Month: August 2016

The Pros and Cons of Offering Moving Expenses to Recruit Top Talent

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

image_21When you’re recruiting top talent into your agency, chances are good that competitors of yours are also interested in the same candidates. According to the 48th Annual Atlas Corporate Relocation Survey released in April 2015, there has been a significant uptick among U.S. companies relocating employees since 2013 [1]. Recruiting nationally means that you need to have a competitive edge to your offer of employment.

While most candidates are looking at the hard numbers of their potential annual salary, they’re also increasingly interested in softer parts of an employment offer, such as vacation time and paid relocation expenses. Consider these pros and cons to offering relocation benefits:

Reasons to Offer Paid Moving Expenses

If you’re located in New York City and the candidate you’re trying to recruit grew up and just graduated from a university in Seattle, that person may not want to leave the area without a strong impetus to do so. Offering relocation expenses is one way to inspire such a candidate to make the leap and cross the country to join your organization. A new graduate may not have the funds to move across the nation, rent an apartment and get set up for a new job. People who live in housing markets that continue to be poor might feel as if they cannot afford to move for a new job. In this type of a situation, paying the person’s moving expenses can ease the financial burden of just starting out in a career or making a transition to a new organization. Employees who have their relocation expenses paid feel a sense of loyalty to the employer and are more likely to stay on the job for a longer period of time. This can lower your organization’s future recruiting costs.

Pitfalls of Offering Relocation Expenses

Paying for relocation expenses may seem like an empty investment, especially if you’re in an industry with high turnover, such as technology. If you’re offering a generous salary and benefits package, paying for relocation expenses may not be necessary. When your organization is recruiting many new employees, the costs of relocation expenses may be burdensome to your corporate budget.

Whether you are just starting to write a relocation policy or are re-evaluating your current policy, keep in mind that every relocation policy should answer: who is eligible for relocation benefits, what relocation benefits are offered, and what the tax implications are [2]. It’s important to evaluate your current strategy to make sure communication is clear as it’s critical for a relocating employee to understand if they’re eligible for relocation benefits, what they qualify for, and how to use them.

[1] http://www.helioshr.com/2015/08/top-5-considerations-in-writing-the-best-relocation-policy-for-your-business/

[2] http://www.urbanbound.com/blog/3-components-every-relocation-policy-should-have

Hiring Practices to Make Sure You Build Better Teams

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

Beyond the Individual: Hiring Practices for Building
Better Teamsimage_015

When a new employee comes into your organization, he or she will interact with a variety of current staff members. These daily interactions may be minimal for people who work on different projects, but employees who come together to do projects will need to get along so that work can be done efficiently and meet the goals of the project. Your hiring practices need to account for building better teams even as your staff is in flux.

What Makes a Good Team?
One consideration to keep in mind is that what works for one team may not work for another. Teams and projects are dynamic as are the people who are a part of them. When hiring individuals, consider the roles they might play on different teams within your organization. If you know that a new hire will spend 75 percent of his or her time working on a particular team, you will need to craft particular goals and ensure that personalities match during the hiring process, explains Kermit Burley, writing for the Houston Chronicle[1].

Team Players vs. Go-Getters
Team players understand that what they are doing is for the benefit of the entire organization. On the other hand, go-getters are more interested in how their efforts will pay off for themselves at some time in the future, according to Susan Heathfield’s article on About.com[2]. During the hiring process, human resources staff and managers must explain the expectations for team involvement and explain how there are benefits to both the individual and the organization to working as a part of a team. Setting clear expectations during the hiring process helps to get the newly hired staff on board with the plan.

Hiring the Right Members for Your Team
Another important part of hiring the right members for your team is making sure that employees understand the importance of teamwork in the context of the organization. Explain how the team’s project aligns with the organization’s mission, vision and goals. Explore with the candidate how his or her personal goals mesh with all of that. An employee who is committed to helping an organization be successful will be happier.

