Author: CCATech

Notable Perks for Higher Employee Retention

You’ve hired a great team and invested in training. Employee satisfaction is high. You have nothing to worry about. Or do you?

Your employees may not actually be actively looking, but there’s a threat on the horizon. In today’s tight labor market, your competitors may be reaching out to employees who are not officially in the market for a new position. That makes every employee a potential passive job seeker. You could lose valuable employees if the right offers are presented. On average, one in four employees has been contacted by a recruiter in the last three months. The cost of replacing an employee can run from one and a half to two times their annual salary. Cutting corners on investing in employer retention will cost you. Retention needs to be a high priority.

Add Value to Your Workplace with These Employee Retention Tips

The workplace has been transformed, and employee expectations have changed. The first step to adding value to your workplace is understanding what your employees want and what your competition offers.

Inflation concerns have soared six-fold in 2022. Rising costs have eaten away at raises and employees’ discretionary income has been reduced. They are concerned. Retention strategies that either increase income or reduce costs are highly attractive. Here are some strategies.

Retention raises. As employers competed to fill vacancies, new hires benefitted from the labor market shortage. Consider retention raises to keep the salaries of your existing employees competitive.
Equipment, Technology, and Phone Reimbursement. Help your employees stretch their dollars by reimbursing them for equipment, technology, and cell phone use.
Offer your employees generous discounts for goods and services from your company.

But it’s not all about the money. Lack of flexibility and work-life balance is a key factor in an employee’s desire to quit. These perks increase employee satisfaction and retention.

Work-life balance. When employees know they can focus on their personal and family needs when a situation arises, they are less likely to job shop. Unlimited PTO is one practice that supports work-life balance. but flexible schedules and remote or hybrid locations all provide employees with the time they need.
Floating holidays. Allowing employees to choose holiday time off in alignment with their cultural and spiritual traditions sends a message of inclusivity.

Employees are worried about the future. The COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation have shaken up employees’ outlook when looking ahead. Here are perks and benefits that help them take the long view in improving employee loyalty and retention.

Partner with employees on their long-term career goals. Career path planning helps employees map their future based on their goals, interests, and aspirations. This individualized process is more than just coaching and development for their current position. It’s a deeply connected process that supports an employee’s long-term growth with the training, education, and stretch experiences that demonstrates your investment in their vision for the future.
Educational assistance/loan reimbursement. Many employees have a desire to commit to furthering their education, but finances make that cost-prohibitive. Educational assistance programs and student loan reimbursement sends a message to employees that you are willing to invest in their education.
Financial planning services. Concerns about finances are the number one stress that employees report. Most employees are unprepared for major expenses and economic downturns. By partnering with your employees to build their financial literacy and adopt new behaviors, you can help reduce a major stressor.

Sixty-six percent of US employees said that culture is more important than salary. Shared purpose, shared values, positive relationships with their manager, and recognition increased loyalty. Here are some ideas.

Train and develop your supervisors and managers on how to deepen engagement through excellent leadership. More than half of exiting employees said their supervisor could have done something to retain them.
Shared values and deeper connections. Supporting causes that are meaningful to employees increases satisfaction. Donation matching programs and paid time for volunteer projects are perks that increase the sense of shared values.
Encourage connection. Ensure there is space and time for employees to be social with each other. A couple of comfortable chairs and a room screen can signal that your organization supports and values friendships. In a remote work environment, virtual gathering spaces can foster social connections.
Have fun together. Sporting and entertainment events, outings, and gaming deepen bonds with other employees and increase employee satisfaction.

Contact us Today

TANDIUM Corporation specializes in serving the Human Resources, Payroll, and Benefits needs of businesses and non-profit organizations. Our team of experienced Human Resources Specialists can help you develop a plan to enhance employee engagement, so you retain your talented employees and keep your business on track. Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation.

Creative Recruiting Strategies

While April’s job report shows a modest drop in vacancies, the labor market remains extremely tight. This news is excellent for job seekers but creates a challenge for employers seeking to recruit the best candidates. Recruitment strategies and hiring practices that had once been effective are no longer successful. Too often, companies are not getting qualified candidates to apply for vacancies, and when they do, they find that the most qualified candidates have already accepted employment elsewhere.

Savvy businesses are transforming their hiring practices to stand out from the crowd with creative recruiting strategies that attract the best candidates.

