How to Improve your Human Resource Department

hiringHuman resource department provides tow critical aspects in an organization, and these are administrative and strategic aspects. While working at, the most important thing was to ensure that human resource department is streamlined and properly constituted. Trained human resource team can do a fantastic job in ensuring a company achieves its goals and objectives. There are some effective strategies that can be applied to improve human resource operations, and these include the following.

Improve the hiring process

If you have a goal of running a scalable business, you will need to build a strong team of very experienced professionals who are willing to stay with your company for a long time. People who know each other well are a better position to deliver. To build a strong team, you will to invest sometime in pre-employment screening and find out the potentials an employee can have. You should also check on their history to ensure they are clean. Learn as much as you can about their needs, habits and expectations.

Educate your employees

If you want to keep your employees happy and satisfied, you must provide them with opportunities that help in developing their personal and professional skills. You should dedicate some part of your monthly budget into signing them on online classes. This action can be very important in helping them learn new skills which can be in turn used to improve the company on matters service delivery.

Set Clear expectations

Despite having a perfect hiring process, there are those instances where a few bad seeds can slip into your company. These people may be unmotivated, totally unfocused and become bad influences to others. For this reason, you should come up with a set of straightforward rules that should be respected by all employees. If some of these employees have trouble following the set expectations, feel free to explain to them the associated consequences.

 Work on Reward Programs

Punishment may be one way to motivate employees, but we have another better way of motivating them, and that includes rewarding them for a job well done. The wellness of your employees should be the number one priority when it comes to having them motivated. People who get acknowledgement for their work are more productive and will be happy to spend their time working for your company. You can buy your employees lunch, gym memberships, and cinema tickets or take them out for team building purposes.




Top Tips in Negotiating Your Salary

negotiatingSuppose you have landed a job at Abingdon Tow Truck and the recruiter asks you how much you are expecting to earn. How do you go about it in your salary negotiation efforts? Before you can begin making any salary negotiations with a potential employer, you need to find out how much the job you are aiming for is worth. You also need to figure out how much your skills and experience is worth to your employer. You should take time and research salaries even before you can begin the discussion pay issue.

When negotiating for salary

Salary negotiation involves discussing a job offer with a prospective employer. You need to negotiate the salary and payment benefits that are in line with the market. The most constructive salary negotiation happens when people realize they have a common goal to meet. Negotiations do not need to be adversarial as no one is supposed to get aggressive.

Waiting for the appropriate time

When you have to negotiate for salary, you need to wait for the most appropriate time. You need to start by being very patient about it. When carrying out the negotiations, you need to do your best not to bring up the compensation issue until your employer makes the offer.

You need to resist throwing out the first number. When you are asked about your salary expectations, respond by saying you are open to all offers beforehand.  Else, you can tell the employer that you would like to know more about the challenges and responsibilities pertaining to the job, before discussing the salary.

Base your salary on data

If by chance you are forced to give a number, you need to provide a salary range that is based on some research you have done beforehand. You need to use this research as the guiding factor behind your negotiating skills. You need to talk about what is appropriate for the role you are applying for, based on your experience and the skills you are bringing in the table. You need to resist all attempts aimed at talking about your personal needs.

Consider saying no

Once you have received the offer, you need to take your time before saying yes or no. You can get a better offer by just saying you need to think about an offer beforehand, instead of accepting or rejecting it upfront. You may consider saying no if doing so brings you a better offer. If you are the most qualified for a certain position, you may consider saying no, and in the process, you may receive a call for a better compensation package.

Top Interview Mistakes to Avoid

interviewAnyone who has ever been involved in a job search knows very well that nothing comes easy. There is a difference between becoming a job candidate and being among the hundreds of job seekers out there. Any job interview process can be a tricky situation. There are lots of ways one can make mistakes out of panic or just because of inadequate preparation. When it comes to landing that dream job, first impressions play a very crucial role in ensuring that you get employed.

There are some vital job mistakes you might make even without realizing it. Some of these mistakes are more common than you may think. You need to take time to prepare for interviews so that you don’t make unnecessary mistakes. Here are some of the most common interview mistakes you should aim at avoiding, to land that job offer.

Dressing inappropriately

When going for a job interview, there is the need to dress appropriately, to look impressive and professional for the job ahead.  Though your attire may vary based on the job application you are going for, there is the need to dress appropriately for the job. For the nonprofessional job, you should wear business casual. Whichever the case, you need to be well-dressed no matter what.

Arrive on time

When going for an interview, there is no room to arrive late. First impressions are very important in landing your dream job. You need to avoid all the bad impressions you create if you arrive late for the job. Do all it takes to ensure that you are not late for the job. You need to budget your time appropriately so that you arrive always earlier by about ten minutes to the stipulated interview deadline.

