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2013 Hiring Forecast: A Good Employee Is Hard to Find

January 25th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Will you be hiring employees for your small business this year? If so, you’re in good company–but you might face challenges as tough as looking for a needle in a haystack. More than one-fourth of hiring managers polled in the CareerBuilder Hiring Forecast for 2013 say their companies will be hiring full-time, permanent employees in 2013, up 3 percent compared to 2012. However, that doesn’t mean the hiring outlook is rosy.

Many businesses are still on the fence about hiring. Although more than 60 percent of employers in the survey say they are in a better financial position than last year, the slow pace of recovery is still affecting hiring plans, and the percentage of companies planning layoffs also increased, from 7 percent last year to 9 percent this year. Small businesses, in particular, show signs of indecision, with both the percentage planning to hire and the percentage planning to lay people off up 3 percent from last year.

If you are planning to hire, what markets will see the most competition? Sales (29 percent) and IT (27 percent) are the top areas where companies plan to hire. These are also the two areas that will see the biggest salary increases. Customer service, engineering and production are close behind sales and IT, with slightly over 20 percent of companies planning to hire for these roles.

While it may be hard to believe, in many industries and/or regions of the country, it’s hard to fill skilled positions, and employers are struggling to find workers. How are companies dealing with the shortage?

  • Temp time: More businesses are relying on temporary employees or using staffing services to fill in the gaps. Some 40 percent of companies surveyed report plans to hire temporary and/or contract workers in 2013, an increase from 36 percent last year.
  • Talent poaching: More employers are actively recruiting employees from other companies. Almost 20 percent of employees in the survey reported having been approached by a potential employer in 2012 even though they hadn’t applied for a job at that company.
  • Pay raises: Employers are concerned not only about finding skilled workers, but holding on to those they already have. No wonder many employers in the survey said they plan to increase compensation for both existing staff and prospective hires.
  • Do-it-yourself: Instead of searching for skilled employees, more companies are training their existing employees to move up to positions of greater responsibility or learn new skills that are needed within the business. Some 39 percent of employers said they will train current employees for new positions this year, up from 38 percent last year.

Image by Flickr user John Pavelka (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Recruiters, Small Business, small business, Workforce | 1 Comment »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: SpringTern (Student Freelancers for Hire)

January 22nd, 2013 ::

SpringTern

Talented students need real-world experience, and your business needs help on a project, but you don’t have the money to hire freelancers. SpringTern wants to help put you and the talent together. SpringTern connects small and midsized businesses with students to do volunteer work projects. Projects are generally short-term and part-time (most on the site are under 100 hours) and can be done remotely, so there is no need to find space for the student in your office. SpringTern has facilitated over 20,000 hours of work experience since its launch and received positive reviews from student and business users alike. It only costs $45 to list your project on the site.

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Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Workforce | 1 Comment »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: NextSpace (Shared Workspace)

January 21st, 2013 ::

NextSpace

Working from home can get old fast, and being isolated can stifle productivity and creativity for a lot of entrepreneurs. However, office space can be costly and distracting. NextSpace hopes to change all that by providing cool workspaces with a professional infrastructure for freelancers and entrepreneurs looking for a creative community in which to grow their businesses. NextSpace locations have Internet and utilities, conference rooms, business services and, most importantly, other creative individuals you can bounce ideas off of and can network with for more business opportunities. Currently there are six NextSpace locations with another one in the works; you must be a member to take advantage of their locations.

 

 

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Resources, Small Business, small business, Workforce | 1 Comment »

9 Employment Trends You Need to Know About for 2013

January 18th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

What does 2013 hold in store for your employees and your business? According to the 2013 Workforce/Workplace Forecast from The Herman Group, 2013 will look much like 2012, with most employers adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to hiring and U.S. unemployment remaining above 7 percent for the year.

Here are 9 other trends you need to know about:

