5 misconceptions about the staffing industry

Perception versus reality.

Business owners often seek to control the perception of their companies so that they accurately reflect reality. This is easier said than done. Perceptions are like habits – they tend to die hard. The staffing business has long battled a sometimes lackluster perception. At BARRYSTAFF, here are the most common misconceptions we run into … and how we set the record straight.

“Temporary” employees are nothing more than short-term fixes. In truth, the term “temp” is outdated. We no longer refer to ourselves as a “temp agency,” but rather as a “staffing company.” There’s a significant difference. Gone are the days when folks would show up to the local agency each morning and collect a paycheck for a single job later that afternoon. In reality, what we’re doing is probably much different than what people are prone to imagining.

We give companies employees to try out on a limited basis. If an employee is working out then companies may extend a permanent job offer after 90 days. We handle everything until that job offer is extended. This process allows the company – and the employee – to feel each other out. One of the key analytics we study is our retention rate. In other words, we want our companies and employees to stick together. That’s our goal.

We only staff for one industry. While it’s true that staffing companies have specializations (BARRYSTAFF’s is manufacturing), many agencies are capable of recruiting for many, many fields. At BARRYSTAFF, we have placed architects, engineers and chemists. We have an entire team solely dedicated to filling clerical positions. So while manufacturing is our wheelhouse, we’ll never turn away someone looking for a communications position. Or graphic design. Or IT. We can help them too.

Job seekers have to pay to use our service. Job seekers pay nothing. Zero. Zilch. That’s not how we make money. Instead, the companies we partner with pay us to help them find quality employees. No job seeker will ever need to pay a dime to a company like BARRYSTAFF.

We only offer dead end jobs. The fact of the matter is that there is plenty of room for advancement in the jobs we hire for. Many of our placements have gone on to management positions.

We only work with struggling companies (Why else would they need a staffing company?) This is one we have to push back against fairly often. We work with big companies and small companies. Some are international. Others are hyper local. They use us because it is time-consuming to search, interview and drug screen candidates. It’s expensive. It cuts down on production. Advertising alone can run up a hefty tab. And these days, the job search is changing drastically from year to year. We live in a fast-paced digital world now, and our clients need to stay focused on what they’re doing. More of them are trusting experts like BARRYSTAFF to handle this work. It’s a specialized service during a time of rapid change.

And our services don’t stop at staffing. We often find ourselves working as a fully- functional HR branch for companies. It’s just another amenity we’re proud to offer.

 

 

DO NOT friend these kinds of coworkers on Facebook

By Nicole Lyn Pesce

Settling into a new job can be tricky IRL – and straight up confusing online.

A 2012 Millennial Branding Survey found young adults become Facebook friends with an average of 16 of their coworkers, but research suggests we should connect at our own risk.  After all, more than half of surveyed workers (51%) said social shows them too much information about their coworkers, according to a recent Pew Research report. And 29% of employees ages 18 to 29 found something on social media that lowered their professional opinion of a colleague.

But the rules of online engagement keep changing as more of us use social networks to actually, you know, network. “Ten years ago, it was taboo to friend your coworkers,” said Winnie Sun, a financial adviser and consultant on Millennial matters. “But nowadays, we’re all building our personal brands and making these connections.”

So Sun and Leonard Kim, a personal branding expert and author of “The Etiquette of Social Media,” spoke to Moneyish about the dos and don’ts of linking with colleagues online.

DON’T: FRIEND ABOVE YOUR PAY GRADE. That means your boss and your company’s C-Suite are off-limits. “You want them to respect you professionally so you can progress forward in your career,” said Kim. But seeing your casual conversations or pictures of you in a bathing suit can shatter that professional image. “And recovering what was lost from that level of respect is going to be quite difficult,” Kim said, who added that colleagues in the same position as you, or who work outside of your department, are more fair game.

The exception to this rule is LinkedIn. “LinkedIn is the same as if you walked into your new office building, and started going up to people and saying, ‘Hi, I’m working here now, and I’m excited to come on board,’” Sun said.

