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Risk Management and the Temp Workforce: What you need to know

May 28, 2020 by bwadmin

Every industrial workplace needs a sold risk assessment and management strategy to minimize potential dangers, determine budgetary risks and maintain a solutions-oriented focus to reduce any negative outcomes. For the permanent workforce, this practice is well established and part of the daily routine. What is the best way to adapt to temporary staff?

Risk Assessment

What is risk management? First it is important to consider anything that could potential go wrong and plan to minimize those risks. It is not possible to eliminate every hazard, but the goal of the assessment is to brainstorm all possibilities. Next, determine what the impact to your critical assets would be in the event of a problem and how likely each scenario actually is. For example, if workers on the line are ignoring an industry standard safety protocol, this will likely lead to injury. But the risk probability of a natural disaster causing damage or injury, is much less likely.

Next, address all necessary risks through planning, implementation and training.

Prepare for the Workplace for Temporary Workers

Now how does risk assessment apply to your temporary workers? It is an organizations responsibility to maintain risk management protocols, for all permanent and temporary employees. To establish these norms for all staff, implement the following:

Establish Communication

Build a relationship with the temporary labor group contact, to ensure safety standards are established prior to any staff working on-site. This reduces your risk and maintains safety standards and certifications before any work begins.
Communicate with all staff, including temporary force, on the standards and expectations.

Training, Training, Training

Ensure proper OSHA regulations have been met and train all temporary staff to standard
Train the permanent staff on the role of safety and risk mitigation for all staff, temporary and permanent

Manage Your Critical Assets

All employees should handle your equipment, assets, and workplace with due respect. Establishing a standard with permanent staff to uphold the assets of their workplace will help develop that level of care with a temporary staff too.

Managing risks and implementing these practices will protect your workers and company assets, build morale on your teams, and reduce spending. To learn more about temporary workforce risk management, read this article from Strom Engineering.

Strom Minnesota is an engineering and technical recruitment agency that specializes in high-skilled job candidates for highly technical positions. We facilitate contract employment, project staffing, temp-to-perm and direct hire opportunities. Industries served include IT, engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and manufacturing. We are affiliated with Strom Engineering, a national staffing and recruitment agency.

Blog source: Strom Engineering

photo credit: Unsplash accessed 05/20 via CC0

How to Apply for Mechanical Engineering Positions

May 28, 2020 by bwadmin

Whether you’re a recent graduate or making a career move, finding the right mechanical engineering position can be a daunting task. First, build a strategy based on your specific career needs and wants and then utilize all the tools available. Here are great tips for finding open positions, choosing the right fit and applying for your new position.

How to Find Mechanical Engineering Positions

Finding open positions can begin as simply as a Google search or using an online job posting platform, but that may not be the most efficient strategy because filtering all those results for what you are looking for can be time consuming. Additionally, companies may be hesitant to list their jobs online on such open platforms.

The best strategy for Mechanical Engineers is to work with a staffing agency, such as Strom Minnesota, that specializes in engineering or mechanical engineering. A staffing agency has the knowledge and network to match you with an ideal company. A specialized staffing agency has advantages over other job search methods – instead of throwing your hat into a large pool or having to wade through endless job listings, the staffing agency will do that for you. A staffing agency that’s focused on engineering will only match you with qualified positions, meaning less time wasted. Check out our page for job seekers to learn more about how Strom Minnesota matches qualified Mechanical Engineers with open positions.

How to Choose a Position and Get Noticed

When choosing a potential position or company, consider your specific career needs and wants. A small company may suite your long-term career goals better than a large corporation, or vice versa. For a small company, reach out to your network or research the CEO and send a personal message.

Consider the company culture or mission statement of the organization. Does it align with your needs in a workplace and your long-term career goals?

In order to get noticed, make sure that you read through the job requirements. Put your experience front and center when applying. If the job requires certain certifications, make sure those are clearly outlined early in your application.

Applying for a New Position

Using your outlined career preferences, set up an interview based on the size of the company. For very large companies, attend a career fair or open house style event with your resume in hand. Utilize your network or reach out the organization’s recruiting to team for large and medium size organizations. This is another case where an engineering staffing agency can open doors and facilitate an interview for you with a larger company easier than you can on your own.

Your strategy should change based on the size of company because the structure of a company and volume of applicants increases drastically for large organizations. LinkedIn can also be a great resource for determining recruiters, open positions and company culture. Referrals from current employees go a long way to securing an interview.

