Are Career Certifications Worth It?

Lauren Milam

Vice President of West Coast

Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare

September 7, 2022

While we remain in a candidate-driven market, conscientious jobseekers are looking to put their best foot forward with top employers who are offering more in terms of flexibility and overall employee wellbeing. When considering how to best grab a top employer’s attention, or to make the most of their professional development, people often ask if obtaining a career certification is worth it. As a team of professional recruiters who match the skills of candidates with the needs of top employers every single day, we have that answer for you…and that is: MAYBE.

Before spending your time and money to get a career certification, it is best to ask yourself these questions:

1. Does my job or employer require it?

Chances are, if your current job does require it, it would have been a prerequisite of your employment. Companies who require certifications will most often not even consider a candidate without one. Positions requiring certifications to be obtained before hire often include jobs like Forklift Drivers, positions within IT, and Medical Assistants.

2. Will certification be required for a position I am looking to secure in the future?

As mentioned, many employers will require certifications as a prerequisite to interview for such positions. To know for certain if a job you are interested in requires a certification, review the job description thoroughly. A well-written job description will list the requirements for the role.

3. If a certification is not listed as a requirement, can it still be helpful to me?

Potentially. This depends upon the position and the industry with which you are looking to work. For instance, an HR Generalist position may not require a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) Certification, however, having one could place your resume above others.

Learning any new skill or honing your knowledge of a particular career-focused subject is never a bad idea. The important thing to consider is whether the certification itself is required for the job, and if the time and money required makes sense for your specific situation.

4. How long does it take to get a certification?

Certifications range in hours required and the costs associated. Some certifications require renewals (Certification Renewals (CE)), and some are good for life (GLF). It is important to research certifications thoroughly for the commitment associated, as well as the quality and reputation of the program and the institution by which it is provided.

5. Are there any cost-friendly insider tips you may have to enhance my skillset while improving my resume?

There are many ways to broaden your knowledge on a subject or industry, while also strengthening your resume. You may find benefits in attending a conference, industry workshop, or joining an association or networking group related to your specific area of interest. You might look for paid/unpaid internships or ways to volunteer your time to get closer to others working within your preferred field.

Consider self-study to broaden your knowledge. Read books and publications, watch podcasts, YouTube, and Ted Talks. It is possible you can utilize self-study resources at your local library. Stay on top of industry and local news related to your career of choice; sign up for newsletters and/or online updates. Find industry leaders and companies you admire and follow them on social media to stay alert and virtually connected.

There are also helpful and free courses available through LinkedIn. If you do not yet have an account, visit their website for more information. LinkedIn is another opportunity to connect with others in your preferred field of work. In addition to studies, networking is important to improving your professional tools and resources.

Whenever in doubt, seek assistance from the professionals! Staffing companies like ours are already networked within a variety of industries all over the country. Because of this, we likely have connections within the industry you are looking to work and can work on your behalf to do a bit of the networking for you. In addition, we can assist you with tips to polish up your resume, practice your interview skills, as well as identify ways to best connect you with positions within organizations you most want to work.

When it comes to working with a staffing agency, you might find that it can be your best bet to working smarter and not harder. Give us a call. Let us help!

— Follow the Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services Blog to stay connected with a variety of topics aimed to help support you! Whether you are an active job seeker looking for tips and tricks to land your perfect job or an employer looking to fill a challenging position, we are here to help you HIRE UP!

Lauren Milam Vice President of West Coast | September 7, 2022

Meet Lauren Milam, Regional Vice President for Hire Up Staffing Services. Lauren started in the staffing industry 7 years ago as a Recruiter. Finding success in her role quickly, she promoted through the ranks to outside sales, training and development, and then Regional Vice President. She joined Hire Up in November of 2019 as our first Regional Vice President hire for the California Market. Since starting at Hire Up, she has created and implemented new sales campaigns and initiatives to help the company grow. In her first quarter with Hire Up, she helped the recruiters increase their individual gross profit by an average of 28%. She does this by creating plans that focus on the individual needs of each office and person.

Interview Tips for Managers New to the Hiring Process

Lauren Milam

Vice President of West Coast

Hire Up Staffing

Most people can relate to the nerves often associated with an upcoming interview. However, not all have experienced the nerves that can come from being the one responsible for conducting one. If you are new to the process of interviewing or are interested in comparing your current skills with those of long-time experts, follow along for some helpful tips and tricks.

Prepare. Review the resume and application, as well as the job description. Create meaningful questions by customizing them beforehand to fit the needs of the job AND the candidate. Ensure the job description is an accurate depiction of the position ,and then build some of your questions upon those requirements.

Review the candidate’s resume and create questions around their experience. See a project they worked on that intrigues you? Jot that down. Notice they have experience with a particular software that your company has been considering? Make a note to yourself to ask them about their experience. By preparing for your interview in this manner, you set yourself up for success, as well as show the candidate that you value them, their experience, and their time.

2. When creating your interview questions, be sure to understand the differences between the four types:

Close-ended Questions: These questions are such that require the candidate to answer in a limiting manner. They could be yes or no questions or other questions that require succinct answers, such as, “How many years have you been with your current job?”

Open-Ended Questions: These questions are great for interviews because they allow the person an opportunity to share more detail about themselves or their experience. For example, “Can you describe a challenging customer request and how you worked to make it happen?”