DO: USE THIS ‘MEAL TEST’ FOR HELP. Different social networks suggest different levels of intimacy. LinkedIn and Twitter are ways to introduce yourself, share industry news and support others in your field. “But Facebook and Instagram are like going out to lunch and dinner,” said Sun, where you’re sharing pieces of your personal life like news about your kids and your pets, or pictures from your vacation. “Snapchat is happy hour,” she added. “If we’re close enough to grab drinks and cut loose a bit, then we can connect on Snapchat.” And don’t send friend requests to colleagues with private pages – that’s a clear indicator they don’t want to mix business with pleasure.

DON’T: FRIEND REQUEST PEOPLE YOUR FIRST DAY ON THE JOB.  If you haven’t had lunch or a conversation with colleagues in real life, it’s off-putting to friend them online. “The time frame for connecting with them [online] is after you build a personal bond. I’d recommend a minimum of one, but at least two months,” said Kim. “Following someone on Twitter is a lot less creepy than immediately adding someone on Facebook.”

DO: TEST THE WATERS WITH LINKEDIN. If someone green lights your connection request on LinkedIn, it opens the door for stronger social media relationships later. “If they accept, send a quick note saying, ‘Thank you so much for connecting. I’m excited to come on board,’” said Sun. “And if they respond to that … you know that person has a warmer personality.” And if the conversation continues, Kim suggests writing back after a few months to say that you might send him or her a Facebook invitation to continue networking, and take it from there.

DO: LOOK AT YOUR CONTENT. Are you really comfortable with coworkers seeing your posts? If you use Facebook and Twitter for business, like posting industry news and insights, then adding your coworkers makes sense. But you don’t want to give professional peers access to Snapchat or even Instagram and FB pages where you’re sharing provocative pix or posting statuses where you argue, put people down or suffer emotional breakdowns.

Click here to check out the original article on Moneyish.

 

 

9 things people think are terrible for their careers that actually aren’t

By Rachel Gillett

Via Business Insider

Speaking up about problems

“No one likes to work with a whiner, but the occasional gripe emanating from someone who ordinarily doesn’t complain holds weight,” says Vicky Oliver, author of “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions.” “The key is to kvetch in moderation.”

Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder, tells Business Insider that you need to embrace the idea of having difficult conversations to get what you need. “Instead of backing off in fear, you’ll learn to handle tough problems while treating people with dignity and respect,” she says.

A bad performance review

Oliver says that a lackluster performance review isn’t always a career-ender, as long you take the opportunity to fix what’s wrong. “You must show you can take the feedback and respond proactively to it,” Oliver says.

Taking time off

Most Americans are leaving vacation time on the table — in fact, Americans didn’t take 658 million vacation days in 2015 and lost 222 million of them entirely because they couldn’t be rolled over, paid out, or banked for any other benefit. That adds up to about $61.4 billion in lost benefits.

“Workers are often celebrated for wearing multiple hats and logging numerous hours,” Haefner says. “But working without letup is a bad habit that can jeopardize business, health, and the life you’re supposedly working toward.”

Studies suggest that not taking enough vacation time is bad for your health, happiness, relationships, productivity, and prospects for a promotion.

Making a lateral move

Just because you’re not moving up doesn’t mean you’re making the wrong move. Vicki Salemi, a career expert for Monster, suggests making a lateral move when you’re immersed in a dead-end job, working for a toxic boss, or need a change of scenery.

“When you work for a new employer, even if your title and responsibilities, as well as salary, are pretty similar to your former one, think of it as temporary,” she says. “Once you’re in a better environment, one in which you can flourish and grow, that’s not so terrible after all.”

Faking it ’til you make it

This advice can certainly backfire, especially when you’re taking on major debt to appear more successful or you’re ignoring the signs that it’s time to move on.

But it’s not always so terrible for your career. Indeed, Salemi says ‘faking it ’til you make it’ can help you overcome a common problem among working people — imposter syndrome.

As Harvard Business School professor and “Presence” author Amy Cuddy tells Harvard Business Review, faking it ’til you make it is more “about pretending to yourself that you’re confident” and framing challenges as opportunities than pretending to have skills you don’t. “Don’t think, ‘Oh no, I feel anxious.’ Think, ‘This is exciting.’ That makes it easier to get in there and engage,” she says.

Being bypassed for a promotion

“It hurts terribly when it happens, but sometimes you simply aren’t ready to handle the responsibility,” Oliver says. If you don’t get the promotion you wanted, Oliver suggests showing a brave face and dogged determination to shine so that you won’t be bypassed the next time around.

