Everything Employment

My name is Mary Springer and I have worked in the staffing industry in Indianapolis, Indiana since 1994. I worked for a large international staffing firm for 6 years and then in 2000 I became a minority owner of an Indianapolis based staffing firm called That's Good HR, Inc. That's Good HR, Inc. does temporary, temp to hire, direct hire staffing and government staffing in the areas of accounting, finance, HR, administrative support, customer service, clerical and medical positions.

Through my years of experience in the staffing industry, I have seen many different employment situations. My background is primarily in temporary staffing. In the early part of my career, I ran a full desk consisting of sales, recruiting and filling positions. I continue to dabble in those areas but now I focus more on training and managing my internal staff as well as focusing on running and growing a local staffing firm in these turbulent times.

My writings will most likely encompass any situtation or thoughts that I have about employment from a candidate or client perspective as well as giving my view points on running a small business and all that comes with that.

The Ripple Effect of Respect

Thursday, December 30, 2010 by Mary Springer

As we approach the end of the year, we are surrounded by many celebrations and holidays that offer all kinds of opportunities to reflect on what we are most grateful for. For myself, I am very thankful to have a job I love and one that allows me to have an amazing impact on people's lives. With each year that passes, it becomes more clear how important it is to treat everyone you encounter both personally and professionally with respect. After all, we live in a very "small" big city and what goes around comes around at some point. I cannot tell you how many times my candidates become future clients and/or great referral sources.

Recently I came across a blog post on The Hiring Site that talks about exactly this

point. This post "Treat job seeker's well: One of them may by your next client" moved me to sit down and find a way to re purpose this important statement. Did you know that almost 50% of clients have worked with a staffing firm as a candidate as well? As I was reading the article it was interesting because you would think that getting a job would be the most important thing to a candidate but according to the article the most important thing you can do for someone is give them great service. It is very important to make them feel as if they are valued and have contact with them even if nothing has changed. At That's Good HR, we survey every single candidate that comes through our doors because we want to hear about their experience with us. We want to know that we are meeting and exceeding expectations and we ask each of them what is most important to them when working with a staffing agency. We ask them this so we can integrate their feedback into our service delivery model and so we can stay on top of what is most important to our audience. What they have told us is that candidates need over communication in the job search phase. They want you to keep them informed throughout the placement process and to stay in touch with them once they are on the job.

However, once the candidate becomes a client that quickly changes. At that point, over communication can cost you the relationship because now they do not have time so you need to try and be creative to always stay on their radar and be the person that is top of mind when staffing issues arise. If you have been an integral part of their positive experience when they worked for you, they will not forget that when the time comes for you to work for them in a capacity of vendor. If their experience with you was less than positive, you can be sure that when the time comes for your "candidate turned client" to engage a staffing company, your name will not be on the list. That train has long left the station and you did not get on when you had the chance.

In 2011, as the business owner, I pledge to continue to work hard to make sure that at That's Good HR, we continue to create memorable experiences for our candidates even if we don't have the perfect job for them when they come to us for help. We will continue to ask for input on how we are doing and as you might already know, we are always asking our candidates and customers to share their experiences with us on our blog through our "Share your Story" link. Go ahead, tell us what you think!

National Staffing Week and the art of "Thank you!"

Thursday, September 16, 2010 by Mary Springer

This is a "repost" of a blog that was published last year at this time. It is that time of year again and we want to extend our extreme gratitude to all of our employees -this one is for you!

The dictionary definition of the word grateful is: "warmly and deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received. Thankful"

My definition of the word grateful follows:

Not sure if you knew about the recent week of appreciation devoted to our staffing employees, deemed "National Staffing Employee Week" for the Staffing Industry. At That's Good HR in Indianapolis we dedicated the week to recognizing all of our temporary and contract employees that work very hard for us and more specifically, fill all kinds of Indianapolis job openings for our clients. Our temporary employees specialize in accounting, finance, HR, administrative, clerical, customer service and medical positions in Central Indiana.

