It starts at the top with the company leadership.  Your rising stars want to know that the leadership has a direction they want to take the organization, and clear cut goals they want to reach.  The plan does not have to be a complicated one, but it should lay out where you are gong.

To spot rising stars, you have to know your employees.  You have to know if you’ve got the right people in the right place.  They really cannot reach their full potential if they are in a job they’re not suited for.

Spotting high performance people begins with the interviewing process,  When you look to hire employees, take a hard look at what you really need for the job.  Do you have a good insight into the skills, knowledge and abilities that are needed for the position?.  If you’re just going on instinct, it’s time to do a job analysis to determine exactly what is needed to do the job before you start interviewing candidates.

Also, many employers are in too much of a hurry when hiring.  You need to take the time to use an in-depth process for new hires.  There is, of course, the interview process, but also the process should include an assessment of capabilities and a job fit analysis.

To evaluate employees well and so enable managers to spot their rising stars, both managers and employees need to know going into the process what the expected outcomes are.

There are a number of ways to evaluate your employees performance.

One method is called the critical incident technique, where managers use a daily log to keep track of employee performance.  It enables the manager to record specific events and helps them to keep a record that extends back for a considerable length of time.

The checklist method uses specific standards for performance.  It usually includes about 10 to 20 different items that are evaluated.  These items are designed for the specific work situation being evaluated.  This type of assessment can be used to give a more quantifiable evaluation, where the manager assigns a numerical value to each performance standard.

Finally, another evaluation method is the  management by objective.  In this system, employees meet with their supervisors to set up specific objectives that they intend to achieve in a certain amount of time.  These objectives coincide with the organizational goals of the company.

Are you a New York City area employer looking to bring in some high-level talent into your organization? Winston Resources can help. We provide top-notch workers for you within temporary, temp-to-hire or direct-hire assignments. Contact us today!

But it is important to remember that a job interview is a two-way street.  You need to make sure that this is a place where you want to work, a place where you will be happy.  Toward that end, you need to do some interviewing of your own.  Your research about the company will probably turn up questions you will want answered at the interview, and you should have them ready, even written down.

One area to avoid, however, is salary and benefits.  Wait for the interviewer to bring up this topic before discussing it.

But beyond that, don’t be afraid to learn as much about the job as you can.  For example, you might ask about a typical day’s duties for the job you are applying for, what your top priority should be in the job, what the day-to-day expectations and responsibilities are, what the company’s management style is, what the company’s corporate culture is like, what the company’s values are.

Other possible questions: What is the policy on transfers to other departments and divisions, does the organization support ongoing training for employees to stay up to date, can you make a lateral job move?  You might even want to ask the interviewer why he or she came to the company and why he or she stays.  How long has he or she been with the organization, and what is his or her management style?  How has his or her career progressed within the organization?  What obstacles does he or she see in meeting careeer goals?

You may want to know how the department is viewed by other areas of the organization.  What are the advancement opportunities?  What are the characteristics and skills of the people who are the most successful in the organization?

You may glean some information about a company’s growth from research, or it may come up during the course of the interview, but if it does not, it is important to know if a company is growing or not, and where the growth is occurring.

Finally, if you are given a tour of the department, don’t be afraid to talk to current employees – or ask to talk to employees.   Ask them some of the questions outlined above.  How do they like working there?  What do they think of the boss?

Want to interview with some of New York City’s best companies? Contact Winston Resources. We are one of Manhattan’s premier staffing services and we can help you land great temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments. We look forward to hearing from you!

What stands in the way of generating greater productivity, and what can you do about it?

Employee productivity can be tied to one thing – motivation.  What motivates your employees to work their hardest and work their best?  It’s not the same for everyone.

Each employee is different and may have different barriers to productivity.  For some, their skills may not match the job. Some may be dissatisfied with their job for some reason, while others,  may have difficulty with a manager.  So, clearly, what you must do is identify the cause of the behavior that is affecting productivity.

You need to find what motivates your workers, what gives them satisfaction from their work.  Some are motivated by performance-based bonuses, some by the chance of getting a promotion, some by flexible working conditions, others by additional time off.

Having rewards for productivity will go a long way toward improving performance.  Challenging employees to achieve a certain task with a reward attached will get the best from your workers.  And rewards don’t have to be extravagant – even small rewards will spur motivation.

