New York Governor David Patterson signed into law legislation requiring employers to notify employees in writing at the time of hire of their regular and overtime hourly wage rates, and to obtain a written acknowledgement of receipt of such notice. The new requirements take effect October 26, 2009.
However, as a result of discussions with representatives from the New York Staffing Association, it was noted that staffing firm pay rates for particular employees vary by assignment and therefore it may not be possible for the staffing firm to determine a pay rate with precision at the time of hiring. It was agreed that application of the law to staffing firms needed clarification and the New York Department of Labor plan to provide such guidance through regulation or other administrative means “so that temporary employment agencies who in good faith lack the specific information they must disclose under this legislation will have a means of appropriate legal compliance applicable to their situation.”
Appropriate guidance for staffing firms will be provided prior to the October 26 effective date of the legislation.
New York Adopts Revised Wage Notification Rules With Special Guidance for Staffing Firms
Posted in Legislative, Uncategorized Tagged Legislation, N, New York, Overtime, Staffing Comments closed
Eleven Warning Signs of a Counteroffer
- The candidate says he doesn’t believe his company will give him a counteroffer.
- The candidate says he will have to consider the counter if it is given to him.
- The candidate’s motive to move (‘I don’t like our policies here’) could still be ‘worked out’ by his employer when he leaves.
- The time it takes for a candidate to return your call is longer than normal.
- The candidate agrees to accept the offer, then asks for ‘one more thing’ after he gets what he’s asking for.
- The feelings of the candidate’s spouse are never considered during this process.
- Your client doesn’t think meeting with him after he accepted the offer is important.
- The candidate was never really sure about making a move to begin with.
- The candidate has accepted a counteroffer before with his current employer.
- The candidate will not commit to turning down a counteroffer with you when you are extending the offer.
- The candidate verbally expresses concern about ‘what will happen if I make a move and the economy gets worse?’
Posted in New Jersey Recruiting Tips, Uncategorized Comments closed
Why Hire the Disabled?
By
Carl Capato
A recent study conducted by the University of Massachusetts at Boston confirms that companies who hire people with disabilities achieve a higher placement in the public’s collective esteem than employers who either may not hire people with disabilities or don’t bring attention to their hiring policies with respect to people with disabilities. Among surveyed consumers: 92 percent felt more favorable toward companies that hire people with disabilities; 87 percent said they would give their business to companies that hire people with disabilities; the employment of people with disabilities ranked third as an indicator of a company’s commitment to social justice; and 98 percent of respondents who had been served by a worker with a disability reported that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the service they received. According to Working Together, a group of businesses in Maine who collaborate to meet their goal of hiring more people with disabilities, and who reported the results of the U. Mass. Study referenced above, http://www.expandingmainesworkforce.com/benefits.html,
there are real, bottom-line benefits for companies who look to the often untapped resource of job seekers with disabilities to fill staffing vacancies. These include:
Increased Market Share: According to recent census data, nearly one in five Americans has a disability. This population has a total annual income in excess of a trillion dollars, and a discretionary income estimated at $200 billion. People with disabilities prefer businesses that are sensitive to their needs and that represent their population, and companies have found that it makes good business sense to have a workforce that is representative of the communities they serve. According to research conducted by Simmons Market Research Bureau, 48 percent of people with disabilities are the principle shoppers for their families. They have influence over not only their own spending decisions, but those made by other family members as well.
Posted in New Jersey Job Market, New Jersey Recruiting Tips Tagged Disabled, Hiring, job, Recruiting, seekers Comments closed
New Jersey Budget and Business Taxes
An increase in individual income taxes passed by the state Legislature last month will also affect many New Jersey businesses, since many business owners pay personal income taxes on their business profits. The state increased the income tax from 6.37 percent to 8 percent for income between $400,000 and $500,000; from 8.97 percent to 10.25 percent for income between $500,000 and $1 million; and from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent for income exceeding $1 million. The increases are set to expire after one year. The state increased taxes on upper-income earners as part of its effort to close a budget gap worsened by the recession. Nationally, nearly one-third of all business taxes are paid through the individual income tax, because many companies are organized as “S corporations” – limited liability companies or partnerships whose business profits are taxed as the personal income of the company’s owners.