Crying at work

There’s no crying in business, at least not according to Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran. “The minute a woman cries, you’re giving away your power. You have to cry privately,” she once told an entrepreneur on the show.

But not everyone agrees. “You’re always taught to suppress emotion, but sometimes showing your upset can actually move you forward,” Oliver says. “You don’t want to wail at the top of your lungs in your cubicle, but some well-placed anger has its place.”

Political activist Gloria Steinem said that she often cries when angry, and the best way to handle it when it happens at work is to allow yourself to get angry, cry, and then keep talking through the tears, as a female executive once taught her. “She had mostly men working for her,” Steinem said. “And she would just say to them, ‘I am crying because I’m angry. You may think I’m sad. I am not sad. This is the way I get angry.'”

Sheryl Sandberg says that sharing emotions helps build deeper relationships at work, and experts say that, as long as the emotion is sincere, crying can increase people’s support and admiration for leaders. One study even found that found that expressing sadness can even help you in negotiations because it can “make recipients experience greater other-concern.”

Leaving your job without having another one lined up

In some ways, waiting to quit your job until you have another one lined up makes sense. Cutting off your income supply can be hard on your finances. You might also think getting a job would be infinitely more challenging when you’re unemployed because of stigma.

But Salemi says that if you’re miserable in your job, deflated and exhausted in a toxic work environment, and have extremely limited time and energy to find a new job, you’re probably not going to make a good impression when interviewing anyway.

She also says that whenever she’s interviewed job candidates who have quit without anything else lined up, the conversation never lingered on the topic. The conversation would go a little something like: “Why’d you leave your last job?” “I was completely burned out, getting sick, working 80-hour weeks, and my health was at risk, so I needed to make a clean break to re-energize my career!” And then on to the next question.

Taking a pay cut for a new job

“Taking a pay cut sounds counterintuitive to everything you’ve probably ever heard, right? Work hard, get recognized, get promoted, get paid more. Repeat,” Salemi says. “Well, there are many times when taking a pay cut can actually position you better for the long-term.”

“Your career, as cliché as it sounds, is a marathon, not a sprint, and sometimes it’s not a straight ladder up to the executive suite,” she says.

Just like making a lateral move can open you up to new opportunities, Salemi says that, if you’re in a toxic environment and haven’t gotten a pay increase in three years, taking a pay cut to leap to a competitor is a fair price to pay in the short term when you work for a company that will promote you and ultimately pay you more in the long run.

 

 

63% Of Employees Don’t Trust Their Leader — Here’s What You Can Do To Change That

Trust is toast, according to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer.

It’s worldwide, it’s pervasive across business and government, and trust of CEOs is at an all-time low.

CEO Credibility plunged by 12 points this year. Sixty-three percent of survey respondents said CEOs are somewhat or not at all credible.Whoa. Wow.

How Trust Is Broken…

Lack of trust creates an environment where concerns quickly evolve into fears. And when fears collide with a belief that the system is failing, trouble results. Also as distrust and fear increase, the negative impact on employee morale, engagement and performance accelerate. The end results are disengaged employees, frustrated management and lower profits. And the problem comes from four key emotional experiences.

1. A sense of injustice – the experience of unfairness tamps down the insula, the part of the brain responsible for emotional hurt and intuition. If a person is experiencing unfairness they will be spending more time in critter state, which will impact performance, decision making, collaboration, overall peace and happiness.

2. Lack of hope – the experience of hopelessness is even more painful than unfairness, and it’s below Critter State on the emotional range. In neurolinguistics the states of hopeless, helpless, worthless, and grief/terror are consider Baseline States. It doesn’t get worse than this.

3. Lack of confidence – depending on the person and degree of lack of confidence we’ll likely see procrastination, reluctance to take risks, playing “small”, and yes, more Critter State.

4. Desire for change – this is encouraging as there’s some energy here. Desire for change means we can envision a possible future where things are better. This lights up the Ventral Striatum where we anticipate reward. If we can increase this experience we can get into Smart State.

