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Anticipating and Managing Legal and Regulatory Changes in the IT Sector

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Proactive adaptation in the IT sector includes anticipating and managing legal and regulatory changes. As an IT leader, you must help ensure compliance with these changes.

Smaller companies often are adept at dealing with changes to data privacy regulations, industry standards, and other IT compliance issues. However, medium and large-sized companies often need additional assistance to remain current with these changes. The following methods can help.

Choose among these methods to anticipate, manage, and proactively adapt to legal and regulatory changes in the IT sector.

Maintain Human Resources Updates

Connect with your benefits brokers, your local Chamber of Commerce, employment attorneys, and reliable HR newsletters, publications, and organizations:

  • Remain current with the free updates and resources provided.
  • Take advantage of email updates and complimentary webinars.
  • Keep this information in an HR Updates folder.
  • Access the details when needed.

Secure Legal Support

Legal and regulatory changes in the IT sector typically are not straightforward. Therefore, you should secure a legal compliance service or attorney to keep you updated on these changes and the legal analysis supporting the steps to take to maintain compliance.

You could supplement your legal knowledge with support from these sources:

  • Subscribe to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s legislative updates.
  • Subscribe to newsletters from the Department of Labor or its equivalent.
  • Contact an employment law firm for state and federal newsletters.

Create a Compliance Team

Hire a compliance team to help you anticipate and manage legal and regulatory changes in the IT sector. The team can ensure you and the company maintain compliance with these changes.

Conduct Self-Audits

Schedule quarterly self-audits for compliance. These audits show clients and agencies that your company prioritizes compliance with legal and regulatory changes in the IT sector.

Participate in a Human Resources Organization

Encourage members of the HR team to join a professional HR organization. The organization can assist with a structured review process to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory changes in the IT sector. This review is especially important if your IT workforce is large and geographically diverse because there are more variables to consider.

Do You Need to Add to Your Remote IT Team?

Partner with RightStone to add members to your remote IT team. Find out more today.

How Is AI Impacting Modern Staffing & Recruiting

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is positively impacting modern staffing and recruiting. This helps hiring managers use their applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen resumes fairly, shortlist candidates more accurately, and hire more efficiently.

AI-powered tools integrate with an ATS to increase talent intelligence in the modern staffing and recruiting process. This helps more quickly accomplish time-consuming tasks. As a result, hiring managers can dedicate more time to higher-level responsibilities.

The use of AI in modern staffing and recruiting helps hiring managers more effectively screen, assess, and engage with applicants. The ability to automate workflows and gain insight into talent pools helps hiring managers find top candidates.

Discover How AI Is Impacting Modern Staffing And Recruiting.

Task Automation

AI is used to automate high-volume tasks. Examples include screening resumes, shortlisting candidates, and scheduling interviews. This helps hiring managers bring the best talent aboard.

Intelligent screening software uses machine learning (ML) and a resume database to determine employees’ success based on their performance, tenure, and turnover rates. For instance, the software learns the current employees’ skills, experience, and other qualifications, then applies this knowledge to new applicants. The software also accesses candidates’ public data sources, such as public social media profiles and prior employer information, then uses the information to grade, rank, and shortlist the candidates.

Candidate and Job Matching

AI uses data to match candidates’ knowledge, skills, and experience to the job requirements. This increases employee engagement, performance, and productivity. It also elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention.

Candidate Interactions

Recruiter chatbots ask candidates questions based on the job requirements. The chatbots then provide candidate feedback, updates, and next steps.

These interactions enhance the candidate experience. They also encourage candidates to remain engaged in the recruiting process.

Digital Interviews

AI is used to assess a candidate’s facial expressions, word choices, and speech patterns. This helps determine the candidate’s fit with the position and culture. It also supports employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Augmented Intelligence

Technology cannot fully replace human capabilities. As a result, AI should be used to enhance staffing and recruiting efficiency and employees’ potential.

For instance, hiring managers can use AI to proactively determine their staffing needs and start recruiting rather than spending time on reactive backfilling. Managers also can spend more time with candidates to build relationships and determine culture fit.

Do You Need Help With Staffing And Recruiting?

Partner with RightStone for help filling your IT staffing and recruiting needs. Start the process today.

Tech Industry Outlook for 2023

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The coronavirus pandemic significantly impacted the tech industry for the past few years. Although the use of technology increased in many areas, such as videoconferencing platforms, it also decreased in other areas, such as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Understanding the tech industry outlook for 2023 provides insight into how your industry and company may be affected. This lets you strategically plan and hire employees in line with your expectations.

