Adams & Garth Blog

As a staffing agency in Charlottesville, we know that there are many job seekers out there who are uncertain about working with a staffing agency to find a job. There are a lot of misconceptions about the industry and the kind of work offered through staffing agencies. But, in many cases, it’s more about myth than reality. Here’s a look:

Misconception #1. Staffing agencies only fill clerical jobs.

This was the case many years ago, but it’s certainly not true today. While some staffing agencies do specialize in filling clerical type positions, many also fill high-level positions in fields such as IT, healthcare, accounting, and more.

Misconception #2. Staffing agencies only fill temporary jobs.

Again, some staffing agencies do specialize in temporary staffing. However, there are many others that also offer temporary-to-hire and direct hire, permanent positions. There are also staffing agencies that recruit for executive-level positions only, as well.

Misconception #3. Staffing agencies only offer low-paying jobs.

Some of the jobs being offered through staffing agencies are certainly low-paying. But that may be reflective of the market’s “going rate” for that type of position. So the pay level is more dependent on the position and the skill level required to fill it.

Misconception #4. All jobs are short-term.

Some jobs are short-term, specifically those that are offered on a temporary or contract basis. However, staffing agencies fill many long-term assignments, as well as full-time, permanent positions.

Misconception #5. Staffing agencies don’t offer benefits.

Some do and some don’t. In fact, there are many staffing agencies out there that offer comprehensive benefits packages, as well as additional perks, like free training, referral programs, and paid vacations.

Misconception #6. Staffing agencies don’t offer “real” jobs.

The jobs offered through staffing agencies, whether temporary or full-time, are certainly real jobs. In fact, many of the biggest companies in Charlottesville use staffing agencies to fill positions.

Misconception #7. I have to pay to work with a staffing agency.

The employer pays the staffing agency, not the candidate.

Misconception #8. Taking a temporary job will hurt my chances of finding a full-time job.

A temporary job may actually help your prospects of finding a full-time job. The reason? Many employers are afraid to hire full-time because they don’t want to make a hiring mistake. However, if a temporary worker truly excels, an employer may turn that temporary job into a permanent one.

The bottom line is that if you’re unemployed and searching for a new job, you may want to consider connecting with a Charlottesville staffing agency.

As one of the leading staffing agencies in Charlottesville, we know from experience that hiring is a lot more successful if you use the right candidate assessment tools. Beyond the basic job application and interview, here are some tips and tools you can use to evaluate applicants – and hire star performers.

General abilities test

These tests measure a candidate’s reasoning, spatial, verbal, and written abilities to ensure a candidate can perform tasks that require a certain level of reading, computing, and communication skills.

Use for: Entry-level positions that don’t require an advanced degree.

Specific ability test

For some positions, a general abilities test simply isn’t enough. A specific abilities test may be a better choice if you need to test for specific mental capabilities (such as written comprehension or mechanical aptitude) or physical capabilities (such as reaction time or physical endurance).

Use for: Positions that require a very specific skill set.

Job simulation or work sample test

These kinds of tests will give you a good preview of how a candidate will perform on the job. While they can be difficult and expensive to create, they do provide you with valuable insight in how an individual will handle situations that arise in a real work setting.

Use for: Cost is a factor, so use for higher level or hard-to-fill positions.

Knowledge or skills inventories

These tests are used to assess a candidate’s grasp of specific knowledge and responsibilities.

Use for: High-level positions that require in depth knowledge on sophisticated topics, such as workplace safety laws.

Personality testing

These can be used to measure a candidate’s personality, including their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, leadership skills, and confidence level, to ensure that person is a good fit for the position and the company.

Use for: A range of skilled and professional positions.

Other important assessments include reference checks, background investigations, and drug screening. These checks in particular are critically important because they can help you avoid making a potentially catastrophic hiring decision.

If you’d like to learn more about candidate assessment tools, or need help with the hiring process at your company, please contact Adams & Garth. As an experienced Charlottesville staffing agency, our goal is to make hiring hassle-free for you.

On-site staffing, also known as vendor on premise, is a staffing solution where a member of your Charlottesville staffing agency works directly at your facility to manage your temporary workforce. This staffing solution certainly isn’t for every company. But, if you are a high volume temporary staffing user, then you could benefit from it. Here’s how:

Get relief for HR.