Attract Candidates Quickly with These Tips

Leverage your brand during recruitment. For many businesses, the best employees are already familiar with your company. Attracting new employees from your pool of fans and customers is a terrific way to bring in new hires that already appreciate your corporate culture.
Transform the typical job posting page on your website to a career page. Supercharge content with employee testimonials, engaging metrics, statistics, and employee awards. Feature content that demonstrates a commitment to your employees’ professional growth.
Adopt a mindset that you are always looking for great candidates. The old process of initiating recruitment once you have a new vacancy will leave your business understaffed and will impact your company’s ability to deliver goods and services. With inbound recruiting, your company proactively and continually markets to potential candidates.
Don’t overlook the importance of a positive candidate experience. In the old HR mindset, the resumes of the candidates you did not select went into a paper file. Take your candidate relationship management to the next level. Engage with every candidate with the goal of delivering a positive experience. This helps you develop a talent pool and pipeline. Candidates are talking to each other. Most candidates will share their experience with other job seekers, whether it was positive or negative.
Social media is not just for marketing your goods and services. Smart human resources professionals are active on social media and create excitement to increase the pool of candidates. Platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are effective for getting visibility about employment opportunities at your organization. Ensure your website and apps are all mobile device optimized so job seekers can easily move from social media interest to making contact.
Let your existing employees share how great it is to work for your company. Feature your employees and let them tell candidates why your company is a great place to work. Reward employees who refer great candidates. Referred candidates take the shortest time to hire and onboard.
Reduce barriers to applying, interviewing, and hiring. Using dated recruitment and hiring strategies takes time. The typical job seeker thinks an offer should be made within one to two weeks; the average company takes 5.5 weeks. Closing that gap could mean getting the candidate you want. Initiate conversations digitally. Make it easy for people offering references to complete the process. Consider instant hire and on-demand interviews for some positions in your company.
Use technology to streamline your workflow. Reducing the time to move from recruitment to hiring is essential. AI-powered tools like resume parsers help find the most qualified candidates. Chat-Bot screeners can get the conversation started and provide valuable screening. Recruitment automation like applicant tracking systems and recruitment marketing software reduces the administrative burden for HR professionals and shortens the time from recruitment to offer.
Give your potential new hires an insider view of what it’s like to work for your company. Invite them in or use video.
Fully commit to a truly diverse and inclusive workplace. Seek out networks and partners to bring in talent from a wide range of candidates. Many recruiters are committed to DEI but rely on networks and practices that do not attract or appeal to diverse candidates. Expand your networks, experiment with new outreach platform forms, write inclusive job ads, and train all staff involved in recruitment and hiring to identify and eliminate unconscious bias.
Make your process fun and games. Recruitment games are a fun way to assess skills, build a brand, introduce candidates to your form, and enhance the candidate experience.

Contact us Today

TANDIUM Corporation meets the Human Resources, Payroll, and Benefits needs of businesses and non-profit organizations. Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation to find out how our team of experienced Human Resources Specialists can help you design creative recruiting strategies that give you a competitive advantage and enhances your candidate experience.

Forecasting 2022 Pay Raises

Employers are responding to inflation and competition for talent with higher employee salaries. In 2022, forecasters project pay raises to be one percent higher than last year, averaging around 4%, the highest growth rate since 2008. More than half of human resources specialists surveyed said that companies were planning pay raises of 5% or more.

The labor market continues to be tight. Entry-level and low-income workers are in demand, and while every sector is impacted, retail, finance, insurance, and manufacturing saw the greatest wage increases. The pay increases have been significant for low-income workers, whose wages have lagged for decades.

The great resignation is not over. According to a survey by Credit Karma, 45% of employees were exploring new job opportunities. Employers increased starting salaries for new hires to stay competitive in the labor market. The first wave of wage growth began in 2021, with employees who switched jobs in the past year seeing more significant salary gains. Payroll compression became an issue as these new hires often came in at higher rates than their more experienced peers. Retention of existing talent has become a priority, and employers are responding by ensuring their 2022 pay raises are attractive to employees.

Inflation and Pay Expectations Rising

By the last quarter of 2021, we began seeing rising inflation’s impact on wage growth. Current 2022 inflation rates are at 8%. Analysts and consumers alike expect this period of inflation to be short-lived as pandemic disruptions are being resolved and actions at the federal level such as interest rate increases are being implemented. Consumers have made adjustments to their spending patterns to stretch the dollar.