Hypothetical Question:A hypothetical question allows the candidate an opportunity to create their version of an ideal response. For example, “How would you deal with an irate customer?”

Off the Wall: The intent of asking an off-the-wall question is most often to lighten the mood, as well as provide insight into the candidate’s creativity and ability to think on the fly. However, use your best discretion when selecting one to ask and use these types of questions sparingly. An example of an off-the-wall question is, “If you could be any animal, which would you be and why?”

3. Ask colleagues for advice. If you are new to interviewing, it is important to get a second opinion on your prepared interview questions before you use them. You may find that a member of your Human Resources team is a good place to start.

Once your questions have been given the green light, ask a colleague or mentor to do a practice run with you. This will provide an opportunity to ask your questions as well as practice answering questions a candidate may ask you during the interview process.

If ,even after some practice, you are feeling uneasy about conducting an interview on your own, ask a colleague to interview with you for the first few.

4. Be personable. Set the tone for the interview early with a genuine, warm greeting and use of their name. This demonstrates that you are expecting them, and it can help the candidate feel welcome and more at ease.

5. Let the candidate do most of the talking. Ideally, 70% or more of the interview should involve the candidate sharing specific experiences to answer your questions. If you feel the candidate is not sharing enough, or you are doing too much of the talking during your interviews, consider a few things:

Strengthen your questions. As previously mentioned, question preparation is important. You are setting the candidate up for success when your questions are intentional and can pull from their prior experiences. You will get the most from the candidate when you put effort into your question preparation.

Challenge yourself to become comfortable with silence as the candidate gathers their thoughts. Do not feel the need to fill the silence with more words. Some people need time to think about an answer that best fits the question posed. When you fill the silence rather than await their response, you could potentially create an environment in which the candidate feels rushed or unable to properly process what is being asked of them.

Consider sharing interview questions with candidates beforehand. You may find that sharing even a few of the questions beforehand allows your candidates to provide you with stronger responses because they have been able to give the questions more thought.

6. Take good notes during the interview. Notes during an interview are particularly important because once the interview is over and other work-related activity occurs, it can be easy to forget some of the things mentioned during your time with that candidate.

7. Act quickly if you want to move forward. It would not be unusual for your candidate to be interviewing with other employers. If you feel good about the interview and are unable to make a hiring decision on the spot, set the expectation for follow-up contact with the candidate. Let them know your timeline, and be sure you stay on task with your internal post-interview processes so you can keep to those timelines.

Interviewing is a key skill for leaders. With practice and preparation, your interview skills can become second nature, and your ability to connect with candidates can begin to feel more natural. Improving your interviewing technique is not only important for your skillset, but it will also impact how candidates view the job and your company. As an interviewer, the candidates you meet see you as an extension of your organization. While an interview is most often thought of as an employer’s decision, it is important to remember that an interview is also an opportunity for the candidate to make a decision about the company as well.

While interviewing is an especially important skill, we have found that many of our best clients just do not have the time it takes to recruit in-house. That is where we come in. We have a team of highly experienced recruiters ready to support you with your every hiring need. If you are finding less and less time to interview, or if you have been frustrated recently by hiring decisions that have not worked out as planned, call us. We can assist you in creating a strong recruitment plan and find you qualified applicants as early as the same day. We have offices all over to serve you, yet in a virtual world, we are simply a click away!

Lauren Milam Vice President of West Coast

The Importance of Effective Communication in the Workplace

Lauren Milam

VP of the West Coast

Hire Up Staffing

You may be working each day in a busy office or doing so remotely. You may be part of a large department or a member of a small team. However, no matter your professional environment, the way in which you communicate with others directly impacts, well, everything.

Effective and consistent communication is an essential part of the most productive work environments. Leaders with effective communication skills benefit in many ways. They can clearly express expectations, and their teams are more likely to feel engaged, happy, and productive. The best performing and most efficient teams have business leaders who make communication a high priority. They lead by example and expect the members of their team to prioritize communication with each other, as well.

There are many forms of communication. When sharing, receiving and collaborating, common ways of communication include:

Verbal communication, either directly or indirectly. Direct verbal communication is clear and to the point, whereas indirect verbal communication relies upon an implication of meaning, which can lead to misunderstanding.
Written communication, such as emails or memos. Written communication these days can also include an instant message or text. Memos are often used for more formal correspondence.
Active listening is when someone else is speaking. This goes beyond simply not speaking while another is talking. To be an active listener, you focus completely on the other person. You are waiting to ask questions or interject your own ideas until you have had time to truly process what the other is saying. If you are finding yourself speaking immediately after another person has stopped talking, chances are you were not truly actively listening.
Nonverbal, such as using body language, can be used in communication. An active listener might nod their head in agreement or show understanding. The listener might tilt their head if they are unsure about something that was shared with them. Nonverbal communication can also clearly communicate that you are not interested in what the other person is saying. These cues may look like multi-tasking, a preoccupation with a cell phone, not making eye contact, or crossed arms.

