Berks & Beyond Blog

Any staffing service can claim they’re the best, or that they’ll find you the right job opportunity.  But we’re not just “any staffing service.”  So, we thought we’d go straight to the source – and show you what our employees have to say about their experiences with Berks & Beyond:

York

“Berks and Beyond has been the primary force of my success in finding and maintaining employment.  Not only did they professionally jump right in and find the right job, but continuously kept me updated on better opportunities.  Each and every client has a personal relationship with Berks and Beyond.  I can respectfully say Berks and Beyond has treated me like family from the start.  Thank you Berks and Beyond!”

Sincerely,

Haile Danzler

York

“Dear Bonnetta:

I just wanted to once again say thanks for everything.  You really followed up and worked hard to find a job/career match for me.

You made it happen.

I want you to know that although you may think it is part of your job, you did go above and beyond.  Most agencies would not continue to follow up as you and your team of professional employees did.  I know that God will continue to bless you and your family for your kind heart and caring personality.  You have made a difference in my life, when I thought there was no where else to turn you and your team opened up the doors of opportunity for me and for that I am truly grateful…

I just want you to know I appreciate it so much and may God Bless you for that.   Have a nice day and stay sweet.”

Thank you,

Kenneth Lund

Pottstown

“At a previous employer, I did not feel like I was part of a team.  Working at Berks & Beyond focuses on excellence and teamwork.  Their approach is friendly, flexible and a very can-do attitude.  The staff is very nice and helpful, and I enjoy working with them.  In my position, no day is exactly like the day before and my job is not boring.  I have never worked for a staffing agency before, but I really enjoy it and have broadened my horizon.  Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity.”

Michael Houck

Write Your Own Success Story with Berks and Beyond

Contact a Berks & Beyond recruiter today.  We’ll match your skills, experience and interests with the perfect job opportunity in the York, Pottstown, Allentown, Reading or Harrisburg areas.

An effective mentoring program provides a wide range of business benefits:

• Facilitated onboarding.  Mentoring speeds up the process of bringing on new hires as well as redeploying existing employees into new lines of work.
• Increased employee satisfaction and retention.  Research has shown that employees who participate in mentoring programs have higher job satisfaction and reduced turnover.
• Improved employee productivity.  When employees are mentored, they can get answers to common problems quickly – without wasting time on rediscovering or re-inventing solutions.
• Effective career growth / succession planning.  Mentoring programs help employees reach their full career potential, grooming them to fill key roles as part of an organization’s succession plan.
• Knowledge management and retention.  Mentoring promotes effective knowledge sharing, to reduce the risk of losing critical skills and knowledge when employees leave.

Obviously, mentors can play an important role in ensuring your company’s continued success.  But while identifying a budding protégé may be straightforward, identifying a potential mentor can be more complex.  Whether that person is you, one of your managers, or an outside expert, a mentor should possess the following professional and personal attributes:

1. Senior-level business experience.  To provide guidance, the expert should have several years experience working in senior corporate positions.  At a minimum, the expert should be a professional peer to the protégé.
2. Interpersonal and political “know-how.”  The expert ought to be proficient in handling all sorts of complex interpersonal dynamics within the context of office politics.  To be an effective trainer, the expert must be able to help the protégé navigate the tricky political waters of his organization.
3. Integrity and confidentiality.  Professional development involves discussing high-level, strategic, off-the-record information, as well as sensitive personal issues.  Honesty and discretion are essential when broaching these confidential topics.
4. Organizational and personal insight.  The expert must have an in-depth understanding of the company’s objectives, needs and hierarchy.  Equally, he must also appreciate the protégé’s strengths, weaknesses and goals.  To achieve professional development goals, the trainer must align both the company’s and the protégé’s interests.
5. Flexibility and ingenuity.  When egos, ambitions and agendas collide, sparks fly.  What works for an organization one day may be thrown out the window the next.  An expert trainer must be able to shift gears, develop solutions on the fly, throw out tactics that prove ineffective and come up with new ones – fast.  He must be comfortable dealing with uncertainty to navigate a corporate environment rife with change.