One way of learning more about your employees is through assessments.  Employee assessments can help you determine what motivates your employees.  These assessments can also be used to better match people with the type of work they do.  By determining what the important factors are that make the difference between success and failure in a certain job, you can make sure you get the right person into the job.

Another productivity killer is not having clear expectations in the first place.  Often without clear goals and targets to shoot for, employees aim for the minimum.

Also, when looking for ways to spur productivity, don’t forget about your training programs.  It has been shown that the better, more thorough the training programs, the higher chance of retaining employees, and of enhancing employee satisfaction and morale.

Ongoing training is important for two reasons – first, it allows you to keep your employees up to date on trends in the industry, and second, it enables you to work in better internal work processes.  These training programs should be done on a quarterly or twice yearly basis and last no longer than two or three days.

If you’re a New York City area business and you need help with your assessing your employees’ skills, contact Winston Resources. We can offer you skills assessment services so that you’ll be able to place the right employee with the right skills in the right job.

Here are some tips to help you get all of your employees to set personal work goals:

You may have to require that all employees set goals. Not everyone is a goal setter and several of your employees may feel intimated by the process. Be gentle but firm in your mandate and be sure to offer as much guidance as employees need.

Be sure every goal set by an employee is measurable. That is, stay away from “gut feelings” and other esoteric measurements. If, for example, an employee’s goal is to “improve my attitude,” ask him how he’ll measure that improvement. And look at what’s really causing him to be known as having a “poor attitude.” Is he chronically late? Does he continually miss deadlines? Perhaps a better goal may to be “arrive on time every day” or “complete projects a day before they’re due.”

Give your employees the chance to set their goals. People tend to reach goals they’ve set themselves as opposed to reaching those mandated by others. Don’t let employees set goals carte blanche (see above). Get their input, let them put together first drafts and then let you and/or department managers tweak as necessary.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. There’s nothing like a deadline to focus one’s mind. What’s that old saw? “Dreams are but goals without a deadline”? It’s human nature; people tend to let things lie undone if not given an expected end date.

Visit with your employees periodically to gauge progress. Look at these not as a chance to micro-manage your staff but as a time to ask questions, offer solutions to delays, and to make sure employees aren’t focusing on one goal at the expense of others.

Speaking of multiple goals, keep the number of goals to a minimum. Too many goals can lead to an unfocused effort to reach them.

Finally, aim to get the goals in alignment with your company’s own goals and strategy. These are work goals after all, and every employee’s goals for work should somehow relate and contribute to the company’s.

Call Winston Resources when it’s time to set a strategic staffing goal. We can provide your Manhattan-area company with top marketing, administrative, healthcare, IT, accounting, legal, human resources, publishing, and real estate professionals. Contact us today to learn more about how strategic staffing can help your business succeed.

1) One of the most important factors in job satisfaction is the relationship between you and your superior.  So when you’re thinking of working for a certain boss, you need to find out how she manages.  How does she make decisions?  How will she evaluate your performance?  In other words, you need to get a feel for a potential new boss’ personality.

2) Take a real analytical look at the kind and amount of work you will be doing.  Be wary if overtime seems to be the norm – for a professional job, occasional overtime may be necessary, but if it is common, it may signal a lack of resources or some other problem.  Also, what kinds of skills does the work involve – is it more project management, developing strategy, handling client relationships, or doing creative work?  How much autonomy will you have in doing it?  What are the opportunities for advancement?  Does the company have a practice of promoting from within, or does it look outside the company first?

3) How do you feel about the mission and values of the company, and the company’s leaders?

4) Also, don’t forget to take a look at the financial health of the company.  A good indicator of this is the earnings per share.  Has it been going up year after year, or have there been dips?

5) You will also want to know about the people you will be working with and how the relationships have been among employees.  What will they expect from you?  How interdependent will the jobs be?  When talking to prospective coworkers, get their take on the manager.

If you will have people working under you, try to get a feel for their strengths and weaknesses.  Will you be able to effectively manage them?

Another thing to think about is travel time.  Be honest with yourself in determining how long a commute you can manage on a daily basis.  Remember, it may not seem so bad for a few days or a week, but driving it for a number of years may be a different story.  How would such a commute affect your lifestyle?