A few more key findings are that with the experience of distrust Edelman found that facts matter less to people and bias becomes the filter. 53% of respondents stated they do not listen to people or organizations with whom they often disagree. Further, people are 4x more likely to ignore info that doesn’t support their beliefs. Wow.

…And How To Fix It

So what’s the solution? Edelman’s survey respondents said that a shift from a top-down approach to a more participatory model is needed. In a word: collaboration, communication, transparency and mutual respect. This means deeply listening to and strategically acting on insights from employees. The report also concluded that rebuilding trust is a shared responsibility. We’re in this together.

And sustainable trust is key. This means taking employee engagement and empowerment to a new level, and ensuring leadership is engaged and empowered too.

Engage Everyone

Engaged employees have better work performance and increased likelihood of fulfilling personal lives. In previous blogs we have discussed proven and trusted neuroscience-based tools that will increase employee engagement, the real reasons your team is not engaged, how great leaders build trust and increase employee engagement and the one mistake leaders make that kills employee engagement.  Engagement starts at the top where the culture of the organization is formed–leaders must build a solid foundation where employee engagement can thrive. The C Suite must work on leadership engagement intentionally now more than ever. Leadership engagement = employee engagement.

5 Social Media Productivity Tips for Busy Professionals

In the US alone, social networking is ranked as the top online activity, with one typical American allotting 37 minutes per day on social media websites (according to Go Gulf). In addition to that, Global Web Index revealed that 28% of the average online users’ time in the general population, is spent in social media.

The numbers are quite staggering, aren’t they?

Of course, since everyone believes in this chain of thought, “where your customers are, there you should also be”, it just makes perfect sense for business owners and marketers to just jump in the social media bandwagon.

However, despite how mouth-watering the prospect of marketing via the different social media channels might seem, not everyone are getting great results from it – mainly because they get distracted.

In fact, according to an article published at Contentbistro, social media is pretty much their number 1 source of distraction for solopreneurs and business owners.

Have you ever gone to Facebook with the hopes of pre-marketing your new product, only to end up getting distracted watching videos of Stephen Curry’s godlike crossover moves? Or you ended up watching on of Gary Vaynerchuk’s motivational videos, perhaps?

Friends, the problem is real.

If you’re struggling with getting things done while on social media and are looking for ways to be more productive while on the platform, then you’re on the right place.

Allow me to share with you 6 tips that can help you with just that.

Let’s hop right in.

1. UNDERSTAND YOUR GOALS.

Remember that in any business, you can’t afford to play pin the tail on the donkey.

The reason why most companies succeed at using social media is that they have clear-cut goals of what they want to do. In most cases, every single step was thoroughly planned out before they were executed. By having clear goals in mind, you are taking ambiguity and the role of chances out of the equation.

You can start by answering these questions:

  • Who is your target audience?
  • What step was thoroughly planned out and what does your target audience want to know and need to know?
  • What should your content look like?
  • What are the biggest problems they are dealing with?
  • How can you give solution to these problems?

These are just some of the many questions that you can ask when crafting your social media marketing gameplan.

Once you have the core steps planned out, all you need to do is just stick to it so you can avoid reacting to every single thing that comes to your social media profile’s news feed.

2. WORK ON YOUR TASKS IN BATCHES.

Time is a resource that is highly valued, and if it is exhausted without you yielding any kind of productive results, it would definitely cost you a lot.

When you have tons of things to do on your checklist, you attempt to switch from one task to another in order to get things done the soonest time possible.

Well. Guess what?

Our brains aren’t made for multitasking, and this article will tell you why.

Batching things up means allotting time for a specific cluster or type of goals/agenda first before proceeding to work on other goals. Simply stated, you do things by batch. This technique will help you get your goals in order, eliminate distractions, and schedule ahead of time.

That being said, I suggest that you categorize your tasks and work by following these tips:

  • Prepare your draft of posts or a POST BANK so that it‘ll be convenient for you to just pull them out when the time calls for new posts. Thanks to Facebook’s features, you can schedule posts ahead of time or save drafts:

image: http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Social_Media_Productivity_2.png.png

 

  • Follow peak hours. Web users are more active in specific hours of the day.
  • Understand which posts are timely and which are not. The point here is to make your product relevant to your customers given the seasons or the trends.

