Blog | Page 17 of 19 | PACE Staffing

The Benefits of a Temp Job in Seattle

by Jeanne Knutzen | September 26, 2013

0 Blog, INFO AND RESOURCES FOR JOB SEEKERS temp jobs in seattle, temp jobs in seattle wa, temp jobs seattle, temp jobs seattle wa, temp jobs seattle washington

If you've been on the job market for a while and you haven’t yet secured the permanent, full time position you’re looking for, you may be thinking about taking a closer look at your options, revising your search strategy, or starting to reach out for professional career guidance. These are all wise moves, especially if you haven’t received any viable offers for six months or more. While you’re turning outward for resume assistance and job search tips (the experts at Pace are a great resource!), it’s also a great idea to consider stepping into a temporary job. If you've never considered this option or you think temp jobs aren't right for you, take a closer look. Decades ago, temporary employment provided a transitional option for those involved in secretarial or administrative work, but at this point, temp agencies have come a long way. These services now provide support to almost every profession, from food service to engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, and marketing. Regardless of your skill area or level of expertise, a professional staffing agency can connect you to the employer client you need. Here are a few ways a staffing firm can support your career. A Temp Job Keeps Your Resume Active Stop worrying about the growing gap in your resume. Even if the temp job you step into isn’t what you want to be doing from now until the day you retire, this position can keep your resume fresh, updated, and active. It feels nice to list a “current employer” at the top of your work history section when you send your resume off to a hiring manager. New Experience and Skill Sets No matter where your next temp job takes you, this position will provide you with exposure to a new aspect of your current business, or a new business altogether. And with new experience coms new skill sets. Learn how to handle a new content database or customer relationship management system and you can add this to your career toolkit (and your resume as well). A temporary position can also keep you immersed in your own field and allow you to stay on top of industry trends and changes. New Names and Faces Along with new skill sets and exposure, a temp job can introduce you to new people and keep your network active and growing. The more people you meet and contacts you establish, the stronger your foothold will become in a job market where no position is entirely secure. If you are looking for a temp agency in Seattle WA, contact PACE today.

Workforce Trends – time to reboot how we staff our companies?

by Jeanne Knutzen | September 24, 2013

0 Blog, Human Resource Roles Contract Workers, Employment Data, Hiring Trends, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Agency, Staffing Agency, Temporary Workers, Temps, WorkForce Data

We wanted to share with our customers an edited version of a recent article by John Zappe published in The Fordyce Letter. Here’s the data Mr. Zappe is referencing—data from a recent study conducted by Duke University, polling over 500 US CFOs. It would appear that US companies are shifting away from a reliance on full-time, permanent workers and moving to workforces with larger representations of temporary, contract, and part-time employees. When I see data like this I remember back to the days when I first became a student of staffing and heard futurists like Charles Handy (author of Age of Unreason) talking about the future of the work force looking like a clover leaf—33% core employees; 33% temp employees (auditioning for core positions) and 33% outsourced providers (doing work for an organization that fell outside the organization’s core competencies). Mr. Zappe attributes the current trend to “a fragile economy and the looming implementation of the national healthcare program.” As reported in this study, 59% of CFOs have increased temporary and part-time workers and are turning with greater frequency to outside consultants and advisers. “The results show the emotional impact of the recession lingers on, keeping CFOs wary about spending, especially on hiring, even as they are more optimistic about their company’s financial health.” The level of optimism about profitability was good. US CFOs reported their expectations that profits will raise an average of 10%. At the same time, they predicted hiring to stabilize at the current low levels, overall headcounts to increase by only 2%. Outsourced employment was targeted to grow at 3%--significantly faster than other types of workers. Economic uncertainty was cited by 44.3% as the reason for not hiring permanent full-timers. The new healthcare law was cited by 38%, while 24% said salary considerations kept them from full time hiring. Of the 28% of companies reported to be employing workers outside of the US, almost 75% expected to add additional workers in the coming year, with the majority of them adding at least as many overseas as in the United States. This article was prepared by Kyle Fitzgerald, Client Solutions Manager of the PACE Staffing Network using information from a variety of sources. For a conversation with our consulting team on what this change in workforce demographics means to you and your company, email us infodesk@pacestaffing.com. Our mission is to help companies use alternative staffing strategies to their competitive advantage.

Frequently Overlooked Accounting Skills

by Jeanne Knutzen | September 18, 2013

0 Blog, Finance/Accounting Roles accounting job in seattle, accounting job seattle, accounting jobs in seattle, accounting jobs seattle, accounting jobs seattle wa

Job seekers considering a future in accounting often turn away from this career path because of a simple set of misconceptions about the skills accountants need for success. And unfortunately, managers and recruiters aren’t doing much to alleviate these misconceptions—often because they simply don’t know how pervasive these myths are among young candidates and new grads. If employers made an active effort to set the record straight, they'd have an easier time attracting talented candidates to the profession. And if students and job seekers take a closer look, they may recognize that this field offers plenty of rewards for those who really do have what it takes to become an excellent accountant. Some of these overlooked skill sets are described below. Language and Communication Skills If you thought math and quantitative skills top the list of must-haves for accountants, think again. In fact, success in the field depends most heavily on an employee’s ability to communicate clearly in spoken and written formats. Accounts have to explain complex issues to those outside the profession, and they also need to form coherent arguments, describe plans of action, and point out problems and solutions in an articulate and convincing way. All of these require face-to-face, email, and telephone communication skills. Computer Skills The technology landscape evolves very quickly, and when it comes to back office management and accounting software, the pace of this evolution is especially fast. An employee may master a program or accounting utility today only to see this program replaced or phased out within a year. But savvy, adaptable employees have the flexibility and resources necessary to stay on top of these shifts and embrace new technological paths to the same goals. Networking and Social Skills Do you have what it takes to establish and maintain a wide network of social contacts? Can you form relationships and establish partnerships with diverse people across every age, discipline and background? If you can make friends everywhere you go and strike up a conversation with anyone about anything, you’ll be poised for success in the accounting business (and almost any other business you decide to enter.) For more information about the real skills accountants need to navigate the challenges of this profession, make a call and talk to the Seattle financial staffing experts at Pace. If you are looking for accounting jobs in Seattle visit our job board today.