Typically, there is a relationship between inflation and pay expectation. Pay raises have outpaced inflation by a percentage or two for many years. When inflation rates rise, employees expect higher compensation, which starts as a gnawing dissatisfaction that they are working harder for less purchasing power. For the time being, employees still feel that this high inflation is temporary and are waiting it out, but this confidence could wane. If inflation rates remain high and the labor market remains tight, 2022 pay raises may top projections.

While employers need to respond to higher inflation and a tight labor market, across-the-board increases have drawbacks. They reduce the reward differential for your highest performing employees and can make these employees feel undervalued. Across-the-board wage and salary increases also cut into budgets for future years.

Four Steps To Navigate Pay Raises

Employers can take a few steps to stretch their budget for 2022 pay raises and be in a competitive position to recruit new employees while retaining existing ones.

Employers should review market surveys for positions to tie their salary ranges to the labor market.
Compensation increases should include a healthy mix of across-the-board increases, one-time bonuses, and promotion and merit increases. One-time bonuses do not increase the base salary as part of the total compensation strategy. This approach helps employees when needed the most and gives time for the labor market and inflation to stabilize without the long-term impact of across-the-board raises.
Management should assess employees to identify high performers who may be ready to add more value to your organization and determine if there is the potential to promote the employee, increase their salary and allow them to increase their impact.
Businesses should keep abreast of trends in the labor market and inflation. They should develop a contingency plan in case additional increases are required in 2022 to stay competitive.

Implementing higher pay raises during this high inflation period will signal employees that we are all in this together. Still, retention has always been about more than money, and businesses that continue to focus on employee engagement will fare better during tight labor markets. This period is an opportune time to look at ways to engage employees and attractive low-cost benefits that are proven to have a big impact on employee satisfaction.

Contact Us Today

TANDIUM Corporation has several years of experience meeting the human resources needs of businesses and nonprofits. TANDIUM’s knowledgeable staff can partner with you to develop services tailored to the unique needs of your business. Contact us today.

10 Inexpensive Benefits Your Employees Will Thank You For

The competition for talent remains fierce. Inflation and a tight labor market have sparked an increase in wages while, at the same time, business costs are growing. Your margin may be slimmer, but retaining top employees is still a number one priority for businesses. Pay is important, but many other factors will increase employee satisfaction. These ten inexpensive employee benefits are attractive and will not break the bank.

Simple Benefits that Make a Big Difference

Enhance learning opportunities and employee development plans. Take the development conversation to a new level. Too often these important conversations are embedded in the performance review. Augment your annual review with career planning and ongoing coaching, mentoring, and professional development conversations. Your employee will know that you are invested in their future. Your company will benefit from the deep employee engagement and the leadership skills that come from mentoring and helping employees plan and develop for their growth. Consider providing more training and offering tuition reimbursement.
Provide employees with flexibility. More than half of employees would choose flexibility over a salary increase. It is not about punching the clock, but about impact and outcomes. Flexibility is not only an inexpensive employee benefit, but it can also boost productivity. Employees do their best work when they are focused.
Relax your dress code. The pandemic has changed people’s perception of work wear, whether it’s casual Fridays or casual every day. Giving your employees more flexibility around the dress code is a no-cost benefit.
Make work from home and hybrid options permanent. While most employees enjoy returning to the office at least part of the time, 79 % reported that flexibility was important, and 40% said they would look for work elsewhere if required to be in the office full-time.
Leverage your business’s buying power to reduce costs for your employees. Many companies you do business with will extend the same discounts to your employees. Apple Computer, many mobile phone carriers, and your insurance company are good places to start. Contact local businesses for team discounts. Building partnerships with local businesses to save money for your employees is a win-win. Employees love movie, theater, and sporting event tickets which can often be secured at low business rates to fill empty seats.
Add onto your health benefit options. Many low-cost health plan add-ons like prescription drug discount programs are highly attractive to employees. Wellness apps for the phone bring fitness, mindfulness, nutrition, and mental health employees wherever they are. Reimbursing the costs of wellness apps allows employees to choose programs that match their interests and wellness needs.
Time off is a low-cost benefit that prevents burnout and is highly attractive to employees. Offer extra days off as a reward for a job well done. Ensure that people have the time off they need for health and personal needs to encourage work-life balance.
Enrich your organization. Invite speakers for lunch and learn. Bring in fitness instructors for onsite classes. Encourage walking groups in a “walk on the clock” program. Provide ways for employees to organize groups. Raise money for a charitable cause or volunteer as a team for a shared sense of purpose. These culture-building activities reinforce a sense of belonging.
Providing snacks and meals is an inexpensive employee benefit that everyone loves. Stock up the fridge and cupboards with healthy snacks, including fruit and grains. Make sure to have hot and cold beverages on hand. Host employee luncheons. Not only are snacks and meals high appreciated, but eating together can foster a close bond between employees.
Reduce employee professional costs. Pay for public transportation or parking. Pay for telecommuting expenses like high-speed internet. Increase reimbursement for business travel. Pay for professional dues and memberships.