Need a promising protégé?  Looking for your next mentor? Contact us today.  As a leading Lehigh Valley staffing service, Berks and Beyond can provide the talented individuals your organization needs.

The following top candidates are highly skilled, motivated and ready to go to work for you:

ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL

Candidate Initials:  S. R.

Skills and Experience:  Extremely well-versed in all areas of administration, this candidate has marketing, HR and office management experience.  Able to multi-task; has the tenacity to stay with a project until it’s completed; unafraid to tackle what many would consider unpleasant tasks; active community volunteer.  Computer skills include:  MS Word, Excel, Outlook and Publisher, as well as several accounting programs.

Education:  College graduate.

Desired Pay:  $30,000/yr.

To learn more about this candidate, please contact Allison in our Reading office at Allison@berksandbeyond.com or call 610.376.9675.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULER

Candidate Initials:  T. B.

Skills and Experience:  Looking to join your company as a top-notch employee, this candidate has a superb background in customer service, purchasing and office clerical.  Worked for 5 years as a purchasing assistant and procurement controller.  Skills include:  switchboard, cashier, MS Excel, Powerpoint and Word.  Has been promoted several times by previous employers and would be a great asset to your company.

Desired Pay:  $19/hr.

To learn more about this candidate, please contact Heidi in our Pottstown office at Heidi@berksandbeyond.com or call 484.945.0516.

SALES PROFESSIONAL 

Candidate Initials:  M. B.

Skills and Experience:  This proven self-starter possesses over 10 years of sales experience, including advertising and inside sales through prospecting and cold calls.  Researched target companies for marketing and selling strategies; conducted marketplace research in order to generate new leads.  Strong computer skills.

Education/Awards:  B.A. in Visual Arts; Rookie of the Year Award for highest sales volume of first year.

Desired Pay:  $30,000/yr.

To learn more about this candidate, please contact Katie in our Allentown office at Katie@berksandbeyond.com or call 610.435.9270.

The word “diva” no longer refers exclusively to a distinguished female opera star.

In recent years, the term has commonly been used to describe any difficult employee, male or female, who:

• is used to getting what he wants;
• thinks he needs no guidance or management;
• lives for drama in the workplace;
• is hyper-critical, sensitive and intolerant;
• is great at what he does.

If you have a diva on staff, you need to learn how to keep him in line without driving him out the door.  You need to find a way for your employees to co-exist peacefully and productively.  Here are some techniques for reigning in this high performing – albeit challenging – type of employee:

1. Nip annoying behaviors in the bud.  Discuss problematic behaviors immediately – before they develop into patterns.  This allows you to address issues without releasing a wave of emotional build-up.
2. Act based on facts – not gossip or rumor.  Too often, co-workers compound problems by spreading gossip.  So when drama unfolds, don’t assume what others tell you is true.  If you haven’t witnessed a diva’s inappropriate behavior yourself, look into it further.  Listen to both sides of the story, to be sure you get all the facts.
3. Keep open lines of communication.  Divas need to vent more than other employees.  Keep drama to a minimum by maintaining an “open door” policy.  If a diva has a chance to voice frustrations to you, he will be less likely to stir up conflict with other employees.
4. Keep your emotions in check.  Never stand around arguing with a diva.  Make your point once, clarify if necessary, and move on.  A difficult employee may get a rise out of seeing you lose your cool, so stay calm and positive.  If you need to, walk away from the situation and come back once you’ve regained your composure.
5. Make your diva part of the solution.  Give your problematic employee the opportunity to help develop a solution to the problem.  He is more likely to implement behavior change if he’s at least partly responsible for developing it.
6. Get outside help.  If sparks fly when you and your diva communicate, ask a neutral third party to step in.  With no ulterior motive or emotional ties to the situation, an objective individual may improve how you communicate and work together.

Of course, the best way to handle difficult employees is to avoid hiring them in the first place.  Berks and Beyond allows you to try a candidate out on the job, to see how he fits in with your corporate culture, before extending an offer for direct employment.  Contact us to find out more about our temp-to-hire staffing service.