25 things you need to know in order to hire the “right” employee

by Jeanne Knutzen | September 18, 2013

0 Blog, Human Resource Roles Job Market, pace staffing, Recruitng Profile, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Agency, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Staffing Agency, Temporary Staffing In Seattle, Work Environment

Hiring the right employee isn’t just about finding the best talent in the marketplace, but finding and eventually hiring an employee whose skills, work style and motivations best “fits” the unique requirements and offerings of a specific job and the work environment that goes along with it. To “hire right,” hiring managers and recruiters need to first understand the type of employee who best fits the actual work requirements—to create what we call a RECRUITING PROFILE. Recruiting profiles are different from JOB DESCRIPTIONs, in that they are singularly focused on defining the qualities of candidates best suited to do the work identified in the job description. An effective RECRUITING PROFILE helps recruiters and hiring manager’s source candidates from the right places, recruit them for the right reasons, and hire the one candidate who best fits the full scope of work requirements. It focuses on KEY REQUIREMENTS, both the hard and soft skills needed for success, instead of wasting recruiter time chasing a perfect candidate who may or may not exist. Here’s our list of 25 things recruiters and hiring managers need to know about a job BEFORE they begin the search for candidates. This is a list based on our years of experience supporting countless hiring decisions, paying attention to what works and what doesn’t. THE WORK 1. Why Does this Job Exist? From an organizational perspective why is this job needed? What is it intended to accomplish/contribute different from the contribution of other jobs on the team? 2. How Will the Employee Spend Their Day? What are the reoccurring tasks the employee will need to perform on a regular/daily basis? How will the employee spend most of their time? Doing what type of work/tasks? 3. Variety. Scope of Work. What is the range of work or variety of tasks that must be performed in order to produce the work product needed? How varied in terms of content or complexity? How much organization is required to deliver the results needed? 4. Work Cadence. What is the typical pace of work that is required to achieve deadlines? Will the employee be expected to be an accomplished multi-tasker? How frequently are they asked to meet deadlines and what is the impact to others for an employee missing a deadline? 5. Key Deliverables. What are they key outcomes or work products that must be delivered on a regular basis by the person doing this job? What is the impact to the team/organization if the work doesn’t get done? Who/what is impacted? 6. Complexity. How would you describe the level of detail or complexity that goes into the completion of each deliverable/work product? How many factors must be considered before taking action? How much coordination must be done with others? 7. Quality or Quantity? Is the work content or expectations the type that would require an employee to consistently choose between quantity or quality? Or is the balance somewhere in between? 8. Problem Solving/Challenges. What types of problems are typically addressed by this employee? Will the issues that come up tend to be unique or reoccurring requiring application of proven solutions? Will the employee be asked to think outside the box—to come up with something new or innovative, or are more tried and true solutions more valued? 9. Interpersonal Communications. Who and what type of people does this person interact with on a regular basis? How often? Written? E-mail, etc.? Are there any special circumstances surrounding the people they will communicate with regularly? Styles they need to accommodate? 10. Influence. Persuasion. Negotiations. How often will they be required to influence, persuade or negotiate with others? Will those people tend to be bosses? Peers? Direct reports? THE WORK ENVIRONMENT 11. Decision Making/Autonomy. How many and what kind of decisions will this person make at the direction of others? How many and what kind of decisions are they expected to make on their own? 12. Change. Would you describe the work environment as organized, structured and stable, or in frequent flux, subject to change without a lot of notice or preparation? How are changes handled in the work environment? 13. Training/Mentorship Availability and Requirements. What level of training, mentorship or hands on instruction will be available to the candidate? How much of the work to be performed will require company-specific training? 14. Teamwork. Collaborations. How often will the employee be asked to collaborate with others on getting work done, to make decisions? To put team goals ahead of personal goals? 15. Learning. To deliver the outcomes required, how often and in what ways will they be required to learn something new? Are they required to do most of their learning on their own, or how is new knowledge introduced into your work environment? 16. Management Style. Goal Setting. How tightly will the employee be managed with respect to goals, expectations and performance tracking? How will goals and expectations be communicated? Measured? What are the consequences of below target performance? 17. Management Style.Feedback and Support. How often and in what ways will they be given feedback? How available is their supervisor to answer questions, provide support? KEY REQUIREMENTS 18. Required/Preferred Skills. To deliver the work products required, what skills will be required that can’t be acquired on the job, via training or instruction? What skills would be helpful, but not absolutely necessary? Will the required skills be needed at the entry, intermediate, or advanced levels? 19. Required/Preferred Knowledge. To deliver the work products required, what knowledge or subject matter expertise is needed? Preferred? What components of the knowledge required can be taught or learned on the job rather than via formal education/training? 20. Required/Preferred Work Experience. To deliver the work products required, how much actual on the job experience is required? Preferred? Is it possible that a fast tracker could have acquired the skills or knowledge needed with less work experience? Are there some specific types of work experiences more valuable or relevant than others? 21. Required/Preferred Personal Qualities Important to Success. What are the key personal qualities that a candidate needs to have in order to be successful? How would you describe the qualities of previous candidates who have been successful in the role? How are those traits different from those who have been unsuccessful 22. Required Certifications/Education. What certifications or licenses are required in order to perform the required job functions? MOTIVATORS 23. Attraction Opportunities. What are some of the special opportunities that will be available to the employee who accepts this job? Opportunities to learn new things? To advance their career? To make a noticeable contribution? In other words, why would someone want to take this job? Where in their career cycle would the preferred candidate likely be, entry level? Mid/aspirational level? Mastery level? 24. Attraction Elimination Issues. Are there any factors in work content that would eliminate candidates based on certain personal preferences or restrictions? Travel? Availability? Pay rate? Physical working conditions? 25. “Corporate Fit.” How would you describe the “selling features” your company typically uses to recruit and retain its employees? Opportunity for advancement? Pay/Benefits? Entrepreneurial environment? Industry leadership? For a copy of a one page RECRUITING PROFILE which will summarize all of the information needed to focus your search for the right candidate, contact us at infocenter@pacestaffing.com. You can also inquire about additional interviewing guides, tools and checklists that are a part of our HiringSmart Best Practices Series.

Why Pursue a Career In Healthcare Management?

by Jeanne Knutzen | September 10, 2013

0 Blog, Healthcare Staffing medical staffing seattle, Seattle Staffing Agency, Seattle Temp Agencies, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Staffing In Seattle WA

If you’re on the verge of choosing a college major or making a mid-life career transition, consider adding healthcare management to the options on your list. Healthcare management/ healthcare administration offers a promising path for those who are passionate about some but not all aspects of healthcare, and who have a natural talent for business. A flash of social savvy, the ability to think critically, and strong analytical skills can also help in this field. Generally, healthcare management is an ideal place for those who like the challenges of administration and enjoy helping people overcome medical challenges, but who prefer to work in an office rather than a clinical setting. Does this describe you? If so, you may enjoy the challenges and rewards of managing a hospital, private medical practice, residential facility, or care clinic. Here are a few other reasons this profession might be the right one for you. 1. Opportunity The healthcare field is growing fast, and hiring is on the rise in every area of the country. To accommodate the healthcare needs of a wave of retiring baby boomers, clinics and private practices are opening everywhere, and these facilities need to hire and manage staff at a rapid and growing rate. If you have a degree in healthcare policy, healthcare administration, or business, the door to this field is wide open. 2. Earning Potential While healthcare managers may have educational debts to pay off immediately after graduation, salary potential in this field can be high, so these debts may not last for long. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, salaries for entry level positions in this field may start at around 40,000, but they can grow quickly into the six figure range. Larger clinics and hospitals in urban areas can usually provide faster salary growth. 3. Career Flexibility Healthcare management skills are highly transferable from one employer to the next, and these skills can also support success in other fields as well. These skills involve staffing, coaching, motivating a team, and managing complex budgets and schedules. 4. Advancement Potential In healthcare management, when it comes to career growth, the sky is the limit. If you’re looking for ways to take on more responsibility, increase you salary, and expand your field of influence, this career offers a great place to start. At the very top, large hospital CEOs are some of the highest paid professionals in any field. To learn more about what it takes to launch your career in this demanding field, make an appointment with the Seattle staffing and career management experts at Pace.