There are endless benefits to effectively communicating in the workplace! Here are just a few…

For leaders: Minimizing conflict, either between leaders/team or between team members
For leaders: Engaging with your team in a genuine way builds trust
For all: Increasing client/customer rapport/satisfaction
For all: Increasing productivity
For all: Creating a stronger culture
For all: Boosting employee morale
For all: Strengthening team trust and bonds

Want to improve communication in your workplace? Try these tips and tricks:

Be transparent and consistent! Share what you know and start a dialogue with your team to get their ideas for current challenges, pain points, and future company projects.
Actively listen to your leaders, peers, and employees! Listening…truly listening is one of the biggest ways to show respect. Being able to act on things shared with you and making changes to improve issues brought to you will further reinforce trust.
Give positive feedback and constructive criticism at the right time and in the right setting.
Speak or meet face-to-face as much as possible. This keeps the communication flowing and reinforces the connection.
Have an open-door policy, and really mean it. Show an active interest in the concerns and ideas of your team and take swift action in ways that support your team as often as you can. Celebrate the heck out of the changes that come from members of your team sharing concerns, ideas, and feedback.
Create a sense of safety, both physically and psychologically.
Get to know your employees individually and find out how they best receive and understand information, and work to communicate in more than just one way. Some people will want to read your message again after the meeting, while others will take notes during the meeting and refer to them as needed. Be open and flexible with how you get information to your team.
Be open to change and show that change is positive.
Check-in often with your team after formal and informal communication has been shared. Ask for feedback; what would they like to see more of, less of, instead of…and adjust your next communication in ways that meet their shared needs.

Do you consider the way in which you speak with others? Do you know what type of effect your communication style has on those around you?

In an article for imd.org, Understanding the Effect You Have on Others, organizational and clinical psychologist George Kohlreiser wrote, “There is something called ‘the person effect’ which is the unique impact, positive or negative, a person has in coming across and connecting with others.” He outlines four key reasons why our person effect is one of our most important leadership tools. The Person Effect is key to:

Connecting with Others Effectively: He identified that the person effect is subtle. “Signals and triggers come through words, gestures, and tone of voice.”
Using Our Language: Kohlreiser explained that when speaking, our blood pressure rises; when we listen, it automatically falls. “Talking too much, not listening, and misusing language can affect our heart rate and blood pressure negatively.” He points out that healthy dialogue offers strong benefits for our well-being and improves our ability to communicate and connect with others.
Impacting the Mind’s Eye: “This defines the way in which we see the world,” Kohlreiser explained. Through our mindset, perception, and emotion, our mind’s eye directly impacts the mind’s eye of another. “If our person effect is threatening, dismissive, or unresponsive, others around us will be more focused on the negative and can be triggered into defensive or non-trusting behavior. The reverse is also true. If the leader’s personal effect is positive, individuals will feel empowered, inspired, and innovative.”
Creating a Sense of Trust: Kohlreiser wrote,“The person effect can inspire, create an attitude of engagement, or produce a feeling of discouragement and disengagement.” He explained that our own attitude can be revealed in our personal effects.

Your ability to communicate well with those around you creates trust and a safe space for others to share and feel heard. Your own attitude and perspective on the world have a direct impact on how others perceive you and how they are likely to respond to you.

Employees who feel understood and heard by their management are more likely to feel comfortable openly communicating, thus being productive members of the team.

Does your organization have the right management in place to communicate effectively with your team and customers? Do you need some support with coaching up or hiring top talent that comes with this skill set? We can help!

Follow the Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services Blog to stay connected with a variety of topics aimed to help support you! Whether you are an active job seeker looking for tips and tricks to land your perfect job or an employer looking to fill a challenging position, we are here to help you HIRE UP!

Understanding the effect you have on others – I by IMD

Lauren Milam, VP of the West Coast

As the Vice President of the West Coast operations, Lauren focuses on the development of each Hire Up team member and office to ensure they have the tools and ability to meet the needs of all the clients and candidates. Lauren’s vast experience in the staffing industry and her passion for people, results, and success is what drives her daily. This experience includes leadership, management, employee development, sales, marketing, recruitment, client retention, and candidate retention. Her goal is to ensure every client and candidate receives excellent service through every aspect of the process. Lauren would love to speak with you so she can help your business reach new heights.

Top Talent Leaving? Recruiter-Proven Best Practices to Hire, Nurture, RETAIN, and GROW Top Talent

Lauren Milam

Regional Vice President – West Coast

Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services

June 30, 2022

There is no doubt about it, organizations everywhere are feeling the pressures associated with the current candidate job market. This is a vulnerable time for businesses without a plan in place to hire and retain top talent. Are you curious if you are doing all you can to ensure you have your bases covered? Read on for more recruiter-proven best practices that will allow you to place yourself and your organization in the best position possible.

While reviewing this list below, you may want to reflect on your current practices and how they are measuring up. You may find areas where you are on the right track, and others that could use immediate attention. This list is not meant to overwhelm, simply to outline proven practices for stronger recruitment and retention strategies.

