Vice Presidents and HR directors of the one hundred largest corporations were asked to describe their most unusual experience interviewing prospective employees:

• Candidate announced she hadn’t had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewers office.
• A job applicant challenged the interviewer to an arm wrestle.
• Interviewee wore a Walkman, explaining that she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time.
• Applicant interrupted interview to phone her therapist for advice on how to answer specific interview questions.

Watch this compilation of funny interview scenes from a variety of movies to get a better feel of how frustrating it is to waste your time interviewing horrible candidates.

What a hassle! What hiring manager wants to spend their days interviewing unusual and unqualified candidates? With business now picking up, you will probably be faced with new projects and many vacant positions that need to be filled. How will you hire the perfect employee without spending every waking minute posting job openings, sorting through stacks of resumes, scheduling numerous interviews, checking references and more difficult time-consuming hiring tasks? 

Spend your day concentrating on your business and let a reputable IT Staffing firm, like RSA Corp, handle your professional IT Staffing needs. RSA Corp specializes in staffing hard-to-find, highly skilled business technology professionals locally, nationally and internationally.  Our mission is to be a partner in your success and to help your business grow and prosper. There is no better time than the present to begin considering your need for more quality IT professionals.

“If you think hiring professionals is expensive, try hiring amateurs”

For more information, please email me at dewayne.addison@rsacorp.com or visit the RSA Corp website.

In the basketball movie classic “Hoosiers”, down one point with one shot left to win the game, the Hickory team’s assistant coach tells them to run the picket-fence play.  As they are about to take the floor, he says, “Boys, don’t get caught watching that paint dry!”

How many businesses have the best game plans that are well thought out, budgeted, best of breed yet fail due to just that notion?  Having a plan is merely the first step.  Execution is the key.  In these economic times, companies are looking all around at how they can do things better, faster, more efficient while looking at the bottom line ($$).

Hiring consulting firms to come in and do analysis of where you are and how to get where you want to go is very prevalent.  Amazingly, many organizations will spend much time and effort, using financial resources to pay for their game plan and then sit status quo.  Some will cry “foul” and blame the partner or firm that helped them put together said plan.  It is solely up to the individuals in the company to take what they invested in and implement and execute.

Technology is a driving force behind business everywhere you look.  Finding the right partner to enhance your organization’s presence in the marketplace is a valuable investment.  Having technology without a proper plan and a solid, measurable return on investment is in vain.  Utilize your technology partner to not only develop a plan but how best to utilize it and gain the most benefit from it.  Remember: “Don’t get caught watching that paint dry!”

Ken Uston was a famous blackjack player, strategist, and author, credited with popularizing the concept of team play at blackjack.  During the early to mid 1970s he gained widespread notoriety for perfecting techniques to do team card counting in numerous casinos worldwide, earning millions of dollars from the casinos, with some bets as high as $12,000 on a single hand. He then became famous for being banned from casinos around the world, and thus became a master of disguise as he would adopt various costumes in order to conceal his true identity and still be able to play.  He is also known for filing a high-profile lawsuit against these casinos, and successfully received a ruling from the New Jersey courts that casinos could not ban someone simply for counting cards at the Blackjack Table. In response, many casinos changed their systems, increasing the number of decks in games, or changing rules to increase the house edge.

In the widespread world of technology there are many players.  Most players are always seeking an edge, some by any means necessary.  You will find the occasional rogue who, fair or unfair, comes to market with the latest and greatest.  It may be the latest but is it the greatest as in great for the market and its consumers?  Competition seems to be the constant driver for all technology-based companies because technology changes so rapidly even faster than consumers’ needs at times.