Learn about the tech industry outlook for 2023 and how your company may be impacted.

Internet of Things

IoT Analytics estimates there will be 30 billion IoT device connections by 2025. This averages out to be four IoT devices per person.

International Data Corporation’s 2020 Worldwide Internet of Things Spending Guide estimates global IoT spending will attain a compound annual growth rate of 11.3% during the 2020 to 2024 forecast period. This data indicates the steadily growing use of IoT.

IoT devices are popular in the form of connected lights, smart refrigerators, and other items in smart homes. Smart glass, activity trackers, and other wearable technologies also use IoT applications. Urban safety monitoring, traffic and waste management, and water distribution in smart cities use IoT technologies as well.

Security is the top concern for IoT-connected devices. Hacks, data breaches, information leakage, and other attacks are common. Because IoT-connected devices do not come with security features, these features must be added.

5G Networks

5G networks offer faster transmission speed than almost all home broadband. As a result, what used to be done only through computers can now be done with smart devices.

IoT devices can interconnect more smoothly using 5G networks than 4G networks. Also, 5G networks let drones, autonomous cars, and smart cities carry out more complex operations than 4G networks.

Currently, 5G networks are available only in certain countries and areas. Also, greater bandwidth means less coverage and more signal drops. Additional cells must be built to support the network’s high speed. Plus, the networks may be unable to penetrate walls and other materials.

Chatbots

Chatbots simulate conversations with humans. These bots use artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) to provide customer service for companies.

Chatbots are being used by more businesses than before. These bots serve as responsive, intelligent, conversational agents. They significantly decrease the amount of time and money spent on answering questions and filling customer requests.

Chatbot development is impacted by developments in NLP. As a result, customers may become frustrated when chatbots give limited or repetitive answers.

Chatbots with robust and complex functionalities are costly. Therefore, companies may not have the budget to use them as customer service tools.

The IT Labor Market Will Be Tight

If you need help hiring tech professionals, include RightStone in your process. Find out more today.

Here’s Why Gen Z Is Having Difficulty in This Job Market

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According to a July 2022 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, approximately 41% of graduates aged 22 to 27 were employed in jobs that did not require a college degree. Many of these graduates are trying to find their fit in the workforce or reevaluate their career goals.

The graduates’ decisions to take on low-paying jobs could impact their long-term financial health. This may have economic consequences for the entire United States.

Discover why Gen Z is having challenges entering the job market and the potential long-term impact on the US economy.

The Pandemic and Gen Z

The coronavirus pandemic caused significant setbacks for Gen Z. The pandemic impacted the time in their lives when Gen Z should be making their marks on the world.

The pandemic-related recession caused Gen Z to struggle to find high-quality jobs. Also, the shift to remote work decreased these graduates’ abilities to make professional connections and find careers that match their skills and interests.

Underemployment and Gen Z

Gen Z’s growing underemployment rate means it likely will take longer for the group to generate wealth. Low-wage employment typically leads to a cycle of turnover and replacement. This moves the labor market to an unfavorable equilibrium.

Underemployed workers typically see slow increases in earnings throughout their careers. The main reason is that low-wage employees work in fields that do not focus on skill development for higher-paying jobs. As a result, not having Gen Z work in jobs that require highly developed skills will adversely impact the long-term growth of the US economy.

Teenage Employees, Millennials, and Gen Z

Teenagers are willing to work for lower wages than college graduates. This makes teenage job seekers more attractive to employers than Gen Z. As a result, more jobs have been filled by teenagers than by Gen Z in the past few years.

Employers who were paying higher wages when the pandemic began preferred to hire millennials over Gen Z. Many millennials had more developed skills and work experience than Gen Z. As a result, more jobs were filled by millennials than by Gen Z in the past few years.

Want Help Filling Your Vacancies?

Partner with RightStone for help filling your IT vacancies. Get started today.

Should You Ditch the 40-Hour Work Week?

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According to the September 2022 Digital Etiquette: The Reinventing Work Report from Adaptavist, 58% of workers want the 40-hour work week to end. Also, 47% want a 4-day work week. Additionally, approximately 60% of respondents say the quality of work should be used to measure productivity rather than the number of hours worked.

This research shows how workers are shaping and adapting to their workplaces. The survey covered issues such as collaboration, communication tools, health and well-being, and the future of work for both hybrid and onsite workers.

