CONNECT HR Associates Newsletter
Fall 2018
A Team Pledge The lifeblood of every company is its employees and as the labor market tightens, the chance of a workforce exodus becomes a real threat. The management consulting firm, Bain & Company, said that each year the average company loses 20-50% of its employee base. In step with this annual migration, is the cost of losing just one worker as being 150% of that person’s annual salary, according to Columbia University. We have put together a Team Pledge to keep your workforce more engaged and hopefully less likely to leave.
SAFETY CORNER
10 Fingers 10 Toes 2 Eyes 1 Nose
Safety Counts!
Require a work-life balance: Ensure your team is taking the necessary time off for themselves and their families. Attending family events, doctor visits, and vacations will help your workforce refresh and rejuvenate. Encourage generosity and gratitude with each other and the community through your own actions, be the example.
Offer flexibility around work hours and location. Many companies are offering trusted employees the ability to work from home on some projects.
Make opportunities for development and growth within the company. The socially connected workforce of today expects opportunities to present themselves or they will move on to the next big thing.
Don’t work short staffed; before long, morale and productivity will suffer. Use temporary workers to augment your workforce to maintain everyone’s work-life balance.
Use mentors, in a continuous training program, to keep your workforce confident and able to see their value within the company’s Big Picture.
In This Issue
Avoid Micro-Managing, show your team that you trust them to do their job.
Recognize employee contributions and make a big deal out of it. Appreciation of hard work boosts anyone’s self-esteem and boosts company pride. Keeping your team engaged will go a long way in reaching corporate goals and building a loyal workforce. A great place to start is using a Likert Scale questionnaire to measure job satisfaction, productivity, quality of peers, and the likelihood of changing jobs. Through anonymous compliments or complaints, you are able to measure your current efforts and possibly improve upon them.
A Team Pledge
Summer Fun Day
Website Update Coming
Cool App Corner
The Interview Shortlist
Hot Tub Beer Brats
Cherry Tomato Relish
Around The Water Cooler
From The President’s Desk
We Connect The Best Talent With Solid Companies
Summer Fun Day @
2019 Website Update Coming HR’s two principals are in conversations with the company’s original web designer, Mike Biersma, exploring a new website design for the company. Biersma is currently the UX Director for Maven Wave (MW) in Chicago. MW is a Enterprise Cloud Consulting & Digital Transformation Firm with Mike’s expertise being in the user experience.
Cool App Corner Yummly: Ultimate Kitchen Tool
2 Million Recipes 25 Million Users App or Website
The Interview Shortlist
Hot Tub Beer Brats
With over a decade of interviews under our belt, we came up with a short list of interview questions. When asked a question, please offer up an honest, thoughtful answer. If stumped on a tricky question, ask to hear it again so as to give yourself more time to come up with a INGREDIENTS genuine response. Most importantly, always do your homework before • 12 Bratwurst • 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper heading into an interview. • 1 Aluminum Foil Pan, • 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper Here are a few of our favorite questions you can expect to be asked at 11” x 9” x 2 3/8” • 1 Garlic Clove, Smashed • 3 Cans of Lager Beer • Wis.-Style Brat Buns your next interview: 1. Tell me about yourself? Keep your responses relevant to the position • 3 Tbsp. Butter • Spicy Brown Mustard • 1 Large Yellow Onion you are applying for. Your applicable skills may be forgotten and lost in unrelated job histories. DIRECTIONS: 2. What do you know about our (client’s) company? If you did your • Preheat Grill to 400 Degrees. homework, you should point out a few achievements your prospective • Place sliced onion in the Hot Tub employer has accomplished. Hiring Managers like team players with goals. disposable pan. 3. How did you hear about the position? An opportunity to tell your job • Add Red & Black Pepper and the Smashed search story, who or what got you excited to apply. Garlic. 4. Why did you leave your last job? Absolutely, do not bash your previous • Add Beer to the Hot Tub and set aside. employer. A short thoughtful response, as in, “I needed something more • Grill brats for 10 minutes and then place challenging.” Stay positive! the Hot Tub pan on the grill too. Continue 5. How do you handle stress? A personality question…only respond with a grilling brats for 5-10 minutes. Brats are stressful situation which had a positive outcome. You do not want to share done when the juices sizzle. • Move grilled brats to the Hot Tub & simmer the time you jumped off the deep end and nearly melted down. for 10-15 minutes. 