Looking back on the week, it was probably one of the best investments in both time and money that we have made this year. Saying "thank you" to those without whom we would not be here today, is so important. It also goes to show that at the end of the day, everyone likes to be appreciated and noticed as a contributor every now and then.

Throughout the week we have received emails and thank you's. That's right, people are saying "thank you" for saying "thank you"...how great is that?! Here is an example of a thank you we received....

"WOW! What a great surprise! Can’t thank you all enough for the bag full of goodies. All things that I can use and especially like the idea that they will sit on my desk and remind me of the wonderful company that employs me!! And the candy was great, too!! That I didn’t need, but can I tell you it’s gone already?!

Seriously, it’s a pleasure to know and work with such pleasant, thoughtful and professional people."

In this industry, there is sometimes the perception that staffing companies work only for the client company because they ultimately pay the bill and that we do not care as much about our candidates. I am sure there have been instances in our industry where that has been the case and it is unfortunate. My belief is that we could have more job orders than we know what to do with but if we do not have good employees to place in the positions our company ultimately would not be successful.

Our lifeblood in the staffing industry is placing quality people in the right jobs at the right time, but the most important part of that equation is the "people" part and it is important that we treat our "people" with the respect that they deserve as loyal and hard working extensions of our company. I am sure that I have fallen short on that in the past but after last week's reminder of how important our temporary employees and contractors are to That's Good HR, I will not be forgetting again anytime soon.

So, in case you did not hear us say it last week, let me be clear when I say to you, our employees...THANK YOU!!!!

New Job - What next?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 by Mary Springer

I recently read a great article in the Indy Star on Sunday May 23rd, 2010 and it was in the Marketplace Section. The article was called "Land a job with a plan in mind." It caught my attention because it was short and to the point but very relevant. I guess I found it so relevant because I have recently hired some new employees at That's Good HR, Inc. an Indianapolis staffing firm.

I can honestly say that lately, people are concerned about getting a job because the market is very competitive with supply continuing to outweigh demand. The article I read was a great reminder that there is still much work ahead after you land the job and if you don't have a plan you could quickly end up back in the Indianapolis job search mode.

There are some crucial things that people need to do when starting a job. First and foremost a large part of the responsibility of making sure that things work out when starting a new job rests on the individual. Do not depend on the company to make this happen without your active participation and assistance. I always tell people that despite increasing hiring trends, no job is truly permanent and making a good first impression is so important to having a successful career at a company. You will be evaluated closely in the first 90 days of your employment by your peers as well as your supervisor and giving it your all right out of the gate will help set the tone of how your employment will go and if there will continue to be a place for you within the organization. Some things to keep in mind:

Make an effort to show up for work earlier than the recommended start time and do not walk out the door everyday at 5:00. Of course you will have days when things require you to slip out early, but it is important early on that you observe what other people are doing within the organization. Remember you are new.

Observe the corporate culture and get to know your peers and who you are working with or engaging with regularly. Start building relationships with the people that you work with and learn from them so you can quickly become a positive contributor to the team.

Take notes and ask questions of both peers and supervisors to show that you are actively engaged and interested in learning how the company approaches business decisions and what the company stands for.

Make sure that you meet with your supervisor regularly in the early stages and always ask if you are meeting expectations. Ask the question, "What am I doing well, what do I need to continue to work on?". Then listen closely and apply accordingly.

Ask for additional responsibilities when appropriate. This demonstrates engagement as well as competency to handle the task at hand and then some.

Volunteer to take the workload off of someones desk if you have the time. Close observation of what is going on around you will quickly show you where and how you can make the biggest impact. As a new member of a team, making your teammates' job easier is a great way to start contributing right away.

Of course, there are many more things that one needs to do when starting a new position but I just wanted to highlight a few things that I think are easy to do initially and important to show that you want to be successful in your new position. Hopefully you and your new employer have done enough homework upfront to ensure that you are walking into an environment and a job that is right for you, but just remember that your preparation and effort that goes into getting that job does not end at the door. Getting the job is merely the first step. This is advice we, at That's Good HR give to our candidates as well as to our own internal hires. There is some good information out there on the internet with guidance on this topic. One good article I read can be found here. We would be happy to talk to you more about how to make your next job opportunity in Indianapolis a successful one!