 

[1] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/build-strong-teamwork-20768.html

[2] http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm

Refining Your Brand Mission to Improve Morale and Productivity

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

image_27When your organization could use a boost in morale and productivity, one way to do so is to redefine your brand mission. Every brand should have a mission, vision and goals. While these are typically developed at the same time as the product or near its release, you can redefine them at any time. Redefining your brand mission takes a team effort, but the results are well worth it in the end.

Defining Your Brand’s Mission

According to this article, it is easier to redefine your brand’s mission once your vision and goals are clear and established [1]. Your brand’s mission is the how-to guide for advancing your goals and vision. The best time to redefine your brand’s mission is when there is only slow or halting progress toward your overall goals. Low morale and poor productivity are often symptoms of slow goal achievement. A better how-to guide can inspire your staff to get working again toward your organization’s goals.

Including the Four Key Components

Your brand’s redefined mission should be able to inspire your staff and encourage them to make positive progress toward organizational goals. The mission statement must also be reasonable and plausible as a “smart” objective. Dave Smith from Inc.com explains that there are four key components to your brand’s redefined mission statement [2]. These components include value, inspiration, plausibility and specificity. Each of these ideas should revolve around your brand’s key theme.

Creating a Clearly Redefined Brand Mission

A redefined mission statement should ideally be a single sentence that every member of your staff can learn by heart. In the best of all worlds, you company’s mission statement could double as the product’s slogan. The statement should be memorable and effective, leading back to your roots as to why you developed the brand in the first place. If you choose a short-term mission statement, redefining it will need to be a regular part of your work. This is because the improved morale and productivity will allow you to achieve the goals as stated in the mission. A long-term mission statement will need to use language that allows for organizational growth.

[1] http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/brand_innovation/amon_rappaport/how_define_%E2%80%93_align_%E2%80%93_your_brands_purpose_vision_missi

[2] http://www.inc.com/ss/5-tips-on-developing-an-effective-mission-statement

Investing in Education Opportunities for Your Employees, Is It Worth It?

Posted on by Buyer Advertising

Is Investing in Education Opportunities for Employees
Worth It?image_09

While the bottom line always matters in business, investing some profits back into the quality, knowledge and skills of your staff benefits everyone involved. Even as many corporations have made cutbacks in employee perks or increased the employee share of benefits that used to be solely provided for by the organization, businesses that choose to invest in education opportunities for employees are reaping considerable rewards.

Increased Expertise
When you already have a well-trained employee who is responsible, fits in well at your organization and brings many skills and talents to the table, investing in that person is a more cost-effective endeavor than trying to recruit someone else with the particular new skill or expertise that you need. According to an article by Joseph J. Grilli, M.P.A., D.P.A. on CitizensVoice.com, a well-educated and trained workforce helps to increase a company’s profitability and boosts their chances of long-term success[1].

Types of Education Opportunities to Invest In
There is a broad array of educational opportunities that your organization can invest in for the increased knowledge of your staff and benefit of your organization. Many organizations offer tuition reimbursement so that employees can take particular classes within or outside of a degree program.

These classes would be directly related to the employee’s job. Employees could go to the local community college or university for Bachelor’s, Master’s or doctorate coursework in finance, management or other areas that would benefit your organization. Employers offering these benefits often ask employees to remain with them for a certain timeframe. Other educational opportunities can take place through independent organizations. For example, an employee doing marketing analysis could take a class in SAS or STATA statistical analysis software programming.

Employee Loyalty
The loyalty of an employee is of concern to your organization. You may be worried about whether the employee you just invested in will move on to one of your competitors. Not only does investing in continuing education and degree programs benefit employees, but it also promotes employee loyalty, according to an article by Laura Raines on AJC.com[2]. By choosing to invest in your staff, you are more likely to keep them and their expertise within your organization.

 

[1] http://citizensvoice.com/opinion/letters/continuing-education-programs-benefit-employees-and-employers-1.1410489

[2] http://www.ajc.com/news/business/companies-that-invest-in-employee-education-reap-m/nQSd4/