In today’s job market, employee appreciation and recognition is becoming a huge part of a company’s employment strategy. The main reason being that with a shortage of qualified and available workers, companies want and need to retain employees for as long as possible. What better way to improve moral and overall company culture than including your entire office in some sort of holiday celebration. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you have to throw an elaborate and pricey holiday shin dig. There are small ways that can help everyone in your office enjoy this time of year and hopefully boost moral in the process.

• Bring food into the mix! Who doesn’t love food? Plan an office luncheon, potluck or even a cookie tasting. This is an inexpensive way to bring the whole office together to just eat and be merry.
• Ugly Sweater parties are fun for everyone. Whether you just open up a day to allow your staff to wear their best ugly holiday sweater or you turn it into a contest, this is a great way for co-workers to get to know each other better and have some great laughs in the meantime.
• A little friendly competition never hurt anyone. Plan an afternoon where you and your co-workers can get together and play some friendly, work appropriate games. Include some food and refreshments and you’ve got yourself a little party that everyone can enjoy. Cubicle decorating contests are also an excellent way for employees to get to know one another and keep the flame of competition alive and well.
• Charitable donations are a win-win. If your company is one that prides itself in giving back to the community, in lieu of an office party, your staff could get together and make a charitable donation to an organization of choice. This could be a monetary donation, possibly donating volunteer hours or donating food or other items.
• Secret Santa or White Elephant Gift Exchanges = FUN! The act of gift giving but with a little twist is enough to brighten anyone’s holiday. Whether your office chooses to go a more practical route or simply have some fun with random “good for a laugh” gifts, everyone goes home a winner.

Not all working environments are created equal where some of these may be appropriate, they may not make sense for all industries and settings. Keep in mind what your current company culture is like and be sure to cater to all of the varying beliefs and customs in your office/work setting. In sticking with the holiday spirit, we want to make sure everyone can and will feel included and above all else, have fun in the process!

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Marine, Trillium Technical, Trillium Environmental, Trillium Hospitality and Trillium Techs. With approximately 98 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

A recent study by Accenture revealed that 80% of women cited flexibility in their work schedule as either very important or extremely important to their career success. Another survey by FlexJobs reveals that 89% women feel that a flexible work schedule would allow them to take better care of themselves or be more healthy.

These surveys are not alone. A 2013 survey conducted by LinkedIn shows 74% of women feel that they can “have it all” including a fulfilling career, relationship, and children. Additionally, the survey found that 65% of women reported they had a family and flexible working would allow them to better manage their career and family.

Employers offering flexible hours, telecommuting, and additional flexibilities may find themselves at a recruiting advantage with women over their competitors. Global Workplace Analytics reports that 3.3 million people that does not include self employed or unpaid volunteers, consider their home to be their primary place of work as of 2013. This trend has seen as much as an 80% increase since 2005 and doesn’t appear to be trailing off anytime soon. Employers who offer telecommuting as an option for their staff report less time off for illness, increased productivity, less employee turnover, increased morale, cost effectiveness, and overhead reductions.

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.

The first step to managing a poor performer is to identify who that person may be. Chances are if you haven’t heard complaints from others in their department, you will soon. Conducting regular employee performance reviews, spot checking their work, and communicating with your staff in regards to their role are great ways to ensure that you identify someone who is under performing before it becomes a major hardship. Poor performers often are distant from other team members, take longer to accomplish tasks, avoid accountability, and are not goal driven.

The next step is to determine the cause of the poor performance. Reasons for poor performance can range from situational such as those who are struggling personal life issues, health issues, or lack of focus to skills related such as training and development, under qualified for the position, or those with an overbearing workload. Take the time to communicate openly with your employee to help determine the cause for their lack of performance. Sometimes the solution may be as simple as providing additional training on a process or program. Keep in mind the longer you wait to begin communicating with the team member the less likely you are to remedy the situation.

The third step is to create an action plan. After openly discussing the performance issue with your employee and hopefully identifying some of the underlying causes, you need to communicate and employ a very clear plan of action. Provide your employee with clear and concise expectations and goals for their position and performance. Implement a plan that will help them achieve those goals that directly correlates to the cause of their poor performance. Solutions may include job shadowing another employee in the department, retraining on a specific job duty, or attending additional outside training. If the cause of the poor performance is due to non-work related factors you may allow them to use accrued personal time to address these factors or share with them any professional resources that are available through their benefits package. It is highly recommended that you document and both sign off on the proposed plan of action and schedule a time in the near future to discuss their progress.

Finally, you should review and come to a conclusion on their performance status. Meet with your team member to discuss and review what progress, if any they have made since the implementation of your action plan. If you find the employee is progressing at an acceptable rate, than you may consider setting further goals and additional review appointments to continue to monitor their progress. If you find the employee is not making improvements or their performance is regressing even further you may need to consider further options. Further options may include re-assigning the employee to another position within the organization, taking disciplinary action, or even terminating their employment.

Managing poor performers can be a difficult task but it is crucial to supporting employee morale, company productivity, client satisfaction, and providing a profitable service to your organization. You should always consult with your HR department or Labor and Employment Law adviser if you are unsure of your company policies, procedures, or rights when interacting with your staff members.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, driver, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job board  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.

While the initial savings a strong employment brand can produce is exciting, there are several equally or more important reasons that creating and maintaining a strong employment brand can be the key to your company’s success in the future. Companies with a strong employment brand tend to have lower employee turnover, better employee morale, receive more passive candidates, have employees that are constantly marketing their brand, customers experience better service, and have a stronger public image. So where do you begin building your employment brand?

Simple. You start with your employees. Take the time to speak with your staff about what they best enjoy about your company, areas they see for improvement, what drives them to produce at work, and ask them to share suggestions. Take some time to decide what your company is about, your mission, your goals for the future, and how your company impacts those who come in contact with it.

Next you need to communicate it. Have your employees share stories via social media, blogs, video interviews, and print to really communicate who you are and where you are going as an organization. Finally, you need to continue to foster and promote your brand. If your vision, benefits, and goals change you need to communicate that as well. Promoting an employment brand that isn’t true to who you are today and where you want to be can do more damage than good.

Keep in mind the key to maintaining a strong employment brand is simple, creating a working environment that is attractive to candidates and employees alike. Employee recognition, workplace flexibility, and a positive atmosphere that draws people in and makes them want to stay is what it is all about.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job board  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.