New Jersey Paid Family Leave Begins and Impacts All Businesses Regardless of Size
On July 1, New Jersey became only the second state in the nation to impose a paid family leave mandate on all businesses. Under the law, all companies, even those with just one employee, must allow employees to take up to six weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn or a sick relative. Unlike State and federal unpaid leave laws, which exempt companies with fewer than 50 employees, there is no small business exemption for paid family leave.Employers may require employees to substitute two weeks of paid vacation and sick leave for the paid family leave, thus reducing it to four weeks. There is also a one-week waiting period for many employees who wish to receive benefits. Employees are eligible for up to two-thirds of their wages, with a maximum of $546 per week. Employers with one to 49 employees are not required to hold open the job for the employee who is taking leave under the paid family leave statute, but could face legal liability for discrimination under other federal and State laws.
Posted in Legislative Comments closed
Does Your Email Campaign Work?
By Steve Isenberg
Did you ever wonder why some email campaigns are successful and others are not? It’s really rather simple. A successful email campaign will focus on several key areas: a strong call to action, a compelling reason to act and the ability to drive traffic to your web site. If you can succeed in these aspects, you will have developed a successful campaign. Email marketing is the most cost effective way to reach your desired audience. One of the most important jobs of a successful marketing executive is to create an aura of excitement around his/her product or service. Our goal is to focus the customer’s attention towards our product and away from the competitors. How we articulate our value proposition will determine success or failure in many instances. Many unsuccessful campaigns can be attributed to failure in one of the following: the call to action, a compelling reason to buy and a poorly crafted value proposition. When developing a campaign, remember your goal: to get noticed and generate traffic to your site. In today’s environment it’s imperative to keep your brand in front of your clients to enhance and grow your brand equity. As you begin developing your campaign ask yourself a few simple questions: 1. Where am I driving the recipients of each email campaign? 2. Did I clearly articulate my value proposition? 3. Is there a strong call to action in my campaign that will cause consumers to act upon it? If you answer yes to all of these questions, you’ve established a successful email marketing campaign. Remember the goal of advertising is to generate new sales opportunities and inform customers know about your product or service. Successful campaigns help motivate your internal staff and cause existing customers to feel good about their prior purchases. Human nature to always seek confirmation about our purchases; advertising enables us to feel good about ourselves.
Steve Isenberg is President and Founder of ASJ Partners. ASJ Partners is the fastest growing marketing firm in the staffing industry. You can visit ASJ Partners on the web at www.asjpartners.com or reach Steve at 610-348-5805.
Support ASA Health Care Reform Proposal
Ask Sen. Menendez to Ensure That Any Employer Fees Can Be Prorated Based on Hours Worked.The U.S. Senate Finance Committee will soon consider a health care reform bill that is likely to include an employer mandate. It is vitally important that any such provision take into account the unique needs of temporary staffing firms.
The Finance Committee bill likely will require employers that don’t provide health insurance to pay an annual fee per employee. To ensure that they are not charged more than their fair share of any fee, employers of temporary, part-time, and seasonal employees-who work sporadically and whose hours fluctuate-must be allowed to prorate any such fee based on the actual hours worked by the employee.
ASA also believes that employees should meet minimum work requirements before the employer is charged a fee. We’re urging Congress to require employees to work at least 90 days, and satisfy a minimum weekly hours test, before a payment is imposed.
Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) is a key member of the Finance Committee and therefore we are asking all staffing firms in New Jersey to write to the senator immediately to make him aware of the need for an hours-based approach to prorating any employer fees.
Please click http://menendez.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm, select “health care” in the topic field, cut and paste the letter set forth below into the message field, and click on “Submit Form.” Before sending, be sure you have filled in your name, title, company name, and company address at the end of the letter.
