April 2013 – Trillium Staffing

Work Opportunity Tax Credit Extended

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:02:03 +0000

Are you looking for a great way to offset some of your expenses? Does your organization benefit from the Work Opportunity Tax Credit or WOTC? If not, now is the time to start! The WOTC was recently extended for eligible veterans and non veterans who begin work for an employer before January 1, 2014.

What is the WOTC and how can you benefit?

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit allows employers who hire members who are eligible through certain groups to get a credit against income tax of a percentage of first year wages up to $6,000 per employee. According to the United States Department of Labor, eligible new hires include:

Veterans
TANF Recipients
SNAP or Food Stamp Recipients
Designated Community Residents
Vocational Rehabilitation Referrals
Ex-Felons
Supplemental Security Income or SSI Recipients
Summer Youth Employees (Who are living in Empowerment Zones)

The maximum tax credits are dependent on the new employee’s target group and the number of hours that they worked for the employer during their first year of employment. Generally, an employer can earn a tax credit equal to 25% or 40% of the employee’s first year wages up to the maximum income for their specific target group.

Want to learn more about the WOTC and access the appropriate forms? Visit the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration here.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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Join Us At the NPTC Annual Conference!

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:14:47 +0000

Are you looking for an opportunity to learn more about driver staffing or driver leasing? Our staff is on hand at the National Private Truck Council Annual Conference this week and would love to meet with you and discuss options for your business!

For more information on the NPTC Annual Conference click here!

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professional drivers? Contact us today! Learn more about our Dedicated Driver Services here! Are you a safe and professional driver who is seeking a rewarding career? Visit us here to locate a driving career in your area!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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How To Hire The Wrong Person Every Time

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:34:46 +0000

Have you noticed a pattern in your employee turnover rates? If you are noticing a large volume of your new hires are not working out, chances are some simple changes to your hiring process could save you a lot of time, money, and resources. Not sure if your process is to blame?

Here are a few ways to consistently hire the wrong person for your organization:

Be reactive in your recruiting methods. If your organization doesn’t employ a number of proactive recruiting measures, you’ll quickly find yourself scrambling to find talent when a vacancy hits. Creating and engaging in an employment brand that attracts the strongest talent in your industry, will quickly funnel a large pool of interested, driven, and experienced talent to you. Respond to applicants even if you do not have an available opening and keep in mind any growth or expansion that you may be facing in the near future.
Don’t prepare yourself before recruiting. Take the time to reevaluate the job description, skills and experience required, and exactly what you’d be looking for an in ideal candidate. Not doing so ahead of time can quickly lead to you creating the role around someone based on your interviews, interviewing candidates who do not meet the requirements, or not finding qualified talent because you haven’t reevaluated the skills and pay scale that are appropriate for the position.
Compromise your expectations. Hiring someone because they have years of experience while knowing they won’t be a good fit for your organization can cause more harm than good. Disrupting the department or organization’s culture or process flow to quickly fill a vacancy and you’ll quickly end up with a number of personnel and performance issues.
Skip steps in the process. You’ve built your hiring process hopefully based on results. Skipping crucial steps such as reference checking, skills testing, and initial phone screenings can quickly cause you to miss key components in a candidate’s qualifications or disqualifications. If the position is worth filling, it’s worth filling with the right candidate.
Don’t be transparent. Want to quickly hire someone who doesn’t fit the role or have an interest in engaging in the role? Mislead them about everything from the job details, company culture, to the work environment. It won’t take long for them to find out that they were never a good fit in the first place.

Hiring the right person is like preparing a recipe. Without preparation and forethought you can quickly find yourself settling for less than excellent results and substituting key components to get the task accomplished. As a hiring professional, take pride in your process, experience, and intuition. Unfortunately, our jobs are not always as quickly moving as an assembly line but our finished product should be nothing short of excellence in quality. If you still find yourself unsure about a hiring decision, enlist the advice of others. Consider having another department manager or HR representative interview your final choices or have your final candidates speak to a member of your department to see if they gain any additional insight. Many staffing agencies offer trial hire services which allow you and the candidate to try out the working relationship for a period of 90 or 180 days before committing to a direct hire role.

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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How To Hire A CDL Driver

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:05:17 +0000

Does your company specialize in something other than drivers? If so, hiring a safe a qualified CDL driver can be a serious task. Due to the nature of their product line, many manufacturers, retail facilities, and warehouses employ their own driving staff. Unfortunately due to strict DOT regulations, insurance, and other factors these employers may be opening themselves up to costly and dangerous liabilities.

While the application and screening process can be laborious for any position, the steps involved to remain in compliance while hiring CDL drivers can be overwhelming. Did you know that in order to fulfill legal obligations you may have to:

Obtain employment verification and drug/alcohol test results
Obtain certificate of compliance with driver’s license requirements
Obtain applicant’s description of previous vehicle accidents
Obtain applicant’s statement of On Duty hours
Obtain a copy of applicant’s DOT physical card and physical
Obtain a copy of the applicant’s driver’s license
Obtain a copy of the applicant’s MVR
Obtain a negative drug screen result

While employing a driver you must also ensure that your equipment, insurance coverage, and policies remain in compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations. Simply staying informed on the latest regulation and compliance changes can be a full time job.

