Berks & Beyond Blog

While retention is a hot buzzword these days, you can’t talk about retention without talking about turnover. Do you realize how much it’s costing you? Turnover costs most companies thousands if not millions of dollars a year – but most employers don’t realize it!

Companies routinely record and report costs such as wages and benefits, workman’s compensation insurance, utilities, materials and space, yet most companies have no system in place to track and report the cost of employee turnover.

How to Estimate Turnover Costs

• SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, once estimated that it costs $3,500.00 to replace one $8.00 per hour employee when all costs — recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, reduced productivity, etc., were considered. But SHRM’s estimate was the lowest of 17 nationally respected companies who calculate this cost!

• Other sources estimate that turnover costs you 30-50% of the annual salary of entry-level employees, 150% of middle level employees, and up to 400% for specialized, high level employees.

• Do a quick calculation: Think of a job in your organization that has experienced high turnover, maybe supervisors. Estimate their annual average pay and the number of supervisors you lose annually. If their average annual pay is $40,000, multiply this by .125% (125% of their annual pay). The result? It costs $50,000 to replace just one supervisor. If you lose ten supervisors a year, you’re spending $500,000 in replacement costs just for supervisors. And that’s the bottom line cost. The top line cost? If the company’s profit margin is 10%, then it costs $5,000,000 in revenues to replace these ten supervisors.

Do These Numbers Seem Unbelievable?

Actual turnover costs are usually much higher than we think they are.

If you want to find out exactly how much turnover is costing your organization, find an online employee turnover calculator. Just remember that only tangible costs can be calculated on these sites. Intangible costs are just as real and sometimes much greater than quantifiable costs, but they are difficult if not impossible to measure.

Why Don’t More Companies See This as a Costly Problem?

Many companies don’t realize the true cost of turnover, which costs companies in both expertise and dollars, because they have never examined it. Here are five possible reasons:

1. No process is in place to tabulate the costs of turnover.

2. If they are measured, those costs are not reported to top management.

3. Employers think it’s an inescapable cost of doing business — but it’s not!

4. Everyone thinks it’s an HR problem, but it’s really a strategic issue requiring top management and HR’s combined attention and actions.

5. Costs are underestimated, so they don’t cause concern.

How Can You Measure Turnover Costs in Your Organization?

A comprehensive program measures the following costs:

• · Separation costs
• · Replacement costs
• · Training costs
• · Vacancy costs

Separation costs include:

• costs incurred for exit interviews
• administrative functions related to termination
• separation/severance pay
• any increase in unemployment compensation.

Replacement costs include the cost of:

• attracting applicants
• entrance interviews
• testing
• preemployment administrative expenses
• acquisition and dissemination of information.

Training costs include both formal and informal training costs. Vacancy costs include the net cost incurred due to increased overtime or temporary employees needed to complete the tasks of the vacant position.

How can you reduce turnover?

When turnover costs are unacceptably high, do an assessment. Find out who is leaving and why. Exit interviews can help you gain information. Then develop a retention program based on your findings.

You can always contact Berks & Beyond to find out how we can help lessen your turnover costs!

To succeed in any new job or assignment, you must do more than merely perform your job duties well.  You need to learn how to navigate the sometimes tricky waters of a new culture, including a whole host of “unknowns,” such as:

• Will the work environment be fast paced or laid back?
• Will you mesh well with your new co-workers?
• What will your supervisor think of you?
• How will you fit in?

Use this list of suggestions to thrive on the job by fitting in from day one:

