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Bored at Work? It Might Be Time for a Change of Scenery

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When you read about modern work, you hear a lot about the dangers of overwork. Overwork and the stress that goes with it are huge problems for workers and organizations alike. But there’s one feeling that’s more prominent than burnout: boredom.

Being bored at work isn’t the result of running out of things to do. It’s an emotional state where the things you have to do no longer stimulate you creatively. Maybe it’s repetitiveness, or perhaps you feel unchallenged. Either way, being bored is common, and it’s not good for your career.

Are you bored at work? Here’s what to do next.

Why Boredom is Booming

Boredom is perhaps a greater symptom of modern work than overworking. Many things that used to take decision-making, skill use, and relationship building are now automated, particularly in industries like IT, marketing, and customer service.

There’s an app, tool, or streamlined process for much of our work, and with the rise of AI, machine learning, and eventually, quantum computing, many of the tasks left today will disappear.

Does Boredom Mean It’s Time for a Change?

Being bored at work doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to seek out a new role. In some cases, it’s a sign that you can be doing more in terms of challenging yourself. If you’re bored, you could upskill, take risks, and set bigger goals.

At the same time, much of what it takes to remove boredom from the workplace comes from the top down. Hiring better managers, increasing collaboration, reinventing workflows, and ensuring the job is as great as the person who occupies it remains up to leadership.

However, if you work somewhere where boredom is part of the furniture and your team isn’t receptive to the idea of reinvigorating your days, then it may be time to seek out greener pastures.

Whether You Stay or Go, Think Carefully About What You Need

Being bored at work isn’t necessarily a sign that you need to get out of your job. However, a company culture that is uninterested in shaking up the status quo could be a sign that things won’t change (and even that your organization isn’t sustainable).

Before jumping ship, think about whether you’re bored and why. Then, think about what it could take to help you enjoy your job again. Once you have an answer, you’ll be better able to decide whether it’s time for a new role and even what that new role should be.

Looking for a Change of Scenery?

Are you looking for a role that will challenge and inspire you? Let’s talk. We’re ready to listen. Get in touch with RightStone to learn how we place candidates with the right employer. 

Top Reasons Why IT Professionals Leave Their Jobs, and What You Can Do to Change It

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Finding talented candidates is a struggle that IT employers frequently encounter. But there is another, lesser-known issue that is causing big problems in the IT industry: employee turnover. According to a 2018 turnover report from LinkedIn, IT has a turnover rate of 13.2%, which is the highest of any modern industry. This is leaving tech companies of all sizes scrambling to find new candidates to fill vacant roles, and spending billions of dollars in the process.

The best solution, however, may not lie in replacing employees that jump ship but rather making changes to your organization that will make them want to stay aboard. Here are a few of the big reasons why IT professionals leave their jobs, and some solutions that will make them want to stay:

Lack of Clear Career Advancement Opportunities – The huge influx in demand for talented IT employees in recent years means that our best workers are always being sought after by competing companies. If those companies can provide them with clear plans for how they’ll be able to advance in their career, and you haven’t communicated such a plan, that’s a huge motivating force for them to accept a new position. To encourage employees to remain in your company, work with your team leaders to devise clear and practical roadmaps for how your employees might be able to climb the ladder of success within your company.

They Are Being Overloaded With Work – One of the major reasons why employees leave a position is because they’re overworked for an extended period. This typically is indicative not so much of an employee’s capabilities but rather of the awareness and leadership skills of their managers. As leaders in the field, the responsibility falls on us to delegate tasks appropriately and realistically to our teams. This includes remaining conscious of employees’ workloads and taking steps to lighten them if we can see that someone is overwhelmed.

They Are Not Being Acknowledged by Leadership – Failing to acknowledge someone’s successes or even to provide honest feedback now and again is one of the surest ways to make an employee feel alienated and unimportant. If this is kept up, and someone continues to have his or her efforts seemingly ignored or taken for granted, you can be sure they will fairly quickly start looking into other opportunities that can offer more supportive work environments. Taking the time to provide feedback and recognize an employee’s contributions, on the other hand, can go a long way towards making them feel like an important part of the team.