Do it right the first time and make the right hire.
1. Ensure the employee you are hiring shares similar values as your company.
2. Consider if this is simply a pit stop for them or if their interest in this position demonstrates a goal-oriented career decision. Is your company offering them a job with which they have a passion and within an industry they are genuinely interested?
Make sure your recruiting resources are in order.
1. Ensure your titles and job descriptions are clear and accurately describe the responsibilities of the position.
2. Review your organization’s online image and consider ways to improve it from the inside out. (See further down the list for ways to improve and celebrate company culture.)
3. Do your homework and stay competitive with your compensation. With the number of job opportunities available, do what you can to ensure you have the right salaries, benefits, bonus packages, etc. to attract the right people to your business.
Check-in with your team. Create both formal and informal ways of checking in with them.
1. Develop a cadence that works for you and stick to it.
2. Create weekly or monthly one on ones. Let them know you see their contributions by providing meaningful and specific feedback. Thank them for their efforts.
3. Hold frequent team meetings as well to celebrate success and share new goals.
Get to know them.
1. Through your discussions, learn what their goals are and help them get there by creating a roadmap for development.
2. These goals can be personal, not just the goals of the business. Personal goals help to drive company goals because as the members of your team find satisfaction in achieving their own goals, they can “show up” with a better sense of purpose and often find a stronger connection to the goals of the business.
3. “Personal purpose and goals, when aligned to a company vision, appear to impact motivation and engagement in different ways. When alignment is felt through the sense of a greater purpose, there is a deep, almost spiritual, commitment to making the world a better place and helping the organization contribute to that.” (Berg, JL)
4. Encourage your teams input and suggestions for improving operational efficiencies and then put some to use, if even on a trial basis.
5. Show you LISTEN and are open to those who are closer to the job guide some of the company’s job-specific process improvements.
Truly LISTEN to your team. Beyond simply stating you have an “Open-Door Policy,” like so many leaders claim, do you create a safe space for your team to ask questions, share ideas, and voice concerns? Without a sense of psychological safety, your team will keep things from you to keep the peace.
1. Create an environment of tolerance and be open to feedback and BE PREPARED to CHANGE. If you listen without ever considering and taking real action to the concerns being shared, your open-door policy is useless and honestly, damaging.
TRUST them. When you hire a team you trust, let them do their jobs. Do not micro-manage or “remind them who is boss.” If you trust your team, trust them to do what you hired them to do.
1. Guide when necessary but do not stifle their growth by spoon-feeding them solutions that are only your ideas. They will have some too. Encourage that and show through your actions that you trust them.
Make it positive. Actively strive to create a consistent and positive work environment.
1. Create a culture where your team wants to come to work every day. A happy team that feels empowered to do their job will always be more productive than one that feels uncertainty, mistrust, or is managed with negativity and inconsistency. Remember: Unclear is unkind.
2. Get your management team on the same page and expect more of them to actively work to improve the culture, too, while you lead by example.
Provide growth and promotion opportunities.
1. Through your one on ones and creating development roadmaps, build opportunities around their individual goals whenever possible. (This could mean being flexible with scheduling to allow for personal needs. It could mean getting the company to sponsor a marathon for which some of your employees are training.)
2. Be creative with the growth opportunities; they can include things like external or internal training, attending industry-specific seminars, representing the company at an industry conference or expo, job shadowing, and participating in special projects, the options are endless.
Value and practice work/life balance. Burnout is a main cause of turnover. Show you value your personal commitments and encourage your team to do the same. Need to leave early on Thursdays for a Hot Yoga Class? Do it. Encourage your team to create opportunities to get what they need so that they can show up to work feeling healthy and at ease knowing they have some freedom to care for both their professional and personal lives.
Find reasons to CELEBRATE! And then do it. Often.
1. Recognize your team for extraordinary efforts. Offer specific praise when you see or hear of someone going above what is expected.
2. These shout-outs can be done in a formal way, such as within a company newsletter or informally in a team meeting, or in a deliberate walk to their office. Know your team and how they prefer to be recognized and cater your actions to those preferences.
3. Find ways to reward and recognize exceptional performance. Create company programs, such as Employee of the Month. Small gestures can mean a lot to the members of your team. They will remember these small gestures, and they will be watching to see if these programs are sustained, or just another flavor of the month.

This list encompasses many important aspects of recruiting and employee engagement. However, as with anything important, it takes effort to remain consistent and see positive longer-term results. If this list seems involved and time-consuming, it certainly can be. A lot goes into cultivating a top-notch team. The good news is you are NOT alone in this… WE CAN HELP!

Our team of professionals have years of experience in recruiting, hiring, training, career planning, and building a positive and healthy team culture. Allow us the opportunity to chat with you to see how we can put our collective years of experience to best support you in creating and maintaining the team of your dreams!

We have offices around the country and the absolute best team ready to help.

Berg JL. The role of personal purpose and personal goals in symbiotic visions. Front Psychol. 2015; 6:443. Published 2015 Apr 14. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00443

Lauren Milam, Regional Vice President – West Coast | June 30, 2022

As the Regional Vice President of the West Coast operations, Lauren focuses on the development of each Hire Up team member and office to ensure they have the tools and ability to meet the needs of all the clients and candidates. Lauren’s vast experience in the staffing industry and her passion for people, results, and success is what drives her daily. This experience includes leadership, management, employee development, sales, marketing, recruitment, client retention, and candidate retention. Her goal is to ensure every client and candidate receives excellent service through every aspect of the process. Lauren would love to speak with you so she can help your business reach new heights.

Travel RN and Travel Allied Health 101

Leah Perez, VP of Major Accounts

Hire Up Healthcare

What do travel healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities need to know?

