Recruiter News Line

Quantum Workplace serves as a market research company that surveys employee engagement.

“Employee engagement is measured by the ability and willingness of individuals to exert extra effort for the benefit of the company, their tendency to speak highly of the organization and their intent to stay,” according to Mr. Harris.

Best known as the research firm behind Best Places to Work programs in more than 40 metro areas, Quantum Workplace surveys more than 1.5 million employees among 5,000 companies nationwide. The surveys are conducted at different times of the year, but at the same time of the year in each location.

“In the past, our surveys have shown how employers can significantly influence, if not control, how motivated and satisfied their employees are. But, we couldn’t help but wonder what affect such a significant event beyond employer’s control—an economic crisis—might have on employee feelings and perceptions of their workplaces.

By an almost two-to-one margin (134 to 76), more employers had lower overall employee engagement scores in the fall of 2008 than in the fall of 2007. This result is out of the ordinary from our trends for the last five years, and strongly suggests that external circumstances regarding the economy may well be influencing employees’ attitudes about their jobs and workplaces,” adds Mr. Harris.

Lessons Learned

“To explore the issue further, we conducted an analysis of the 210 companies; both those that had higher engagement scores and those whose scores had dropped off.

Our analysis uncovered five key differentiators that reveal how some employers are growing and where others may be losing their hold,” notes Mr. Harris.

The following five lessons were responsible for a disproportionate share of the variation among winners and losers:

1. Setting a clear, compelling direction that empowers each employee. While the future might look grim to some employers, employees at other companies are working hand-in-hand with their supervisors to create a positive future for the company.
2. Open and honest communication. While some employers are hiding bad news from their employees, other companies are keeping their employees informed and updated, even if the news isn’t always good.
3. Continued focus on career growth and development. While some employers are cutting jobs or scaling back on promotions, other employers are helping their associates see opportunity in the midst of the crisis for their own growth and development.
4. Recognizing and rewarding high performance. While some employers may be instituting hiring freezes and cutting back on perks, others will continue to finds ways to reward those who are taking care of customers and keep them coming back.
5. Employee benefits that demonstrate a strong commitment to employee well-being. While some employers are scaling back employee benefits, others are committed to helping maintain the health and vitality of those who work for them.

According to Leigh Branham, author of The Seven Hidden Reasons that Employees Leave, “It may be difficult to implement the five lessons described, but as Winston Churchill admonished: ‘Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it.’ The additional efforts to engage employees, in spite of the economic currents, can garner significant returns.”

“Having a highly engaged workforce certainly doesn’t completely insulate an organization from economic recession. But a more engaged workforce can act as insulation, a buffer if you will, from the effects of the economic downturn,” according to Mark D. Hirschfeld, principal, Goldenrod Consulting, Inc.

The speed at which business is changing combined with new employment trends is why companies need to build a workforce that is flexible and focused. TrueBridge Resources, a leading professional staffing company, has opened for business to address this need and the increasing demand for professional contract staffing.

According to Workforce Management (10/20/08), the current performance of the U.S. staffing industry has been a tale of two sectors. Demand for skilled, professional workers has remained strong even as cutbacks hit the commercial sector, populated by lower-skilled clerical workers. The need to find the right skills to fill critical jobs could continue to bolster demand for certain types of professional temporary workers even if the economy worsens.

Information technology (IT) professionals are among those who are most in demand, partly because they are assigned to more important and integral corporate tasks and projects, so companies are less likely to immediately let them go.

TrueBridge Resources focuses on helping organizations identify critical needs in IT and professional back office staffing, then bridges the gap with professional candidates who can be immediately effective within an organization. TrueBridge partners with clients across a broad spectrum of industries to help find professionals on a contract, contract-to-

hire or full-time basis.

“We saw the growing need for organizations to use contracted professionals as a human resources and overall business strategy, especially in today’s dynamic work environment,” says Scott Kriscovich, president of TrueBridge Resources. “The biggest issues facing U.S. companies now and for the next two decades are a shortage of talented professionals and the growing costs of recruiting and training employees. We help companies engage candidates with proven professional experience for specialized skills. While perhaps needed only for a certain project or initiative, trained and highly-proficient support is critical during that period of time.”