How to Take on the Role of an IT Leader

by Jeanne Knutzen | September 5, 2013

0 Blog, IT Staffing temp agencies in seattle, temp agencies in seattle wa, temp agencies seattle, temp agencies seattle wa

You’ve been immersed in the IT field for several years now, and in terms of technical mastery, you’re excellent at what you do. When you face a programming or troubleshooting challenge, you handle the issue in front of you with speed, competence, and style. But while you may have what it takes to be strong employee, are you ready to step into the role of a leader? If you’re like most first time managers (in every industry, not just IT), the answer is probably no. In the early stages, leadership often comes with struggle and a steep learning curve, especially for employees who have excelled at following orders and doing great work (instead of giving orders and assigning that work). Here are a few tips that can help make the transition to management a little smoother. Know Yourself and Your Leadership Style Learn your leadership style, respect it, and be honest with yourself and with your employees. If you simply aren’t a micromanager, or you need to look over shoulders to make sure things are on track, or you don’t enjoy raising your voice, or you can’t help but raise your voice when things go wrong, recognize these traits and shape your leadership strategy around them. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. Lead With a Vision Before you take the wheel and start leading your team, know where you’re headed. Long term goals with clear milestones are important for lasting, meaningful success. If you don’t know where you’d like to see your team in a set number of days, weeks, or years, think carefully before you step into the driver’s seat. Present Benchmarks and Goals to Your Employees Once you’ve established long term and short term goals for the team, share these goals, and explain why they matter to the success of the business as a whole. The best way to keep your employees engaged is by keeping them in the loop. Before you present them with a challenge or a difficult project, let them know why this work matters. Be a Better Listener and Communicate Constantly If you expect your teams to listen carefully to your instructions and explanations, you need to listen ten times harder. Keep an open door policy, especially at the beginning of your leadership tenure, and encourage your teams to come to you with issues, complaints, questions, recommendations, or requests for resources that can help them excel at their jobs. While you’re listening carefully, provide detailed feedback and check in frequently to make sure all the members of your group are on the same page. If you are looking for temp agencies in Seattle, contact PACE today. We have the experience and network to help an IT employer attract temp or direct hire candidates.

3 Ways to Onboard a New Temp: A Must-Do Checklist

by Jeanne Knutzen | August 27, 2013

0 Blog, Flexible Staffing Strategies, Hiring.Best Practices, INFO AND RESOURCES FOR EMPLOYERS, Temporary Staffing.Best Practices temp agencies in seattle, temp agencies in seattle wa, temp agencies seattle, temp agency in seattle, temp agency seattle

Welcoming a new temp and welcoming a new permanent employee both come with different responsibilities and different kinds of consequences, but both can have a powerful impact on company success. … Read More »

An Optimistic Outlook for IT Job Seekers

by Jeanne Knutzen | August 20, 2013

0 Blog, IT Staffing Seattle IT Staffing, seattle it staffing agencies, Seattle IT Staffing Agency, seattle technical staffing

As the economy slowly recovers and the pace of hiring returns to pre-recession levels, some industry sectors are bouncing back faster than others. Some of the fastest growing hotspots are occurring in fields like healthcare, hospitality, retail, and food service, and the pace of hiring in these sectors varies widely by geographic area. But in almost every area of the country, employers are looking high and low for highly qualified candidates in IT. IT hiring is on the rise and is expected to remain strong for the rest of 2013 and most of 2014. New IT jobs are opening up in every industry, and salaries for these positions are on the rise. As employers start dialing up the search for talented candidates, candidates hold a wider range of options, which means a stronger hand at the bargaining table. Why So Much Expansion in IT? There are several reasons why IT hiring seems to be on fire, and some of these reasons vary by industry. In healthcare, for example, IT pros are in rising demand as new regulations like the Affordable Care Act shift into place and patient records become more portable and accessible. These changes mean an increased need for data security and also updated infrastructures to manage patient health information. In other fields, from finance to manufacturing, baby boomer employees are heading into retirement in waves, leaving companies struggling to replace them and looking for ways to transfer institutional knowledge to the next generation. In the meantime, a growing interest in mobile accessibility and cloud computing are taking businesses by storm, and managers are rushing to provide their clients and customers with company information via mobile phones, apps, and tablets. In-Demand IT Skills If you have the IT background to help employers handle the challenges above, your skills are becoming increasingly valuable. At this point, employers seem most interested in IT candidates who can: 1. Understand, maintain and update data security infrastructures 2. Help company leaders choose internet access and data management providers by comparing costs and plans 3. Help companies mobile optimize their websites and marketing platforms 4. Build new mobile applications from the ground up. If you possess any of the skill sets listed above, employers are waiting to hear from you. Make sure your background in these areas features prominently in your resume and other aspects of your job search strategy. For specific help with this process, make an appointment with the Seattle IT staffing experts at Pace.