It is without question that there is a growing need for trained health care workers in hospitals and medical offices around the country. Nurses and other Allied Health professionals are in high demand. The American Medical Association (AMA) defines allied health professionals as those who work in concert with physicians; allied health professions include roles like optometrists, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives, to name a few. The Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAH) estimates that 60% of the US Healthcare workforce is classified as Allied Health Professionals.

What are the benefits for traveling healthcare professionals?

Financial: Travel healthcare professions in high demand often are paying top dollar. When there is a higher need, higher pay typically follows. In addition to a higher hourly rate, travel healthcare professionals can often expect other rewards like sign-on bonuses, travel reimbursement, and stipends for housing, food, and/or other job-related expenses. Added benefits not related to an hourly rate are tax-free and definite things to consider when weighing the pros and cons of your career choices.
Travel: If you are a healthcare professional who enjoys seeing new places and experiencing new things, being a travel provider is an obvious choice. There are opportunities everywhere!
Flexibility: As a travel healthcare provider, you may find yourself more flexible than your peers working for a local hospital. Travel providers can fit personal time in between contract assignments, allowing for as much time off as they choose.
Networking Opportunities: Whether on a short-term or longer-term travel assignment, allied health professionals can form important work-related, as well as personal, connections wherever they travel.
Resume Building: In addition to the networking available, another benefit includes your ability to be selective in your work. You may wish to target key locations around the country that specialize in fields of interest to you, some of which may not be found in your area. New opportunities can allow for additional training and professional development to add to your resume.

It makes sense that hospitals and medical offices need to regularly hire, but why do hospitals make the choice to hire travel nurses and allied health professionals?

Historically, organizations have used travelers to fill temporary vacancies due to a variety of leaves, shortages, or strikes. Some organizations seek traveling professions to ease the burden of filling critical roles that require specific skills and experience.

Geography and the weather are contributing factors for increased staffing needs during flu season. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals faced a nursing shortage. During the pandemic, the need for travel nurses surged and the need remains.

The costs associated with hiring travel professionals have been typically seen as a bigger expense for hospitals than hiring on their own. However, with rising employment costs and the increasing cost of living seen over the last few years, the use of travel professionals may be less expensive overall. Hiring travelers rather than permanent employees eliminates costs such as paid time off, benefits, and retirement. Other costs that hospitals need to consider as savings are the reduction in recruiting efforts, training, overtime, and payroll costs.

Why are travelers essential to healthcare?

Travel staff gained popularity in recent years in response to the long-standing, nationwide staffing shortage. A large contributing factor to the RN shortage was a mandatory nurse-to-patient ratio. A study from the National Institute of Nursing Research showed a connection between mandatory staff ratios and lower patient mortality. As more states adopt mandatory ratios, many facilities look to travel agencies to meet the increased staffing demands.
In the last few years, it has become more critical for hospitals to have a solid plan in place due to the spikes in the number of patients and increased patient needs.

How do hospitals find their travel healthcare workers?

Hospitals set up partnerships with staffing agencies that specialize in healthcare staffing, specifically travel RN and Allied Health. It is more important than ever for hospitals to have a trusted staffing partner to assist in filling vacancies.
At Hire Up Healthcare, we are one of those trusted staffing partners for a wide variety of respected healthcare clients.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a travel healthcare worker, we can help. We have hundreds of opportunities within medical facilities around the country. Take your first step to see if this type of work is right for you. Contact a member of our team today by calling us at 559-931-9011.

Interested in speaking to Hire Up Staffing and Healthcare about setting up a staffing partnership to ease the staffing holes within your facilities? Click here https://calendly.com/leah-12 to connect with our Vice President of Major Accounts to discuss further.

Currently, Hire Up Healthcare has over 900 travel, per diem, and permanent RN and Allied Health opportunities. Interested in working with us? Click here https://calendly.com/major-accounts-travel to connect to our healthcare team to discuss contracts that are currently available.

Are you a travel healthcare recruiter that is looking for an opportunity? Click here https://calendly.com/bsampson-4 to connect with our Division Director to discuss internal opportunities.

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Allied Health Professionals | American Medical Association (ama-assn.org)

What is Allied Health? — ASAHP Impact of Mandatory Nursing Staffing Levels on Patient Outcomes | National Institute of Nursing Research (nih.gov)

Leah Perez, VP of Major Accounts

As the Vice President of Major Accounts, Leah focuses on the national level clients. Leah has over 16 years of recruiting experience in various industries from medical/clinical to administrative/accounting, all of which has launched her to being one of the most well-respected staffing leaders in California. Clients and candidates would describe her as urgent, ethical, and most importantly she takes the time to understand her clients needs so she can properly assist them. Leah would love to speak with you so she can help your business reach new heights.

An Employer’s Counteroffer: Too Little, Too Late?

Lauren Milam

Regional Vice President – West Coast

Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare

April 5, 2022

Why You Should Think Twice About Accepting Your Employer’s Counteroffer When Giving Notice

It is not unusual, especially in today’s market, for employers to offer you more money to stay when presented with the news you are leaving. As tempting as dollars or additional rewards can be, it is important to remember why you chose to consider other options in the first place. This blog will identify ways to remain true to your needs and desires and avoid the temptation of hasty enticements.