  1. Recruiting will intensify in many industries. Both big and small companies, especially in the IT sector, will feel pressure to hire due to burned-out, overworked staff. The bad news for small employers is that with big companies (with bigger benefits) hiring too, competition will be fierce.
  2. Trained, experienced workers will be in short supply in many fields. Consider promoting from within and providing your entry-level employees with the training they need to move into higher positions. Also develop relationships with local schools, colleges and universities to give you a pipeline to educated workers.
  3. Communities will become more aware of the lack of skilled employees, and smart local leadership will invest money and effort into developing the local workforce for the careers of tomorrow.
  4. Gamification will be used in training, performance evaluations and as a bonding tool to make work more fun and build relationships. It’s an especially important tool for companies seeking to engage their Millennial employees.
  5. Companies will use social networking to recruit new employees and to train and develop those they have. Don’t forget the internal social networks that even small companies have: If you’re looking to hire, try looking for referrals from your existing team.
  6. Companies will keep trying to do more with less—cutting staff and hiring independent contractors to squeeze still more productivity and profit out of their teams. There’s a right way and wrong way to re-engineer, Herman Group notes. Try to do it without cutting staff.
  7. “Job churn” will grow as too many employers continue to ignore what’s needed to create a happy, engaged work force. “There is a tremendous pent-up energy for job-hopping, which many employees have been putting off for years,” Herman Group warns. Ignore it at your peril.
  8. A second Obama Administration will likely mean greater regulation. You’d be smart to have access to an attorney with HR expertise, just in case. Herman Group believes that the Affordable Care Act may spur small and midsized employers to move from providing health insurance to taking part in “insurance exchanges” and funding their employees’ purchase of coverage there.
  9. Last, but not least, your small business might see more competition in 2013: Herman Group believes more unemployed people will take advantage of the growth in independent contracting by starting their own businesses (or at least becoming freelancers) to supply the services that businesses need.

Image by Flickr user brian Dhawkins (Creative Commons)

 

 

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Posted in Business Law, Compliance, Small Business, small business, Workforce | No Comments »

How to Tap Your Ex-Employees as a Hidden Hiring Resource

January 10th, 2013 ::

By Maria Valdez Haubric

Is your small business looking to hire this year? One resource you may not have considered when you’re wondering where to find qualified candidates is your roster of former employees.

Big companies have long used this tactic, sometimes creating official networks of ex-employees they tap into when they need to fill an open slot. But for a small business, this concept makes even more sense (and is even easier to execute). Unlike a big corporation, where ex-employees may be completely unknown to the hiring manager, in a small company you, the owner, undoubtedly remember everyone who’s ever worked for you. You know their good and bad points, their skills and experience—and you know whether you’d like to have them back on your team or not.

So how can a small company stay connected with its former employees to ensure you can reach them when you’re looking for new employees? Here are some steps to make it simple

Capture their data. If you have to lay off a qualified employee or if someone leaves for a different job, make certain you have all of their contact information, including phone numbers, address and emails.

Use social media. If you don’t already have connections with your team on social media, make sure to connect with former employees on LinkedIn (or make sure someone at your company who was close with them does). That way, you can stay up-to-date on their career and the new skills they’re gaining, and will have a better sense of whether they’d be open to coming back to your company if a position opens up that seems like a good fit.

Stay in touch real-world style. Social media is great, but in-person meetings are what really keep connections alive. Think about inviting former employees to workplace events such as happy hours or get-togethers once in a while. I have one colleague who holds an annual “reunion” for current and former employees of her business at her home every year. It’s a great way to keep connections current, and also to find out what people are working on in their jobs and what opportunities exist to work with other people’s companies.

The benefits of building a former employee network are many. Even if you don’t have a job opening, you may be able to use former employees as freelancers or contractors in your business. Or you can refer them to colleagues who need their skills. In this way, you’re enhancing your relationships and strengthening your network for the time when you do need to hire.

Image by Flickr user Sean MacEntee (Creative Commons)

 

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Posted in Small Business, small business, social media, Workforce | No Comments »

How to Be a Good Interviewer

January 3rd, 2013 ::

By Karen Axelton

Do your New Year’s plans for your business including hiring new employees? Then you’ll want to make sure you get the perfect person for the job. One of the most important parts of choosing a new employee is conducting a good job interview that gives you all the information you need to make a decision. But many small business owners aren’t sure how to do a thorough interview. Here are some tips to help you.

Be prepared. Before the interview, review the candidate’s resume and job application. Also create a list of questions that you ask all candidates. This not only helps ensure you don’t forget anything important, but also means you’re judging employees from a level playing field by asking everyone the same things.

Focus. Don’t check your email, answer your phone or look at your computer during the interview. Not only is it rude, but you’ll also get distracted. You only have a short time to talk to this person before deciding you want to make them part of your business; shouldn’t you be paying attention?

Ask open-ended questions. Instead of questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no,” ask questions that require an explanation or call on the candidate to elaborate. You’ll get a better sense of the person’s personality that way, as well as fuller descriptions of his or her experience.

Know what you can and can’t ask. To avoid getting in trouble for discriminatory hiring, in general, you should stay away from questions regarding an interviewee’s age, marital or parental status, religion, race, disability or legal immigrant status. (This Nolo.com article provides more information and resources on hiring questions.)