Take Your Financial Resume from Good to Great

by Jeanne Knutzen | August 14, 2013

0 Blog, Finance/Accounting Roles temp agencies in seattle, temp agencies seattle, temp agencies seattle wa, temp agencies seattle washington, temp agency seattle

You know your financial resume is fairly strong. Your education is complete, your track record of previous positions is fairly strong, and for the most part, your accomplishments speak for themselves. But here are a few additional moves you can make that can help you outshine your equally qualified competitors. Add these to your job search strategy and your interview invitations will start to increase. Raise your Financial Resume to the Next Level 1. Develop a branding statement. In the world of marketing, this is also sometimes called a “value proposition”. This is a simple, concise, and clear summary of the contributions you can offer to a potential employer that no other candidate can. This statement should be less than five lines ling and should appear at the top of your resume, just under your contact information. Before you begin to write and draft your statement, think carefully about what you do best and how your unique skills align with this specific employer’s needs. 2. Incorporate your own voice. Your resume and cover letter give you a chance to list and show off your credentials, but they also give you chance to share something about who you are as a person and what you’re like to work with. Don’t sacrifice your personality in the pursuit of a robotic, “professional” tone. As you search for work in the financial field, write (and speak) in a high, polished register, but be yourself. 3. Focus on keywords. Read carefully through the job posting for the position you’d like to purse. Are there any specific phrases that stand out or are used more than once? Does the list of required credentials contain specific certifications and areas of experience? If so, list these things in your resume using the exact phrases and wording that are written in the post. If these employers conduct a keyword search to pull your resume out of a database, these are probably the phrases they’ll use. 4. Quantify your accomplishments. As you list your strongest skills and accomplishments in your work history section, add numbers wherever you can. If you developed a new data management system or exceeded your call quotas, make sure you quantify the revenues raised for the company or the degree to which you surpassed your goals. Numbers make your claims easier to visualize, easier to understand, and easier to remember. If you are looking for temp agencies in Seattle, or looking to improve your financial job search, make an appointment with the Seattle financial staffing experts at Pace.

Do You Know…

by Jeanne Knutzen | August 14, 2013

0 Blog, What's New in Staffing? CareerBuilder, Compensation, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Staffing & Recruiting Pulse Survey, Staffing Agency, Staffing Companies, Temporary Employees

The percentage of job offers made to new candidates that get turned down because of compensation related issues? According to CareerBuilder's recent Staffing & Recruiting Pulse Survey, approximately two thirds (67 percent) of a candidates' salary expectations exceed the employers' offers. This data is gathered from offers made via staffing companies and represents an increase of 6 percentage points over last year. It should come as no surprise that compensation was among the top reasons candidates turned down offers in the last year, but also one of the main reasons why employees changed jobs.

Skills Needed for Healthcare Administration

by Jeanne Knutzen | August 7, 2013

0 Blog, Healthcare Staffing healthcare jobs in seattle, healthcare jobs in seattle wa, healthcare jobs seattle, healthcare jobs seattle wa, healthcare jobs seattle washington

Do you have what it takes to launch a fulfilling career in healthcare administration? In addition to a bachelor’s degree (minimum) in healthcare policy or business, healthcare administrators also need high levels of skill in a few general areas, including communication, critical thinking, social savvy, and analytical reasoning. By the time they’re ready to step into a leadership role in any healthcare facility (including hospital, private practice, or clinic), healthcare administrators should be able to competently handle the tasks below. The Challenges Faced by Healthcare Administrators 1. Defining leadership style. As a healthcare administrator, you’ll need to understand how your specific leadership style works and you’ll need to know how to use this style to overcome the issues your facility and teams will face on a daily basis. Years of careful research conducted by sociologists and management experts have led to the conclusion that leadership styles are distinct and recognizable. The better you understand your own, the better your teams will respond to your direction. 2. Understanding legal regulations. Healthcare administers aren’t lawyers or policy makers, but their facilities are bound by regulations that are complex and constantly evolving. Successful administrators know how to interpret the regulations of HIPPA, for example, or the Affordable Care Act, and they know how to keep their facilities compliant. 3. Communicating clearly and effectively. As an administrator, your words will have a powerful impact on a wide range of stakeholders, from employees to patients to shareholders to community leaders. You’ll need to speak and write well in order to get your messages across. 4. Continuing your own education. Strong healthcare administrators maintain an ongoing interest in education, and they’re always learning new things about healthcare policy, healthcare leadership, and advances in clinical care. The most successful healthcare administrators are those who search for new ways to use technology to the advantage of the facilities they manage. As a healthcare leader, you’ll need to stay tuned in to new technologies and their potential to improve patient outcomes and strengthen the financial footing of your organization. If you can keep your teams motivated, your facilities compliant, and your patient satisfaction levels high, then you’re certainly on track to managing a successful healthcare organization. For more on how to set meaningful goals for both your facility and your own career, reach out to the Seattle staffing experts at Pace.

Engage Potential Candidates

by Jeanne Knutzen | July 23, 2013

0 Blog, Human Resource Roles Build Candidate Engagement, Engage Potential Candidates, Engage Talented Applicants, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Agencies, Seattle Staffing Agency, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Seattle WA Staffing, staffing agencies seattle, Staffing In Seattle WA

You know that your job post provides potential candidates with their first—and sometimes only—contact with your company and your brand. And you know that a well written job post can mean the difference between a vast, highly talented candidate pool and a thin pool with a lower level of average ability. But beyond clarity, honesty, and striking the right tone, what steps can you take to get the best candidates to emotionally engage with this opportunity? Keep these considerations in mind. 1. Encourage daydreaming. If possible, get potential applicants to envision themselves in this position, literally sitting at this desk or working on this job site. The lives they lead in this vision should offer everything they want, whatever that may mean—including glamour, personal reward, new experiences, travel, or any other relevant form of personal satisfaction. 2. Know your target audience. Know what your ideal candidate wants, but more specifically, know what kind of person she’d like to be. Adjust your job post to reflect positively on this goal. 3. Put yourself in her shoes. Remember the last time you were on the job market. Remember the difference between finding a position you felt relatively sure you could tolerate and finding a job post that made your heart beat a little faster. People light up when they get a glimpse of something they truly want, not just something they feel like they should want. 4. Leverage your brand. Even if your company is small and not well known in the larger marketplace, use whatever small leverage you have to grab your candidate’s attention. If you can just inspire a talented candidate to make the two clicks it takes to visit your company’s website, you’re halfway home. (Of course, you’ll need to control what she sees when she visits your site or runs your name through a search engine.) 5. Be ready to draw her into the application process. When your ideal candidate submits a resume, she should get an instant message letting her know her application was received. From that moment forward, she should be treated with respect and kept informed of all relevant timelines throughout the selection process. Turn a great first impression (your job post) into a great second, third, and fourth impression. For more information on how to grab and hold the attention of highly talented potential applicants, reach out to the Seattle staffing experts at Pace.