• Observe. From the moment you walk in the door, pay attention to others – how they interact, dress, maintain their workspaces, etc.  By simply observing, you can learn a lot about how the company operates on a daily basis.  Find out who the most successful team members are and take your cues from them.
• Be flexible. Be open to changing the ways you approach tasks, communicate with others and structure your work day.  The company probably has well-established ways of getting things done and expects you to conform to their standards.
• Be courteous and respectful. One of the best ways to win over new co-workers and supervisors is by using good business etiquette.  Treat everyone with respect by being considerate of others’ workloads and meeting your commitments on time.  If you are working in close quarters or open spaces with others:  use a quiet tone when speaking; keep your cell phone off or on vibrate; keep socializing to a minimum.  Remember that everyone has work to do, including you.
• Dress for success. Your clothes influence the way your manager and co-workers perceive you.  While on the job, avoid fashions that are too trendy, revealing or casual.  Make a good impression by dressing appropriately for your position, or one notch above.
• Beware of office politics. Office politics are part of the interactive process of working together toward individual, team and company goals.  While on a short-term assignment, the best choice is to steer clear of these dynamics.  If you’re on a long-term assignment, or have accepted a direct position, however, you need to learn to cope with them.  Learn how to compliment and not criticize; disagree without being disrespectful; stay above gossip by not spreading rumors.  Establish a reputation as a hard working, positive employee who is not a part of the rumor mill, and you’ll be off to a good start.

Find a Great Fit with Berks & Beyond

If you’re looking for a job or temporary assignment in Central or Southern Pennsylvania, we invite you meet in-person with one of Berks & Beyond’s staffing professionals.   Together, we can discuss what type of job works best for you, the environment you like, your strengths and your salary requirements.

With years of award-winning staffing experience, Berks & Beyond knows that a good fit means more than matching skills.  To find the right opportunity for you, we will start by listening to you!  Then, we’ll carefully match your career goals, experience, talents and strengths with the company’s culture and the skill and talent requirements of the job.  Contact us today and find a great fit with Berks & Beyond.

Want to create top caliber performance in your organization?

Who doesn’t?!

Use these 10 tips to get people to stop making excuses and start delivering exceptional results:

1. Stop accepting excuses. Are you too tolerant of excuses?  Don’t be.  An excuse means the job didn’t get done and accepting excuses allows failure to persist.  When you stop tolerating excuses, you force people to develop solutions.
2. Think in terms of priorities. The next time you hear, “I didn’t have enough time,” require the person to instead say, “I’m sorry, it was not a high enough priority.”  By simply changing perspective, you will force employees to better manage their time and responsibilities and eliminate the number one excuse in business.
3. Make mistakes acceptable. As a rule, employees don’t like to report bad news because they fear the repercussions.  To get excuse-free behavior, make mistakes acceptable and treat them as opportunities for learning.  Instead of placing blame, focus problem discussions on “what” and “why” issues, as opposed to “who.”  Praise and recognize risk-takers, even when the outcome fails to achieve desired results.
4. Establish mutually defined expectations for job performance. Explore what success and failure look like for each position in your company.  Ensure that every job and project has specific, measurable goals.
5. Share the big picture with employees. People are more motivated to succeed when they understand why they need to do something.  As a leader, show them how their actions have a direct impact on the company’s success.
6. Acknowledge responsibility. Require employees to commit to their responsibilities in writing.  More importantly, follow-up to ensure commitments are met and to establish accountability.
7. Plan contingencies. Things can and will go wrong.  Take time to anticipate potential problems and set contingency plans.  A proactive approach to problem solving greatly reduces opportunities for future excuses while maximizing the probability of success.
8. Pay for performance. While it’s fine to recognize people for hard work, it’s important to reward them for results.  Structure reward systems to only provide tangible compensation based on achieving measurable results.  Ideally, offer rewards on an “all or nothing” basis.  Simply put, if the goal is not fully met, no reward is earned.
9. Create support systems. Let employees know where to get help when problems arise.  Failure most often occurs when employees don’t know how or where to get assistance, so make sure your staff has access to training, mentoring, internal “help desks” and/or any other resources they may need to do their jobs correctly.
10. Conduct post-mortems. At the end of every project, debrief employees.  If they succeeded, praise them and discuss why the project was a success.  If the employees didn’t succeed, turn the failure into a positive learning experience.

Quick Tips for Maximizing Temporary Employee Performance

Temporary employees can help you reduce stress on core employees, enhance productivity, control costs and manage risks.  And like your own employees, temporaries need to be held accountable for results:

• Provide clear expectations to your staffing vendor.
• Include measurable goals in each temporary’s job description.
• Provide an initial orientation, reviewing: company products/services, the department’s function, job responsibilities, performance expectations, available resources.
• Have supervisors closely monitor first day performance.  If a temporary fails to meet your expectations, replace him immediately.