The results indicate the changing shift from traditional workweeks to modern setups that better fit employees’ needs. This indicates that hybrid and remote work should be here to stay.

Discover why the 40-hour work week should be shortened to meet modern-day employee needs.

Changing Employee Needs

When the 40-hour work week began, most women stayed home to provide childcare, cook, clean, and run errands. Today, this concept no longer is reality.

According to an April 2022 news release from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics, 70% of women who are mothers currently engage in paid work. Most of these women also handle the majority of childcare and household needs.

Working for 40 hours each week while trying to maintain a household puts unreasonable stress on employees. This increases the odds of employee burnout. As a result, the 40-hour work week must change to accommodate the changing needs of the workforce.

Increasing Employee Burnout

A 2021 joint report from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org showed that 42% of women and 32% of men were experiencing burnout. Although many employers recognize growing employee exhaustion and overwhelm, the issue of burnout continues to worsen.

A significant source of employee exhaustion is the drastic changes in sleep patterns resulting from chronic stress due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many employees are staying up later to take time for themselves. This interferes with the ability to get productive sleep.

Another source of employee exhaustion is mothers who put in increasing hours of both paid and unpaid work each week. Lacking time for necessary self-care and sleep increases feelings of overwhelm and depletion.

As a result, burnt-out employees tend to feel less empowered, be less productive, and not perform their best at work as compared to other employees. They also have lower odds of being promoted.

Leaving behind the 40-hour work week would give employees more time to take care of their personal needs. This would increase employee engagement, productivity, and performance.

Reducing the weekly number of hours worked also would elevate employees who are mothers into more senior roles. This is especially important for companies that have few women in leadership positions.

Want Help with Your IT Staffing?

RightStone can match you with qualified professionals to fill your IT staffing needs. Learn more today.

What’s New in IT Recruiting?

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According to the September 2022 CompTIA Tech Jobs Report, the IT unemployment rate was at 2.3% in August. The increase from 1.7% the previous month likely was because the overall US unemployment rate increased. Also, large IT companies laid off employees. Plus, many IT employees left their jobs for other opportunities.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Economic News Release for August 2022 showed 3.97 million available IT jobs. Like the past 24 months, this trend is expected to continue.

As a result, the competition for IT talent should remain tight. Fortunately, partnering with an IT staffing firm can ease recruiting concerns.

Learn more about the current state of IT recruiting and how RightStone can alleviate your IT staffing concerns.

IT Job Openings

CompTIA stated that the IT industry added 175,700 jobs so far in 2022. This is 46% ahead of last year’s job gains.

Job postings for IT roles were slightly under 320,000 in August. Thirty-one percent of these jobs were in artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and automation software.

IT job postings from January through August 2022 increased by 56% over last year. This shows remote work likely will remain semi-permanent.

Slower IT Hiring

The pace of IT hiring likely will slow due to the recession. CIOs are unsure of how the economic downturn may impact their bottom line. Some businesses stopped hiring and began laying off employees.

An average of 200,000 IT roles remains unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. According to the Mid-Year 2022 IT Salary Survey by Janco Associates, Inc., many roles are paying up to 10% higher salaries to attract the best talent.

However, this disparity is causing current employees with lower salaries to find different employers. As a result, CIOs must find a balance between the budget, employee salary increases to address inflation, and the resources needed to attain the technology and bottom-line objectives.

IT Education Requirements

Approximately 20% of IT job postings in July 2022 were for roles requiring 2 years of experience or less. Also, nearly 50% required 3-5 years of experience. Plus, 13% of the positions required at least 9 years of experience.

Many employers no longer are requiring college degrees for some of their IT job openings. Candidates’ skills, experience, and personality traits are becoming more important than their educational background. This increases the candidate pools for open roles.

Software developers and engineers are especially in-demand. There were approximately 148,000 job postings for these roles in July 2022. IT support specialists, project managers, systems engineers and architects, and network engineers and architects also are in short supply.

Roles in emerging technologies or roles requiring these skills accounted for 33% of job postings in July. Many companies began hiring IT professionals through coding boot camps, low-code training, and other non-traditional approaches.

Get Help with IT Recruiting

RightStone can match you with skilled IT professionals to fill your job vacancies. Get started with us today.

RightStone Recognized as Best Workplace in Dallas by the Dallas Business Journal for Second Consecutive Year

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RightStone is one of 101 winning companies named to the 2022 Dallas Business Journal’s Best Places to Work list in the Micro (10-24 employees) category. The annual workplace award recognizes companies for creating a work environment that employees value. This is the second consecutive year RightStone has made the list.