So what should an employer who doesn’t specialize in hiring drivers do? First and foremost, an employer should determine whether or not investing in compliance, training, and insurance premiums outweighs the benefits of them outsourcing their driving staff. Second, you should determine whether a third party logistics firm or a driver staffing agency would better service your needs. A driver staffing agency can provide you with screened and qualified drivers for long and short term needs, while maintaining control and responsibility of properly screening and employing the driving staff.

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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Is Your Resume Costing You The Job?

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:49:25 +0000

Have you submitted what seems like an entire tree’s worth of resumes and still haven’t landed the job? While applying for multiple positions will certainly increase your chances of landing a position, sending out a resume or CV with certain mistakes can quickly get you ruled out for any position. Here are some quick tips!

Capture their attention. The average employer spends less than 10 seconds reviewing your resume or CV. Bullet points highlighting skills that are relevant to the position are most likely to catch their eye. Avoid distracting formats or designs that could quickly take their attention away from your qualifications.
Make it professional. No matter the level of creativity required for the position, this is not the place for a self portrait. According BeHiring.com, there is an 88% job rejection rate if you have a photo of yourself on your CV. Keep your resume free of personal information including family status, age, photos, and most importantly do not include your social security number. Your resume is a professional sales platform, use it to sell your professional abilities and accomplishments.
Review Your Contact Information. Placing phone numbers that you are not likely to be easily reached at or that may be answered by someone that is not likely to pass on the message can certainly cost you an interview quickly. Are you including an e-mail address? If so be sure to check it regularly, a growing number of employers prefer to contact candidates via e-mail to help cut down on phone traffic volume. Keep in mind over 75% of resumes are ignored if the e-mail address listed is unprofessional.
Triple check it for errors. Make sure that before passing your resume along you have checked it for spelling and grammatical errors. Do not rely on spell check to proof your work. Be sure to have several people review it. Chances are, they may find an additional skill or accomplishment that you forgot to highlight as well. Submitting different resumes for various positions? Be sure to have each version proofed and saved separately. If you continuously change or update the file you are more likely to include an error.

Keep in mind with over 200 resumes received on average for each open position, your efforts to land an interview cannot stop after submitting a resume. With hundreds of thousands of resumes being uploaded weekly to sites like Monster and Career Builder, setting yourself apart from the masses is crucial. Proper interview and follow up etiquette can go a long way in setting yourself up against the competition.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities? Visit our job seekers section for more information! Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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Why 90% of Companies Use A Staffing Agency

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:56:24 +0000

According to Frontline Source Group, as many as 90% of companies use a staffing service. Whether you are seeking direct hire, trial hire, or temporary talent acquisition services, there are numerous advantages to partnering with a reputable staffing agency.

If you are considering partnering with a staffing agency or recruitment firm for the first time, here are some advantages to consider:

Time Saved. According to NACE, the average time from interview to offer is 22.5 days. Add the additional time of position analysis, posting the position, accumulating resumes, reviewing resumes, and scheduling interviews and you’ve quickly lost a large amount of time. Industry specialized staffing agencies have a pool of qualified and screened candidates for their positions of specialization. Executive staffing and search firms also work closely with passive candidates in their niche market, giving you access to a wider range of qualified talent. Having a partner that is proactive rather than reactive in the recruiting process quickly cuts your costly down time and additional burden on other employees within the organization.
Money Saved. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average direct cost for a new employee is $57,967.88 including basic wages, benefits, and taxes. Add in costly overtime during the vacancy of the position, recruiting and advertising costs, screening and testing costs, and this number can quickly grow exponentially. A staffing service can provide you with a predictable cost per hire and many offer financial guarantees to support the quality of their talent. In addition to cost per hire savings, employees contracted through staffing agency fall under the staffing agency’s unemployment and worker’s compensation claims. This can quickly decrease costly overhead due to injuries and employee turnover.
Increased Productivity. Employers who spread extra workload across their existing staff rather than adding additional staff, can quickly see a drop in productivity. Employees working prolonged overtime or long hours can quickly become overwhelmed, unmotivated, and less alert on the job. In addition to a loss of productivity due to fatigue and lack of motivation, over worked employees are more likely to become ill or suffer from a work related injury causing more downtime for the employer.
Increased Flexibility. Whether your need for a temporary employee is to cover a vacation, medical leave, or an unexpected increase in workload, having an established staffing partner can quickly provide you with additional resources during your time of need. Established staffing agencies often work with professionals and skilled workers who are open to short term, project, or part time work that have strong backgrounds in their field. Having experienced talent that can quickly come in and adapt to your position can provide you with great flexibility.
A Guaranteed Hire. As many as 84% of new hires do not live up to the new employer’s expectations. Ouch. With the time, money, and resources that are associated with the hiring and on boarding process this can be a discouraging fact. Most professional staffing agencies offer a guarantee or free replacement on their talent for a certain period after hire.