Performance management is a vital component in your organization’s continued success.  Ensure that success with Berks & Beyond’s full complement of staffing solutions.  Whether you need to improve productivity, increase operating efficiencies or streamline your staffing function, we can custom design a solution to fuel exceptional performance throughout your company.  Contact us today to learn more.

At Berks & Beyond, we constantly strive to match candidates with leading employers throughout Central and Southern Pennsylvania.  We take great pride in what we do and want to share a few recent success stories, in our employees’ own words:

The One I Have Been Waiting For

“I had a great time yesterday at CPS, I was there for 5 hours of orientation… It is a great company and I know this is where I need to be.  It feels great.

Heidi, I want to thank you and your team along with B & B for great service and response to my needs.  I responded to one job ad from Chris G. and asked your office for information and in 2 days’ time I was called for an interview.  Wow!!  It was the one I have been waiting for all this time.  I would like to thank you in person if you will be around today or tomorrow.  Thank you for your time, Great job.”

–Eric L. Pritchard

A Grateful Thank You

“As a marine biologist who is looking for a permanent job in my field, Berks & Beyond Employment Services gave me a means in order to support my financial obligations that I currently have, including insurance & medical bills.  While I was unemployed & looking for a part-time job that would support me, I found a classified ad in the Patriot News that said that Berks & Beyond was looking for people to do warehouse-type work.  I called their office inquiring as to what the job would entail & I decided to apply with their organization for part-time work.

While working for Berks, I worked hard & put my effort into doing the job right that they put me in.  In doing so, I was acknowledged with the company as a responsible & hard worker.  In doing so, I lasted with the Davis Beverage Group for 2 months as a temporary part-time worker before becoming a permanent staff member with David Beverage on April 11, 2011.  In addition I was awarded as being the Employee of the Month with Berks 1 week prior to becoming a permanent staff member with Davis Beverage for the month of April.

I owe Berks a grateful thank you for giving me work to support myself in an economy that has sunk very low in our country.”

–Lee N. Stillwagon

Put your success story here.

Are you between jobs?  Returning to the workforce?  Looking to gain experience or greater job flexibility?  Call Berks & Beyond today.  We’ll listen to your needs, match you with a great temporary, contract or direct opportunity in Central or Southern PA, and make you our next staffing success story.

According to a recent article by Dan Miller posted on pennlive.com, experts say that the midstate jobless rate will be better this year.

Ryan Sweet, an economist who covers Pennsylvania’s midstate region for Moody’s Analytics, sees encouraging signs that private-sector hiring is picking up – although it’s not gained enough momentum to substantially lower unemployment yet.  Sweet predicts that unemployment in Central Pennsylvania will begin falling in the second part of 2011 and that conditions will continue to improve, if slowly, throughout 2012.

To see how the Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has fared over the last few months, download the “Harrisburg-Carlisle.pdf” file on this Selected BLS Economic Indicators page, last updated January 19, 2011.

The Harrisburg-Carlisle MSA’s unemployment rate was 7.4% as of November 2010 – slightly lower than both the state of Pennsylvania and the nation as a whole.  For comprehensive employment statistics, follow this link:

Bureau of Labor Statistics Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA: Nonfarm employment and labor force data

Want to learn more?

Contact us and a Berks & Beyond staffing professional will show you how our services can help you make the most of our current economy and get poised for the recovery ahead.

Ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information coming at you each day?

With the barrage of data pouring in from newspapers, TV, the internet, social media, RSS feeds, e-mails, voicemails and good-old-fashioned face-to-face meetings, finding the critical information you need amidst all the “white noise” can be exhausting.

Take the BLS Monthly Employment Situation, for example.  It contains monthly employment estimates for over 1,000 industries from its Current Employment Statistics program.  However, the changes in these overall employment levels tend to be delayed in the monthly labor reports – making it a lagging indicator of economic trends.

Sound like a lot of white noise?

Not entirely.  Temporary help employment numbers, which are part of the monthly BLS report, are generally considered to be a coincident indicator for overall employment.  This means that changes in temporary help employment tend to forecast subsequent changes in overall employment and coincide with changes in economic activity.  Why?  Many companies use temporary staffing as a means to quickly adjust their operations to meet fluctuating demands for their products and services.

