Provisional Blog

Despite a still struggling economy, there’s plenty of top talent out there looking for new jobs in 2013. So how are you going to find and hire them for your open positions?

As one of the leading staffing agencies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Provisional knows that one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways is through an employee referral program. But if you don’t have such a program in place, how can you go about implementing one?

Here are some questions to consider:

What’s the incentive?

In other words, how are you going to get employees to offer up referrals? While some will certainly do so out of loyalty to the company, your program will be a lot more successful with the right incentives in place. So whether it’s a monetary reward, an extra vacation day, a gift certificate, or something else entirely, determine what you’re willing to offer in order to incentivize employees to refer candidates to you.

What are the guidelines for the incentive?

Once they hear about the referral program, an employee may offer up a dozen potential recruits. But in order for you to get the most bang for your buck, you need to ensure you actually hire one of them.

So devise some rules for the incentives; for instance, does the new hire need to work at the company for 90 days before you’re willing to pay out to the employee who referred them? Or should you pay half the referral fee upon hire and the other half after six months on the job?

How should employees refer candidates?

Develop a referral method that makes it easy for employees to refer candidates. In addition, be sure to include a step in the application process for a candidate to tell you who referred them.

How will you promote the program?

You have a brand new employee referral program set up. Now how are you going to get the word out? Whether it’s through email blasts or company newsletters, it’s important to have a plan to promote the program and keep it top-of-mind among your employees.

Want Expert Help Finding Top Candidates?

Whether you already have a referral program, or are just implementing one, if you need help finding high quality candidates now, give Provisional a call. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we know where to source today’s top talent and we can help you find reliable and skilled employees for full-time, part-time, or temporary jobs.

Contact Provisional today to learn more about how we can help you.

Have your accounting challenges become too great to handle on your own? Are financial statements incomplete or inaccurate? Is that accounting software you invested in just not cutting it anymore?

Then perhaps it’s time to hire a real, live accountant.

But, as one of the top staffing agencies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Provisional knows that hiring the right person for your team goes beyond just finding an effective number cruncher. It’s about understanding your needs – and then finding the professional with the right experience to fill it.

For instance, accountants can provide:

• Tax Planning Services – From setting up the books to conducting quarterly reviews, accountants can be an important part of the business year round, not just at tax time.
• Business Planning Services – Your accountant can be involved in as much of the business as you’d like. And in fact, a good accountant can act as a general business consultant, helping to negotiate leases and evaluating the financial implications of various business decisions.
• Personal Tax Planning – Especially with small businesses, personal tax issues and business tax issues can oftentimes be related. So this type of experience may be key for your needs.

So what should you look for when it comes time to hire an accountant?

First, look for someone with the right experience. A candidate may have a number of years of experience at a major corporation under his or her belt. But if you’re a small business owner and only employ a few people, then he or she may not be the best fit for you. You’d be better off finding an accountant who specializes in small business issues or who has experience in your particular industry.

Secondly, you need to feel comfortable with this person. If he or she looks great on paper and has all the right experience, but your gut is telling you to be careful, then you’d be wise to listen. You’re going to be giving this person access to your most sensitive data assets and financial information, so you need to make sure you feel comfortable with your final choice.

And finally, determine whether you need a CPA or non-CPA. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) has a certain number of years of experience and has taken tests to prove competency. There are specific situations where you’ll certainly need a CPA – such as if you’re being audited – but for day-to-day bookkeeping operations, a general accountant may be a better fit.

Need Help Recruiting & Hiring an Accountant?

Give us a call. As one of the top staffing agencies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Provisional can work with you to source, screen, and recruit motivated and skilled accounting professionals. In fact, our specialized financial recruiting division, ACCOUNTINGPROS, is the #1 source for financial talent in the Northwest. Contact Provisional today to learn more.

If your business is like most, your competitive edge depends on your ability to innovate. But innovation doesn’t appear out of thin air; you have to have people with not only the right skills, but also the ability to apply those skills to real-world commercial objectives.

So how can you recruit innovative people?

First, you have to know what to look for during the hiring process. According to researchers from Harvard Business School, Insead and Brigham Young University, the following are 5 key skills shared by innovators:

1. Associating: Ability to make connections among seemingly unrelated ideas
2. Questioning: Curious by nature and regularly questioning the status quo
3. Observing: Propensity to observe others and gain insight through those observations
4. Experimenting: Frequently visits new places, tries new things, and seeks new information
5. Networking: Networks with those who come from diverse backgrounds and perspectives

But with just a resume and an interview to go on, how can you really tell if your next recruit is going to exhibit these traits – and be a strong innovator? Here are some ideas to help:

• Let your network of colleagues and employees know the kind of person you’re looking for and ask for solid referrals. When you go this route, you’ll be able to interview candidates who you know have demonstrated their creative thinking skills to whomever referred them.
• Follow the likes of Google and Microsoft, and create a contest focused on solving a real problem your company has. You’ll attract a large number of innovators and may even find a creative solution to your problem along the way.
• True innovators are attracted by…well…innovation. So if yours is an innovative company, then emphasize that trait in your job posting. Let candidates know your culture encourages employees to innovate and take risks. Also make sure the Careers section of your website reflects your culture of innovation.
• Most resumes usually look the same. But when an innovator is applying for a job, they may take an out-of-the-box approach. Don’t ignore their efforts, even if it bucks the traditional approach! After all, when you’re looking for innovators, you want to make sure your recruiting process allows for innovative applications.
• Similarly to the contest idea, once you’ve narrowed your list of candidates down to a few, ask each one to provide a solution to a real problem your company is experiencing and present their proposal to you and your team.
• People who are truly innovative are in high demand. That means they are less likely to put up with the hiccups in your recruiting process, a slow hiring decision, and a less-than-stellar candidate experience.

If you’d like some assistance hiring innovators, Provisional can help. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we have the knowledge and experience required to recruit top-tier professionals that can make a positive impact on your business performance. Contact us today if you’d like to put us to the test.