By bringing in specialized talent on a contract basis, companies can be highly competitive. Barry Asin, chief analyst of Staffing Industry Analysts, says that one of the reasons temporary staffing is so popular with U.S. corporations is because of its flexibility. Companies can use temporary help to expand or shrink staffing levels to respond to economic conditions without the complications of hiring and firing permanent employees.

TrueBridge Resources helps companies make sense of these profound workplace changes. Its particular expertise is in placing skilled resources as business analysts; instructional designers and trainers; data architects, modelers and analysts; ERP (functional and technical); application developers (e.g., Java, .Net, C#, UI Design); project analysts, coordinators and managers; quality assurance professionals and testers; and financial analysts and accountants.

The need for top talent is greater than ever, yet this is the most challenging environment for filling critical, senior-level positions. Working with a professional staffing company like TrueBridge Resources allows organizations to better manage and reduce costs by paying for the right talent at the right time.

VIENNA, VA - In these turbulent times, the right decisions will result in a fabulous payback, while the wrong bets could prove to be disastrous.  Leaders are now recognizing that the margin for error is now very slim when executing a business plan.   The top concern for executives at the moment is excellence in execution.

“With fast action, smart leaders can actually turn the difficult economic times into opportunities.”

says Jeff Rocha, CEO of The Millennium Group International, a management consulting firm based in Virginia.  “We have been hearing concerns from our clients about the impact of the recession.” says Rocha, “We are recommending to clients that they move rapidly to adapt their strategy, cut costs and restructure operations.  Our clients who are doing these things will emerge from the slowdown stronger than ever.”

On Tuesday, The Millennium Group International (TMG) announced a set of solutions, called Recession Busting Solutions, specifically geared towards assisting clients through these difficult economic times.   Organizations will utilize these services to stay nimble in order to rapidly change to meet the unprecedented challenges we are seeing.   These solutions help businesses, non-profit and government organizations plan for success, refocus priorities, cut costs and improve accountabilities.

All attention is on accountability given the recession, the financial crisis and the various bailouts for companies such as General Motors, AIG and Citigroup.  “Stake holders have very little patience for ill conceived plans and poor execution.” says TMG CEO Jeff Rocha, “A good strategy process involves how to keep people and organizations on track and accountable.”

More can be learned about TMG’s Recession Busting Solutions at www.tmgi.net.  The TMG customized services available now are: Leadership Recharge, Change Strategy Now!, Financial Success Model, Facilitation for Quick Decisions, Lower Training Costs, Non Profit Outreach, Enhancing Customer Relations, and the Human Resources Tool Kit.  This announcement follows the recent launch of TMG’s new online e-learning platform for low cost training and development.

In case you haven’t heard, the sky may be falling. Due to some serious losses across the stock market, and even heavier losses expected after a fire sale in the foreign markets, a lot of economic pundits are scrambling around the farmhouse like Chicken Little predicting the arrival of another recession.

I’m not here to predict whether America will fall into an officially named economic slump or not. There are far better qualified men than me to help you with that. No, I’m going to clue you in on the fact that for recruiters, business is about to pick up.

Like peanut butter goes with chocolate, job hunts go with fears of recessions. It doesn’t matter if the recession actually materializes, just the threat of it being the lead story on every nightly news cast is enough to make people start polishing up their résumés and steadying themselves for the worst – being laid off.

You’ll soon be contacted by the first wave of nervous employees hoping to shore up their futures with a new job. At the very least they want a job with less potential for being laid-off than the one they have now.

Which means it’s time to really start reaching out to the companies on your client list and start seeing what jobs will be open for this sudden influx of eager candidates. The good news is that you should see a higher percentage of highly qualified candidates, each with a high degree of interest in changing jobs. Now, all you have to do is find the jobs for them.