The Lost Art of the "Thank you" Note

Thursday, April 1, 2010 by Mary Springer

I do not interview candidates for job opportunities as much as I used to. My role at That's Good HR

has changed many times through the years and I currently focus more on business development and customer service delivery. However, one key responsibility that I will always have is to proactively identify key talent for our organization as we grow and change. In that role, I do interview internal candidates for our Indianapolis staffing company so when we are looking to hire I have an available talent pool to choose from. Obviously, in the last year and a half, with the tough economic times, we have not been aggressively looking to add to staff but finally in Q1 this year our 2009 cost containment and business development activities show our internal hiring trends looking up.

I have been conducting more interviews recently and through this process I realized that I must be old school and things have changed. I never appreciated how important receiving thank you notes was after an interview until I no longer received them. I have interviewed many candidates lately for various positions and I received only one hand written "thank you note." Should I take it personally?

This simple step makes a significant impact and I must admit that when I do not receive a Thank you note I scratch my head and wonder about that candidate. I do not throw a candidate out of the running if I do not receive a thank you note but when I do it puts that candidate ahead in my book. I guess I am trying to figure out whether thank you notes went out of style and I didn't get the memo or, have people just chosen not to take the time to sit down for 10 minutes to express gratitude whether they want the job or not?

I am sure through the years I have forgotten to write a thank you note when receiving a gift or getting asked to an event, but I do make a concerted effort to express my gratitude. I have been writing thank you notes since I learned how to write by my mother and grandmother. Maybe it is just not as important these days with everyone being so busy and the technology that we have but I can honestly say it means a lot to me.

I did some research on the subject just to see how old fashioned I had really become and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my expectations are not that far off the mark. Whether you are seeking an administrative job or a six figure job through an Indianapolis staffing company or on your own, the expectation is that you follow the basic rules of etiquette. One article I found on About.com, states the following:

"Writing a thank you letter (or email) after an employment interview is a must. In fact, some employers think less of those interviewees who fail to follow-up promptly."

This site and others also provide guidance on how to write a Thank you note and even provides some sample notes. So, if your mother or grandmother did not teach you t

he basics of the Thank you note like mine, do a little research and you will find all kinds of resources at your fingertips. If that does not work, drop me a line and I will be happy to help as long as you promise to thank me.

Now, That's Good HR!

To Review or not to Review....that is the question

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 by Mary Springer

Here at That's Good HR, Inc., an Indianapolis staffing company, we have just completed our celebration of surviving 2009 and with this comes the time of year when performance reviews are conducted for each staff member within the temporary division.

As the person who writes the reviews each year, I must say it is not one of my favorite tasks. Let's be honest, I absolutely dread it. I get the strength to sit down and get them done through my realization of how important it is. My employees really look forward to getting some solid feedback about their performance over the past year, even though this always makes people a little nervous too. Given that I am simply the writer of the review, not the recipient of said feedback, I often lose sight of the importance. It is such a daunting task to recall good and bad events within the last year and then write about them in a constructive manner. After I complete reviews, I reread them and cannot help but feel I have not done the process justice, but to the person with whom you are conducting the review, there is a true appreciation for the insights.

I realized this year how important reviews were because of the reactions of my employees and at the same time I ran across this management article titled: "Performance Appraisal - A Managerial Responsibility". The following information really hit home with me:

"If done properly, performance appraisal is a very effective tool to improve performance and productivity and for developing employees. It helps individuals to do better, raises self-esteem and motivation. Above all it strengthens the management/subordinate relationship and fosters commitment. Performance evaluation is not a process to be avoided; rather it should be implemented in all organizations and promoted as a key management activity. The benefits to be realized from a proper evaluation system far outweigh the time and effort required to develop, implement and maintain the process."