The Dallas Business Journal has been recognizing the top employers in North Texas for over two decades, distinguishing the top employee-centric companies operating in one of the leading cities in the nation for business and job creation. To earn a ranking, RightStone had to meet or exceed a national best practice score based on overall employee participation and performance for their category, as determined by Quantum Workplace who administered the survey. Winners will be recognized during an awards luncheon on October 20 where the rankings within each category will also be announced.

“We are honored to be recognized once again by the Dallas Business Journal for our positive and engaging work culture,” commented Jeff Koc, RightStone managing director. “I consider it a great achievement when your employees feel valued and accepted, and are appreciated for the contributions they make every day. I’m extremely proud of the culture we’ve created that provides a strong sense of belonging.”

 

About RightStone
Since 1996, RightStone has built long term relationships thanks to a solid foundational grasp of IT issues as well as an in-depth understanding of how to locate and attract the highly skilled talent needed to execute specific projects. The company provides turnkey service and specializes in all elements of IT staffing, including screening, onboarding, billing, legal, quality control, benchmarking, and immigration support. RightStone has received the Best of Staffing Client 5 Year Diamond Award for providing superior service to their clients for at least five (5) consecutive years, a distinction earned by less than 1% of all staffing agencies in the U.S. and Canada. RightStone was acquired by Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, among the largest staffing firms in America, in 2016 and operates as an independent division of Cornerstone. For more information, visit www.rightstone.com.

About Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, Inc
Cornerstone Staffing Solutions is an award-winning staffing firm with branches across the U.S. It has achieved
ClearlyRated’s Diamond Award for Best of Staffing® Client Satisfaction; the company has received the award every
consecutive year since 2016. Cornerstone was also one of 138 staffing firms recently named to Forbes inaugural list of
America’s Best Temporary Staffing Firms 2020. Since 2003, Cornerstone has grown from a neighborhood staffing provider to
a national firm that employs thousands of people at hundreds of companies from coast to coast including California,
Nevada, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Florida. Along with RightStone, the Cornerstone family of
companies also includes Chicago, Illinois-based Arlington Resources, Inc. and Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Providing candidate searching and job placement for administrative, professional, industrial, technical, sales and transportation positions, Cornerstone truly is where talent and jobs meet. Visit Cornerstone here.

How to Show That Your Organization Values Diversity and Inclusion

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The need for companies to demonstrate their prioritization of diversity and inclusion is more important than ever. Managers and other leaders need to create a work environment where employees at all levels feel valued and respected for their uniqueness and contributions.

Your employees likely differ by gender, ethnicity, age, religion, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and physical ability. This means their diverse talents, experiences, lifestyles, personalities, perspectives, opinions, family compositions, education levels, worldviews, and tenure also differ.

As a result, you need to find ways to help each of your employees add their voice and value to your team. This helps your employees feel included in decisions, opportunities, and challenges.

Choose among the following strategies to show that your company values diversity and inclusion.

Request Employee Feeback

Ask your employees for input on how effectively they feel the company values diversity and inclusion. You may want to begin this conversation in small groups or with individual employees. Make sure you include everyone during the process.

Ask difficult questions and seek honest feedback. Remind your employees that everything they say or hear is confidential. Use your findings to make any necessary changes to the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.

If you do not feel comfortable talking about diversity and inclusion, send your employees an anonymous survey instead. Ask questions related to specific parts of the company’s initiatives. Use the results to improve the company’s actions to increase diversity and inclusion. Resend the survey on a regular basis to assess progress in this area.

Participate in Diversity and Inclusion Training

Engage in learning how you can better promote diversity and inclusion for all employees. As a manager, you provide the foundation for the cultural environment they work in.

Take part in assessing the current environment, creating an approach, and leading the implementation of the plans to increase diversity and inclusion. Commit to the demonstration of respect for all employees within the organization every day.

Help create a sense of psychological safety for all employees. This is shown by your actions and commitments to honoring diversity and inclusion.

Encouraging employees to express who they truly are and celebrating their unique traits is part of this process. This helps increase engagement, productivity, and retention.

Celebrate Diverse Holidays

Recognize the holidays that honor your employees’ heritage. You may want to organize a luncheon where each employee brings a cultural dish to share. Perhaps you want to hold a brown bag lunch where your employees share information about their heritage or religion. Or, you could encourage your employees to decorate their work areas to promote their personal holidays.

Hire Diverse Employees

Partner with RightStone to hire the diverse IT employees your team needs to stay competitive. Reach out to us today.