Looking to Grow Your Team?

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.

 

 

5 Ways an IT Recruiter Can Help Your HR Staff

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As job requirements for professionals across the IT industry continue to become more and more specialized, it’s becoming an increasingly difficult challenge for even the most well-equipped HR departments to find and recruit candidates with the necessary experience and skills. In addition, the quick pace of the modern IT company puts pressure on hiring managers to fill roles quickly, often forcing them to sacrifice quality for expediency. As a consequence, it’s not uncommon for HR departments in the IT industry to go into acute crisis mode whenever it’s time to hire a new employee.

To help with the process of finding, contacting, and recruiting top-talent employees, many HR departments are finding that working with IT recruiters is beneficial.  The resources and expertise of these third-party hiring specialists make the recruitment process less cumbersome and can produce stronger and more long-lasting relationships between employers and employees.

If you’re curious about the benefits of working with an IT recruiter, then look no further: below we’ll explore five proven ways that an IT recruiter can empower your HR staff:

  • Sharpen Job Requirements –  Oftentimes, HR departments will only be able to describe the requirements of a particular IT job in general terms. Recruiters, on the other hand, can hone in on the particular responsibilities, qualities, and skills that will be required for a candidate to be successful.
  • Make the Distinction Between Needs’ and Wants –  It’s easy for HR departments to confuse “need-to-have” qualities with “nice-to-have” qualities when searching for a candidate, which can significantly delay the process. By working with an IT recruiter, hiring managers can enter into the search with a much clearer distinction between these categories, which will go a long way in keeping priorities straight.
  • Provide Follow-Up Support – Once initial contact is made with a promising candidate, it’s vitally important that the communication continues at a steady pace. Many HR departments are unable to commit enough time and resources to this phase of the hiring process. Recruiters, on the other hand, specialize in steady and productive conversations to ensure the process stays on track.
  • Create Productive Interviews – Any time your company is looking for that perfect candidate who will be able to bring the right set of skills, personality, and experience to a role, conducting generic, standardized interviews can be counterproductive. Alternatively, working with recruiters to design interview questions that are tailored for particular candidates will leave your team with a much clearer sense of their eligibility.
  • Provide Quick and Accurate Feedback – Many HR departments struggle to provide prompt feedback to candidates once the interview process has begun. Given the number of people being interviewed and the other demands placed on HR, this is unsurprising – however, it can often result in the loss of a promising candidate. IT recruiters remove the friction from this part of the process by gleaning thoughts and impressions from hiring managers and the candidates, shortly after the interview to provide constructive feedback to both parties.

Looking to Grow Your Team?

 At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, let’s talk.

5 Recruiting Tactics That Will Help Attract Top Talent

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The rapid pace of development currently being experienced within the IT industry means there is more competition than ever — not only to innovate more advanced tech, but also to recruit the most talented engineers. In order to remain ahead of the curve, it’s crucial that IT companies implement the most effective and up-to-date tactics into their recruitment methods. The pace of change within the industry, however, can make it difficult to stay updated on the current best practices for finding talented candidates.

We’re here to help by providing you with five recruiting tactics that are sure to help your company attract top-talent IT professionals:

1. Be Clear About Mission Statements and Goals: It’s important for applicants to have a sense of the guiding purpose(s) that are driving your company, and how they would specifically fit within that scheme. Increase the chances of having talented candidates apply for open positions in your company by being clear in job descriptions about the mission statement that would define their role, and how that would fit into the larger context of their department and the organization.

2. Let Them Know About All Perks and Benefits: The more perks you’re able to offer, and the more clearly, you’re able to describe them in job posts and during the interview process, the more likely you’ll be to attract talented IT professionals.