6. What is your greatest weakness? Another personality question… do • Serve on (toasted) Wisconsin-Style Brat not go down the rabbit hole with a deep dark secret. Again, stay positive, Buns with onions and spicy brown mustard. truthful and offer up a weakness, of which, you need to work on. Cherry Tomato Relish (Optional) 7. Why should we hire you? Have a sincere answer readily available because this question is coming. Ideas to respond, give an example of being a team player, a results driven worker, your competitiveness, or having a solid on-the-job work history. 8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? A hiring manager wants to know if you have ambition and realistic goals. Adding to your skill set to improve Ingredients: job security in the future is a great answer. • 1 Pint Red Cherry Tomatoes, Diced 9. Why is there a gap in your employment? Be direct with your answer • 1 Pint Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Diced and fill in the gaps with volunteerism, classes, family, etc. Try and move the • 1/3 Cup Red Onion, Finely Chopped conversation forward to what you can contribute now and your willingness • 2 tsp. Fresh Dill, Chopped to begin. Do not linger in no-man’s land. • 2 tsp. Seasoned Rice Vinegar 10. What do you like to do outside of work? Another personal question • 1 tsp. Canola Oil to size you up to see whether you will be a good cultural fit for the • 1 tsp. Sugar company. Be honest but semi-professional. Open up to an inside look at a • 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt week in the life of John Smith. • 1/4 tsp. Coarsely Ground Black Pepper Combine all ingredients and toss lightly. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Serve on grilled brats.
Around The Water Cooler
Stop In or Call
October 3, 2018 Bad weather postponed July’s 5th Annual FRABAA Fire House Run to a September date but the event still netted $6000 for its two charities, the Shoe Barn Project for kids and Clark County’s Family Violence Prevention Center. Our own Felicia Smith was the Event Director and received several accolades for her effort. At home, the Smiths have a new puppy, Stella, an Italian mastiff. Stella will be nearly 100 lbs. when grown and we predict their jealous bulldog, Felicia @ FHR Bo, will soon find himself the Omega in the house. At work, Felicia has settled into her Recruiter position, which has led to a better understanding of the complexities of our Ultra Staff software. Office Manager, Michelle Horner, mentioned the ongoing struggles of getting applicants to actually show up for an appointment. Expecting No-Shows, the staff has been doubling up on appointments in the hope of filling the numerous job openings we currently have. At home, Michelle and TJ have enjoyed their summer vacations with their two boys. A week with extended family on a Michigan lake, a Trip to the Ohio Caverns, and the Columbus Zoo. The zoo was the boys’ favorite trip with the Train, Dinosaur Boat, and Carousel rides. At the Ohio Caverns, in West Liberty, Dominic learned how to pan for crystals at their giant mining sluice. Dominic took home his efforts and scrubbed them with a toothbrush before putting them on display. He just may end up in the Rocky Mountains on his own stake.
Piqua Office 314 N. Wayne Street Piqua, Ohio 45356 Phone: 937.778.8563 Fax: 937.778.8569 Tipp City Office 247 S. Garber Drive STE A Tipp City, Ohio 45371 Phone: 937.667.0003 Fax: 937.667.0111 Email: info@hr-ps.com Visit us on the web @
www.hr-ps.com
5th Annual FRABAAA Fire House Run (First Responders & Bikers Advocating Against Abuse)
The Horners
Columbus Zoo Carousel
From The President’s Desk President, Heather Risner told us she has been busy with her administrative tasks for her company. Besides her usual accounting duties, Heather has been busy adding a Back-Office software form requested by the state. Of course, the change is retroactive to January, but with some assistance with ABD IT, she got the distraction taken care of. Heather noted the numerous open positions we currently have with our clients and the cycle of applicant attendance. If a Full Moon falls on a Monday, we better be ready, the door bell will be ringing on Tuesday morning. (Joke) Heather has hired a new receptionist, Lauren Ashcraft. Lauren is being mentored by our best recruiter, the Boss. In addition, Felicia Smith has already praised her ability to learn our methods. Lauren is very personable and will be a great addition to our staff. Lauren has a 3 month old, Anna Marie, which will give her plenty motivation to succeed. On the home front, Heather’s youngest son Nick is commuting back & forth to Sinclair Community College in Dayton. He is studying Visual Communications (Graphic Design) and seems to enjoy the work. Nick is also fitting in some baseball with Frosty Brown’s Fall League. With his knee surgery and rehab earlier this year, he seems to be running freely again.
Boss Lady & Lauren, Day 1
Crew Day @ HR