Make it a team effort. If you get nervous during interviews, to the point where you find it hard to focus, consider having a partner or key employee conduct the interview with you. You can take notes and observe the candidate, while your partner can do most of the talking. This tactic has the added benefit of giving you someone else’s perspective on the candidate.

Write it down. Take notes on the candidate’s answers to help you remember what was said, especially if you’re interviewing several people in a row. After each interview, spend 5 minutes or so jotting down the relevant information, including your first impression of the person.

Follow up. Let the candidate know when he or she can expect to hear from you regarding the job—and be sure to follow up when you say you will. There’s nothing worse for a candidate than waiting in limbo to hear about a job offer. What’s more, if you’re not professional about how you handle this, it could affect your business’s reputation on social media.

Image by Flickr user Marco Bellucci (Creative Commons)

 

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Posted in Business Law, Compliance, Small Business, small business, Workforce | 2 Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: 15Five (Employee Feedback System)

December 28th, 2012 ::

15Five

Is better communication with your employees one of your New Year’s Resolutions? If so, check out this easy-to-use employee feedback system, where employees feel heard and are more engaged and employers get the feedback and contributions they desire. The philosophy behind 15Five is that it takes employees 15 minutes to fill out a weekly report and five minutes for supervisors to review the reports. The reports allow employees to update their successes, challenges, ideas and overall satisfaction on the job. Managers can then read through and comment on the reports and have a better understanding of where employees stand and what changes need to be made.

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Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Technology, Workforce | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Evernote Business (Organization App)

December 27th, 2012 ::

Evernote Business

Evernote has taken its very popular note-taking organization app and made a version especially designed for small and medium-sized businesses. The new Business version of Evernote adds tools to help businesses be more productive and collaborative, such as the ability to access, use, manage and modify any Business Notebook and its contents, while Personal Notebooks stay private. Evernote Business administrators have the ability to invite and manage users, store research, presentations, documents, notes and more. You can even save entire webpages with the Evernote Web Clipper.

 

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Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Technology, Workforce | No Comments »

Making a Reference List, Checking It Twice

December 25th, 2012 ::

By Karen Axelton

Santa Claus isn’t the only one who’s making a list and checking it twice this time of year. Smart small business owners will do the same when they’re interviewing job candidates. A new study from CareerBuilder highlights some of the risks you could take if you don’t bother to contact a job candidate’s references.

Nearly 30 percent of employers report having caught a fake reference on a candidate’s job application. And almost two-thirds (62 percent) say that when they contacted a reference listed on an application, the reference didn’t have good things to say about the candidate.

The overwhelming majority of employers (80 percent) say they regularly contact references when they’re considering potential employees. Nearly 70 percent of employers say they’ve changed their minds about a candidate after talking to a reference; of those, 47 percent say the discussion gave them a less favorable opinion of the candidate, and 23 percent say it improved their opinion. About one-third (31 percent say their opinion has never been swayed by a reference.

In an interesting trend, 16 percent say they contact references even before calling a candidate in for a job interview. Clearly, this could save you some time if all of the references you contact have a negative opinion, but it might make it harder to form your own unbiased opinion of a candidate first.

If you do check references, be sure to contact all of them. Seventy percent of workers say they always provide three or more references when applying for a job, and talking to a variety of former employers will give you more fully rounded insights into the person’s work habits.

Are you worried that references won’t be honest? Contacting multiple references is a good way to get around this concern. Another tactic: Asking a very open-ended question (“Can you tell me a little bit about so-and-so?”) and seeing how vocal the reference is. If he or she can’t stop saying good things, that’s a good sign. On the other hand, a lack of feedback or reluctance to talk could indicate the person’s performance was less than stellar.

Keep in mind, some HR people’s companies restrict them from giving out anything but the most bare-bones information about references as a matter of policy. This isn’t necessarily a negative reflection on the candidate. If you get one of these references, just check the factual information that you can, such as job title, dates of employment, salary and reason for leaving the company. You may uncover some discrepancies that could be important to know about.

Image by Flickr user Nguyen Vu Hung (vuhung) (Creative Commons)

 

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Posted in Small Business, small business, Workforce | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: HealthPocket (Health Plan Finder)

December 24th, 2012 ::

HealthPocket

Here’s a holiday gift you weren’t expecting: a new small business health plan finder that provides accurate, unbiased and free information to employers who are looking for information on health insurance coverage for employees. HealthPocket provides a picture of what health insurance exchanges could look like under the Affordable Care Act, and promises to be constantly updated as new aspects of health care reform are implemented. The site enables employers to assess all plans available in their region, select plan features and likely prices, and find the best way to apply for coverage. Users do not need to register on the site or even provide their name or contact information.

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Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Workforce | No Comments »

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