3. CREATE A CONTENT CALENDAR.

Some companies stay active for a period of time and the next thing you know, they’re off-the-grid in social media. A content calendar helps keep you committed. That way, you remain consistent and you won’t have any excuses.

According to Forbes writer Pamela Springer, “For your social media marketing plan to succeed, it’s crucial that you consistently interact online; even if it’s just 10 minutes a day. If you can’t put in the time, it’s best not to start.”

Your content calendar can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. The important thing is that you create one and follow it.

It should contain the plot of your posts, the corresponding dates as to when you want to publish them, include the themes for your posts (among others). Feel free to add other details like specific time of publishing, which social media platform to use and respective purposes of posting.

Important note: If there’s one thing that I really like about using content calendars, it would be that I have a bird’s-eye-view of how my ideas would flow. This helps me polish the message that I am trying to convey on each post giving my updates consistency and more focus.

From Homelessness to a New Promotion: Herb Thompson’s Inspirational Story

Herb Thompson at ASPM in Vandalia.

A few months ago Herb Thompson was homeless. Now he has a fully furnished apartment and a new outlook.

He’s also accepted a promotion.

“What more can you ask for?” he says with a smile.

Born and raised on a Preble County farm, Thompson moved to Dayton at 18 and  immediately found work in manufacturing.

“At 19 years old I was firing up million dollar equipment,” he recently told us.

He enlisted in the Navy worked as a technician for six years. Specifically, he specialized in electronic surveillance on submarines. When he returned to Dayton in the late 1990s, he learned that manufacturing had “fallen off completely.” So he worked for Auto Zone. And Time Warner Cable. For a while he operated a tow truck.

It became increasingly hard to find steady work. A tough job market mixed with a bad break or two led to homelessness.

Eventually the military veteran linked up with Volunteers of America. They referred him to BarryStaff. Within a week of interviewing with Barry, he was working at the ASPM plant in Vandalia.

Even then, he wasn’t super optimistic to begin working as a machine operator.

“It was the type of job I tried to avoid all my life,” he says. “I thought it would be mind numbing.”

Nevermind the repetitiveness, he was told. Work hard and you’ll quickly advance.

He took the advice and used the foot in the door to his advantage. He rolled up his sleeves and hunkered down. Within weeks, he could keep up with workers half his age. Thompson’s confidence grew. The promotion quickly followed.

“I now have an apartment — a wonderful little apartment. I’m gainfully employed. And I feel my value is being appreciated.”

He’s now working as a material handler, which comes with more responsibilities. Does he look back? Yes and no.

“I try not to look back too much,” he says. “However, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”

Then Thompson, who has a way with words, quickly sizes up his journey.

“I’m happy,” he says. “If I was any happier I couldn’t stand myself.”

 

Client Spotlight: Dayton Art Institute

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The Dayton Art Institute will celebrate its centennial in 2019.

Back in 1919, the museum was located in a house at Monument Avenue and Saint Clair Street. It quickly outgrew that space and its current building opened in 1930, thanks to the generosity of arts patron Julia Shaw Carnell.

It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, though, with the building opening during the depths of the Great Depression. The director, Siegfried Weng, needed to do whatever he could to bring people inside the museum during the ‘30s and ‘40s. He promoted The DAI as “Dayton’s Living Room” to entice the public and even brought in a small menagerie of animals (“Weng’s Zoo”) that included peacocks, donkeys, parrots and even a monkey.

Today, the museum sees about 130,000 visitors a year. There are over 26,000 pieces of art in its collection, with about 1,000 on view in the galleries. As it gears up for its 100th anniversary, one woman will definitely play a role in planning for the celebration.

“Our leadership team and staff have been working very diligently to put together an exciting year of programs and events,” said Monica Walker. “We’re really happy and excited we’ll be able to celebrate with the community.”

Walker is the human resources and administration director. Roughly 90+ full- and part-time employees work at the museum, and Walker also oversees the museum’s largest volunteer group, the Leonardo League, made up of about 300 volunteers.

Walker also oversaw volunteer needs for this year’s record-setting Oktoberfest celebration at the museum. About 2,000 volunteers support the fundraiser, which drew nearly 30,000 people to the museum’s grounds.

This is also where the museum first partnered with BarryStaff.