When is a counteroffer too late? A counteroffer may be too late if:

There is No Room for Growth.

If you have already had conversations with your leader(s) about your desire for growth and nothing actionable came of it, it may be too late for them.

Being upfront with your employer about your career aspirations is important, and it is ideal to have this conversation well before you give up and begin looking for other opportunities. Allow them the opportunity to collaborate with you on a career plan. Share your career goals and ask your leader(s) what you can work on to get there. Based upon their feedback, set goals for yourself, and ask for their support with check-ins on your progress.

However, if you have already done this and there is little movement, that counteroffer might be too little, too late.

Your Values Do Not Match with those of the Company.

The idea of a counteroffer may seem tempting. Many would agree that extra cash for a job you know how to do inside and out is ideal. However, if one of the reasons you were looking elsewhere is because your personal values are not in line with that of the company, the money may not be worth sacrificing your integrity. If there are ethical or moral issues at play, those will not go away just because the dollar amount on your paycheck increases. This proves that the counteroffer might be too little, too late.

The Company Culture Has Changed since New Leadership, and/ or You Feel Uneasy about the Direction of the Company.

Change can be hard, and it takes time to adjust and accept new ways of doing things. However, if you simply cannot buy into the changes, it is time for you to move along. An offer of more money does not change the fact that you are not on board with the changes long term. In a recent SHRM article, Toxic Culture Top Reasons People Quit, Roy Maurer writes, “having a healthy culture is 10 times more important to employees than pay.” Is that true for you? If so, that counteroffer is too little, too late.

You Do Not Feel Respected by your Boss.

The saying, “people don’t quit jobs, they quit people,” is true. If your current work environment is one in which you do not feel respected or valued for your contributions, it is time to find another environment with leaders that do. A counteroffer to work for a boss that does not respect you means that the offer is too little, too late.

Accepting a counteroffer for more money, coincidentally, often comes at a price. Many are faced with this decision at least once in their professional life. Those who end up taking the counteroffer, often realize soon after that the money simply served as a pair of temporary blinders and their core concerns are ever-present. Thomas Davis writes in his Post Grad Survival Guide, “9 out of 10 employees who accept a counteroffer quit within 12 months.”

If the money with a counteroffer is just too good to pass up, and you are willing to overlook the deal-breaking reasons you had when you started looking in the first place…consider this:

Choosing to Accept an Employer’s Counteroffer Can Come with Additional Consequences

Your Employer May No Longer Consider You Loyal.

By providing your notice, the cat is out of the bag. They know you were not happy working for them. They may question your loyalty and wonder how much longer you will stay.

Their Trust in You May Lessen.

After their initial pleasure in winning you over, an employer may feel some sense of betrayal that you were looking elsewhere.

Your Performance Expectations May Change

Given the additional dollars you are making, there may be additional expectations of you, your work, and the number of hours expected from you.

Your Coworkers May Feel Cheated

If those working around you catch on that you were quitting and now you are not, they may put two and two together. Resentments can build in workplaces where coworkers interpret preferential treatment.

Bottom Line: Be True to YOU.

No one is going to know what you need to do any better than you do. Stay true to your wants and desires and stick to the course. Do not allow temporary incentives, like a counteroffer, to deter you from a happy and fulfilling career.

Somewhere deep within a counteroffer is an ugly truth, and that is…your employer may value what you can do for them and not want you to leave. However, they also are not interested in doing the work necessary to keep you in a meaningful way, nor are they interested in doing the work to find your replacement. It can be easier to throw money at the problem, rather than any arduous work on their part.

When dealbreakers present themselves and you begin to look for another opportunity, do not lose sight of your WHY. Why were you looking in the first place? What is most important to you?

If offered a new opportunity that seems to fit within the parameters with which you were seeking: more room for growth; a culture more aligned with your personal values; a fun and engaging work environment; a more respectful leader— follow that path! Chances are your future employer is seeing potential in you that your current employer does not see. Step out of your comfort zone and step into getting what you know you need for your professional growth.

Not sure of your next career move? We can help! Call our office to make an appointment with a recruiter. Our team of professionals can assist you with finding an employer that best aligns with your values and a position that complements your expertise. We are connected with the best of the best and employers within a multitude of industries near you.

Let us help you!

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There is no doubt that 2021 brought forth opportunities with which to leverage new and emerging employment trends. Follow the Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare Services Blog to stay connected with a variety of topics aimed to help support you! Whether you are an active job seeker looking for tips and tricks to land your perfect job or an employer looking to fill a challenging position, we are here to help you HIRE UP!

Toxic Culture Top Reason People Quit (shrm.org)

Why You Should Never Accept a Counteroffer from Your Job | by Thomas Davis | The Post-Grad Survival Guide | Medium

Why You Should Never Accept A Counter Offer When You Resign (forbes.com)

Lauren Milam, Regional Vice President – West-Coast | April 5, 2022

5 Reasons to Partner with a Staffing Agency

Lauren Milam

Regional Vice President – West Coast

Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare

February 18, 2022

Many business professionals have experienced the benefits that can come from partnering with a reputable Staffing Agency. In today’s competitive candidate market, recruiting, hiring, training, employee engagement, and retention has never been more important. If your organization is struggling with recruiting these days, you are not alone. You are not alone two-fold:

You are not alone in the struggle, as many organizations are feeling the pain of recruiting, hiring, training, employee engagement, and retention.

