Employment Screening | Tips For Employee Motivation Pt. 2

by Employment Screening Alliance | Jul 22, 2016 | Employment Screening

Employment Screening | Tips For Employee Motivation Pt. 2

Employment Screening | 6. Assign leadership roles

Not every single person can obtain a leadership role, but this doesn’t mean you can’t assign different leadership roles every once in awhile. If you notice that one person is excelling at a certain project, make them the leader of that project.

Not only will this help to boost confidence, it will increase motivation. The fact that this new leader was acknowledged and given some added responsibilities will help him or her to get the job done the best way they know how.

Pro Tip: If you’re having trouble choosing one specific leader, allow them to rotate the leadership role for future projects. This might make the true leaders stand out.

7. Encourage Employee Volunteering

Allowing employees to volunteer on company time is beneficial for motivation, as well as the world around us. For some employees, working for a company that encourages volunteerism is motivational in itself.

As an employer, you’re proving that you care about issues that your employees care about. Some large companies take it one step further and personally help employees find the right volunteering fit for them or donate matching amounts to a chosen organization. Employees will be motivated to work hard for a company that works hard to help others.

Pro Tip: Plan a day of volunteering together. This is beneficial for team building and getting to know employees outside of the work environment. Participating in volunteer efforts also benefits your company’s image.

8. Create an ’employee praise calendar’

An employee praise calendar is a unique and efficient way to ensure that every deserving employee is noticed, once again, increasing motivation.

Examples include taking a deserving team out to lunch; sending company-wide emails recognising a specific team or team member; calling employees into your office to personally thank them; and more. With a busy schedule and/or a big team, it could be tough to remember to acknowledge everyone, but creating a specific calendar can help make it possible.

Pro Tip: If possible, plan at least a month ahead. You can always make edits, but at least you will be prepared with every employee covered.

9. Leave small gifts or notes

Small gifts and notes are affordable ways to acknowledge your employees. Whether it’s a quick handwritten thank you note or a small and meaningful gift, the gesture can go a long way.

When employees are shown that they’re appreciated, they tend to be more motivated.

Examples: desk paperweights, engraved key chains and plaques

10. Implement a wellness program

Implementing a wellness program shows your employees you care about their health and well-being. Encourage healthy eating habits and exercising, as well as workplace safety. Some companies even allow time for flu shots and health fairs, and some large companies even have the budget for on-site fitness.

It’s motivational for employees to know that after the work day ends or before it begins, they have easy access to a fitness center. After all, a happy and healthy employee is more likely to be a motivated employee.

Pro Tip: Create a fun and friendly weight loss competition. Split up into teams, and encourage one another to pack healthy lunches and take walks during break.

Employee motivation serves a meaningful purpose. Putting one or more of these employee motivation tactics into action could even benefit the relationship between employees and managers.

Depending on the type of company, the size and what the budget allows, choose from this list of ideas and see the motivation and company performance increase!

Learn what ESA can do for you! Call 866-830-3724 to discuss employment screening services or complete the form on www.esascreening.com now!

Employment Screening | Psych Testing: The Pros And Cons

by Employment Screening Alliance | Jul 16, 2016 | Employment Screening

Employment Screening |  Psych Testing: The Pros and Cons

Employment Screening |  Psych testing has always been a popular tool with recruiters. It can be used to match a candidate’s cognitive abilities and personality traits with those required to perform the role and to ‘fit’ with the company culture … things that may not necessarily be revealed through the interview process alone.

Cognitive abilities are important in most occupations and cognitive testing can reveal how well a candidate communicates and makes decisions.

Typical cognitive tests focus on six types of reasoning ability:

• Abstract – the ability to learn complex information in order to solve problems;

• Verbal – the ability to communicate concepts verbally and draw accurate conclusions from written information;

• Numerical – the ability to perform basic numerical calculations and interpret numerical data such as graphs;

• Mechanical – the understanding of mechanical and physical concepts;

• Spatial – the ability to perceive and mentally manipulate objects in different contexts; and

• Emotional Intelligence – the ability to identify emotions in yourself and others and to use that knowledge wisely in decision making (also known as E.Q).

Personality tests can be used to measure a candidate’s behavioural tendencies in a work context. There are numerous personality tests in use today the majority of which are based on the five recognised personality traits:

• Extraversion;

• Agreeableness;

• Conscientiousness;

• Neuroticism; and

• Openness to experience.

Psych tests are far from infallible. For instance, they may be used on the wrong target group or wrong cultural group, they may not be validated (i.e. tested on a large population over a long period of time) and they may not be administered consistently (under the same conditions for all candidates).

There are also privacy issues associated with psych testing. The tests need to be professionally and confidentially administered and the questions justified in the context of the position, otherwise a candidate could have grounds for legal recourse.

Of course there is also the question of when during the recruitment process such testing should be carried out. I know some employers who administer the tests as part of the initial screening process, while others will wait and only test the final candidates making up the shortlist. Some companies will ask their recruitment partner to run the tests on their behalf, while others will insist on getting their own internal psychologists to evaluate the results.

Regardless of when in the process it is incorporated, psych testing should always be considered as just one aspect of the recruitment process. It should never be the decision making tool, and it should never take the place of the tried and tested methods of performing background checks, verifying references and conducting thorough behavioural-based or competency-based interviews. Rather, it should be used as a means of confirming what you already suspect … that you have in fact found the right candidate for the job.