“I’ve utilized a number of agencies over the years,” Walker said. “BarryStaff was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have asked for better – from your own staff to the temporary employees you brought in.”

BarryStaff is proud to partner with such a tremendous organization.

“We’ve had a lot of museum directors and curators visit The DAI, and they say we have a stunning collection,” Walker said. “They say they don’t know if Dayton truly realizes the breadth of collection we have here.”

Click here to see a short video about the art institute.

 

28 signs you’re a good boss — even if it doesn’t feel like it

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How can you tell if you’re a good boss?

You can’t just go out into the office and ask your employees. If you’re terrible, they have a vested interest in not telling you the truth.

You’re going to have to do some serious introspection and reflection to find out, either way. With that in mind, here are some subtle signs that you’re an excellent leader:

1. You’re willing to try new things

Good bosses adopt certain methods because they’re the best way of doing things — not because they’ve just fallen into certain habits. The best managers give their employees a little room to experiment and innovate.

2. You treat your employees like human beings

Unfortunately, some bosses seem to feel that hurling insults and abuse at people is an effective motivational technique. In most cases, this simply isn’t true. If you value your employees as human beings, then you’re already a huge step above many managers.

3. You don’t have obvious favorites

Playing favorites is a great way to torpedo office morale. If you make it clear that a certain person is the apple of your eye no matter what, then that’ll just encourage your other employees to give up on trying to impress you.

4. You hold everyone accountable …

Maintaining accountability is a big part of office morale and encourages workers to act with integrity, leading to an excellent workplace culture.

5. … including yourself

Good bosses don’t pick a scapegoat or explain away mistakes. In fact, experienced managers admit it when they fail in order to create a workplace that’s a safe environment for experimentation.

6. You ask politely

Insecure bosses bark out orders and behave like divas in order to establish their dominance. If you always say the magic word and are generally polite, then that’s definitely a good sign.

7. You give support

Bosses should build trust with their employees by providing a reasonable amount of support and guidance. Obviously, you don’t need to hold anyone’s hand, but throwing people into the deep end isn’t ideal, either.

8. You remove obstacles

Bad bosses throw up roadblocks that make it harder for people to succeed and do their jobs. Great managers should actively work to make the lives of their employees easier.

9. You’re a good coach

Coaches don’t just sit back on the sidelines twiddling their thumbs. They don’t run onto the field and start playing, either — unless they’re that one scary dad that takes the youth recreational soccer league way too seriously.

Good bosses are like good coaches: They command respect and provide the right blend of praise and constructive criticism to bring out the best in their employees.

10. You’re able to manage expectations

Bad bosses often disappoint or confuse their teams by presenting inaccurate pictures about how things are at the office — e.g., talking up how well the company’s doing and then springing news of layoffs on everyone. Good managers are honest and open.

11. You give feedback

Good employees crave feedback to learn how they can improve and grow. Great bosses are happy to oblige.

12. You keep the environment open and transparent

Transparency makes for a happy office culture.

13. You ask for insight

Employees want to feel heard.

Obviously, at the end of the day, you’re responsible for making the final judgment. But once in a while, if the situation calls for it, good bosses reach out to their workers to get their insights and opinions.

14. You explain yourself

Good managers don’t expect anyone to read their minds. They outline a clear vision and provide their team with the knowledge and tools to achieve it.

15. You care about solutions

When the going gets tough, the weak bosses find someone to blame. Good managers focus on finding a solution to the problem, rather than throwing people under the bus.

16. You want to challenge your employees

Bored workers are unhappy workers. The best bosses check in with their workers to ensure that they’re being challenged.

17. You don’t micromanage, but you’re not too hands-off

Carefully examine the capabilities of your workers in order to achieve a good balance. Could you give any of them more responsibilities? Is there anything you can start delegating?

18. You check in with your employees

You don’t pop in to nag people like Bill Lumbergh in “Office Space.” You genuinely check in to talk to — not at — your employees in order to find out their goals and worries.

19. You have a sense of humor

It’s important to never take the joking too far in the office. That being said, good bosses take their work seriously — not themselves. It’s good to have a laugh with your employees.

20. You care about the dreams and goals of your employees

The best bosses are invested in their employees. That means that they’re actively concerned with the professional goals and aspirations of their workers.