Posted in Legislative Tagged Employee, Healthcare, New Jersey, NJ, Reform, Temp, Temporary Comments closed
How to Find and Fill Requirements Using Blogs and Social Networks
- Are you confused about LinkedIn, Blogs and the other Social Networking tools and platforms out there?
- How can these tools help your firm succeed in finding today’s clients and customers?
- Are you on the same page with your staff on reaching new sales via technology?
- Can you afford not to bring your firm into the intelligent internet?
- Get the Answer to the question: What is a manager or owner of a staffing firm to do with Web 2.0?
LinkedIn, Blogs, etc…these are all new communication vehicles that have crept into our personal and professional lives. The millennial generation is using these tools to research and recruit new candidates and clients, often times as the “lone rangers” in their companies with no clear strategy on how to integrate these techniques into their sales objectives. Not only does today’s business plans involve financial and sales strategies…but owners and managers of 21st Century placement firms need to incorporate ever-changing technology into their sales and recruiting operations and branding strategies.
You can quickly and easily find answers to the social networking arena by attending the next “Business Issues-Expert Resources Forum: MANAGER/OWNER BRIEFING! Social Networking Tools: How to Embrace the Technology and Make it Work for Your Staffing Firm”
LinkedIn, Blogs, etc…these are all new communication vehicles that have crept into our personal and professional lives. The millennial generation is using these tools to research and recruit new candidates and clients, often times as the “lone rangers” in their companies with no clear strategy on how to integrate these techniques into their sales objectives. Not only does today’s business plans involve financial and sales strategies…but owners and managers of 21st Century placement firms need to incorporate ever-changing technology into their sales and recruiting operations and branding strategies.
You can quickly and easily find answers to the social networking arena by attending the next “Business Issues-Expert Resources Forum: MANAGER/OWNER BRIEFING! Social Networking Tools: How to Embrace the Technology and Make it Work for Your Staffing Firm”
August 11, 2009, Continental Breakfast – 8:00-8:30 a.m.
Forum – 8:30-10:00 a.m.
Forum – 8:30-10:00 a.m.
Sheraton Edison Hotel, 125 Raritan Center Pkwy, Edison, NJ 08002
Should New Jersey Reform Healthcare?
A health care reform bill, drafted by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) is being debated by Committee members this week. The Committee bill includes an employer mandate that requires employers that don’t provide health insurance to their employees to pay an annual fee to the government of $750 for each full-time employee and $375 for each part-time employee. But the fee provision does not take into account employees, such as temporary, part-time, and seasonal employees, who work sporadically and whose hours fluctuate. An amendment, supported by the American Staffing Association, would allow staffing firms and other employers of such workers to pro-rate the annual fee based on the actual hours worked by the employees.
Seven Secrets of Good Planning
By Scott Love
I’ll never forget the most miserable hour of my day when I first started in the business. It was ‘plan time.’ This dreaded hour was spent hand-writing names and numbers of those people who I was going to call, and if I didn’t call them, then I’d have to spend an entire hour the next day hand-writing the same numbers and names over and over again. This was before computer databases existed and it was a miserable experience, so I did what any fun-focused recruiter would do: I blew it off. And my production reflected my lack of planning.
But a few years later, when databases became main-stream, I found that I didn’t have to hand-write the names and numbers over and over again. All I had to do was print out the names and numbers of who I was going to call. I didn’t really have much focus of when I was going to call them and I was supposed to develop some sort of a plan, but I figured that I’d just randomly follow the call list and I did what any over-confident technology-savvy recruiter would do with planning: I blew it off. And my production reflected my lack of planning.
Finally, I made a decision to hit the next level in production. I was tired of almost achieving my goals and knew that I had to get just a little bit sharper on my desk. The only way I could get better with my placements was to get better with where I spent my time, which is the whole objective of planning.