3. Sell Your Company’s Scalability: Talented IT job candidates will seek employers who are able to offer opportunities for growth and advancement. When setting out to find new talent for an open position, it’s important to communicate to applicants exactly how they’ll be able to climb the ladder of success within the company. These details will vary from role to role, so it will be necessary to speak with team leaders before you advertise these opportunities in job posts.

4. Streamline Your Recruitment Process: Talented engineers in today’s IT industry are highly valued commodities, so the sooner you can secure a new hire, the better. This means it’s important to streamline each step of the recruitment process as much as possible — including establishing communication, reviewing their background, interviewing, and eventually hiring them.

5. Incentivize Employees to Help With Sourcing: When it comes to finding talented engineers, your existing employees could be one of your strongest assets. By offering incentives (either financial or benefits-based) for employees to connect your recruiting team with talented job candidates, you’ll be ensuring that your team helps to provide you with IT professionals that are in their network and looking for new roles.

Do You Want to Find Top Talent?

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.

Learn How to Speed Up Your IT Recruitment Process

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Many IT leaders and businesses struggle with implementing new and effective ways of recruiting top talent to their teams. This is not due to a lack of trying, but rather the constantly evolving nature of recruitment methods themselves. As our industry grows and develops, so too do the means of identifying and communicating with job candidates. In order to optimize their recruitment processes, it’s important for employers in the IT industry to position themselves appropriately and take advantage of the proper resources.

Here are some simple and effective ways to enhance your recruiting process, so that your business can begin to quickly attract expert job candidates:

Strengthen Your Employer Branding

One of the most important qualities that all leading IT companies share is a strong, engaging, and consistent brand story. In other words, all top IT employers understand the value of a coherent and attractive mission statement that candidates will be able to relate to. If your company has a strong employer brand that is communicated in online copy, blog content, and emails, it will give candidates a much clearer idea of the driving goals behind the company, and how they would — if hired — fit within that larger scheme.

Develop Personal Relationships With Candidates

Finding a new job in IT is often a lonely and frustrating road to tread. With so many automated responses and impersonal application processes, it’s no wonder that job seekers often feel alienated as they search for a new position. Employers that take the time to engage in personally communicating can make a huge impression with candidates and have a much greater chance of having an applicant follow through. This doesn’t mean that you need to personally respond to every single application, but quickly and personally reaching out to candidates whose CV and experience catch your eye is sure to keep the recruitment and interview process moving forward on the right foot.

Partner With a Staffing Agency

Staffing Agencies specialize in connecting IT candidates that are on the job market with IT companies who are searching for top talent. While most in-house IT HR departments tend to (by necessity) prioritize finding talent quickly over digging deep to find the best candidates, staffing agencies have the resources, time, and personnel to commit to reaching out directly to engineers who might otherwise be overlooked. In addition to looking for candidates to fill a role, staffing agencies can also be great resources for advocating your company’s mission statement, values, and ambitions.

Looking For Top Talent?

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.

Are You Doing Enough to Retain Your Top IT Talent?

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Retaining the best talent is one of the most important parts of the recruiting and hiring process. It’s important to be able to attract qualified talent; however, you want to make sure they’ll stay and support your business. This is particularly true for quality IT employees – advancing technology often means there are more job openings than there are qualified applicants. Here are the most important things to consider when working on your retainment strategy.

  1. Salary: What you pay matters. It’s important to make sure that your salary ranges are competitive within the industry and they are regularly reviewed to adjust for cost of living and performance raises.
  2. Employee Engagement: Employees want to stay with businesses who they think are invested in them and care about them as people. Engaged employees are productive, committed employees. What works for engaging employees will vary, but some company initiatives might include a company-wide monthly lunch that updates everyone on the business, paid time off for team volunteering or after-work happy hours. Anything that shows your company is committed to communication and employee well-being in and out of the workplace.
  3. Culture and Environment: It’s important to cultivate the kind of culture and physical environment you know employees want to work in. This doesn’t necessarily mean having a ping-pong room and a zen cave, but getting creative with ways to make work a more engaging place to be can be a good retention strategy. Not every company can afford a slick facility with a gym and spa, but what about a stipend for group exercise classes or monthly on-site yoga? What about offering standing desks for employees to stretch their legs and break up the day in a cubicle? Small changes and perks can make a big difference.

