Vacation planning is well underway for most of us, as kids are getting out of school and the weather is finally warming up! The staffing industry is gearing up for a busy temporary vacation coverage season. The unemployment rate is sitting just above five percent which is quite low, so finding temporary vacation coverage for the summer is going to be much more difficult than what we’ve gotten used to. Thankfully, there is an influx of high school and college students looking for summer work.
Some job seekers may not realize the importance and benefits of working temporarily through a staffing agency, especially those who have never considered it. “Temping” is a way of life for many people, and for employers, having temporary staff available on the market, helps to fill a very important employment gap. Some people need work for shorter terms, perhaps around family lives, education, or to keep working while searching for the right full time role.
Often, “temps” choose to work for staffing agencies because they’re not quite sure what they want to do as a career, or where to start looking for opportunities. Staffing companies work with employers to fill job gaps, for any reason, such as summer vacations, sick day coverage, maternity leaves, resignations, terminations, or a sudden increase in workload. Staffing agencies offer a fast and accurate way for employers to fill roles, from junior to executive, from administration, sales, technical, management, light industrial, and everything in between! Anyone looking for work over the summer months should consider applying with an agency. Staffing agencies are employers of temporaries, and having an agency as your employer will look good on a resume.
Temping can be a fun way to try out various jobs for different companies, in multiple industries, in a flexible and nonthreatening way. I fell into the staffing industry because I applied as a temp, for the summer of 1990. I was a graduate from Mount Royal, and the agency I met with saw more potential than I saw in myself! You just never know where applying with a staffing agency will get you; this is coming from a true believer!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Celebrating 15 years of business
This month marks my company’s 15th year of business. I never know whether to call it a birthday or anniversary, because I certainly feel like About Staffing was born this month, 15 years ago. Realistically, being a mother of three and being married to my company, I guess an anniversary is more appropriate. Owning a company like mine certainly is as much work as a marriage; everyday is somewhat of a struggle, has its ups and downs, requires a huge commitment, and is a risk. There are great days that make me laugh, and bad days that make me cry.
Relationships have come and gone, including employees, vendors, clients and candidates. Some I forget the minute they end, and some I will never forget. We have moved our offices a few times, we have tried some new things, and some things never change.
On one hand, 15 years flew by; it feels like yesterday when I began with nothing but a big brick cell phone and a phonebook, a nice suit and a lot of guts. On the other hand, the lessons we have learned, the awards we have been recognized for, and the resources we now have access to, seem like a lifetime of accomplishments.
About Staffing’s 5th anniversary was a class act; I was proud to say thank you to the 100 or so clients that showed up. Our 10th anniversary was an edgy support for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, were we hosted a show for 150 clients who supported us and our community as a whole. A couple weekends ago, our 15th anniversary party had a turn out of over 200 people, including clients, vendors, employees, friends and family.
I guess it is really great that over the years, the numbers are getting greater and the relationships are getting easier, more comfortable, and more authentic. The ups and downs that still exist are less dramatic, still stressful, but a little easier to manage. We still celebrate every success, even really small ones; that is something we have always done. I still try to learn a lesson from every hardship or failure. Sometimes I don’t realize the lesson for awhile, but I eventually have an “Aha” moment, and know why I needed the lesson. I am a little more cautious now, with age and wisdom, as I am not quite as adventurous or as naïve as I was, when I first started this relationship with my company. I still get worn out every once in awhile, and want something new and exciting to create the spark that weans with time. But I also know that experience is comforting, and taking a short break is usually all I need to realize what I have built and how truly great it is.
15 years is probably only halfway for me, so I can’t wait to see what my fantastic company will teach me or bring me over the next 15 years. Happy Anniversary About Staffing!
Relationships have come and gone, including employees, vendors, clients and candidates. Some I forget the minute they end, and some I will never forget. We have moved our offices a few times, we have tried some new things, and some things never change.
On one hand, 15 years flew by; it feels like yesterday when I began with nothing but a big brick cell phone and a phonebook, a nice suit and a lot of guts. On the other hand, the lessons we have learned, the awards we have been recognized for, and the resources we now have access to, seem like a lifetime of accomplishments.
About Staffing’s 5th anniversary was a class act; I was proud to say thank you to the 100 or so clients that showed up. Our 10th anniversary was an edgy support for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, were we hosted a show for 150 clients who supported us and our community as a whole. A couple weekends ago, our 15th anniversary party had a turn out of over 200 people, including clients, vendors, employees, friends and family.