And, more importantly, you are not alone when it comes to the support available to you within a staffing partnership.

My team and I have witnessed firsthand the impact the current market has had on employers around the country. Here are 5 of the Top Current Struggles for Employers and the 5 Corresponding Reasons to Partner with a Staffing Agency:

Current Employer Struggle: A loss of hiring muscle.

The job market has shifted to a Candidate’s Market. Gone are the days when you would post a job online and receive a flood of applications overnight. This candidate market is much more passive than the days when employers had the job market’s upper hand and hiring muscle. This shift in position means that candidates now simply post their resume online and wait for companies to call them. This places more time and work on the employer, resulting in recruiting process delays, which can mean once the candidate has been contacted by you for a screening interview, they have already found another job. Employers are now faced with having to actively recruit and source to find the best available candidate for the job.

Staffing Agency Solution: Let us be your extra hiring muscle. When you partner with a staffing agency, like us, we serve as experts within your individual market. An experienced recruiting team knows your industry and your local job market and can assist with matching you with pre-qualified and screened candidates ready to work at a moment’s notice. More hands-on-deck means more candidates at your fingertips.

Current Employer Struggle: It takes TIME to actively recruit.

Because of the shift in the job market, it takes much more time for organizations to find the right employee. Hiring Managers, Human Resources Reps, and Supervisors have their everyday jobs to do, and now, in this market, must also find the hours needed to actively source and find candidates for their organization’s current job openings. Most people within these positions do not have the time to do that, as they are both full-time jobs. If you are spending hours looking at resumes and interviewing, which parts of your primary job are being neglected?

Staffing Agency Solution: Sourcing and interviewing IS the full-time job of a staffing company, like ours – let us save you time!

Current Employer Struggle: It takes MONEY to spend the TIME to actively recruit.

The hours it takes to create a job posting, wait for applicants to submit their interest, then scan through and pre-screen these candidates, only to often find they are no longer interested, takes time—YOUR time. As you know, YOUR time = money. Also costly, are job posting sites and other tools many organizations use to find candidates. Resume databases and job posting sites are not cheap.

Staffing Agency Solution: With saved time, comes saved money. The cost of using a staffing company ends up saving your organization money because skilled recruiters serve as experts with expert tools and resources. This allows for faster sourcing and fewer hours wasted trying to source on your own.

Current Employer Struggle: Old Recruiting Methods No Longer Produce the Same Results.

What used to work for employers when recruiting is not as effective now. This has created more time and trouble for organizations trying to find the solution to their current staffing concerns. In addition to the time and money needed to attempt to solve this issue, results are still elusive.

Staffing Agency Solution: A strong Staffing Agency, like ours, has access to more candidates—and more importantly, quality candidates. Staffing companies have partnerships and access to most, if not all, job boards and resume databases out there, giving us access to more candidates than other companies. With access to more, we have a better chance of finding your star employee!

Current Employer Struggle: All the extra work necessary to interview, hire and train, and then…what if this hire does not work out?

Staffing Agency Solution: In addition to finding your perfect candidate faster when using a Staffing Agency, there are so many other things that a staffing company will take off your plate. Our Staffing Agency offers the following advantages for our valued clients:

Completes all pre-employment backgrounds and screenings
Processes payroll
Covers payroll taxes
Covers workers compensation, as the candidates go on our policy
Covers paid sick leave
Covers health benefits
Will cover unemployment if the candidate doesn’t work out
And, as an Added Bonus: Using a staffing company allows you to “try out” an employee for around 90 days to ensure they are a great fit for your company before you hire them as a permanent employee

There are many reasons to partner with skilled experts, especially when it comes to your Employment and Recruiting practices and strategies. Seeking supplemental support for something as important has your hiring needs is a decision worth considering. A partnership with a staffing agency does not need to be a lifelong commitment. This is an unusual time for employers. This type of partnership can be a helpful guide through uncertain times like these.

Staffing agencies like ours wake up every day with our clients in mind. We stay on top of industry trends and utilize our expert tools and resources to best support organizations just like yours. Partnering with a staffing agency allows you to work side by side with recruiting experts. These experts will support you and share their knowledge, educating you and your team with tricks of the trade to help you better understand the current market and evolve your organization’s recruiting practices for the future, and beyond your current need.

Not sure where to start? Call us!

Let us get to know you and where your organization is in most need of support. We can offer suggestions to help to ease your immediate recruiting burdens and create a plan for your recruiting needs into the future. Or, if you would prefer to resume your recruiting efforts once you have a stronger footing, we can help you get there as well. Together, we can come up with a plan to save you and your organization time and money, while providing you with qualified and quality candidates who want to work.

Partner with us!

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Lauren Milam, Regional Vice President – West-Coast | February 18, 2022

Empathy in the Workplace

Leah Perez

Vice President of Major Accounts

Hire Up Staffing & Healthcare

2/4/2022

Empathy. What is it? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, empathy means: “the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.” But is there more to it than that? Psychologists have identified three types of empathy. Do you know what they are?