An on-site staffing manager can become an extension of your HR department and take on the time-consuming tasks of sourcing, screening, and interviewing applicants, as well as completing necessary paperwork. They can also schedule all temporary workers and keep track of workers’ time.

Improved quality of temporary workers.

An on-site staffing manager recruits strictly for your company, so they know your company’s hiring process and understand your staffing needs. As a result, they will be able to quickly find temporary workers that are a good match for you.

Improve productivity of temporary workers.

An on-site staffing manager will work with you to develop recruiting, screening, interviewing, testing, training, and safety and orientation programs to help ensure temporary staff are qualified, and can hit the ground running.

Create staffing contingency plans.

An on-site staffing manager can create a contingency plan in the case of a staffing emergency. This will help ensure that your projects can continue and that you can meet your deadlines, regardless of the situation.

Schedule regular communications.

An on-site staffing manager will schedule regular meetings to solicit feedback, ensure that all your staffing needs are being met, and work with you to prepare for any upcoming staffing needs.

If you think your company would benefit from on site staffing, or if you’d like to learn more about this staffing solution, please contact Adams & Garth. As a Charlottesville staffing agency, we have the knowledge and capacity to deliver an efficient, on site staffing solution for you.

As a leading Charlottesville staffing & HR agency, we know how valuable exit interviews can be. Unfortunately, many employers ignore the exit interview process for a variety of reasons.

• They may never have conducted these kinds of interviews before and don’t have a formal process in place.
• They don’t want to spend the time and energy to conduct exit interviews.
• And they don’t want to hear any criticisms from departing employees.

However, many times, these departing employees feel liberated and are therefore a rich source of useful information. During the exit interview, employers can learn about why the person is leaving (if they don’t already know) and also gain some feedback from them that can be used to improve the organization, from the working conditions to the pay and benefits.

So if you’ve never conducted an exit interview before – and you don’t know where to start – here are 12 critical questions to ask to get the process going:

1. What is your reason for leaving the company?

2. What triggered your decision to leave?

3. Is there anything that could have been done to prevent your departure?

4. What did you like most about your job?

5. What did you like least about your job?

6. How was your relationship with your supervisor?

7. Did you feel like you were given the resources and support to perform your job successfully?

8. Were you given clear goals and adequate feedback about your performance?

9. What suggestions do you have to make the company a better place to work?

10. What are some key qualities and personality characteristics that you feel we should seek in your replacement?

11. What are your thoughts on the company’s benefits and compensation?

12. Would you recommend a friend or family member work for the company? Why or why not?

There’s no point in conducting an exit interview if you’re not going to use the information you gather to your advantage. So once the interview is complete, don’t just file your interview notes away. It’s time to take action on the information, details, and criticisms that were discussed.

And if you need help developing a formal exit interview process, please contact Adams & Garth. As a leading Charlottesville staffing & HR agency, we can offer you an extensive range of HR services and solutions to meet your company’s needs. Contact us today to get started.

Human resource mistakes are kind of like ticking time bombs, just waiting to go off. You don’t know where, and you don’t know when, but trust us, as a Charlottesville staffing and HR agency, we’ve seen it happen again and again. What’s worse is that an HR mistake can be costly and in some cases, could even lead to a lawsuit.

So what are some of the top mistakes companies make when it comes to HR? Here are five:

Not keeping your workforce union free.
If your workers think that you are not interested in the issues that impact them, they may look outside your company for representation. Therefore, it’s important to have the lines of communication open with your employees and to deal with any of their grievances immediately.

Requiring that a job candidate take a medical exam before an offer.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from requiring that a candidate take a medical exam, or even asking about any disabilities, before offering a job. Once a job is offered, though, you can require the individual to take a job-relevant medical exam.

Failing to establish a sexual harassment policy.
If one of your managers is sexually harassing an employee, then you are liable as well. In light of that fact, it’s important to make sure you establish a strong sexual harassment policy and make it known to all employees and managers. In addition, if you do hear about a possible instance of sexual harassment at your company, you need to deal with it immediately.