Contact Us Today

With over 20 years of experience, TANDIUM Corporation specializes in serving the Human Resources, Payroll, and Benefits needs of businesses and non-profit organizations. TANDIUM’s highly specialized team will tailor solutions to your business’s needs. Contact us today to find out more.

What Is a Co-Employer Relationship?

When a business contracts with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), the employer and the PEO enter a co-employer relationship. Both the PEO and the business share responsibilities and liabilities along specific lines. At the most basic level, the co-employment relationship divides the responsibilities with the following goals in mind:

The PEO is the employer of record for tax purposes and pays and remits wages and all withholding taxes. The PEO manages the administrative tasks related to human resources. The PEO does not receive the benefits of the employees’ efforts.
The client business directs and manages employees in day-to-day operations, sets schedules, supervises employees, and is responsible for all the functions necessary to deliver goods and services to the customers. The client receives the benefits of the employees’ efforts.

The co-employer relationship allows small and medium businesses to harness world-class talent, processes, benefits, and platforms. Because the PEO supports many small and medium-sized businesses, they are the employer of record on the scale of a large business. This gives PEOs and their clients more buying power in the benefits marketplace. Because a PEO is focused on human resources, they can hire highly knowledgeable human resources professionals. This brings a depth of knowledge to their clients.

Removing the administrative burden frees up the client’s time so they can focus on delivering high-quality goods and services, marketing, and innovation.

A Relationship Tailored to Your Business Needs

Each co-employment relationship is designed to meet the unique needs of the client. These needs are identified collaboratively through conversations between the PEO and the business to allocate and share employer responsibilities in a way that maximizes the value to the client. A client services agreement is developed through these conversations. Clarity is important to the success of the co-employer relationship. Roles and responsibilities are often allocated along the following lines.

The PEO provides the human resources platform for tracking time, enrollment, etc.
The PEO assumes responsibility for compliance with regulatory requirements.
The PEO provides employees with required pieces of training such as harassment and discrimination.
The PEO offers benefits to employees and oversees benefit administration.
The client company provides employees with everything they need to get the job done including technology, equipment, and a place to work.
The client company assesses candidates and makes hiring decisions.
The client company evaluates employee performance and makes decisions about professional development, training needs, career advancement, and termination.
The client company trains employees on topics related to the delivery of goods and services.
The client retains control of strategy, sets the culture, sets standards for engaging with customers, and has the decision-making authority for hires and termination.
The PEO is invested in workplace safety and may consult with the client business on best practices and compliance with rules and regulations.
The PEO ensures that hiring, protected leaves, termination, and workers’ compensation claims meet all requirements. This reduces liability and risk.
The PEO may serve as a consultant on strategic human resources initiatives including growth and expansion, recruitment and retention, and performance management processes.
The PEO may support the design of benefits and ensure the quality of policies and handbooks.
The PEO monitors new employment trends, legislation, and regulatory requirements and consults with the client business to ensure that practices and policies are up to date.

Co-employment, A Competitive Advantage

A well-managed co-employer relationship will be seamless for your employees. They will turn to the PEO for all administrative and tax-related purposes, but they will engage with your business for training, professional development, and day-to-day operations. Employee satisfaction is high in companies contracting with a PEO. According to 2017 NAPEO whitepaper, employees are more engaged, intend to stay with their employer, and have confidence in the future of their company and the role they play.

With time to focus on operations and a team of engaged employees, it’s no surprise that PEO clients outpace comparable sized businesses in growth and longevity. Business owners who are in a co-employment relationship have a high level of satisfaction as well. In fact, 98% of business owners would recommend contracting with a PEO.

Contact Us Today

Contact us today to explore whether the co-employer relationship is right for your business. With innovative technology, a knowledgeable staff, and personalized attention, TANDIUM is the cost-effective answer for “total business support”.