Attracting Millennial Talent in Finance

by Jeanne Knutzen | July 16, 2013

0 Blog, Finance/Accounting Roles staffing agencies in kent, staffing agencies in kent wa, staffing agencies in kent washington, staffing agencies kent, staffing agencies kent wa

If you’re a hiring manager for an accounting or financial advisory services firm, you may have noticed something odd about the recent stagnation in the job market. While other industry mangers were sifting through stacks of resumes a mile high and turning away a dozen highly qualified candidates for every open position, you faced no such burdens. In fact, a stubborn shortage of millennial candidates only seemed to increase as the downturn wore on. If you’re still having trouble finding qualified young applicants for you financial positions, you’re not alone. What Draws Millennials? In order to attract candidates under the age of 35, you’ll need to create a workplace culture and a compensation package that provides what younger workers are looking for. In general, candidates in their twenties are not yet lured by the same attractions that draw older workers. They don’t yet have families, so family-related benefits won’t get you all the way there. (Though after you attract them, you’ll want to keep them in years to come, so don’t take these benefits off the table.) Instead, focus on compensation, bonuses, and a culture that rewards growth, commitment, and determination. You'll also need to think about your support for training, mentoring and continuing education. Do you have a structured mentoring program in place? Do you reimburse tuition? Does your training program build real skills? Overcoming the Millennial Finance Talent Shortage You’ll also have to overcome a few of the realities that are driving millennials away from the financial field. First, millennials are turned off by companies that lack integrity, and distrust of the financial sector is high among young people who have been, for example, drawn in lending practices that have left them (or their families) burdened by high interest debt. If your company treats “financial advisory services” as a simple euphemism for “sales”, you'll need to find a way to frame this that doesn’t turn off sharp, ambitious candidates who are looking for jobs with integrity and meaning. Second, young graduates with backgrounds in areas other than finance and economics may believe they aren't qualified for positions in your firm. But a strong training program means any highly intelligent candidate can learn the ropes with a little determination. Make this clear in your recruiting and outreach efforts. And third, culture matters to young employees…a lot. Be ready to pair younger workers with established teams. Create clear handoff arrangements between experienced employees approaching retirement and young mentees who are ready to absorb their institutional knowledge. And bear in mind that if this process freezes or stalls due to a culture of criticism and isolation, you’ll lose your young employees as fast as you bring them on board. For more information on how to attract and retain younger financial employees, reach out the Seattle hiring experts at Pace.

A Bright Spot in the Software Market: Data Analytics

by Jeanne Knutzen | July 12, 2013

2 Blog, IT Staffing IT employment agencies in seattle, IT employment agencies in seattle wa, IT employment agencies seattle, IT employment agencies seattle wa, IT employment agencies seattle washington

The global enterprise software market may be experiencing a general slowdown across multiple sectors, but there’s one area that seems to be generating a disproportionate degree of optimism: data analytics. These include data delivery systems, security platforms, CRM applications, collaborative applications, and network management software. While the rest of the software market experienced a 2012 growth rate of roughly half the rate of 2011 and 2010, these areas underwent a surge of about seven percent. The market for new technologies and software solutions is becoming increasingly multi-layered, with certain selective areas experiencing higher demand while others stagnate. Big Data, led by Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and SAP, appears to be one of these focused areas. The desire to manage and leverage information is driving this demand, and in their hunger for reliable infrastructures, companies are pouring vast investments into network-management tools. The firms listed above have been spending the last two years increasing their storage software offerings and adding customization options and scalability to their existing infrastructures, security tools, and product suites. These efforts were launched in anticipation of burgeoning growth in these areas, and they seem to be paying off. Companies taking advantage of increasingly sophisticated CRM platforms, for example, are turning their software investments into hard conversions and appear to have no regrets. According to the same types of ethnographic research and marketing studies that predicted these outcomes, the next wave of both data management and customer management will happen in the areas of social business software and mobile optimization. This may be a wise moment to consider adopting social business strategy, or a redirect of social media tools for business use. Meanwhile, businesses are also scrambling to bring their ecommerce platforms and CRM tools to mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. The Seattle staffing experts at PACE can help you attract talented IT professionals to help develop your data analytics. Contact PACE to utilize our network and resources in the Seattle tech industry.

Should You Become a Healthcare Administrator?

by Jeanne Knutzen | July 2, 2013

0 Blog, Healthcare Staffing A Career In Health Administration, healthcare administration jobs in seattle, healthcare administration jobs seattle, healthcare administration jobs seattle wa, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Agencies, Seattle Staffing Agency, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Seattle WA Staffing, Staffing In Seattle

Healthcare Administrators, also sometimes called Health Administrators or Healthcare Managers, form the backbone of functional healthcare facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and urgent care clinics. While doctors, RNs, and medical practitioners handle the clinical needs of patients and clients, healthcare administrators oversee the entire clinic and handle the hiring and scheduling of these practitioners. Administrators also manage the operational needs of the facility including vendor contracts, supplies, and budgeting. This is a position of high responsibility and high reward, and the outlook for this role is very promising. Healthcare administrators are in high demand right now, and this demand is expected to grow substantially over the next ten years. Should you pursue a career in this field? Here are few considerations that can help you decide.

The pay. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare administrators can expect to make an average of about 45,000 dollars at the entry level, and more experienced administrators can earn salaries between 50,000 and 110,000 per year. This rate varies slightly by geographic area.
The available opportunities. Healthcare administrators can pursue management positions in both large and small facilities in both the public and private sector. As a wave of baby boomers approach retirement age, the healthcare industry is expected to expand rapidly, and a parallel trend is occurring as facilities become increasingly specialized. Where people used to face only two choices when they needed treatment—hospitals and private clinics—they can now choose between a wide range of options from urgent care clinics to physical therapy centers.
The path. Those who choose to enter this field usually start by earning a four year degree in health administration, public policy, or business management. Some administrators then go on to obtain a Master’s degree, while others launch their careers with state or federal healthcare agencies working to shape the laws that impact public health.
The qualities necessary for success. Healthcare administrators who tend to thrive in this field usually possess qualities like a strong work ethic, organizational skills, and high levels of emotional and social energy. They often have excellent business sense and planning skill. Many of them enjoy the personal sense of reward that comes from helping those in need, and this role provides that reward without involving the hands-on clinical side of the healthcare industry.

If a future in healthcare administration seems like a match for your skills and interests; reach out to the Seattle healthcare staffing experts at Pace.

The Search for a Great Recruiter

by Jeanne Knutzen | June 28, 2013

0 Blog, Human Resource Roles job offer letters, job recruiters seattle, Qualities Of Great Recruiters, recruiters in seattle, recruiters seattle, recruiters seattle wa, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Agencies, Seattle Staffing Agency, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Seattle WA Staffing, Staffing In Seattle, The Search For a Great Recruiter, What To Look For In A Recruiter