Emotional Empathy: This level of empathy occurs when one can experience another’s emotions with them, as if it were contagious. Think of this form of empathy in line with sympathy pains. This can be difficult to regulate, as some people feel as though they take on the feelings of another.
Cognitive Empathy: This type of empathy does not necessarily conjure an emotional response but more of a cerebral analysis or understanding of why a person thinks and feels the way they do.
Compassionate Empathy: Author Daniel Goleman defines compassionate empathy as a way in which “we not only understand a person’s predicament and feel with them, but are spontaneously moved to help, if needed.”

History might not have considered empathy as an essential skill in the workplace, however, the need for empathy has since taken center stage. By most accounts, empathy is the #1 soft skill required in the workplace these days, from both an employee and leadership perspective. How can we create a safe place for empathy in the workplace?

Here are tips and tricks to creating an organization that fosters empathy:

Remain Open: Demonstrate an openness in body language and communication style. Show you are flexible with change and interested in those around you. By showing a consistent level of genuine curiosity and concern for those around you, you are likely to build a foundation of trust. Another component to remaining open while building trust, is when leaders can show vulnerability. John Scorza, author of SHRM article, Drive Innovation with Psychological Safety, writes, “When leaders admit that they don’t know something, this micro display of humility encourages others to follow suit.” Vulnerability and humility allow for a deeper level of openness and serve as powerful traits of the best people leaders.
Psychological Safety: Trust helps to establish psychological safety within the workplace. This may be one of the most important aspects to a great organization. When a company has a culture that promotes psychological safety, people are more inclined to speak up; they feel safe to do so. John Scorza, author of SHRM article, Drive Innovation with Psychological Safety continues, “Psychological safety is a feeling that you are able to speak up, ask questions, seek help and acknowledge mistakes.”
Listen: Sounds easy enough, although most people struggle with active listening. You can evaluate your active listening skills by simply listening for silence after someone has finished speaking to you. If you are comfortable with silence in between the dialogue, it can show that you are processing the information shared with you. If you are quick to reply, and do not allow for any silence before speaking, ask yourself, “Was I really listening to what was being said, or was I simply waiting to talk?”
Do Not Try to “Fix” Anyone: When someone comes to you with a problem, it is often enough simply to be a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. Avoid trying to fix the person or their problem unless they expressly ask for your advice.
Do Not Assume You Know the Details: If you notice someone appears to be struggling, or upset, rather than assume what is going on with them, ask questions. Talk with them, hear them out and do not assume to know why they appear to be having a tough time. By taking action and starting a conversation, you show you care. Feeling seen all on its own may help them with feeling better.
The Little Things are BIG! Maya Angelou’s famous quote, “…people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” applies here. Small gestures can mean so much: a smile, a wave, holding the door open for someone, providing a quick a shout out… always remember that the little things go a long way. Showing you care is not about grandiose gestures but small ways to demonstrate you see and value them.
Make Team Building a Priority: Whether you are initiating a quick chat over coffee or gathering the team for a huddle when celebrating an office birthday, take the time to stop and talk. Engage with your team, get to know your coworkers. Work to build connections with those around you and create new and unique opportunities for teams to work together and forge new working relationships.

Creating an empathic workplace is one that fosters open communication, trust, and psychological safety. Knowing how to be empathetic can not only improve your communication in the workplace, but it has the power to create and sustain positive relationships, making for a stronger, more enjoyable, and more productive workspace.

Would your organization benefit from additional support with building and sustaining an empathic workplace? Looking for leaders and employees who exhibit strong and important soft skills like empathy? Let us help! Our team is capable and ready to serve.

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Drive Innovation with Psychological Safety (shrm.org)

Leah Perez, Vice President of Major Accounts | February 4, 2022

As the Vice President of Major Accounts, Leah focuses on the national level clients. Leah has over 16 years of recruiting experience in various industries from medical/clinical to administrative/accounting, all of which has launched her to being one of the most well-respected staffing leaders in California. Clients and candidates would describe her as urgent, ethical, and most importantly she takes the time to understand her client’s needs so she can properly assist them. Leah would love to speak with you so she can help your business reach new heights.

Diaper Drive & Free Educational Breakfast

Join us for A FREE Educational Breakfast provided by Hire Up Staffing Services on the first day of Spring! Our guest speaker will be discussing the Healthcare Reform.

When: Wednesday, March 20th at 7:30am

Where: Yosemite Falls Restaurant off of Blackstone and Shaw

Click Here to Download Flyer

Over The Edge

Send Hire Up Over The Edge!

When: June 16, 2012

Where: Pacific Southwest Building

We are proud to support Over the Edge in Downtown Fresno, an exciting event organized by the Downtown Fresno Partnership that raises awareness for the revitalization of Downtown Fresno and dollars for future events – specifically an ice rink during the 2012 holiday season! But… We need your help to make a difference!

Hire Up Fundraising Details

Each Team Leader who raises a minimum of $1,000 will have the opportunity to go Over The Edge!
All clients are invited to join us at the event and watch a Hire Up Team Member go Over the Edge! OR work with the Team Leader to choose someone within your company to go Over the Edge. Who would you like to see participate??

How Can You Make A Difference?

Click here to choose the team you would like to support
On that team’s fundraising page, you can donate any dollar amount you choose
We will be collecting donations until Friday, June 15 2012

Your change can help us together make a real change in the revitalization of Downtown Fresno!

Download the flyer here