Here’s how to get current data for temporary help services in the BLS report:

1. Go to the BLS Current Employment Statistics home page.
2. Then select either the HTML or PDF version of the “Employment Situation Summary.”
3. Data for temporary help services can be found in Table B-1 (page 30 of the report’s PDF version).

 Effectively manage the economy’s highs and lows with Berks & Beyond Employment Services.

Our full spectrum of staffing services for Central and Southern Pennsylvania employers can help you run lean – while providing on-demand access to the talent you need to meet surges in demand.

Recently downsized or laid off?  New to the workforce?  Looking to earn extra cash?  Trying to break into a new field?

Consider working as a temporary.  Today’s staffing firms employee millions of individuals in virtually all fields of work, from day labor to executive, and offer a variety of advantages:

• Flexible work options.  Work when and where you want to work.  You can work only during school hours, take the summers off, or take an extended break.  As a temporary employee, you have the freedom to accept assignments that work with your schedule.
• Employee benefits.  In addition to a paycheck, many temporary staffing agencies provide benefits to their workers.  These benefits typically include vacation pay, sick pay, access to medical insurance and a 401(k) plan, and are available to employees who fulfill certain employment requirements.  Be sure to inquire what benefits are offered when you apply or interview.
• Opportunities for direct employment.  Temporary assignments allow you to get a foot in the door with an employer.  If an employer is impressed with your skills, work ethic and job performance, he can work with the staffing firm to offer you direct employment.
• Gain experience.  If you’re a recent graduate, re-entering the workforce, or would like to make a career transition, working as a temporary can help you gain valuable on-the-job experience.  In addition, many staffing firms offer free training to build or enhance your skill set.
• Variety.  If you enjoy new experiences or are unsure about your career path, temporary work can provide the variety you need.  You can test out different jobs, companies and industries – without long-term commitment – and find out where you fit best.

Ready to take the next step?

Join the Berks & Beyond team.  We’ll provide you with a rewarding temporary assignment that offers the variety, flexibility, benefits and job experience you need.

To get ahead in  this world, you have to “put your best foot forward.”  But, there’s a fine line between respectable self-promotion and shameless bragging.  So how do you use self-promotion to advance your career, without coming across as a show-off?  Use these quick tips to tactfully toot your own horn:

1. Realize that context is everything.  To successfully self-promote, your comments need to be relevant to the conversation.  Bringing up your latest success while your boss is talking about his favorite TV show will not earn you any points.  Bide your time until the conversation switches gears.  Research has shown that once a topic has been raised, a subsequent boast is not viewed as inappropriate – because it’s in context.
2. Wait for the right moment.   Believe it or not, it is okay to steer a conversation toward a topic relevant to your accomplishment.  However, changing topics doesn’t give you license to just blurt out what you’ve done.  Be patient and wait until your conversation partner asks a question that gives you the opening you need.
3. Be a tortoise, not a hare.  Self-promotion is about building a long-term reputation for yourself; establishing trust and respect in your workplace (or the marketplace).  So get in it for the long-haul by making self-promotion a habit.  Set daily goals for doing something small – sharing an idea, reaching out to someone, showing up at an event – and measurable results will follow in time.
4. Promote your ideas.  Beyond talking up accomplishments, you should also spread your ideas, concepts and vision.  By promoting your ideas (as opposed to just your deeds) you will give co-workers and superiors something to support – without being “turned off” or threatened by your success.
5. Know yourself.  Are you like most people, who err on the side of caution and don’t talk themselves up enough?  Or are you the type who tends to talk easily about yourself and your accomplishments?  If you’re unsure, ask a trusted friend into which end of the spectrum you fall.  The art of successful self-promotion depends upon having the self-knowledge to realize when to toot your own horn, and when to let your actions speak for themselves.

Let Berks & Beyond help you put your best foot forward.  When you come in for an interview, our experienced staffing specialists will learn about your skills, interests, experience and needs – then show you where your strengths lie.  We can help you master the art of self-promotion and find the perfect employment opportunity.  Just give us a call.

