I've been writing lately about how staffing firms can help your business in this economic climate. I've also written on Finding and Selecting a Staffing Agency. This article provides tips for maximizing the value you get from your staffing firm.

Last month I wrote about how staffing firms can help you weather the recession and prepare for employment recovery. This month I'll provide some tips on finding and selecting a staffing agency that is best suited to your needs.

Most economists are now saying the economic recovery has begun and the recession may even be over. At my staffing firm, Professional Staffing Group, we have seen a noticeable uptick in hiring of temporary employees by our clients over the past couple of months, and even more hiring is forecasted by clients. Historically in past economic recoveries, hiring of temporary employees precedes general hiring, and temp hiring is often viewed as a leading indicator of the overall employment market.

Whether you love it or loathe it, use it or overlook it, social media is a part of our everyday life. For employers and HR managers, social media can be a powerful tool for communicating, researching and interacting with employees, job candidates, customers and the general public. Are you leveraging social media to the fullest in your recruiting, hiring and reputation management efforts?

Although the country is in the midst of a recession and the unemployment rate as I write this blog is at 9.4 percent, with 14.5 million people unemployed, recruiters and hiring managers are not strolling down easy-street. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 3 million jobs that employers are actively recruiting for but are so far unable to fill. And, although the unemployment rate has increased substantially, the number of unfilled jobs has essentially stayed the same since the beginning of the recession.

The current recession is bringing out the best and worst behaviors from managers. Management’s actions will have a significant impact on employee loyalty for years to come. Let’s take a look at some examples:

This year’s class of college graduates will face their share of challenges in this new employment market. What can employers expect when hiring from the class of 2009 and what is the best way to approach recruiting this year’s college graduates?

On opposite ends of the generation timeline in today’s workforce, Generation Y, or the Millennials, (those born after 1980) and the Baby Boomers (born before 1965) each have different approaches to their work. Both groups are influenced by their age, their experience and background, their peers, and their generation’s values.

While it would be too sweeping a generalization to tell you that all Boomers make the best managers or that everyone in Gen Y excels at working with new technology, it is important for HR managers to understand the differences in workers of these two very different generations, how to manage those differences in the workplace, and how they can best work together toward common goals.

There are many advantages to utilizing global teams. Businesses will say that ‘going global’ gives them access to talent, helps reduce costs, increases flexibility and responsiveness, offers diverse perspectives and provides a local presence in countries where they do business.

However, successfully implementing, managing and growing global teams takes effort and involves elements not present when managing strictly domestic teams. Conflicts or lost productivity can arise from cultural differences, lack of clear and consistent communication and incompatible leadership.

By Aaron Green

Many companies are reacting to this recession by laying off staff and instituting hiring freezes, as well as delaying raises and promotions under the belief that these actions will reduce costs -- and they do in fact reduce costs, in the short term. However, over the long term these measures often end up costing more than the initial savings. Here's why:

• If you allow morale to drop, your competition can recruit your best people away, while low performers stay on, reducing productivity.
• Decreased staff levels can result in overburdened employees who feel burnt out and frustrated; this situation negatively affects customer relationships.
• Hiring freezes mean lost opportunities to hire available superstars who can improve your organization.
• Replacing downsized employees may take a long time to achieve, and the qualities certain talented employees bring to your company may take years to be fully replaced.
• Employees grow increasingly unhappy; and once they have the opportunity (i.e. when the economy improves), they quit just when you need them the most.
• Your employment brand as a good company to work for is damaged, limiting your ability to hire and retain in the future.

Unfortunately circumstances sometimes necessitate cost cuts and there is just no way around it. As opposed to making company-wide staffing cuts and freezes, following are some suggestions that might fit your situation:

By Aaron Green

Since millennials, or Generation Y, entered the workforce they’ve only seen positive trends in demand for labor, career development opportunities and unemployment rates — until now.

The current recession is sure to have an impact on this youngest generation of workers, the millennials. Here are some trends to watch for in 2009:

By Aaron Green

During an economic downturn, many recruiting practices need to be changed – but sometimes not in the ways you might expect.

Economic pressures on workers combined with a higher unemployment rate might lead you to assume that recruiting and hiring are easier during a downturn. Depending on the nature of your job openings, recruiting is not necessarily easier in a downturn, but it is different. Some of the challenges we are use to are still there and are easier to meet (e.g. fewer demands and less negotiating from candidates) but there are new challenges too.

By Aaron Green

“Temp-to-perm” is a short-hand term that staffing and recruiting professionals use when talking about filling a job with a temporary employee with the option of offering it to that employee on a permanent basis after a trial period. Temp-to-perm, also sometimes called temp-to-direct or temp-to-hire, can reduce guesswork and risk and raise the odds of finding a candidate who fits well within your organization. It can be a win-win situation for employers and candidates who get to do a test run before committing permanently. To determine if temp-to-perm is the right hiring strategy for you, answer the following five questions.

By Aaron Green

The old school view of job hoppers was to stay away from them, with the assumption that something must be wrong with them and/or that they will leave you too. Employers were reluctant to invest in employing and developing job hoppers. However, times have changed and progressive hiring managers realize that they need to adjust their perspective to the new norms around job hopping.

Why employees job-hop

Job hopping isn't limited to any one industry, job type or level. It's present in all industries and occurs for reasons ranging from chronic dissatisfaction with salary and work environment to job stress and staff downsizing. Job hopping can be particularly attractive to new workers who seek a broad range of work experience more quickly than one company may provide; they view themselves as free agents. Millennials, or Generation Y, the youngest generation in today's workforce, has been tagged with being job hoppers, a label supported by recent statistics. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than half of all 20-24 year olds had been with their employer less than 12 months.