9) And finally, that question about pay – are you being valued at your worth in the marketplace?

Once you have answers, make a list of pros and cons, assigning more weight to those items that matter more to you, before making a final decision.
Let Winston Resources help you find that next great opportunity. We have terrific temporary, temp-to-hire and direct placement assignments at New York City’s best employers. Contact us today.

Watch your rules. Too many corporations have too many rules that, to young people, are arbitrary and fulfill no use. For example, is your Internet policy too restrictive? Many young workers use the Web to socialize, but they also look to it for research, news and networking. You may wish to rethink your Web policy and loosen the reigns a bit to allow business-related surfing, forum posting, etc. Let all employees know that use will be monitored, however.

Speaking of rules, how flexible are you regarding when work is done and how it’s done? Many top young talent work in a non-9 to 5 way. Allow your employees the option of coming in early and leaving early. Or coming in later and leaving in the evening. What is your telecommuting policy? Do you allow people the option of working from home? Try to focus more on results — so long as the work is done satisfactorily, does it really matter when it’s done or from where?

Take a look at your promotion policy. Even if you don’t feel comfortable promoting someone three years out of college to a management position, what’s wrong with giving a young top performer the opportunity to prove herself to you by allowing her to take on new responsibilities and challenges within her current role?

In fact, speaking of challenges, let your top young people take on as many as they can handle. Today’s young workers thrive in environments that offer them continuous opportunities to learn and grow through changes in projects, their role in your company, and their responsibilities.

Do you have mentors in your organization who will take the young hot shots under their wings to give advice and suggestions? If not, consider implementing such a policy. Young workers today are eager to learn and try new things. Mentors can help them focus their energies and learn from their years of experience.

Whether you’re looking for seasoned pros or recent college graduates, Winston Resources can help Manhattan’s business find the top talent necessary to succeed and thrive in today’s business world. We provide top-notch workers for you within temporary, temp-to-hire or direct-hire assignments. Contact us today!

Are you receiving hundreds of resumes for a handful of positions? Are you wondering how you’re going to cull through the pile, let alone find a few top candidates to invite in for an interview?

Winston Resources’ employee/resume screening services can help.

Our pre-employment screening service can go through all the resumes you receive for any position. We’ll use screening criteria you provide and will then go through the resumes  to certify candidates, making sure they are who they say they are and that they possess the skills and background you deem required for the position.
Only those candidates who meet these criteria will be forwarded on to you.

But wait, there’s more….

Winston Resources also can provide application and reference check services. We can send each candidate who passes screening an extensive written application, one that requires that they detail their full employment and education history.

We also check and confirm each reference given. If you need us to, we can conduct background and criminal checks, which can include SSN verifications, credit report and motor vehicle reports, as well as state and local criminal records.

Even though the recession is waning, the job market is taking too long to improve  and many unemployed or underemployed people are willing to work anywhere for anyone doing anything. As much as we — and you — would love to see full employment once again, too many desperate job seekers are making your job of finding great employees difficult, if not virtually impossible.

If you’re a Manhattan area company, let Winston Resources take that too-tall resume pile from off your desk (or e-mail in-basket). Contact us today. We look forward to serving you.

Winston Resources can provide companies with these types of professionals, and more.

More and more companies are finding that bringing on high-level professionals, even executives, to their sites for short- or long-term temporary assignments is a great way to save money during crunch times.

For example, if your chief executive officer needs to take some emergency medical leave lasting several months, who will helm your company while she’s gone? Contact Winston Resources; we can fill your CEO’s vacant office with an interim seasoned executive.

What if you’re restructuring and need a temporary operations manager to get you over the hump? What if your hospital has a sudden influx of patients and you’re short a physician, or two (or more)?

Winston Resources can provide you with temporary executives and other high-level executives for short time periods to help keep your business running smoothly.

Yes, the hourly rate for such a high-level individual will be much more than it will be for, for example, an administrative assistant. But the benefits to bringing on an interim executive, admininstrator, manager, director, etc. are many. Our interim managers can:

• Help your company expand quickly.
• Guide you through a transition or reorganization.
• Steer you through a product launch.
• Provide company leadership and thereby prevent costly mistakes.
• Give you much needed time to find the perfect new CEO, for example, should your current CEO resign.