As a manager, you know that empowered employees:

• have the authority, and take the initiative, to make sound business decisions;
• are energetic, passionate and committed to doing a great job;
• are creative and innovative problem solvers;
• continually strive to improve quality, productivity and morale;

all because they feel personally rewarded for doing so.

But while the benefits of empowerment are clear, the steps to creating an empowered workplace may not be.  Use these quick tips to get your business started on the right path:

1. Understand what empowerment really is.  Empowerment isn’t something you do to people.  It’s an environment you create by giving employees goals, information, feedback, training and positive reinforcement.
2. Identify an opportunity for empowerment.  Start small.  Create a work team by selecting a few key employees who have the right skills, knowledge and resources to complete a small test project.  This project should be challenging enough to allow your staff to grow and take on additional responsibilities.
3. Set clear expectations.  Let your employees know what to do and how to do it.  Factors to consider include:  deadlines, channels for sharing information, methods for delegating authority, and ways to check progress / measure success.
4. Provide decision-making guidelines.  Provide clear instructions for when and how to make good decisions.  Explain when it’s okay to the take initiative and when employees should check with team members first.
5. Encourage open communication.  Information sharing is a critical component of an empowered workplace.  Create an atmosphere in which employees feel comfortable expressing concerns and sharing new ideas.
6. Establish accountability.  Provide the advice, perspective and guidance your team needs, but require them to create and manage their own solutions.  If mistakes are made, do not step in and fix them – use them as opportunities for employees to learn.
7. Let go.  Tough as it may be, don’t micromanage.  Once you’ve established clear expectations and guidelines for the project, it’s time to take your hands off the wheel.
8. Provide positive reinforcement.  For empowerment to permanently take hold in your organization, your employees have to want to do it.  So celebrate the successes (however small) your employees have while working on the test project.  Provide the feedback they need to feel respected and valued in their efforts.
9. Review results, then take it to the next level.  Once the project is complete, assemble your team for a debriefing.  How did the group do?  What worked?  What didn’t?  Use the lessons learned to develop a more comprehensive plan for getting your whole company on the road to empowerment.

An Empowered Workplace Starts with Great People

Berks & Beyond can deliver the talented office, industrial, professional, technical and skilled trades employees you need to create an empowered workplace.

You’ve spent a lot of time developing a great-looking résumé and crafting a fantastic cover letter.  But, how do you make sure they don’t wind up looking like a mess when you send them electronically?

The American Staffing Association recommends the following steps for converting your cover letter and résumé from Word or WordPerfect documents into electronic ones:

1. Remove all formatting.  This includes lines, rules, boxes, bold, italics, and underlining. 
2. Standardize your font.  Change the font to Courier, size 12.
3. Change your margins.  Convert your page margins to 1 inch on the left and 3 inches on the right.
4. Save as a .txt file.  When you save the cover letter or résumé, choose “Save As” and change the type to “Text only with Line Breaks.”  A warning box may come up informing you that you might lose some formatting.  Click “OK” or “Yes.”
5. Reformat your résumé.  Launch Notepad (PC) or SimpleText (Mac) to reformat and clean up your résumé and cover letter. Move all centered items to the left margin, and make sure all text is flush left.  As you scroll through your documents, remove all Tabs, replace all bullets with asterisks (*), and change bolded words to all caps.  Increase white space by hitting Return twice between sections.
6. Make sure your cover letter and résumé are e-friendly.  Do not send them as attachments, but, rather, pasted in the body of the e-mail whenever possible.
7. Check before sending.  Practice sending them via e-mail to yourself as well as a friend who uses a different Internet service provider—to ensure the documents are clean and professional-looking.  Once you’ve made any required adjustments, your cover letter and résumé are ready for a prospective employer’s inspection.
8. Include keywords in your résumé.  Recruiters use keywords to search for résumés.  So choose some of the basic, important keywords in your field and pepper them throughout your résumé.  For example: web designer, account manager, communications specialist, to name some.

Need More Job Seeking Advice?

As one of Southern and Central Pennsylvania’s largest staffing companies, we at Berks & Beyond are always available to answer your employment-related questions.