I guess it is really great that over the years, the numbers are getting greater and the relationships are getting easier, more comfortable, and more authentic. The ups and downs that still exist are less dramatic, still stressful, but a little easier to manage. We still celebrate every success, even really small ones; that is something we have always done. I still try to learn a lesson from every hardship or failure. Sometimes I don’t realize the lesson for awhile, but I eventually have an “Aha” moment, and know why I needed the lesson. I am a little more cautious now, with age and wisdom, as I am not quite as adventurous or as naïve as I was, when I first started this relationship with my company. I still get worn out every once in awhile, and want something new and exciting to create the spark that weans with time. But I also know that experience is comforting, and taking a short break is usually all I need to realize what I have built and how truly great it is.
15 years is probably only halfway for me, so I can’t wait to see what my fantastic company will teach me or bring me over the next 15 years. Happy Anniversary About Staffing!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Staffing for Canada Week
This week marks Staffing for Canada Week. There are thousands of industries, and many have been around for decades, but few have existed as long as the Staffing industry. Most people don’t realize that the business of recruitment and temporary staffing is one of the most successful long standing industries. I have many good friends in the Staffing industry, and I am not aware of any other group of competitors in any type of industry who truly like each other, understand each other, and share with each other, like the Staffing industry. This type of work is not for everyone, certainly not for the weak hearted, and we work very hard to place the right candidates with our clients.
As the unemployment rate continues to fall, sourcing candidates becomes more and more difficult. Staffing agencies need to be the best, the fastest, and the most attractive to candidates. Stress levels begin to rise when clients need to hire quickly, and the pressure can be unimaginable. We are trained to read between the lines, assess people quickly and accurately, and to think outside the box every minute of every day. Sometimes our industry makes the employment world look easy, because we live and breathe staffing; we are professionals and we are required to be licensed.
The staffing industry pros need to know a lot about human resources, labour standards, human rights, privacy issues, and enough on virtually every other industry we fill positions for in order to truly understand our clients’ needs. We watch the unemployment rates, and pay attention to world events and the local economy, so that we are prepared to fill jobs quickly and accurately. We try to understand what people want and need, what businesses can live with and without, in a very small window of time, and get it right the first time. We serve a purpose, filling short and long term job requirements, and sometimes we don’t know which it will be.
We care about our clients and our candidates, and we care about each other. Most industries do not communicate like the Staffing industry; we, whether big, small, specialized, generalists, new or old, all share the same desire to place as many candidates as possible in the right roles. And we play an important role in supporting our community, keeping businesses operating smoothly.
The staffing industry is not the easiest way to make a living, but it is extremely fulfilling, and the rewards come with the relationships that are built overtime. Our industry has survived many lows, from the great depression through to this last recession, and we continue to look forward, to greater things to come, such as the growing need for workplace flexibility.
Very few industries have earned the right to celebrate a week in their honour, so for those touched by the Staffing industry, Happy Staffing for Canada Week! I, for one, am proud to be a part of the Staffing industry, and I know my staffing friends are too.
As the unemployment rate continues to fall, sourcing candidates becomes more and more difficult. Staffing agencies need to be the best, the fastest, and the most attractive to candidates. Stress levels begin to rise when clients need to hire quickly, and the pressure can be unimaginable. We are trained to read between the lines, assess people quickly and accurately, and to think outside the box every minute of every day. Sometimes our industry makes the employment world look easy, because we live and breathe staffing; we are professionals and we are required to be licensed.
The staffing industry pros need to know a lot about human resources, labour standards, human rights, privacy issues, and enough on virtually every other industry we fill positions for in order to truly understand our clients’ needs. We watch the unemployment rates, and pay attention to world events and the local economy, so that we are prepared to fill jobs quickly and accurately. We try to understand what people want and need, what businesses can live with and without, in a very small window of time, and get it right the first time. We serve a purpose, filling short and long term job requirements, and sometimes we don’t know which it will be.
We care about our clients and our candidates, and we care about each other. Most industries do not communicate like the Staffing industry; we, whether big, small, specialized, generalists, new or old, all share the same desire to place as many candidates as possible in the right roles. And we play an important role in supporting our community, keeping businesses operating smoothly.
The staffing industry is not the easiest way to make a living, but it is extremely fulfilling, and the rewards come with the relationships that are built overtime. Our industry has survived many lows, from the great depression through to this last recession, and we continue to look forward, to greater things to come, such as the growing need for workplace flexibility.
Very few industries have earned the right to celebrate a week in their honour, so for those touched by the Staffing industry, Happy Staffing for Canada Week! I, for one, am proud to be a part of the Staffing industry, and I know my staffing friends are too.
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