Winston Resources finds and qualifies seasoned managers, executives, directors, etc. who can immediately step in and lead your team. Our high-level contract workers are proven performers who have held several professional and/or leadership positions. We seek those who can step in and get up to speed quickly. Our employees work to achieve the results you seek.

As you well know, business moves and changes at warp speed today. Leaving a high-level spot open for too long can be quite costly to your business’ bottom line, as well as its future profits. Instead, call Winston Resources. We’ll provide you with temporary high-level talent who will help improve the profit and effectiveness of your New York City company from the get-go!

Here are some common feedback mistakes:

• Speaking out only when things are wrong.
• Providing generic praise without specifics or an honest underpinning.
• Waiting until performance or behavior is substantially below expectations before acting on it.
• Giving negative feedback in public.
• Criticizing performance without giving suggestions for improvement.
• Not conducting regular performance reviews.

Clearly, giving and receiving constructive feedback is a skill that must be honed.

Developing proficiency in this area is essential to building good relationships with, and motivating peak performance from, your team.  To help get you started, here are four tips for providing feedback the right way:

1. Be proactive. Nip issues in the bud and avoid messy interpersonal tangles that result from neglected communication.  If you meet with employees regularly to give feedback, it conveys, “Your success is important to me, so I want to be accessible to you.”
2. Be specific. Although it’s not easy to provide negative feedback, it’s important to be as clear as possible by giving specific examples that illustrate your point.  Instead of saying, “Your attitude is bad,” say, “When you miss deadlines, then cross your arms and look away when I discuss it with you, it gives me the impression that you don’t care about the quality of your work.  Can you help me understand this behavior better?”
3. Develop a progress plan. Be clear about the specific changes in behavior that you expect in a specific period of time, and follow up as scheduled.
4. Link employees’ performance to organizational goals. Reinforce the value of your employees’ contributions by giving specific examples of how their work and positive behaviors serve the organization and its customers.

At Winston Resources, we’re continually looking for feedback from our clients.  Please contact our offices today to share your most recent experience.

You interview someone who just shines. She has the exact skills and experience you seek. Her delightful personality happily infects her future colleagues as they interview her as part of the selection process. Her references gush. Her former employer tells you to tell her he wants her back!

So you hire her, thinking you’ve made a super choice.

And then. She. Just. Doesn’t. Work. Out.

Some  people do exceptionally well at interviewing. If they could earn a living as a professional job seeker, they’d be tops. But get them into your office, doing the job for which they were hired, working — or, really, not working — with their colleagues, and something happens.

Many times employers and employees alike find the person and the job just don’t match. The employee finds the boss is too restrictive (she’s more of a “tell me what you want done and then get out of my way” kind of person working for someone she thought was easy going only to find he’s a micro-manager). The boss finds the new employee doesn’t have the exact skills he really, really needs for this position.

This problem can be alleviated if you hire someone on what the staffing industry calls a “temp-to-hire” basis. That is, you bring in someone from the staffing firm’s roster of employees, someone who has been tested and vetted to ensure that she has the skills and the temperament to fit into your office culture, for at least 90 days. If all works well, you hire the person onto your own payroll.

If it doesn’t work out, the staffing service removes the employee from your office (and almost always finds another position better suited for the employee quickly) and finds you someone else to try out for several weeks.

No one’s feelings are hurt. The temporary employee is told upfront there’s no guarantee she’ll be hired. (The temporary employee also has the option to say she doesn’t want to be hired and request another assignment; temp-to-hire assignments are a great way for employees to “try out” a job, too).

It also makes great monetary sense for an employer. If the first employee — or even the second or third — isn’t a perfect fit, there’s no need to start all over sourcing an employee (placing a job requisition, crafting and placing an ad, culling applications, interviewing candidates, etc.). You won’t have an empty seat in your office while your current employees once again work double duty until someone is found for the position.

A temp-to-hire arrangement is a real win-win situation for you and the temporary employee. If you’re a New York employer and need to find a new employee and are leery of having to go through an extended hiring process, give Winston Resources a call. We can help you find great employees for temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire assignments.