Another resource I found, titled "Understanding the Importance of Employee Performance Reviews", helped to put into perspective the importance around constructive feedback.

“A company’s strength lies in how secure an employee feels about his job. Remember, it’s a performance review, not a criticism session. The primary objective is to evaluate how an employee can add more value to the company. An employee should feel motivated after a performance review session. A positive attitude makes all the difference!”

While there are so many excuses you can come up with NOT to conduct an employee performance review, the reasons to take the time to do them far outweigh the excuses. The benefits you can get from providing solid, constructive and if possible POSITIVE feedback to your team cannot be overstated. Don't just take my word for it, there are LOTS of great resources, studies, tools and articles out there to support this effort.

For those of you on the receiving end of the performance review, do not worry, I have some advice for you as well. Who better to help you prepare for a performance review than the professionals from "The Office". If nothing else, it will keep you smiling.

Belief, Harmony and Responsibility in the New Year

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 by Mary Springer

2009 has been a year of discovery for me and for our Indianapolis staffing company. Internal introspection has been our focus and quite frankly, our survival tactic in this tumultuous year. I have become a true advocate for understanding and working within your strengths over the past few years. Our whole company engaged in the Gallup Strengths Finder exercise t

o assess each of our top 5 strengths. The purpose was to not only be aware of where our strengths lie, but also to ensure that as a company we are doing whatever we can to allow our employees to work as close to their strengths as possible.

I am the only member of our leadership team and very likely in the company who possess the combination of the strengths of Harmony, Responsibility and Belief. Even without taking the assessment, I could tell you that these were in my top 5 strengths because I embrace and struggle with them daily both personally and professionally. As a business owner, I am naturally responsible for the success of our business and that is a huge responsibility to have even without having responsibility as one of your key strengths...what this does is make me feel even more responsible than ever for the business and for everyone that works within its walls. Combine that with my Harmony strength and it increases the complications as while I want the company to succeed, I really want everyone to get along in the process. When stress and distress take over in the room, I sometimes feel I am the only voice of reason because I just want everyone to be happy.

If that is not complicated enough, my Belief strength will quickly trump my Harmony strength if you force an issue or conflict about which I am particularly passionate. If you force your opinion in my face and it is in conflict with what I truly believe, forget harmony, I will protect and defend to the end. Whew...exhausting. Yet exhilarating as I learn more and more each day how to work within my strengths and use them for good and not evil. I think the hardest part is that I am constantly responsible for keeping people working together toward a common goal while not losing my passion for what I believe in.

The good news...I know what my own strengths are and I am conscious of how to engage them in a way that helps me to be productive and focused on the task at hand or monitoring and managing needs associated with Indianapolis hiring trends. I have been able to subsequently surround myself with other professionals who are strongest in the areas where I know I am lacking and together we are figuring out how to take on the world in 2010. With that, I wish you Belief, Harmony and Responsibility in the new year...you know I will be juggling them all! Best wishes in the New Year whether it be with your Indianapolis job search or with filling your job openings.

Giving Thanks

Monday, November 23, 2009 by Mary Springer

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. The amazing food that I eat for 4 days straight certainly helps with making it a top holiday in my book. I also enjoy a day with the family that is not about gifts but more about being grateful and giving thanks for all the blessings I have in my life. You are probably wondering how is this going to tie into staffing, well....

Last Thursday, I received an email I was not expecting. It was a candidate that sent me an email to let me know how thankful she was to work with That's Good HR, Inc. and specifically, one of my recruiters, Amber Crosby.

In the Indianapolis Staffing world, typically you hear more about the bad things that happen and not as much of the good. Our industry is, in it's simplest form, helping people with their Indianapolis job search by matching them with client customers who have current needs. This service is delivered at no cost to the employee. Of course, we cannot help every candidate that comes through our doors but we hope that each of our interactions results in something useful in the job search, even if it is a tip about hiring trends in the Indianapolis Job market.

I want to take a minute during this Thanksgiving week to thank Amber Crosby for helping a candidate get a job and with the candidate's permission I am going to share some of her email that she sent to us.....