Failing to complete I-9 forms for new employees.
You must be sure to fill out the I-9 forms completely in case you are ever audited by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Not documenting disciplinary action.
When an employee engages in inappropriate behavior, you need to document it. If you ever have to fire that employee, and they file a lawsuit for unlawful termination, you will then have the evidence you need to back up your claim. Otherwise, you may be out of luck.

If you have questions about employment law and HR policies, please contact Adams & Garth. As a Charlottesville staffing and HR agency, we can help you ensure that your company is in compliance with all necessary state and federal employment rules and regulations. Contact us today to learn more.

Laying off employees is never a welcome proposition. Not only does it mean that things are not going well at your company, but you also have to actually sit down face-to-face with your employees and let them go – no easy task.

So is there any way to avoid laying off employees? Here are some tips you may want to consider first:

Reduce the number of hours worked.
Consider creating four-day work weeks in order to reduce hours and salary, or ask your employees to trade in some of their pay for additional time off.

Institute a temporary pay cut.
Though most employees will protest, if it’s between a pay cut and a job loss, most will take the cut.

Allow attrition.
When an employee quits or retires from the company, don’t fill their position. Instead, assign their job duties to remaining employees at your company.

Encourage leaves of absence.
Allow employees to take leaves of absence with full benefits for a specified time period. However, make sure you promise them that they will have a job when they return, though it may not be the same position with the same salary.

Put a cap on overtime.
Put a limit on the amount of overtime employees are allowed to work. If you need employees to work a lot of overtime, consider bringing in some temporary employees instead. It may cost you less in the long run.

Offer an early retirement package.
Create and offer a retirement package to those employees who qualify.

Place a freeze on hiring.
Even if you’re going through a temporary increase in demand, don’t hire more staff until your company’s situation has truly stabilized. If you need extra help for a period of time, then consider bringing in some temporary employees.

Offer a shared ownership package.
Offer your employees the ability to trade pay for company stock.

Encourage job sharing.
Let some of your full-time employees convert to part-time employees and share certain job roles.

Use temporary staffing.
Meet a rise in demand without hiring more core staff or paying overtime by using temporary staffing.

At Adams & Garth, we’ve helped many companies throughout Charlottesville and Central Virginia to avoid laying off full-time employees through the use of strategic, temporary staffing. If your company is currently in a position where lay offs seem imminent, please contact us. We may be able to help.

Job security is a thing of the past. Just because your job is going great one day, doesn’t mean you’ll be employed the next. But there are steps you can take to ensure that you’re always employed – and employable – even in the toughest economic times.

Step 1: Work in a high demand industry.
We all know that industries like IT and healthcare are growing fast here in Central Virginia and beyond. However, that doesn’t mean you need to be a tech wizard or a nurse to get a job in these industries. All companies need bookkeepers and accountants, marketing associates, administrative assistants, and many other kinds of skill sets.

So, for instance, if you’re an administrative assistant, you may want to consider turning down that job with the print newspaper and opt instead for a position with a pharmaceutical company.

Step 2: Forecast trends in your industry.
Once you’ve landed your dream job, one way to hold onto it is to stay on top of industry trends. Conduct research and read plenty of journals and trade publications. Then ask yourself:

• Are there certain trends or new technologies that might create serious change at my company in the short term? What about the long term?
• Will those trends make an impact on my job? How so?
• Are there certain skills I can acquire that I don’t have yet?
• How can I go about acquiring those skills?

The bottom line is that you should anticipate and prepare for change now. Later might be too late.

Step 3: Adopt a mentor.
You may have questions or ideas about your industry, company, or position. Get answers from a pro at your company or within your field. Many experts will most likely be happy to share their knowledge and experience with you.

Step 4: Be prepared in case of unemployment.
Even if you do everything right, there’s always the chance that you could still lose your job. If you know your company is planning on downsizing, the time to prepare is now, not after you get laid off. So take steps to:

• Make sure your resume is current.
• Develop a 30-second introduction that explains what you can offer to a potential employer.
• Take a class or attend a seminar to brush up on important skills.
• Network as much as possible. You never know who you’ll meet or what kinds of opportunity will come your way when you’re networking.

As a Charlottesville-based staffing agency, Adams & Garth specializes in helping qualified people find great jobs in Central Virginia. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us today.