there’s an obvious career trajectory in sight, changing jobs or positions often may indicate a person has trouble getting along with others or lacks competency.

Interview Red Flags

Unprofessional Appearance or Behavior: Wearing inappropriate or very casual clothes are warning signs the applicant doesn’t know the basics in professionalism. Also watch for candidates who don’t make eye contact or conduct themselves with good business basics like proper posture and handshakes.
Being Unprepared: Showing up without requested resumes, references, or copies of applicable documents (or even simply pen and paper) conveys an indifferent attitude. You want to know that candidates are responsible and taking the job opportunity seriously.
Talking Poorly About Others: A candidate who trash talks his/her old co-workers or bosses could be indicative of an office troublemaker or heavy gossiper. Negative work encounters and relationships happen, but you don’t want a candidate who dwells on these things or spreads malicious stories around.
Vague responses: If your applicant can’t give concrete examples of their work performance, they may have overinflated previous job roles or abilities on their resume. Look for solid, concrete, relevant details in answers to your questions.
Not asking questions: While questions regarding pay and other benefits at the first interview are sometimes considered taboo, a candidate who asks no questions at all may reveal an inability for deep thinking, low self-confidence, or a lack of interest in the job.

Still unsure about hiring the right person for your company? Working with a staffing firm is a great way to hand off hiring responsibilities to HR professionals. At That’s Good HR, we tackle the intensive hiring tasks like sifting through resumes, narrowing applicants, interviewing, and onboarding. Ready to find your next great employee? Contact us now.

Staffing

5 Tech Must-Haves for Recruiting in 2017

Amber Crosby

January 16, 2017

Today’s digital world has changed the landscape of job recruitment forever. Business News Daily writer Nicole Fallon Taylor highlights just some of the ways the digital shift has impacted recruiting—such as swapping out paper resumes, walk-in applications, and newspaper ads for an all-digital job searching, application, and hiring experience. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Successful companies looking to hire top talent must leverage new digital strategies to find and attract new candidates to their businesses. Don’t get lost in the dust–stay current in the competitive job market with these five tech tactics for recruiting your next hire.

1. Social Media for Passive Recruitment

A recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey says 84% of companies are using social media to search for passive candidates—those not actively seeking employment. That’s a nearly 30% increase from 2011, a clear sign social media has become a hot tool to find and woo candidates. Using social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find talented individuals allows companies to gather information on work experience, education, organizational affiliations, and social characteristics on prospects. It’s especially useful for filling specialized or niche positions where companies can focus in on individuals possessing very specific or hard-to-find qualities or backgrounds. Companies are also using social media to advertise openings to select audiences. Businesses can handpick specific prospect groups to target and create very tailored, enticing messages in the ads. Users who click through the ads can be sent to custom landing pages to find more information.

2. Mobile-Friendly (now a non-negotiable)

Today’s job seekers are digitally-savvy and very likely using mobile devices instead of a desktop computer to hunt for jobs. This shift in technology use demands that businesses change the way they recruit to stay competitive. According to SHRM, two-thirds of businesses are responding by pursuing mobile-friendly platforms. Websites, job postings, and even the application process should be accessible (and user-friendly) from a smartphone. Check out our new and improved job postings as an example.

3. Job Boards

Even with today’s focus on social media, job boards—like Careerbuilder.com, LinkedIn, and Indeed.com—still play an important role in recruiting job seekers. Job boards make it easy to post career openings and many allow candidates to upload resumes into a searchable database.

4. Updated Website

The world moves fast—especially in business. Just like the latest computer or smartphone becomes old news quickly, a company’s website can become stale after a few short years. Today’s job seekers “shop” for companies online like they shop for material goods, so it’s critical to put your best foot forward online. Updated website design, savvy photography of your team and space, and digestible content will attract job candidates and invite them into the culture of your company. List job openings directly on your site, and make it possible for talented individuals to submit their resume easily, even if there’s not an open position for them.

5. Easy Application Process

Posting jobs on your website is a great way to advertise openings. But don’t lose out on hiring the right person due to an outdated, confusing, or complicated application process. Job seekers appreciate an easy, online experience that takes little to no time. If they get bored, confused, or frustrated, you’re likely to lose them quickly to a competitor. It’s also critical that someone on your team is monitoring any application submissions or communications from potential employees daily. Don’t let your next rockstar employee slip through the cracks by missing or delaying a response to their inquiry.

The truth is job recruitment will always be one of the biggest challenges in business. Finding top talent in a sea of social media and job board applicants can be tough, requiring lots of time and effort. If you’re discouraged or ready for a hand, let us help. We’re experts at finding skilled and talented people for jobs that fit them well. Want to learn more? Reach out to our experienced team members, Mary Springer (mary.springer@thatsgoodhr.com) or Tiffany Moore (tiffany.moore@thatsgoodhr.com), or call us at 317.469.4141.