A sharp, highly experienced recruiter can be an invaluable member of your hiring team. And establishing an ongoing relationship with a well-connected recruiting firm may be the best hiring move you ever make. But even as your recruiters head out into the world to represent your company and help you find the strongest candidates, you’ll still need to screen and select those recruiters based on your own specific staffing needs. So how can you identify the recruiters and firms that are likely to bring the best results? Here are a few signs to look for before you make a commitment. 1. Great recruiters are great listeners. Your positions come with very specific requirements and skill demands, and in order to understand these requirements, a recruiter has to possess a basic understanding of how your company works and how each position contributes to the larger picture. When you sit with your recruiter and explain a specific role, does he or she listen closely, ask the right questions and remember details accurately? 2. Great recruiters are well connected. They’re socially savvy, tech savvy, and have wide professional networks at their disposal, both online and off. They’re an active presence at industry events, they have long lists of contacts and vast online footprints, and they’re known and respected wherever they go. 3. Great recruiters are experienced. The best staffing and recruiting firms have been in the business for a few years and have had plenty of opportunities to get the lay of the land. They’re also staffed with seasoned recruiters who can share with each other what they’ve learned. A team of five recruiters with an average of ten years in the field should amount to a firm with fifty collective years of experience. 4. Great recruiters can tell the difference between “impressive” and “relevant” credentials. They know how to weigh technical skill sets against qualities like adaptability and resilience. They know that “fit” often matters more than any other quality, and they know how to spot red flags and investigate them further in order to protect their clients from expensive mistakes. 5. Great recruiters use proven methods. They rely on efficient phone screening techniques, first round interviewing models, skill testing, and background checks to separate the best candidates from the rest of the pack. 6. Most important, great recruiters are fast and accurate communicators. When employers need them, they’re there. They answer messages quickly, source and screen applicants on tight deadlines, and make the needs of their clients a top priority. If you’re looking for a top-notch Seattle staffing team, arrange a consultation with the experts at Pace. We can help you find the right people with the skills you need to move your company forward.

What Our Clients Need to Know About the Affordable Care Act

by Jeanne Knutzen | June 28, 2013

0 ACA Affordable Healthcare, Blog, Healthcare Staffing, What's New in Staffing? Affordable Care Act, Affordable Healthcare – ACA Smart, American Staffing Association, ASA, Benefits, Healthcare, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Temporary Staffing

What two years ago seemed like an event too far off to care about, the launch of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this coming January 1^st is now just around the corner. While there are still significant gaps in the clarity needed to fully comply with the 2700+ page law, we now know that most of the regulations that are going to be activated in January have been written. It’s now time for employers to make decisions about how they will comply with the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Because we are still hearing our client’s asking questions about the basic components of the law, we wanted to share information provided to us by our national trade association, the ASA (American Staffing Association), which we think does a good job of outlining the key elements of the ACA and what it means to our clients. Since the staffing industry is significantly impacted by ACA mandates, our industry worked closely with the DHSS throughout the writing of the ACA regs. Key ACA Definitions 1. (Eligible) Full Time Employee: Any employee who averages at least 30 hours per week (130 hours per month; 1560 hours per year). 2. Seasonal Employees: Employees working less than 120 days in a year. Generally excluded from ACA coverage because not considered full time. 3. Healthcare Plan—Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC): References the requirement that a compliant healthcare plan after January 1^st must cover healthcare basics, “the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.” Many of the so called “mini med”, wellness, and preventative plans will not meet the MEC requirement. 4. Healthcare Plan—Minimum Value: References the requirement that a compliant healthcare plan cover at least 60% of the overall costs associated with 1) physician and mid-level practitioner services, 2) hospital and emergency care, 3) pharmacy costs, and 4) laboratory/ imaging services. Many high deductible plans will not meet Minimum Value requirements.

The IRS and DHSS are developing a Minimum Value Calculator and a safe harbor checklist that employers can use to see if their plan meets the Minimum Value test.

6. Affordability: Refers to the ACA requirement that the employee’s share of the costs associated with single-only plan can be no more than 9.5% of the employee’s income. 7. Play: Refers to the decision an employer might make to offer a healthcare plan that provides Minimum Essential Coverage to 95% of its full time employees and their dependent children under age 26 (NOTE: It is not mandated that spouses be offered the plan). Even employers who “play” may be subject to penalties if 1) their plan is not affordable, 2) they fail to offer the mandated coverage to at least 95% of their eligible employees, or 3) if they do not offer coverage that meets the Minimum Value test. 8. Pay: Refers to the decision an employer might make to not offer the Minimum Essential Coverage, making them subject to “failure to offer” penalties. 9. Administrative Period: Refers to the first 90 days of a new hire’s employment within which their employer is required to offer an eligible full time employee the mandated benefits. 10. Exchanges: The mechanism through which insurers will offer small employers (less than 100 employees) and individuals the ability to purchase health insurance. If a state doesn’t provide an exchange, the federal government is required to do so—Washington, Oregon and California have created exchanges. 11. Subsidies: The credits available to individuals who qualify for assistance in order to purchase coverage through an Exchange. The subsidy assists the individual but is provided directly to carriers Key ACA Requirements 1. Employer Requirements: Employers with 50 or more full time employees (and full time equivalents) must offer a healthcare insurance plan that provides minimum essential coverage (MEC) to 95% of their full time employees and their dependent children (the play option) or be subject to penalties (the pay option). 2. Employer Penalties: Employers are subject to penalties whether they pay or play. The amount of the penalties varies: 3. Penalties for Employers who Play—“Inadequate Plan” Penalties: If the plan offered is “unaffordable” or does not provide “minimum value” the penalty is $250/month (up to $3K annually) per impacted employee who seeks and is granted a government subsidy. 4. Penalties for Employers who Pay—“Failure to Offer” Penalties: If the employer does not offer a MEC plan to 95% of their full time employees and their dependent children, the monthly tax is $167 (up to $2k annually) on ALL full time employees (minus their first 30). NOTE: Pay Penalties apply to all employees, not just the employees not covered and are not tax deductible. 5. Individual Requirements: Individuals must enroll in a healthcare plan that provides them and their dependents minimum essential coverage or pay penalties. If they do not obtain insurance through their employer or Medicaid, they are required to purchase an individual plan that will be offered to them through Exchanges. 6. Individual Penalties: The penalty for failing to have insurance is either a flat dollar amount per person or a percentage of household income.

2014: $95 per person (up to 3 or $285) or 1% of household taxable income
2015: $325 per person (up to 3 or $975) or 2% of household taxable income
2016: $695 per person (up to 3 $2085) or 2.5% of household taxable income
2017 and beyond – same as 2016 with Cost of Living increases

7. Individual’s Eligibility for Subsidies: Individuals with household incomes determined to be 100-400% of federal poverty levels may be eligible for government funded subsidies that they can use to buy insurance through public health exchanges. NOTE: Employees are not eligible for coverage if they are on Medicaid or have been offered a healthcare plan that is both affordable and meets Minimum Essential Coverage by their employer and refused it. 8. State and Federal Public Health Insurance Exchanges

Provide a place for individuals or small employers to purchase of compliant healthcare insurance. Available plans will be categorized into one of four groupings: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, plus a catastrophic plan.
Determine an employer’s or individual’s eligibility to purchase through the Exchange.
Determine the affordability of a plan offered to an individual through their employer.
Determine an individual’s eligibility for exemptions or subsidies.