"I wanted to reach out to you regarding your employee Amber Crosby. I met with Amber on Monday the 16th. I had applied for an open position with your company. Amber was wonderful! She listed to what I was looking for and what job function I felt I was best suited for. When Amber called me with any open position, she always had all the information regarding the company, job location, job description and pay. Amber submitted me for a position and I went and interviewed with them this morning. The company, location and pay were all a perfect fit. I was offered the position on the spot!

I want to tell you that Amber is a valuable asset to your company. She did not submit me to any jobs that I was not a fit for and she listened and worked with me. I have been working with a recruiter from another company. This recruiter would call me and ask me if I was interested in a position but would not tell me the company, location or pay. This recruiter was submitting my resume for positions I was not even qualified for. This recruiter then called and asked me to lie on my resume to list skills that I did not have and experience with software I have never even heard of. I told this recruiter that I would not lie on my resume and she said "that is the only way I can get you into a company".

I told Amber about this and asked Amber if she wanted me to alter my resume in any way. Amber said absolutely not. She did not want me to lie on my resume and said we don't do business that way.

Thank you for being an upfront honest company. A company that listens to the needs of the candidate and does not try to push them into a job just so you can make money. I have had a great experience with That's Good HR and would highly recommend your company to any potential candidate or employee."

The staffing industry is a competitive, "dog eat dog" industry. When you are working so closely with human capital as your resource you have to be able to manage your relationships with dignity and respect and as we all know, you cannot please everyone all of the time, as much as we would like to. When you receive a nice email like the one above it makes all the effort you put forth to please as many as possible well worth it. So, to those we impact with a positive experience who take the time to thank us, we thank you!

Fitness in the Workplace

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Mary Springer

As I was pondering about what to write today I thought I would change it up a bit from the normal Indianapolis Staffing information or hiring trends that I typically discuss.

I just got out of our weekly Pilates class that we host on site at That's Good HR, Inc. and it inspired me to talk about "Fitness in the Workplace". Back in June, I made the decision to do something different for my employees. It has been a very trying year for the economy and staffing industry in general and for That's Good HR as well. There are more demands put on the people who still are fortunate to have jobs because corporations have cut to the bone but the workload is just as heavy and existing employees are absorbing the work.

We are lucky to have Amy Peddycord, owner of Invoke Studio, come in every Tuesday at 12:00 for a "lunch hour" pilates mat class. It has been such a great investment and I could not have anticipated the ROI. We all look forward to the class each Tuesday as both a body and a team building experience. I am sure some people dread it from time to time as most do with intense physical exercise, but it has been a great bonding experience and everyone shows up if they are available. We also have a couple of employees who have lost a few inches through investing in the pilates which is a great feeling.

I would encourage any business owner or manager to look into some type of fitness program for their employees and support it because it has great rewards. I read an article that highlights "10 Reasons to Encourage Fitness in the Workplace." It has been interesting to see how the immediate effect might appear to be improved physical strength, but that translates to renewed energy on the job and stronger internal relationships as we support each other through our participation and mutual physical and mental growth. So, next time the Indianapolis job market or the current hiring trends get you down, roll out the mat, grab a buddy and focus on your core!

Staffing your Sales Team

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 by Mary Springer

Recently, I traveled up to Kohler, Wisconsin for a much needed "Fall Getaway". I was in the car for 5 hours, which gave me ample time to catch up on my industry specific readings. I read an article in the magazine "SI Review" titled "Staffing your Sales Team" and I read it from the perspective of particular hiring trends for staffing your sales team within the Indianapolis staffing industry. I have been in the Indianapolis staffing industry for almost 16 years and during that time, I have gone back and forth about what type of individual to hire to sell That's Good HR, Inc.'s services. In my opinion, there are typically 3 types of backgrounds to look at:

Background 1: Someone who has general industry experience- they have sold for the staffing industry previously and you just have to teach them about your niche
Background 2: Someone who has sales experience but in another industry and you have to teach them about the staffing industry
Background 3: Someone who has worked within the discipline that we sell and you teach them sales (i.e. an ex. accountant)

And the answer is..... actually, it depends. There is no single model for a successful sales force. Now, I don't feel so bad that I have always been wishy washy through the years as to what I was looking for. The reality is I have hired people which each of the above backgrounds and I have had successes and failures with all of them in the organizations that I have worked for.

