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My Work Team Rocks – And Why It Matters To You

Canoe Trip | Boat on ShoreRecently I took a week’s worth of holiday time. It was used to recharge my mental health and reestablish bonds with my loved ones, as most holidays are. Our plans called for a canoe camping trip in the Ozarks. No internet. No phones. No radio. No electricity. Just us and the outdoors and any other people (or animals) we might happen to encounter along the way.

It’s common to hear people lament how stressed they will be about work when preparing to leave for a vacation; or, how swamped they’ll be when returning. Others may even ask, “Are you going to be able to enjoy your time away and not be concerned with being unable to ‘check-in on things’?”

My own answer to that question: Not at all. My work team rocks my world!

Teamwork at ExactHire

ExactHire has a solid, successful plan in place for shifting work when someone on the team goes on vacation. The team believes in the philosophy that a recharged team member makes a successful team member. We shift the workload while someone is out of the office and for a few days upon their return. Because this is an important part of our company culture, vacationing employees return from their breaks refreshed and ready to produce attentive, quality work.

Yes, it may take us an extra hour to respond to requests while someone is out of the office; or, the special projects we work on behind the scenes might get put on hold. However, we have prioritized and planned in advance, making the entire team aware of expectations. At a minimum, some combination of two people on the team are trained on how to do every task our staff executes. This is how we keep things running seamlessly while someone on our team is on holiday.

This type of team environment rocks! As a client or a potential client of ExactHire this should be important to you. We want you to know you will always be in good hands, and there will never be a moment when you are left without because someone is on vacation.

If you’re ready to begin work with the ExactHire team, visit our resources section to explore our hiring software solutions or contact us today. Or, check out some fun ways to improve culture and bring your own team closer together.

What if Applicants Charged You for Their Time?

Recently I received an article forwarded from a friend that discussed applicants charging companies for their time during the interview process. Sounds a bit outlandish on the surface, doesn’t it? In summary, the article, “Ask The Headhunter: Should Employers Pay to Interview You?” (by Nick Corcodilos) is really about managing expectations.

There are tons of questions that could be asked if this were a serious threat:

  • What if you had to pay applicants for their time once they made it past the first interview?
  • What would you do differently?
  • Would your decision timeframe be shorter?
  • Would you make an external status code from your applicant tracking system visible so that applicants knew where they stood without having to ring you?
  • Would you send mass email updates to your applicant pool with personalized email templates?
  • Would you have a stricter selection process workflow with your hiring managers?
  • You told the applicant you would follow up…did you actually do it?
  • What about when the applicant followed up on the promise you made to follow up and you never returned his/her phone call?

Not every applicant has the luxury of disposable time. And let’s be honest, the ones who do, may not be at the top of your candidate list. I challenge you, for one month, to start acting as if your applicants would charge you for their time. If you were on the other side, acting as the applicant, would you prefer the manner in which your company already conducts the hiring process; or, would you likely prefer the way in which it is conducted during the one-month challenge period?

It is no doubt that the applicant experience is an extension of your brand. “More than one-quarter of US consumers (26%) say they are more likely to tell family, friends, and coworkers about a bad experience with a product or service than a good one (MarketingProfs).” Keep in mind, we’re all six degrees of Kevin Bacon and somewhere, somehow, your company will be impacted if your hiring process is lackluster.

Looking for ways to improve the applicant experience at your organization? Contact ExactHire for more information about our applicant tracking software.