The holiday season is upon us and our Northwest staffing agency would like to take a moment to say some “thank yous” to our clients and candidates for your support and loyalty in 2010.

• Thank you for reading our blog. In today’s day and age of information overload, there’s a lot of of content out there. And we feel privileged you’ve chosen us as your source for staffing and career tips.
• Thank you for letting us share our knowledge and ideas with you about HR, staffing best practices, job hunts, and career advice.
• Thank you for your insight. We truly love getting positive feedback from our clients and candidates and are delighted when we hear about your successes, whether it’s in finding the right person, or finding the right job.

The bottom line is that without you, our Northwest staffing agency wouldn’t exist. So again, thank you for your continued support! We’d also like to wish you and your family a terrific holiday season and a New Year filled with health and happiness!

We are pleased to announce that Provisional has been named the Silver Winner in the “Best Temporary Staffing Firm” category on Inland Business Catalyst magazine’s “Best of Business” list. The purpose of the list is to offer professionals the top options for business-related products and services, such as temporary staffing, in the Northwest. Firms are voted onto the list by readers and fans of the magazine

“We’re absolutely honored that so many people in the business community voted to name Provisional one of the best temporary staffing firms in Northwest,” said Megan Shover, Recruiting Manager at Provisional. “While we’re proud of this success, we also recognize that it wouldn’t have been possible without the continued loyalty, support, and trust of our clients and candidates.”

Learn more about how you can benefit from working with one of the Northwest’s best temporary staffing firms.

Whether or not to include references when submitting your resume is up for debate. Some say to always include references, while others say to send them along only if requested.

As an employment agency in Couer d’Alene, Idaho, we think it’s a good idea to include references when submitting a resume. If you have strong ones, it certainly can’t hurt, whether the prospective employer requested them or not.

Also, rather than just including references on your resume, consider creating a reference page. A separate page for references has been found to be more effective than putting references right on your resume.

So how do you create a reference page? Here are some tips:

• First, brainstorm who you want to include as a reference. Your references should not be family and friends; they should be colleagues, and, even better, managers with whom you’ve worked in the past. You should include at least three professional references.

• With that said, you may also want to include a couple of personal references. Again, a personal reference should not be your spouse or your dad. Instead, a good example of a personal reference is someone you volunteer with or volunteered with in the past or who you sit on a community board with.

• Once you’ve decided on your list of references, contact them to make sure it’s ok to include them as references. Make sure they know that a prospective employer may be in touch to discuss your background. This will give them time to formulate what they want to say.

• Next, create a document separate from your resume, where you list these references. Include your reference’s name, job title, company, phone, and email. Also include what capacity you worked with the reference in (i.e. was this person a co-worker or a manager?). In addition, put your strongest reference first since the interviewer may only contact one or two references.

If you’re looking for a new job and need help creating your reference page, or your resume, please contact Provisional. As a premier employment agency serving Couer d’Alene and the Northwest, we can give you access to a variety of resources and opportunities. Contact us today to learn more.

As a Spokane employment agency, we know that balancing the right amount of staff with workflow can be a difficult task. Some companies hire too many employees, wasting thousands of dollars, while other companies are understaffed, which leads to employee burnout and less productivity.

So how do you know when it’s the right time to hire? Ask yourself these questions:

• Over the past few months, how many times have I had to extend deadlines in order to meet demand or complete a project?
If you answered “every day,” or “every week,” then you may be understaffed.

• How many times have employees called in sick over the past month?
If you’ve noticed a recent rise in sick days among your staff, it may be due to stress and burnout. Your employees could be over-worked and over-tired because they are trying to do too much.

• Have your employees taken advantage of their time off and vacation days?
Many times, in a bad economy, employees become fearful of taking any time off. They think their employer will see it as “slacking” and they will therefore be the next person on the chopping block. But this can lead to burnout and less productivity. So encourage your employees to take an appropriate amount of time off.

• Are your overtime costs consistently on the rise?
Another sign that you are understaffed is rising overtime costs. It means simply that you don’t have enough employees to get the work done during the workday.

• Have you had to turn down new business ventures or opportunities because you don’t have the right talent?
If you don’t have employees on staff with the skills you need to take on new opportunities, then you’re going to lose your competitive edge.

• How much are you using temporary or contract employees?
If you are consistently using temporary employees for the same tasks in the same departments, it may be time to consider hiring a full-time staff member to perform those tasks.

• Are you implementing ideas from your business plan or marketing strategy?
If not, then lack of time and energy may be to blame. There’s a reason you create a plan and goals for your business each year, and if you’re not able to execute those plans or meet those goals because you have too much to do, then it may be time to hire additional staff.

By asking yourself the above questions, you should now have a better idea about whether or not you need to hire more people. If you have any questions – or are looking to hire more temporary or full-time employees – please contact Provisional. As a premier Spokane employment agency, we can take on the task of sourcing, screening, and hiring, so you can focus on other priorities, like running your business.