RightStone Wins ClearlyRated’s 2022 Best of Staffing Client Diamond Award For Service Excellence

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Diamond Award winners have won the Best of Staffing Award for at least 5 years in a row, consistently earning industry-leading satisfaction scores from their clients.

RightStone, announced today that they have won the Best of Staffing Client 5 Year Diamond Award for providing superior service to their clients for at least five (5) consecutive years. Presented in partnership with presenting sponsor Indeed and gold sponsor Talent.com, ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing® Award winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients. On average, clients of winning agencies are twice as likely to be completely satisfied with the services provided compared to those working with non-winning agencies. Winners who earned the Diamond Award distinction have won the Best of Staffing Award for at least 5 years in a row, consistently earning industry-leading satisfaction scores from their clients. RightStone received a client rating of 4.7/5 stars.

Less than 1% of all staffing agencies in the U.S. and Canada have achieved the Diamond Award for service excellence. Focused on helping U.S. companies find the right people for their job openings, RightStone received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 73.1% of their clients. RightStone received a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 69.2%, which far exceeds the industry’s average of 39%.

“We are extremely proud to earn this distinction as a leader in service excellence. Best of Staffing recognition validates our hard work delivering high-quality workforce management solutions for our clients and consultants,” stated Steven Drexel, president and CEO of the Cornerstone Staffing Solutions/RightStone. “It pleases me to hear that our commitment to full satisfaction is practiced daily by the team and appreciated by all those we serve.”

To review testimonials from RightStone’s clients, please visit https://www.clearlyrated.com/staffing/tx-usa/dallas-tx/rightstone-dallas-tx.

“Winners of the 2022 Best of Staffing award have demonstrated their commitment to delivering exceptional service, even as Covid-19 has forced them to reimagine and rebuild their approach to business,” said ClearlyRated’s CEO and Founder, Eric Gregg. “These service leaders have kept the client, talent, and employee experience at the heart of their business strategy, and it’s my honor to celebrate and showcase the 2022 Best of Staffing winners alongside feedback from their actual clients on ClearlyRated.com!”

RightStone was acquired by Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, one of the largest staffing firms in America, in early 2016 and operates as an independent division of Cornerstone. The company collaborates with clients throughout Texas and the entire continental United States to fill IT job requisitions – contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire opportunities.

“Thank you to our wonderful clients who have become trusted partners of ours. We strive to offer extraordinary service every day and appreciate their feedback on this third-party survey that measures their satisfaction levels with our service and solutions,” commented Jeff Koc, RightStone managing director.

About RightStone

RightStone is an independent division of Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, among the largest staffing firms in America. Since 1996, RightStone has built long term relationships thanks to a solid foundational grasp of IT issues as well as an in-depth understanding of how to locate and attract the highly skilled talent needed to execute specific projects. The company provides turnkey service and specializes in all elements of IT staffing, including screening, onboarding, billing, legal, quality control, benchmarking, and immigration support. For more information, visit www.rightstone.com.

About Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, Inc

Cornerstone Staffing Solutions is an award-winning staffing firm with branches across the U.S. It has achieved ClearlyRated’s Diamond Award for Best of Staffing® Client Satisfaction; the company has received the award every consecutive year since 2016. Cornerstone was also one of 138 staffing firms recently named to Forbes inaugural list of America’s Best Temporary Staffing Firms 2020. Since 2003, Cornerstone has grown from a neighborhood staffing provider to a national firm that employs thousands of people at hundreds of companies from coast to coast including California, Nevada, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Florida. Along with RightStone, the Cornerstone family of companies also includes Chicago, Illinois-based Arlington Resources, Inc. (www.arlingtonresources.com) and Casey Accounting & Finance Resources (www.caseyresources.com). Providing candidate searching and job placement for administrative, professional, industrial, technical, sales and transportation positions, Cornerstone truly is where talent and jobs meet. Visit Cornerstone at http://www.cornerstone-staffing.com.

About ClearlyRated

Rooted in satisfaction research for professional service firms, ClearlyRated utilizes a Net Promoter® Score survey program to help professional service firms measure their service experience, build online reputation, and differentiate on service quality. Learn more at https://www.clearlyrated.com/solutions/.

About Best of Staffing

ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing® Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients, placed talent, and internal employees. Award winners are showcased by city and area of expertise on ClearlyRated.com—an online business directory that helps buyers of professional services find service leaders and vet prospective firms with the help of validated client ratings and testimonials.