What defines “The Edge”?  An edge could be a variety of options to the client.  Cost is always a variable in any economy.  No matter what model you follow, R.O.I.  (return on investment) should be a foundation.  We’ve all heard the phrase, “You get what you pay for.”  That usually rings true ONLY based on the expectations set before said purchase.  In selecting a technology-services provider, a company may go with the most cost-effective vendor. Disappointment may follow in that the vendor is just a body-shop who provides no further intrinsic value.  Therefore, you get what you pay for.  By reviewing several vendors with defined metrics, a company may not find that the cheapest or the vendor with all the “bells-n-whistles” is the best return on investment.  They may just find that the most costly option, while higher monetarily, has The Edge because they are the best fit for their needs.

The rules in business are definitely changing.  Vendors and clients alike need to be on the watch for The Edge.  Competition is healthy.  Always be on your guard.

We are in another state of transition where we are hopefully looking in our rearview mirrors (for now) at the recession of 2008.  Everything is cyclical, and in staffing nothing rings more true.  So, how does a staffing company move forward in providing excellent service and benefit to prospects and clients?  There is more than one answer and always two sides to a coin……..

Businesses are regrouping and retooling internally to best position themselves in the economic upswing.  All companies have clients for their product and utilize many ways to market and sell, but people are a key cog in the wheel.  For example, you have a sales force to push your services but you had to cut back on the number of your team by half last year due to the recession.  You need to get back to meeting the numbers required for your company to be profitable.  Thus, a problem (I like to call it a challenge) arises.

How do you meet these numbers with half the resources? Quite simply, the old adage of “you have to spend money to make money” should be on your radar.  You invest in people and people will bring revenue to your company’s bottom line.  Going in the woods to fight a bear with a wooden pencil is not a recipe for success.  Invest in your sales force and get that revenue stream rolling while landing new clients and satisfying existing ones.

“But I don’t have the budget for additional headcount.”

Your organization began a 2 year implementation of a global ERP system that cost several million dollars.  The project budgeted for X amount of consultants but had to be reduced in headcount, and the timeline to completion has been pushed back 12-18 months.  Along I come, from a staffing company, with the ability to get you the talent and expertise to get your ERP project back on time.  You tell me that you cannot afford to replace the 3 consultants that you scaled back on last year.  Hmmm…..the problem (remember, I like to call it a challenge) is not that you don’t have budget for additional headcount. It’s that the VALUE of the ERP project is not being considered.  Taking an additional 12-18 months to complete will probably cost a lot more than the additional headcount.  If I provide you with the right candidates, and you see that they will bring immediate value to getting the project back on track, THAT is something that can be measured.

Not every situation is the same.  My job is to find new opportunities.  I define opportunity as a situation to be a measurable resource.  If I help a client fill their jobs, that is success.  If I market a candidate to a company, open job/project or not, and the client can utilize this person within their organization, that is success.  Remember, everything is cyclical…….just like life, enjoy the ride!

During these down times, companies are looking within to find cost-cutting measures to survive the rollercoaster of economic recession.  Many will experience such a negative impact on their business that rebound may be too difficult.  Staying lean across the board – through reduction in people, technology, bonuses, etc. – is what every company seems to be doing.

But…what about your business? How lean is too lean? Organizations in a crisis tend to slash and cut with a short-term mentality.  Wouldn’t you rather thrive, than merely survive?

“It is well documented that brands that increase during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

Harvard Business Review

People

The downside to reducing staff is the inevitable pause of projects due to lack of resources. Consider using contractors to finish projects and keep goals on track. Many times, contract resource costs can be applied to project and/or expense budgets.

Technology

Fiscal downtime is no reason to cut back on technology or hold projects in queue, waiting for the upswing. Improving efficiencies and streamlining operations is a crucial component to staying lean, and preparing for long-term success. Investing in technology (or remediating underperforming technology) supports this goal.

Bonuses

Employee reward programs are often the first to go during economic downtime. Remember, employees must work together during these times to achieve business goals. Pulling extra weight deserves recognition and appreciation. Consider small tokens of reward for employees that go above and beyond. Sometimes just knowing you’re appreciated is enough to satisfy until bonus programs resume.