I am so glad that I stumbled onto this article and read it because it made some great points that I absolutely agree with and it provided some clarity around those hiring decisions. No longer will I be always chasing after the answer to the perfect background and there isn't one.

Here are a couple of great highlights from this article that I would like to share with you:

Each Staffing firm has its own unique culture, it's critical to make sure the person's work style will mesh well with your system
It is very difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, to change them to do business your way

And my favorite of all, as it speaks directly to our industry:

Not all sales experience is transferable. The staffing and recruiting industry is the hardest form of selling on the planet. It sells the only product or service on the market that can say no. That makes it unlike and more complicated than any other form of selling

Happy Sales Hiring!

College Recruiting, Part 2

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 by Mary Springer

My last blog described a meeting I had with a client where I learned that her son was still seeking meaningful employment after graudating from college in 2008. We discussed the challenges in today's market for a new college grad to find a job in Indianapolis once they have graduated. That blog entry focused on encouraging soon to be college grads to take advantage of the on campus resources before they graduate.

This blog is focused on another option that I presented to my client in assisting her son with his post graduate job search. I spoke with my client and let her know that I would be more than happy to sit down with her son and educate him on our business, the Staffing Industry and his Indianapolis job search. Discussion with her son then led him to me and a quest for an opportunity to get his foot in the door with temporary employment while he continued his job search.

He came in and registered with That's Good HR, Inc. and I sat down with him and walked him through all of the positives of taking a temporary job while looking for permanent employment. The American Staffing Association does a great job of providing key information and FAQ's for jobseekers. He was not aware of our industry as a real option for him and it opened a whole new set of options for him.

The result? We were able to match his skills with a great temporary opportunity with one of our key customers. The unemployed graduate is now receiving a regular paycheck at a fair wage AND he is learning new skills and gaining valuable experience. It is win for both of us, so much so that in my NEXT blog, he is going to be featured as a guest blogger to provide some perspective from his point of view.

College Recruiting

Friday, July 31, 2009 by Mary Springer

I was meeting with a client recently and she mentioned that her son had just graduated from college and did not secure employment prior to graduation, so he has found himself out in the real world seeking employment during one of the most difficult job markets in over a decade. This triggered for me a need to reinforce the value that the Career Placement Office has to offer to students and recent grads who are out there trying to navigate in these rough times.

I know that the job market is still not at all where we want it to be but with that said I still believe that it is important for college students to utlilize the career placement services offered at their college as well as attending the on campus recruiting events. Not everyone will get placed by any means but when companies come to a college campus they are looking for college students to fill their positions.

It is important to understand that your first job out of college will not be your only job but you will get some valuable experience under your belt that can help build your resume for your next career move. It is a very competitve market and once you have graduated with no job it becomes even more difficult to find that first job when you are out on your own.

Another great resource and extension to the campus career center for guidance and resources for your career search is the National Association of Colleges and Employers website. In a study of more than 13,000 Class of 2007 grads found that students who used the career center and its resources were more likely to report job-search success than their friends who decided to go it alone.

In fact, more than 80 percent of students who reported having full-time jobs before graduation used the career center. As a rule, successful students took advantage of opportunities to connect face-to-face with employers through campus interviews, employer information sessions, and other chances to speak with employer representations—opportunities typically set up by the career center. More than half of students who had full-time jobs before graduation had applied through a career center-sponsored career fair, and more than 40 percent had posted their resumes through their career center’s web site.

Want to give yourself an advantage in the job market? Check out your campus career center.

Source: Moving On: Student Approaches and Attitudes Toward the Job Market for the College Class of 2007. National Association of Colleges and Employers.