Developments from the Staffing Industry Daily News and The Staffing Stream to help you focus on emerging movements that could shape your business for the better.


Growing Concern

Expanding is good, but be careful.

Growth is good and, as Gordon Gekko said in the movie Wall Street, “greed is good.” To put both comments into perspective, everything has its limits. Growth is good as long as it can be managed, but growth for the sake of growth is not a good strategy.

Too many small to midsize firms will take on any business they can get at their minimum margin rate. As they try to grow their businesses, all too often they don’t adequately consider whether or not prospective clients are good credit risks or able to pay their bills on time. Staffing firms must pay their workers on a timely basis, and if they have long payables, or worse, need to write off a bad debt on a large account, they will either eat into their lines of credit or may even put the company in financial jeopardy. Running a business should be a balance of risk and reward; looking at just the reward without assessing credit worthiness is risky business.

Even if your client pays its bills a little late, growing too fast can grow yourself right into bankruptcy.

Source: “Avoiding Growing Your Company Into Bankruptcy,” The Staffing Stream, by Michael Neidle, president and CEO of Optimal Management.


Social Recruiting

More than half of companies found hires through social media.

Nearly two-thirds of companies, 65%, found new hires through social media in the past year, according to a Society for Human Resource Management survey of 400 randomly selected HR professionals across the US.

The survey found 57% of organizations reported finding new employees through LinkedIn, 30% through professional or association network sites, and 19% through Facebook.

Overall, 87% of HR professionals said it was either very or somewhat important for job seekers to be on LinkedIn.

More than three-quarters of respondents said it was very or somewhat important for job seekers in a range of professions — from information technology to construction — to have a social media presence. 


 

Free Agents

Almost a third say they aren’t traditional workers Nearly one in three workers globally is a free agent, according to a survey released by Kelly Services Inc. The survey identifies free agents as those who consult; perform temporary, freelance or independent contract work; or have their own business.

Globally, 31% of the working population identified as free agents, compared with 69% considered to be traditional workers, according to the report. The percentage of free agents is fairly consistent across the regions: 31% in the US, 27% in Europe and 34% in Asia Pacific.

The survey included 5,200 workers across 13 countries.


 

Soft Skills

It’s what counts, especially when hiring managers.

In any candidate search, it’s the little things that count. When the search is for a managerial level role, soft skills are even more important. Managers possessing excellent soft skills have the ability to relate to individuals, enhance their working environments and impact employee development.

To ensure a successful managerial hire, consider these four soft skills when interviewing for leadership positions. Ability to communicate openly, adaptability, ability to relate to individuals and reliability are four soft skills that help create a collaborative team environment that fosters rapport with employees at all levels.

Source: “Essential Soft Skills for Managers,” The Staffing Stream, by Jason Reagan, VP of the IT practice at Addison Group.