How Can a PEO Support Your Small Business?

Every small business could use a world-class human resources team. One that can effectively take care of all the administrative tasks, stay abreast of the myriad of regulations and compliance issues, reduce risks, and provide strategic consults in times of need. Unfortunately, for most small businesses, this level of support and expertise is out of reach.

Small businesses already pay more per employee than their larger counterparts. In fact, according to the Society of Human Resources Professionals (SHRM), human resources expenses per FTE for small businesses are nearly double that of medium businesses ($3,592 compared to $1,897). Often that leads small businesses to budget for baseline human resources demand or divvy up responsibilities between other management and administrative teams. This leaves small businesses at a disadvantage when human resources demands are high and/or needs are complex. Nearly all small businesses will find that their human resources needs exceed these baseline estimates. In fact, fifty-five percent of small businesses are planning on hiring staff this year and eighty-five percent of small businesses have already faced one HR challenge in the first quarter of 2022.

Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) are an effective way for businesses to reduce risk and increase their ability to weather HR challenges and peak demand. PEOs provide the platform, processes, and human resources professionals your business needs so that your employees can focus on delivering products and services to your customers. You also have the peace of mind that you have a trusted partner who can handle both the day-to-day needs and peak demand.

What Does a PEO Offer?

PEOs are the employer of record for tax purposes and are responsible for collecting and paying payroll taxes but PEOs offer more than that. Your business and the PEO are co-employers. You retain all the workforce decisions for your team while the administrative tasks are managed by the PEO. Because a PEO is also the employer of record for other companies, PEOs have access to better employee benefits in the marketplace including retirement plans.

A quality PEO provides personalized services designed to help your business reach its goals. Some common services include:

Payroll processing
Collecting and paying payroll taxes
Benefit negotiation and selection
Benefits administration
Human Resources consulting and strategy
Employee HR training
Workers’ compensation and protected leave administration
Employee recruitment, onboarding, and retention
Employee separation including COBRA, severance, and unemployment

The Benefits to Small and Medium Sized Businesses are Significant

PEO’s ensure compliance with all employment and tax requirements, reducing risks and liability for your business.
The PEO provides the technology, processes, and professionals for smooth operations, reducing frustrations and expensive missteps.
PEOs often reduce the cost per employee while increasing the quality of services and reducing risk. According to NEPEO, the average savings is around $450 per employee. The ROI of using a PEO (in cost savings alone) is 27.3%.
PEO clients handle the unexpected better. During the COVID pandemic, PEO clients were 58% less likely to permanently close their doors, 82% more likely to have returned to pre-pandemic levels or better, and are hiring more employees than other small and medium-sized businesses.
Partnering with a PEO allows you and your employees to focus on the activities that bring value to your customers and sets the conditions for growth.
PEO supports expansion into new regions, ensuring that local regulations and requirements are met.
PEO’s have buying power and can offer employees the full spectrum of benefit options including 401(k) plans, health, dental, life, and dependent care. In a tight labor market, this gives PEO clients a unique advantage: employees can enjoy the culture and connection that small businesses offer while not sacrificing essential benefits.
Employee satisfaction is high and there is less turnover. The institutional knowledge of valued employees stays with your business.

Partnering with a PEO supercharges small businesses and creates an environment where the business and employees thrive. Studies show businesses that use PEOs grow 7 to 9 percent faster, have employee turnover that is 10 to 14 percent lower, and are 50 percent less likely to go out of business than companies that do not use PEOs.

Contact Us Today

Join the thousands of small businesses thriving in PEO partnerships. Contact us to find out you can partner with TANDIUM Corporation to allow you to focus on your core business while increasing employee satisfaction and reducing risk. TANDIUM’s knowledgeable staff will work with you to develop a personalized PEO solution tailored to the needs of your business.

What Is It Like for an Employer Switching to a PEO?

According to the NAPEO, more than 17,0000 small and midsize businesses have switched to Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs). PEOs allow small and mid-size businesses to access the same level of human resources support and employee benefits as large corporations. These businesses are poised for growth and have lower turnover than comparable businesses.

For many businesses, switching to a PEO is transformational. There are so many benefits. The first step to switching to a PEO is fully understanding this relationship. PEOs are in the family of other Human Resources Services but there are significant differences. Companies working with PEOs have a close partnership, much closer than traditional outsourcing and consulting. The biggest difference is the co-employment relationship.