9. New Discrimination Mandates

The regulations relating to the new discrimination provisions embedded in the ACA are not yet written and likely won’t be before 2015.
2014 will allow differentiation in the plans offered to different employees and will allow different levels of employer contributions to those plans. Tiered/pay up plans are allowable in 2014.
Discriminations in favor of lower paid employees will remain permissible after 2014. Any employer can pay more for their lower paid employees to ensure what they offer meets “affordability” standards.

The ACA and Staffing - Unique Applications 1. Variable Hour Employees: Refers to employees working in a job where the length of employment or the hours of work each week is uncertain. The Variable Hour employee definition is assumed to apply to the majority of temporary or contract workers represented by the staffing industry who work on 1) an undetermined number of “short term” assignments, 2) with a variety of clients, and 3) likely to be gaps between assignments.

Estimates are that only 10% of the current temporary and contract workforce will be benefit eligible.
The ASA is advising its members that assignments targeted to last less than six months will not be challenged if classified as “variable.” Assignments intended to last longer than six months are subject to “common sense” interpretations of the requirement of “uncertainty.”

2. Specific Rules for Variable Hour Employees:

Measurement Periods and the Look Back Rule: A look back/measurement period is a time period (ranging from 3 to 12 months as selected by the employer) during which a variable hour employee is determined to meet the test of full time status. To become eligible for coverage, an employee must average at least 30 hours per week during the measurement period.

3. Stability Periods. Stability periods must include the same number of months as the elected measurement period but are counted on a go-forward point from date of benefit eligibility. Employees working full time during the look back period will be benefit eligible during the go-forward stability period as long as they stay employed. NOTE: Employee must be covered during their stability period even if their hours of work are reduced to part-time status. 4. Staffing Firm Costs to Play include:

The cost of an affordable plan for 95% of eligible employees.
Minus the costs that would otherwise be associated with employees who opt out because they have coverage elsewhere
Plus the cost of penalties for any employees that receives subsidies because the plan offered is not affordable.

5. Staffing Firm Costs to Pay include:

A nondeductible monthly tax assessment of $166.67/month on all eligible employees (over the first 30). Penalties would be applied to ALL employees, covered or not.

6. Impact of Increased Costs on Clients

Expect 1-5% increase in bill rate

7. The Staffing Industry Challenge – “There are not a lot of Health Plans Designed for Temporary Workers“

Mini med plans no longer allowed. Fixed dollar indemnity plans—do not qualify as providing “minimum value;” preventive and wellness plans—won’t provide “Minimal Essential Coverage.”
New plans are expected to be developed between now and January 1^st but with unknown costs and coverage.

The American Staffing Association and the ACA The American Staffing Association played an active role in writing ACA regulations. The ASA supports compliance with the law and urges its members not to participate in practices that violate either the substantive components of the law or its intent. The ASA strongly urges its members to avoid any arrangements with clients aimed at avoiding coverage or penalties. Activities the ASA believes will trigger an IRS audit include: 1) splitting hours of work between two entities when the employee is doing one job, 2) reducing employee headcounts below 50 for the purpose of avoiding ACA requirements, and 3) terminating, refusing to reassign, or limiting the hours of work for employees if the purpose is to deny coverage or penalties. Staffing can continue to be used for valid business reasons; fluctuating workloads, staffing special projects, managing turnover, auditioning processes, and legitimate part time work. For more information on the ACA and how it will impact your temporary workforce in 2014, contact us at infodesk@pacestaffing.com.

When It Comes To Purchasing Staffing Solutions – Words Matter

by Jeanne Knutzen | June 27, 2013

0 About Staffing Agencies, Agency Pricing Practices, Blog, Flexible Staffing Strategies, Human Resource Roles, INFO AND RESOURCES FOR EMPLOYERS get connected

What you call your flexible worker makes a difference in what vendor you talk to, how much you pay, and what you can expect! Here's why.... … Read More »

In Pursuit of Accountability

by Jeanne Knutzen | June 26, 2013

0 Blog, Human Resource Roles Contract Employees, Fearless Leadership, Loretta Malandro, Managers, PACE Staffing Network, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Industry, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Temporary Employees

Despite the countless management and leadership books written about the virtue of accountability, according to most employees there are significant gaps between management’s knowing and doing when it comes to accountability. Most employees don’t rate their organizations highly in terms of their ability to hold individuals or teams accountable. While they believe they are personally accountable, they don’t always believe that others in their organization are held to the same “high” standards. Well intended managers can oftentimes fuel these perceptions. Excuses like “they’re new to the job,” or “I probably wasn’t clear in my directions,” can sound more like “permission” to underperform or the avoidance of a difficult conversation, than the commitment to fairness it might otherwise represent. The opposite track, an organization being too quick to act or terminate an employee whose results are off target (i.e. “John’s outcomes are awful. He needs to go,”) can often keep a team from looking at larger issues in market conditions or organizational performance that aren’t about John’s performance. Additionally, a manager who is slow to coach and fast to terminate can erode an organization’s commitment to its employees. Management 101 teaches us that by helping our employees to become more accountable, we make our teams more productive. The opposite is also true. When management drifts away from the habits of “accountability,” a culture of finger pointing, blame, and gossip often takes hold. Issues in productivity and outcomes, almost always follow. Unfortunately, individual managers—senior, middle, and entry level leadership roles—don’t always understand their personal role in an organization’s “accountability culture.” While most managers believe they do a good job of holding their team members accountable, it’s sometimes difficult to see how others are doing the same. When the going gets tough and results are off target, even high performing managers can look to “others”—a better resourced competitor, an underperforming colleague, an overly demanding customer, or an insensitive senior management—as the reason for their own subpar outcomes. Anytime a manager takes their eyes off their own performance and looks for explanations of outcomes outside themselves, the organization’s “culture” of accountability suffers. In her book Fearless Leadership, Loretta Malandro, PhD., says that, for a business to create an accountability culture management accountability must be 100 %—each manager must become “personally accountable for their impact on people, even if others accept zero accountability.” Dr. Malandro is clearly stating the management challenge; it always has to start within. Managers also need to understand that the drift in an organization’s accountability culture typically happens slowly, then suddenly. While accountability is an intellectually simple concept, in reality it is both emotionally and behaviorally complex. For managers who take their mission to develop people seriously, they must find that just-right balance between holding people accountable and empowering them to make mistakes. Their goal is to help employees work from their strengths, while making sure their weaknesses don’t knock them over. Even a well thought out decision to terminate an underperforming but high impact employee, requires careful organizational planning that almost always involves others—which means that many accountability decisions can’t be made in a vacuum, outside the context of the team and its customers. This is a long way of saying that the balancing acts that in their aggregate reflect how you or your company is managing “accountability” are as easy and straight forward as others would like. It is my belief that a fully accountable culture represents an aspirational vision that is rarely fully achieved, but can produce a whole lot of small but “made a difference” successes along the way. So how do individual managers go about creating a culture of accountability? We have a handful of suggestions, starting with a good reflection of where you are now. Go through some of the checklists we’ve provided below and rate yourself on a scale of 1 -5—with 5 being the highest of the rankings and 1 the lowest. How are you managing your own team?