Bringing a drink with you

You need to ditch that soda, coffee or water bottle while entering the interview room. If you have to fuel up, then you have to do it before the interview. It may sound very unprofessional to enter the interview room with a drink with you. Additionally, while in the interview room, you should be fully focused on the task ahead and not opening water bottles. You need to pay eye contact with your potential employer throughout the entire interview process.

Using your phone

no phoneUsing your phone during the interview process is a killer mistake you should avoid at all times. Before you get into the interview room, you need to ensure that your phone is in silent mode. Texting during an interview process appears to be rude as well as disruptive. Texting during an interview process also sends a message to the interviewer that you are not attentive and that the top at the end is not a priority. You should equally avoid answering or making calls during the interview process.

Not knowing about the company

Do not let the employer know that you know nothing about the company you are seeking a job for. You need to do some research on the company you are seeking a job at, to ensure that you know the basic things about the company. Some of the background information you need to know to include the company history, divisions, location, mission statement, the about section among others.




Ways to Improve your Chances of Getting a Job

recruitMost of the world’s economies are crumbling. Majority of today’s youth have graduated from prestigious universities with degrees and are looking for opportunities that can guarantee them jobs. But when in search for a new job, how do you win in such a crowded market? People are getting laid off after years of work in their companies. What are the chances that you will emerge to be the most qualified candidate should you sit for an interview today?

When you are looking forward to getting employed, there are a number of aspects you can put into practice to improve on your chances of getting employed.


It is not mostly about what you know, it is more about whom you know. We normally say knowledge is power, but note that relationships are the fuel. You need to take advantage of all the people who constitute to your network and work towards pressuring them to suggest opportunities for you. Take advantage of professional networking events to connect with peers and other experts, as they may likely have the key to the opportunities you are searching for.

Do research about the company

You need to have a background knowledge of the company you are looking forward to working for. If you research the company, it will greatly improve your chances of getting employed. You should know the main profile of the company, the values it stands for, the direction the company is moving towards as well as what the company represents. You need to show your interest and seriousness in the position you are looking to fill.

Understand common interview questions

You need to work out on common interview questions. Regardless of the industry of your specialization or the company you are looking forward to working for, interview questions will always be similar. You might be asked questions on issues such as what you know about the company, why should the company employ you, how you will benefit the team, as well as methods for overcoming challenges at work.

Focus on your strengths and weaknesses

You need to focus on your strengths, but never forget about your weaknesses too. You will be asked to point out your best skills as well as your weaknesses. Reveal your strongest qualities in full. Your strengths will show if you are quick in fulfilling orders, managing time and schedules and also organizing yourself. In case you have weaknesses, be honest to point them out.



How to Scout the Best Talent While Hiring

hiringIn today’s economy, there is almost no shortage of candidates for just any position. It seems employers can find a candidate for almost any position. However, hiring is not as simple as it sounds. There will always be a possibility that you will end up hiring the wrong person for a given position. If such happens, it triggers a whole set of adverse consequences. The wrong person may turn out to be unqualified, lazy, unmotivated and can have a bad influence on other team members.

If you are looking forward to hiring the best talent, there are key points you should never miss out.

Look for a career-oriented person

One of the most important aspects you need to consider when making new hires is the ability of a candidate to improve on their career and work towards growing it as a professional. If you are faced with a candidate who has been trying to juggle between different careers or one who has been changing companies at will in the past, then that is probably not the best candidate for you. You need to have an employee who is going to be loyal to the company and work towards being at the center of its history of success.

Practical Experience

hiredYou need to assess the practical experience of the candidate you are about to hire. You need to hire a candidate who is qualified and experienced. In most cases, you will not come over a perfect candidate, but you should make a decision on what you have. If you get a candidate who has the right experience, you will save a lot of time and money when it comes to training such a candidate.

Test your candidates

One of the most important ways of improving your recruitment process is diversifying the methodologies that can help you see the abilities of the candidates under examination. It goes deeper than looking at a candidates resume and making a decision from it only. Even if the resume is very impressive, you need to carry out a practical assessment to determine the suitability of a candidate. This will also help you get an insight on how good they are when presented with a problem.

Determine the strengths

You need to determine the strengths needed for a certain position. Most of the jobs candidates have to deal with these days are quite stressful. When looking for the most suitable candidate for a certain position, look for mental as well as psychological strength. If the job position you need to hire involves something that is repetitive in nature, ensure that the candidate can stay motivated.

Cultural fitness

You need to hire someone who will blend well with the company culture. This means their social skills have to be well developed so that they don’t cause unnecessary drama in the office. And because almost every job these days involve working with others, you need to hire someone who has strong social skills and can communicate effectively. Check on their work history to ensure that they are not prone to causing unnecessary workplace troubles.