Understanding the Co-Employer Relationship

Typically, your PEO will be the Employer on Record for your employees. The PEO will assume all legal responsibilities for your workforce. Employees will be paid and W-2s will be issued through the PEO under its EIN. The PEO will be responsible for the payment of all federal, state, and local employment taxes. The PEO will handle all administrative human resources processes from recruitment to citizenship verification, background checks, worker’s compensation, through termination. Employee benefits are accessed through the PEO. Data is secure and accessible through the PEO’s human resources information system.
The business will retain the employee responsibilities tied to services and/or goods. The business will have access to systems and analyses that would otherwise be out of reach. The business owner gains peace of mind that the risks tied to human resources are reduced and in the hands of experienced and dedicated human resources professionals.
Other responsibilities that may be shared include strategy development, performance management, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and staff development training. Your PEO is also a fantastic partner for regional expansions.

What to Expect During the Switch to a PEO

Every business is unique. The employer and the PEO will partner to assess the needs of the employer and define the terms of the relationship in a Client Service Agreement. This agreement is the road map for the relationship. Your PEO will work with your organization to ensure that the terms and services are fully understood.

Because PEOs are the employer of record for many businesses, they have the buying power of large employers. This economy of scale is great for employees who gain access to attractive and competitive benefits packages including health insurance and retirement programs.

While PEOs are there to support your strategic vision and cover the administrative tasks, your business retains all the responsibilities tied to success, growth, and customer satisfaction including operations, product or service development, marketing, and sales.

While each implementation plan is customized to the needs of the organizations, some steps are universal. While this list is comprehensive, it is important to note that you will be solidly in the hands of a trusted and experienced partner for this entire process.

The Client Services Agreement will be developed.
An implementation plan will be developed.
Benefit packages will be identified.
A solid communication plan will be developed to inform employees about the relationship and answer questions they may have.
Employee enrollment will be scheduled to transfer the employer on record and enroll in benefits. This would include paperwork including I9, W4, payroll enrollment.
The PEO will migrate human resources data into the new human resources data systems and/or employees will create and update their new accounts.
Employee training on new systems
Supervisor and leadership training so managers understand the relationships and how it impacts hiring, performance coaching, and termination.
All human resources documents, policies, and handbooks will be updated.

Once enrollment has been completed, the PEO will:

Remit wages and withholdings of the client’s workers.
Issue Form W-2s under its Employer Identification Number.
Report, collect and deposit employment taxes with local, state, and federal authorities.
Ensure compliance of local, state, and national regulations.
Partner with the Employer on shared responsibilities and other consulting.

An effective PEO/business relationship leverages the experience and expertise of both partners. This is the key to success. Businesses that can focus on the value promise of their brand, thrive. Your business will be able to do what you do best with your PEO handling the administrative responsibilities of your workforce.

Contact Us Today

TANDIUM Corporation is a complete human resources service organization, offering PEO, ASO, HR consulting, and payroll services. TANDIUM Corporation has the expertise to partner with business owners to reduce risk, maximize growth, and thrive. Our knowledgeable staff is committed to providing personalized attention. Contact us today for more information.

How Do You Teach Professionalism in the Workplace?

Chances are, your organization has been impacted by the Great Resignation and the historic levels of new hires. This churning of the workforce has had an impact on culture. New hires bring enthusiasm, new skills, and innovative ideas to your teams, but many have limited professional experience. Many employers are challenged by a need to develop programs to develop professional behaviors and communication in their new teams.

The Covid-19 pandemic also changed how business was done. Workplace culture evolved as employers and employees welcomed each other into their homes via videoconferencing. Workers valued this new intimacy. For many, these more authentic relationships enhanced employee engagement. Few employees want to return to dated standards of professionalism, and doing so could backfire and decrease employee satisfaction. Your customers have changed too, and many welcome the cultural shift.

Each business is unique and must meet the needs of its customers. Every employee represents your company and must deliver the brand promise. While there is no one-size-fits-all definition of professionalism, there are some essential components. The building blocks of professionalism must include expectations for respectful communication, reliability, ability to meet or exceed expectations, and ethics. Other elements of professionalism are tied to the type of business and include dress, formality, and approachability.

Many of the behaviors we call professionalism are soft skills. For many supervisors, coaching and training employees in the soft skills of their profession is the most challenging. There are few objective standards of professionalism, and many supervisors are not prepared to coach employees on subjective performance standards. Concerns about how to best teach professionalism are not unfounded as culture is part of what defines the unique standards of professionalism.