Your talent makes up the foundation of your business and is critical to your success. It pays off to have a retention strategy that will keep your people with you as your business grows and changes.

If you need help attracting and recruiting the best talent – and want some time back to focus on your retention strategy – give us a call today.

Offering Remote Work Opportunities Could Allow You to Hire Better Talent

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Employees often have several deciding factors when weighing their decision about accepting a new position – salary, benefits and commute all rank pretty high on most candidate’s list of priorities. Another factor that’s rising in the ranks of important perks is flexibility. Employees are now more than ever attached to their phones and laptops outside of the office, meaning the boundaries between work and personal lives are often blurred. Having a work-life balance that supports the ability to take time off when needed or work outside the office can be seen as big benefits to potential employees.

Remote work has grown exponentially over the last decade, and more employees are expecting some work-from-home opportunities or flextime in their positions. Offering the option to work remotely either part or all the time is an attractive benefit that could draw in more candidates. This kind of flexibility is also linked to higher productivity and greater employee loyalty. Employers often think they need to have employees in the office to get the most work done or they risk employees slacking off; however, many people thrive when given autonomy, and the tools of today’s workforce mean collaboration is still possible even when teams are geographically dispersed.

Allowing remote workers also means that you grow your talent pool by removing geographic boundaries – if you allow people to work from anywhere, you won’t be limited to only the best talent in your area, but you’ll be open to the best talent from anywhere.

The beauty of the tech industry is the infrastructure and programs exist to help support a remote workforce. Help desk employees can work off-site and use technology that allows them to access a server or desktop remotely, programmers can code at home and cloud-based technology allows many employees – IT or otherwise – to manage their files and workload from places other than at a desk full time.

Hire The Top Talent Today!

If you’re looking to hire the best talent for your company – in-office or remote – contact us today.

The Top Hiring Tactics Every IT Manager Should Be Using in 2019

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The IT talent market continues to be a competitive field from which to draw candidates. There are lots of businesses with open IT positions that are vying for candidates, and many hiring managers are finding creative ways to find and recruit talent. Sometimes improving your recruiting strategy means paying attention to trends and being willing to divert from the same old things. Here are some hiring tactics to consider for your talent search in 2019.

  • Treat Your Company or Department Like an Employee-Facing Brand:

    Brands need to market themselves as a solution to whatever problems a customer might be facing and build a reputation of excellence. Employers and hiring managers need to take the same approach with talent. Why would someone want to work for you? It’s about more than just perks and pays – candidates want to know they’re part of something bigger than themselves and the work they do matters. Use your LinkedIn platform as a way to showcase interesting projects your company has worked on, partnerships with other brands, innovative designs, and developments in progress, or awards your company or department has received.

  • Encourage Employee Referrals:

    Chances are, if you have employees working for you, you value their work ethic, skills, and experience – and maybe they have some friends or peers who are similarly motivated or talented. Current employees can be one of your best resources for finding new talent. Encourage your employees to pass on the resumes or contact info of other qualified candidates they know; some companies incentivize this recruitment effort with contests or bonuses, but when you’ve built a great culture, most employees are happy to spread the word about the great place they work and want to help their organization continue to grow and thrive.

Recruiting isn’t just placing an ad on a job board or going to a job fair and waiting passively for candidates to stumble upon your business. You can take steps to connect with candidates and make your team a place where people are excited to come to you.

Find Top Talent Today!

If you’re looking for help finding the best IT talent, contact us today. Our expertise and candidate network can help you find the right fit for your team in 2019 and beyond.