No matter where you are in your job search, plan a strong strategy to set you apart from everyone else. Find the right type of position and organization, get noticed and then get hired!

photo credit: Unsplash accessed 05/20 via CC0

How to Support Employees’ Mental Health During COVID-19

April 29, 2020 by bwadmin

As we transition into the new normal, for both employees working from home and those still traveling to work, mental health is critical. As a leader, you can help cultivate a supportive environment for your employees in this difficult time.

Follow these tips from Raconteur on how to support your employee’s mental health during COVID-19:

Communicate clearly

Now more than ever, regular communication is key. It’s up to leaders to take charge and reassure employees. Employees are looking for clear, concise and timely answers. Ensure that your employees know what’s changing, why and how it will impact them. It’s also important to be sure to communicate empathetically and give your employees a space to ask questions. Above all your employees want to know they’re supported.

Shift your leadership style

Operating like “business as usual” may not be the right approach. Being able to shift your leadership style as the situation demands can help both you and your employees. Right now, Raconteur recommends enacting a participative leadership style, with collaboration and ownership. This allows your employees to feel like they have control. As COVID-19 nears its peak, however, a decisive, authoritative style might be more appropriate. That’s the time where any level of ambiguity can be unsettling, and your employees need more definition.

Relax the rules

This situation is unprecedented and uncertain for all of us. Now is not the time to chastise employees, but practice empathy. As a leader, be there for your employees and allow them more flexibility. Parents in particular are under stress as children are home and may be unable to attend scheduled meetings or cultivate a child-free space. During this time, your employees need some room to define their new normal.

Locate the resources

As offices shut down and employees lack face-to-face time with HR, therapists or counsellors, your employees may not know where to turn if they need help. As a leader, you can support them by being familiar with your company’s mental health resources and make those resources clear for all employees.

Know when to step aside

Even as a leader, you can’t possibly taken on every task yourself. If you’re not up to a task but another member of your team is, it’s better for your mental health and the mental health of your employees for you to delegate.

Don’t stop the social

While you can’t congregate face-to-face with employees, social breaks boost morale and combat loneliness. Virtual games or happy hours are a great way to still connect. Even one-on-ones or small team chats can be immensely helpful to your employees. Make something social part of your weekly routine.

As we all have to adjust, it’s important to be there for your employees. Show them empathy and give them space as their routines are disrupted. The best way to be supportive of your employees is to be there for them.

Adapting a Temp Workforce to Business-Specific Needs: What to Focus On

April 29, 2020 by bwadmin

Integrating a temp workforce into your businesses is no small undertaking. It’s a challenge taking on any new employees, but when you have multiple new workers coming on at once there are some additional considerations that must be made.

Talented recruits require support and proper training to seamlessly transition into your industry. Follow these guidelines when adapting a temp workforce:

Make Sure Assistance is Readily Available – Before temp workers even arrive onsite for their regular shifts, ensure that you’ve deployed knowledgeable staff available to consult workers at each station. Utilizing a buddy system of sorts is worthwhile.

Highlight Processes – Workplace processes that emphasize efficiency, particularly in the area of machine operation, should be followed to a T. In addition to basic process training, ensure that proper documentation is readily available in instances where workforce members need to refer to documented procedural guidelines for reference.

Make Sure Workers Are Correctly Equipped – Having the right equipment is a must, especially in manufacturing and industrial workspaces. This isn’t just limited to equipment that helps get the job done efficiently, but also safety equipment that protects workers from injury.

Protect Intellectual Property – As one of your business’s most important assets, intellectual property should be protected with the utmost sensitivity. Ensure that all loose ends are tied up by getting temp workers to sign agreements intended to protect any proprietary information.

Emphasize Protections Against Injury – Job sites, particularly those in manufacturing, can present safety challenges if workers don’t follow proper protocols, or if the job sites themselves aren’t up to compliance. Therefore, thoroughly helping temp workers understand safety nuances is absolutely critical. Companies such as Strom Minnesota can help businesses mitigate safety concerns by providing onsite consultations, particularly during instances where regular workforces aren’t being utilized.

Pay Attention to Specific Certifications – Even when drawing from highly skilled databases of temp workers, there are certain operations that will require additional training through certifications. Such certifications are important to pay attention to, as they can help you meet and exceed industry compliance. Certifications may also range based on different geographic locations.

Make Temp Workers Feel Welcome – Even if they’re only temporary, temp workforces can play an integral role in supporting your organization, particularly during ramp-up periods. Thus, make sure to treat them with respect and compliment team members on a job well done when warranted.

Following these tactics will help your new workforce get up to speed. Remember that it’s all about collaboration. Strom Minnesota can help you train your temp workforce with our resources and support. Contact us today for more information.

Blog source: Strom Engineering

photo credit: Science in HD accessed 04/20 via CC0