	Self-Rating
1. CLEAR EXPECTATIONS. Does each team member know specifically what is being expected of them? How their work will be measured and/or evaluated?
2. ONGOING, HONEST FEEDBACK. Do team members regularly get all of the metrics and/or the feedback they need to evaluate their own work? Do they know at all times how I am viewing their work and outcomes?
3. ADDRESSING PERFORMANCE ISSUES. Do I follow up quickly to work more closely with team members whose results are off target? Do I listen carefully for obstacles, and coach them on ways to overcome them? Do I have clear processes in place to make sure that any potentially job threatening issues are escalated clearly and appropriately?
4. INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT. Do I manage each member of my team as an individual, setting individual performance goals and avoiding comparisons with other team members?
5. PLANNING AND FOLLOW UP. When my team and I are discussing options, do I follow up to make sure what work needs to be done and by whom? That my priorities are clear? Do I regularly follow up on promised deadlines or benchmarks so that I physically inspect work in progress to ensure that each team member is completing work as promised?
Total Score

How are you conducting yourself as a company leader?

	Self-Rating
1. PERSONAL ROLE MODELING. When things go wrong, do I walk the talk of personal accountability—avoid making excuses or blaming others over explaining myself? Do I personally model my own “empowerment; engaging my team in ways to overcome obstacles, solve problems, and make progress?”
2. COACHING. DEVELOPING OTHERS. Do I spend enough time coaching others to success, avoiding getting disappointed or angry when a team member doesn’t “get it?” Do I look for ways for my employees to work from strengths, even if that means some adjustments in how work gets done?
3. TRANSPARENCY. Do I make sure I always work from a plan, making my personal contribution to company goals transparent to my boss and colleagues?
4. WORD CHOICES. Do my word choices set a tone with the team and others of “positive problem solving” around things we can control, rather than focusing too heavily on issues and obstacles we can’t?
5. TEAMMEMBER SUPPORT. Do I always communicate in ways that demonstrate my respect for others, my ability to find value in “different” people, talents and perspectives? Do I avoid conversations with team members or colleagues that are more about gossip than problem solving? Do I listen when issues are brought forward, but avoid lengthy discussions about another team member’s performance?
Total Score

Are you avoiding the assumptions that can erode the habits of accountability?

	Self-Rating
1. Good team members always understand what’s expected of them. Am I mindful that clarifying expectations is an ongoing process?
2. Good team members will automatically self-correct. When a mistake is made or a ball dropped, do I help others determine what they will do differently next time?
3. Everyone knows what I do/what I’m accountable for. Do I demonstrate daily the transparency in my own work that I want from others?
4. Everyone knows what changes need to be made now. How often am I communicating about change, and what we need to be doing differently? How clear am I about my team’s priorities?
Total Score

Accountability is an important element in the work we do to help our clients find and place the right employee for each request we fill—either for a job candidate to be hired by our client directly, a short term temporary or contract assignment, or a complex project level assignment involving full team engagement. We always want to know what each of our employees is accountable to produce—what outcome our client needs them to achieve. One of the important side benefits of “temporary” workers is that their accountabilities can generally be defined in simple terms, “achieve this result in this way, ” but the degree to which our customers can spell out these simple statements, the greater the probability that our employee will perform as expected. Our client’s chances for a successful temporary or contract assignment are directly impacted by the quality of information they can provide to all of their employees up front about their business (the context) and their expectations (the deliverable). Nancy

We also encourage our clients to provide their temporary and contract employees with timely feedback relative to those expectations—as early in the assignment as possible and as ongoing as is needed. Many issues in employee performance, particularly in temporary or contract roles, stems from the employees not clearly understanding the client’s expectations. Keep in mind many temporary and contract employees go from assignment to assignment with their client’s expectations changing at each assignment. Early course corrections to clarify your expectations can make a huge difference. If you’d like to discuss any of these editorial comments, feel free to contact me at nancys@pacestaffing.com. I’m Nancy Swanson, Vice President of Partnership Development for the PACE Staffing Network.

Qualifications for Your Financial Team

by Jeanne Knutzen | June 21, 2013

0 Blog, Finance/Accounting Roles Financial Qualifications You Need, financial staffing seattle, Hiring Financial Staff, Hiring Your Financial Team, Seattle Staffing, Seattle Staffing Agencies, Seattle Staffing Agency, Seattle Temporary Staffing, Seattle WA Staffing, Staffing In Seattle WA

As your business expands and your market footprint begins to grow, the size of your staff will need to keep pace. Hiring demands will pick up across all aspects of your company from production to customer outreach, and your financial department will be no exception. While you may have handled most of your accounting needs on your own during the early chapters, this just isn’t realistic beyond a certain stage. You’ll eventually need a CPA to manage to your tax responsibilities, a book keeper to monitor your revenue streams and cost centers, and eventually a controller to make sure your shareholders understand what’s happening behind the scenes. What kinds of traits and skills should you be looking for as you move forward with your financial hiring process? Keep these considerations in mind. Chief Financial Officer A CFO manages and oversees all aspects of your company’s financial operations. From keeping costs under control, to improving efficiency in processing, to monitoring all financial reporting, the CFO holds final accountability for this aspect of your company. There are no specific qualifications or licensing requirements for CFOs, but this should be a person you trust as a money manager and also as a leader. He or she should hold a four year degree in business management or finance—at the very least—and should possess exceptional leadership and communication skill. Certified Public Accountant Your CPA is the person who will ensure that your company functions in accordance with state and federal regulations, which include tax payment and filing issues. Since CPAs interact directly with the government and the legal system, they’re required to abide by strict licensing and certification requirements that vary by state. Before you consider any candidate for a CPA position, make sure he or she holds these credentials and ideally has some experience with your specific type of business (LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc). Controller Your controller will handle all your company’s issues related to financial reporting. These will include shareholder communications, long term business forecasting, and budgeting. A controller should possess an MBA or a four year degree in finance or accounting. Advanced CFA, CMA or CPA certification suggest an additional measure of competence. In addition to the positions listed here, you’ll also benefit from the skills of an advanced accounting staff and at least one book keeper, an entry level employee who keeps track of sales figures, invoices, and operating expenses. For specific guidance as you begin the recruiting process for each of these roles, reach out to the financial staffing experts at Pace.