With the majority of employers in the United States choosing to partner with a staffing service, there are proven benefits. If you are considering a staffing partner for the first time or are considering a change in your current staffing agency, take the time to identify and qualify your future staffing partner. Established recruiting firms will be able to provide you with testimonials, have access to a strong and proven pool of candidates in your industry, and take the time to understand your goals and objectives as a organization.

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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How To Be Successful In Marine Staffing

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:25:06 +0000

Whether you are searching for Marine Electricians, Shipfitters, or Pipefitters, the search for qualified skilled trades people with marine industry experience can be difficult. In our niche market, marine staffing has it’s own set of diverse challenges that can be difficult for those inexperienced in the industry to overcome. Let’s face it marine contractors across the world are able to find talent and get in forward motion, so the questions remains how do they do it?

While creating and maintaining a marine workforce is no easy feat, those who excel in the industry can assure you it can be done and be done well. So what makes someone a leader in marine staffing? Here’s a few tips:

You must be an industry expert. While experience in hiring skilled trades people for general construction and industrial work may give you some level of experience, it cannot compare to those who work solely in the shipyards. In order to staff a marine workforce, you must be knowledgeable in the skills and experience required for each position, the industry regulations, and be able to evaluate a candidate’s skill set quickly.
You must be a marine talent expert. Understanding what it takes to complete a project and being able to identify the talent needed to excel at a project can be two different things. Hiring marine craftsmen successfully takes a strong knowledge base of the skills, aptitude, and knowledge needed for each role you staff in the project. Mediocre talent makes for mediocre project results.
You must be able to locate and mobilize a marine workforce quickly. Marine contractors don’t have time to wait for you to build a pool of marine construction staff. Providing marine contractors with experienced skilled trades people quickly and efficiently is the key to maintaining a strong relationship.
Be a maritime safety expert. Providing safe maritime construction workers is the key to keeping a job site moving. OSHA Maritime Safety Training should be a critical part of your on boarding process as well as pre-employment and random drug screenings. Making sure your maritime construction staff is equipped with the proper PPE can be a small step in saving costly injuries and down times.

Maritime construction requires extraordinary marine engineering and project management. Providing top talent marine craftsmen is not an easy task. In an industry where experienced talent and good wages are hard to find, more often than not maritime construction workers are not located near the job site. In order to excel at staffing maritime construction, you must excel at locating, qualifying, and dispatching local and non-local marine craftsmen.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of experienced marine construction workers? Contact us today! If you are a stand out skilled trades worker seeking short or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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Best States to Make A Living in 2013!

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:06:10 +0000

Are you in career transition or looking for a fresh start? MoneyRates has recently released their list of of the best states to make a living in for 2013. Comprised based on average wage and unemployment data, the cost of living, state tax rate information, and the Workplace Environment rankings; the list can give you some insight into where to center your job search.

The top 10 states include:

Washington
Virginia
Colorado
Texas
Wyoming
Minnesota
Nebraska
Utah
Kansas
Oklahoma

While the financial atmosphere may be ideal to make a living in these areas, locating the ideal position for you may still remain difficult. With economies in some other states still struggling, these states may find an influx of qualified talent seeking long term careers. Having the right representation may be the difference between landing a mediocre position and your dream job.

Trillium is proud to serve top talent candidates and leading employers in the following areas of the top 10 states to make a living in 2013.

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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Where Are The Pipe Fitters?

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:29:22 +0000

If you have recently had a need for pipe fitters for a commercial or industrial project, it’s likely you’ve experienced some difficulty in locating trained talent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for pipe fitters is expected to grow by 26% by 2020. The growing demand is fueled by upgrades in technology and industry regulations. What does this mean for your workforce needs?

As the construction industry continues to rebound and the regulations surrounding water and gas systems become more strict, the demand for trained and experienced pipe fitters has grown significantly. With many pipe fitters working on pipes that carry hazardous materials such as chemicals, acids, and gases; hiring properly trained staff is imperative. Hiring pipe fitters that are well versed in a wide range of materials such as lead, steel, copper, plastic, and aluminum as well as those who have worked in both low and high pressure piping systems can help you grow a diverse workforce that is prepared for a wide range of projects and circumstances, saving you costly downtime and unnecessary overtime due to inexperience. Struggling to find that well rounded talent?

Due to the high demand for experienced pipe fitters and the amount of time on the job needed for a pipe fitter to become proficient, well trained pipe fitters can be difficult to locate. If you find your organization is struggling to attract and retain experience pipe fitters, consider the following:

Is your organization paying with current industry trends for pipe fitters?
Have you offered referral bonuses to your current to staff to help you locate experienced staff?
Have you considered hiring a traveling workforce to allow you to have the talent needed in remote locations?
Have you partnered with trade schools to locate trained pipe fitters?
Have you considered partnering with an industry specific construction staffing agency to help you locate pipe fitters?

As with any in-demand position, it may take a combination of recruitment efforts in order to build the experienced workforce needed to help you excel in your industry. With the demand for pipe fitters projected to grow by 26% in the coming years, now is the time to build and maintain a recruiting strategy for pipe fitters, before the search becomes more difficult.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of experienced construction workers? Contact us today! If you are a stand out skilled trades worker seeking short or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

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