The first step for initiating a professionalism training program is to define professionalism in terms of the post-covid reality and assess what behaviors and practices are in best alignment with your company values and will best meet your client’s needs. Often collaborating with a consultant will help your business define standards that genuinely reflect your organization and are not based on personal preference and habit.

The next step is to look at professionalism through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Sometimes expectations for professionalism are set by the experience and expectations of the dominant cultural group in your organization. Narrow definitions of professionalism can exclude or marginalize people from diverse backgrounds. The best training programs will be able to weed out expectations that limit inclusions and reduce engagement. Professionalism should not be so narrowly defined that it excludes or marginalizes other groups. An effective program will teach professionalism while ensuring that people can express their culture.

Training is an effective way to teach professionalism, but much of the growth will come from ongoing mentorship and supervision. Develop your leadership and make sure there is a shared understanding of the professional expectations.

8 Tips for Teaching Professionalism

Have uncomfortable conversations. If you shy away from the awkward conversation, you lose the opportunity to coach and mentor your employees.
Embrace uncomfortable conversations. If you shy away from conversations about professionalism, you lose the opportunity to coach and mentor your employees, and morale and culture may be negatively impacted.
Connect with compassion: Approach employees with compassion. Behavior, communication, and attire are all tied to a person’s sense of self, upbringing, and culture. Compassion will reduce the likelihood of your employee feeling shamed.
Open two-way communication and partner with your employees to understand obstacles and identify solutions.
Model the behaviors and communication you seek to develop in your teams.
Identify clear standards. Photos, videos, and scripting can take away the guesswork.
Provide a meaningful context that ties to the company culture, the customers you serve, and their values. Removing the appearance that these standards are arbitrary will increase buy-in.
Help the employee understand how professional behavior benefits them. Professionalism is a factor in career advancement. Ethics and boundaries are essential for the kind of culture where employees thrive. When you teach your employees professionalism, you invest in their future success.

Contact Us Today

TANDIUM Corporation is a complete human resources service organization.

TANDIUM Corporation can be your partner in developing the professional skills of your employees. We can help you assess your culture and design modern standards that meet the needs of your organization while creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all employees.

Contact us to find out you can partner with TANDIUM Corporation to enhance the professional skills of your team.

Best Interview Questions to Ask Candidates

You’ve selected your top candidates and it’s time to find the perfect match to fill the position. The interview process is an essential step in recruitment. It’s the time when the candidate and employee meet and assess each other. Every new hire is strategic. You are looking for a person to fill a vacancy, but a good interviewer is looking for more. They know they are also looking for long-term potential, adding new people to the talent pipeline, and identifying leaders.

General Guidelines

Preparation will help you make the most of this opportunity. Assess the organization’s position, culture, and long-term needs, then draft a list of questions with each requirement in mind.
Not only are you assessing the candidate, but the candidate is also assessing your company. This evaluation is especially critical during the current shortage of qualified candidates. Exemplify the culture with your professionalism and give the interviewee your undivided attention.
Inexperienced or infrequent interviewers should review Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. All interviewers must ensure that their questions do not solicit information about a candidate’s age, race, religion, gender, or disability status.
Questions should be open-ended and meaningful. Make sure you do not lead the interviewer to the expected answer. Avoid filling the silence and give the candidate time to answer the question fully.
The best interview questions allow potential employees to reflect and provide insights into skills and intrinsic motivation, values, and a commitment to ongoing learning.

Twenty Great Interview Questions

How would your skills and experience contribute to the success of this company?
Describe the type of work environment where you thrive.
Tell me about a work accomplishment that makes you proud. Walk me through the steps you took to achieve success. What did you learn?
Describe a project that did not meet the targets. What did you learn from it? How did you use the experience in future projects?
Describe a challenging professional relationship and the steps you took to improve it.
How would your coworkers describe you?
How do you engage your team when developing strategies and plans?
What motivates you?
How would you describe your leadership style?
Tell me about a project where you had to influence peers to get the job done. What worked? What were the challenges?
What was your very first job, and what did it teach you?
How would your current boss describe your work and contribution?
What prompted you to apply for this position?
Walk me through the process you use to make decisions.
Tell me about a time when you had to coach or mentor an employee for poor performance. What steps did you take? What was the outcome?
Who was a mentor at a key stage in your career? How did they impact your career?
What do you think are three important characteristics of a leader?
If you are offered positions with more than one company, what factors will influence your decision?
Describe the best boss you ever worked for?
Describe a time when you knew your boss was wrong. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?

