IntegraBlog

Identifying your Company's Culture

by Renee Boatwright | VP of Recruiting
In order to effectively identify culture, an organization must identify behaviors and common patterns for conducting routine business. Culture can be found in office communication, work schedule, office layout, dress code, meeting frequency, screen savers, voicemails, emails and the list goes on and on. Some behaviors are not as evident and may take a little more “digging” to identify. It may be a good idea to enlist the help of “outsiders” for their opinion. Clients and vendors may be able to identify traits or qualities that set your company apart from the competition. What clients and vendors see an important part of your culture may be just as important as what your internal staff values.

I recommend holding an offsite meeting or retreat in order to dedicate quality time discussing goals, values and common traits or characteristics of the organization. It is up to the discretion of the organization, but I think it’s a great idea to invite clients and/or vendors to contribute. In order to start dialogue between participants, designate a team member to be the scribe for the session. The scribe will responsible for jotting down words and phrases on a whiteboard that the team feels is important to the organization. By doing this exercise, dialogue should start flowing between team members which will bring the group closer to identifying their culture.

Engage Contract Employees to Complete 4th Quarter Projects

by: Michelle Fish | CEO
With fourth quarter upon us, many people are scrambling to accomplish goals and projects that may have fallen through the cracks this year.  One effective way to tackle these projects is by engaging contract employees.  Most people do not realize this, but contract or ‘temporary’ labor (as it is commonly referred to) is a 90 billion dollar a year industry in the United States alone! 

So what are all these contractors doing and who is using them?  Over 95% of the Fortune 2000 and mid-market level companies use contract labor to even out the workload throughout the year in some capacity.  These well established companies have learned how to leverage contract employees to control their payroll costs and ensure their core business functions are running smoothly.

I think one of the most powerful tools a business owner or manager has is the ability to engage a sharp individual on a contract or ‘temporary’ basis.  Savvy companies are using contractors to also help them develop new capabilities or handle more complex projects that existing staff would typically struggle with.  Rather than hire a resource on a full time basis, they will use a contractor with very specific skill sets to complete projects at a lower cost, within a reasonably short period of time, and without the burden of additional payroll expenses and benefit administration.

Generation Y: We're up for the challenge!

by: Joanna Gammon | Client Relationship Manager

We’re young, smart, and aggressive.  We may wear Sperry’s to the office or even listen to our iPod at our desk.  The first wave of Gen Y’ers is now embarking on their careers so our current and future employers need to be ready to CHALLENGE us! 

My first recommendation in my previous post, Generation Y: How to Attract and Retain the New Twenty-Something Professional, talks about challenging the Generation Y group.  Since multi-tasking comes natural, we hate monotony.  No one wants to watch the clock all day.  Our work needs to be interesting, show variety, and allow us to think on our toes.  When I am challenged I can make hasty decisions, be creative, and show enthusiasm.             

“Gen Y has been pampered, nurtured and programmed with a slew of activities since they were toddlers, meaning they are both high-performance and high-maintenance,” says Bruce Tulgan, who studies the lives of young people.  While growing up I juggled school, babysitting, year-round sports, violin lessons, involvement in various organizations, and volunteering my time in the community; so don’t tell me I can’t do it all!

Our generation is also use to rejection since we had to try out for everything we were involved in – from soccer to cheerleading.  Rejection has made us stronger and has challenged us harder.  Just because I’m 20-something does not mean I can’t execute complex strategies, manage people, or close a multi-million dollar deal.    

Generation Y loves reasoning, problem-solving, and researching – all common objectives to complex projects.  Gen Y craves more responsibility because we know it will lead to more respect and money!  Challenge equals triumph!!