Follow these seven secrets of planning and see how much more you can bill in the next 90 days:
1. First, start each day with a specific focus: “What are the two or three things I need to accomplish today to be considered successful?” Write those goals down everyday and think about them throughout the day.
2. Review your activity sheet. Identify those four or five searches that need to be ‘touched’ in the day. Do you have to extend an offer for search assignment A? Do you have to prep and debrief interviews for search assignment B? Do you have to qualify candidates who you recruited yesterday for search assignment C? Do you have to find candidates for search assignment D? Do you have to source names for search assignment E? Review your activity sheet and make notes each day on what action items need to happen to keep the rhythm of the searches moving forward. Ask yourself this question when you look at each search on your desk: “What is the most important thing that needs to happen with this search, right now?”
3. Carve out specific blocks of your time for each of those four or five action items. Thirty minutes of sourcing can give you thirty names if you do it right. (8 – 8:30) Three hours of recruiting can give you coverage of fifteen candidates if you hustle and stay on the phone and keep your initial recruit calls to six minutes or less. (8:30 – 11:30) Two or three hours of prepping, debriefing and qualifying can help you bring your candidates forward in the process and give you more information on those who you wish to present to your clients. (1 – 3) An hour blocked out for your client and candidate who are getting ready to bring closure to your deal is enough to close it, but be flexible on this because this type of call is the most significant of your day and takes priority over all other conversations. (3 – 4). And wrap up those calls at the end of the day that are still important (4 – 4:30) and leave at least thirty minutes to an hour at the end of the day to strategically plan where you are going to spend your time tomorrow ( 4:30 – 5 or 5:30). Each day is different, but this gives you an idea of how you can keep your desk balanced. You can also shake it up by scheduling business development calls with warm prospects and other business-generating activities a few times a week.
4. Respect the phone time of others. Would you interrupt a surgeon in the middle of surgery to talk about your weekend? Why do you do that with your colleagues? Are you working on a search together with another recruiter? Then schedule your ‘connection time’ in advance so both of you know when you’re going to talk about it. Set up specific protocols of when it is acceptable to socialize and when it’s not. This doesn’t institutionalize a cold and formal culture in an organization. In fact, it frees it up to know when it’s time to hustle on the phone and when it’s time to goof off. Goof off time is important, but it’s important that you do it when it doesn’t interfere with the core business of building external relationships.
5. Schedule your own breaks in advance. Schedule your stretch-breaks and lunches in your plan. Reward yourself once you have completed each blocked group of time.
6. Hustle throughout the day, especially after a good call. Did you just close a deal? Then spend the rest of the day involved in business-development activities or marketing a candidate. The biggest mistake that recruiters make after they achieve success is that they limit themselves to that one singular success and take the rest of the day off. Success begets success. Leverage it to your advantage to get you to the next level of success that you deserve.
7. Inspect each other’s plans. We’re recruiters, for crying out loud. We don’t do anything unless we know someone else will be checking up on us, so at your next team meeting, discuss what your plan for the week is and bring a copy of your plan for today. Show your colleagues how you block out your groups of time (you can even just print out a blank page of Microsoft Outlook’s daily calendar and schedule your time on that in pencil) and how you assemble your call lists from the database. Make a commitment to each other that for the next 90 days nobody leaves the office until they have a plan in place for the next day.
To summarize, here are the three components of a solid plan:
1. Specific goals of achievement written out: Two or three things that need to be accomplished.
2. Blocks of time carved out on a daily calendar, and what you are going to accomplish during those times.
3. Printed out call lists from the database for each of those blocks of time.
Bonus tip:
Stay off the internet during your call time. Use it to plan during your plan time. If you must use it, then schedule ten minute internet breaks throughout the day to catch up on phone numbers that you need to find for candidates who have been referred to you. Schedule admin breaks to email candidate resumes to clients or to check your personal email. The tighter your plan is, the more focused you are on your effectiveness of achieving your daily objectives.
Posted in New Jersey Recruiting Tips, Uncategorized Tagged Management, Recruiting, Time, Tips Comments closed