For more great interview questions, check out this resource from TANDIUM.

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TANDIUM’s knowledgeable staff can partner with you to make the most of your recruitment effort from recruitment strategy and support, development of interview criteria and guidelines to reference verification and background checking.

Today’s business owners have found the solution with TANDIUM Corporation, a complete human resources service organization offering PEO, ASO, HR consulting, and payroll services. Contact us today to learn how we can personalize our services for your business.

Tips for Avoiding Burnout

In 2019, the Word Health Organization named job burnout as an occupational syndrome resulting from work stressors not being adequately managed. Employees suffering from job-related burnout experience exhaustion, feel negative about their job and lose productivity. While not considered a mental health illness, unmitigated burnout can increase an employee’s risk for many illnesses including high blood pressure, headaches, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Not only does this impact employee wellness, but burnout also has a bottom-line impact as lower productivity, poor attendance, and high turnover rates reduce the ability to deliver products and services and increase costs.

Burnout is often a response to long-term stressors. While short-term stressors and pressures can invigorate a team, prolonged stressors begin to have the opposite effect. Employees begin to fatigue, concentration is compromised, and morale plummets. If left unchecked, absenteeism and turnover increase.

But employee burnout is not all about deadlines. The culture of a business or team has a big impact on burnout.

What Causes Employee Burnout?

Many factors increase the likelihood of burnout.

Teams and individuals who have minimal or no control over their schedule and workload are more at risk for burnout.
There are prolonged periods of heavy workload and unachievable targets.
There is a lack of clarity around job expectations.
There is no real-time “off the clock” preventing work-life balance.
There is a lack of emotional support – the glue that connects teams.
Success is rarely recognized, or credit is misattributed.
There are negative office dynamics such as gossip, micromanagement, harassment, and scapegoating.
There is a lack of basic civility.
There are non-work-related stressors including personal pressures or widespread societal challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toxic workplace dynamics undermine morale and increase burnout. Research published by the MIT Sloan School of Management revealed that key indicators of toxic workplace culture were present in the GlassDoor reviews for approximately ten percent of companies. The cultures of these companies were often defined by cronyism and cliques that made employees feel isolated. At times, managers and employees were disrespectful and even openly hostile. A “backstabbing” and “dog-eat-dog” culture where undermining employees was commonplace prevailed. Employees working in the most toxic workplace cultures with dysfunctional office dynamics are at elevated risk for burnout. Even in these extreme examples, leaders have the power to transform workplace culture and create an environment where employees are happy, energized, and productive.

Tips for Preventing Burnout

It’s important for managers to include some of the red flags that morale is slipping, and employee burnout is on the rise. You may be aware of general resentment or overhear criticism of customers. Absenteeism rates may be on the rise. Productivity may dip. You may pick up on lower employee confidence or a general lack of excitement.

Leaders who engage employees with empathy and authenticity can make a big difference in preventing burnout. Here are a few tips to enhance employee mental wellness, reduce burnout, and help your team thrive.

Engage with your team with integrity.
Spend time with your team. Keep your door open and listen to concerns.
Address negative office dynamics. As much as we wish they will go away on their own, they won’t. Meet one on one with employees engaging in negative office dynamics and address the behavior. Keep an open mind and invite them to share concerns directly with you.
Manage workload carefully. Short-term sprints are fine and can energize the team, but advocate for realistic and achievable long-range milestones.
Recognize team members when they go the extra mile.
Don’t play favorites. Share opportunities and recognition evenly amongst your team. Make sure all employees’ voices are heard.
Create an inclusive culture that welcomes employees from diverse backgrounds.
Provide employees with as much control over their jobs, schedules, and assignments as you can for your industry.
Respect work-life balance.
Share the successes and own the challenges.
Make improving employee engagement a priority.
Ensure that employees have access to supports during high-stress times by offering an Employee Assistance Program and health insurance benefits that include mental health supports.

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With innovative technology, a knowledgeable staff, and personalized attention, TANDIUM Corporation is the cost-effective answer for total business support. Today’s business owners have found the solution with TANDIUM Corporation, a complete human resources service organization, offering PEO, ASO, HR consulting, and payroll services. Contact us today to learn how we can personalize our services for your business.

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