21. You’re not nice just for the sake of being nice…

Being too nice of a boss can actually be rather cruel, as Betty Liu points out in her LinkedIn piece. Artificially sweet managers heap on undeserved praise, then yank the rug out from under their employees later on.

So don’t play nice because you don’t like conflict. Be authentic and real with your workers. You’ll be doing them a big favor.

22. … and that means you’re able to make tough calls

Weak bosses flee from confrontation. Excellent workplace leaders don’t seek out uncomfortable situations, but when one arises, they can handle it. They do what needs to be done, whether it’s plotting a new course for a team or firing a problem employee.

23. You’re a good listener

This is the main reason why introverts make quite good bosses.

Many people have had a manager who loved to talk. Rarer — and infinitely more appreciated — are those bosses who are quality listeners. Good listening skills shows your employees that you’re seriously considering their opinions and needs.

24. You take an interest in your employees’ lives

Good bosses don’t cross the line into nosiness. Still, they care enough to ask about peoples’ summer plans, kids, and elderly parents. This interest will demonstrate to employees that their boss actually cares about them, making both parties more invested in their working relationship.

25. You tailor your approach

Different employees have different needs. “One size fits all” just isn’t going to cut it in the workplace. The best bosses are flexible. This allows them to fulfill all sorts of roles in order to better cater to the needs of their workers.

26. You demand effort…

Great leaders demand — and inspire — employees to work hard. They lead by example and give workers the tools they need to succeed through hard work.

27. … but you don’t demand perfection

Bosses who are too rigid are simply unrealistic. People make mistakes. It happens. If you punish small failures, you’ll just stifle innovation, experimentation and proactivity in your office.

28. You think you’re an awful leader

Business Insider recently spoke with TED legend and author Simon Sinek about leadership. He explained that individuals who believe themselves to be excellent leaders are often, in fact, terrible leaders. Great bosses recognize that authority and rank do not equal leadership abilities. As a result, they are constantly working to improve themselves. These quality bosses might even feel inadequate at times. However, just the fact that they recognize their own flaws renders them superior to many managers that totally lack self-awareness.

This piece was originally posted by Business Insider.

BARRYSTAFF Issues Statement on Medical Marijuana

Although Governor John Kasich signed legislation earlier this month to legalize the use of medical marijuana, BarryStaff stands with many other businesses across Ohio in announcing its substance abuse policy will not change.

“We’re looking out for our clients and our employees when we say the use of marijuana is not OK,” said BarryStaff President Doug Barry. “We wouldn’t want an employee to be working under the influence of Vicodin. Medical marijuana is no different. If employees test positive, they will not work for BarryStaff.”

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce advocated for certain protections for employers – protections BarryStaff has embraced. As the agency states on its website, “The bill allows an employer to discharge, refuse to hire, discipline or take adverse employment actions against an individual with respect to tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment due to the individual’s use, possession, or distribution of medical marijuana.”

Employers simply do not need to accommodate an employee’s use of medical marijuana.

Bob Dunlevey, an OSBA board certified labor and enforcement law specialist, said “Even if marijuana is prescribed by a physician to treat a disability recognized under the American with Disabilities Act and even if the marijuana is used during off-work time, these employees will be terminated for testing positive. It is not a violation of the ADA for an employer to refuse to accommodate the medicinal use of marijuana.”

BarryStaff puts clients and employees first. The welfare of both parties is of paramount interest to the company. These priorities ultimately reinforced its long-administered substance abuse policy.

BarryStaff Hires Communications Director

BarryStaff is happy to announce the hire of Andy Sedlak as communications director.

In the age of social media and digital marketing, this represents a first for the 32-year-old BarryStaff.

“We are excited to add Andy to the team,” said President Doug Barry. “His skills will allow BarryStaff the ability to increase our level of service to clients.”

Sedlak, after previously working in television news, newspapers and radio, said the opportunity to work on behalf of BarryStaff excites him.

“This is a great organization with a terrific heritage and an admirable commitment to the Dayton area,” he said. “I look forward to meeting our clients, our employees and those of you in the media I haven’t gotten to know yet.”

Sedlak can be contacted about reserving BarryStaff’s Community Room for off-site work retreats, community events and information about the local manufacturing industry.  His email address is andy@barrystaff.com.