Employment Screening | Check Facebook Before Making a Hire? Pt. 1

by Employment Screening Alliance | Jul 15, 2016 | Employment Screening

Employment Screening | Check Facebook Before Making a Hire? Pt. 1

Employment Screening | Just how accurate are social profiles in determining the personalities and capabilities of your prospective employees? A recent study found 30% of employers use Facebook and 22% used Twitter to screen candidates. 44% said they would consider this approach in future. But should a candidate’s social profile be fair game in the screening process?

The ethics and validity of a ‘Facebook check’ is an open debate with strong arguments for both sides. Here are a few pros and cons of using this approach in screening candidates.

FOR: ‘Social media checks are fair game in recruitment’

1. There are situations that make checking a Facebook profile legitimate. An example is if the employee in question works in public relations, advertising, marketing, sales or other industries that otherwise serves as a representative of a certain company. In that case, employers are allowed to ensure that the employee is not being an embarrassment to the company. The company’s name is clearly at stake and employers are responsible for keeping it clean and unrelated to anything that might tarnish or spoil it.

2. It can serve as an extended resume. An employee who displays his depth of knowledge and interest on his public profile might increase his chances of getting hired. A true passion on a certain subject will be apparent even on a public profile and if the blogs and pictures support it, then that further increases the credibility of his skill.

We understand the importance of each result. This is why we communicate a due date for each request. We always recommend in-person record searches – NOT DATABASE SEARCHES. This means we have someone literally walk into the court house where the person lives/lived to check court records. Although the onsite search takes a bit longer than a database search, this method ensures the most accurate and complete results. Database searches cannot always ensure information source, timeliness or accuracy. -RecruitLoop

Employment Screening | 7 Ways to Stand Out to Passive Candidates Pt. 2

by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 30, 2016 | Employment Screening

Employment Screening | 7 Ways to Stand Out to Passive Candidates Pt. 2

Employment Screening | 1. Use social media

Use social media to your advantage. It’s often one of the easiest places to find passive candidates who meet your criteria, and also one of the easiest ways to reach out.

2. Be personable

Be personable, not stuffy. Even if your organization prides itself on professionalism, people and personal interactions make all the difference when it comes to job satisfaction.

3. Ensure your application process is simple and easy to navigate

Alternatively, don’t even bother forcing a passive candidate to apply formally. After all, you’ve sought them out, why make them jump through hoops? There’s no point in getting someone all excited about the job only to have them get frustrated when they can’t even get to the next stage of the process with ease!

4. Be mobile enabled 

Ensure that all of your sites (the main company site, all social media profiles, application page if applicable, etc.) are mobile-friendly. Also, be sure they work without any glitches from any device. Optimizing for smartphone access should be a given, not an afterthought.

5. Put yourself in their shoes

Most people don’t like a cold call out of nowhere. That just feels spammy. Find something to break the ice such as a relevant group membership or industry event you could invite them to attend. Or find someone they’re already connected to and have that person arrange an introduction. This lets you contact them in a way that feels less sales-y so the candidate is less weary from the outset.

6. Make it easy for them to research you

That candidate is going to be Googling the heck out of you if they’re not already familiar with your company. Make it easy for them to find information from multiple sources (you do have multiple social media profiles for the company, don’t you?), and make sure the information they find is consistent in terms of the image it creates.

7. Don’t become a stalker

Remember it might take multiple points of contact before a passive candidate will respond. They’re not actively looking, after all. Find balance  –don’t give up after one unanswered communication, but don’t become a stalker either. -recruit loop

Employment Screening | How to Be the Next HR Hero Pt. 2

by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 28, 2016 | Employment Screening

Employment Screening | How to Be the Next HR Hero Pt. 2

Employment Screening | Be Authentic.

The biggest part of a secret identity is putting on a different face when people are around. Cut it out. The more “human” you are with others, the more they’ll be human interacting with you. The emotional makeup of us as people is the most critical aspect we possess. You don’t do yourself any favors being an emotionless robot in HR. Drop the façade and let them see the person inside.

Fight the Villians.

There are villains in every company. Too often they get ignored, avoided, partially disciplined or promoted (if they bring in results). Heroes call out villains and face them head on. It will be a battle, but it’s worth it. Not only because you’re addressing people who should have been addressed long ago, but you’re setting the example of how people should treat each other. Don’t shy away from confrontation or hide behind some system of discipline. Clean up your workplace and let the villains know that they aren’t welcome anymore.

Form Your Own League of Heroes.

It’s difficult to be heroic on your own. You can feel isolated very quickly. The best thing about being a heroic talent advisor is that there are others who are in the battle as well. Instead of wishing you had others around you who understood your efforts, seek out other heroes and intentionally make them part of your league. Connect with them often and share how it’s going. Learn from each other and encourage each other to stay out front and out of the shadows.

In my career, I’ve been the HR person who hid behind my secret identity, and I’ve become someone who is now no longer skulking in the back hallways. I’ve donned my cape and mask out among the people where heroes should be. Employees don’t take advantage of HR heroes; they look to them to know they will bring out the best in others.

It’s a great gig to be an HR hero, and well worth the risk! -Career Builder 

Employment Screening | 5 Text Messaging Tips For Recruiters Pt. 2

by Employment Screening Alliance | Jun 23, 2016 | Employment Screening

Employment Screening | 5 Text Messaging Tips For Recruiters Pt. 2

Employment Screening | There is no need to go out and join a professional recruiters club, though you certainly can, if one exists in your area. Fortunately, you can find easy access to virtual groups on Facebook and LinkedIn that can be just as valuable to your efforts: