What you can do in a Tight Labor Market…..

Unemployment is at its highest, coming in at 4.3% as of May 2017.  However, you still see multiple job postings on popular career boards. Our tight labor market is making more work for hiring managers than they are used too.

Many hiring managers are relying on Employee Retention and Succession Planning to be the solution. But retention isn’t going to be enough, they need to find employees that will replace anyone that leaves and or when a business is looking to grow and expand. As of now, many businesses are using current employees for multiple jobs, but this can overload their current employees and ultimately become a decisive factor on why they choose to seek employment elsewhere.

Here are some tips for Hiring Managers in a Tight Labor Market:

• Consider the Job Hoppers

During the recession, unemployment was at an all time high because consumer spending received a significant drop which resulted in multiple lay offs. Many felt discouraged and took about any job they could no matter if they were considered overqualified. However, if in a normal economy, job seekers would have had more desirable employment which ultimately results in a higher retention rate. Due to the recession, some resumes make it appear that they job hopped and couldn’t hold a job but in reality, it was much more about the economy. Jobs were scarce.

• Look at Utilizing a Staffing Company

Staffing companies can be a very good resource as their sole business is employing people. Recruiters know the ins and outs of the market, behavioral characteristics, desirable hard and soft skills and what kind of employees are out there. They attend multiple networking events and meet numerous candidates that can meet your needs and raise your retention rates.

• Determining Minimum and Desired Requirements

At times we all have the tendency to find that “perfect candidate” who meets all the requirements; hard and soft skills. Sometimes you can meet candidates that do not have all sought after requirements but have the potential and attitude to learn and grow rapidly. Hiring Managers at times need to revisit the requirements and see what they absolutely need before passing on a candidate that could be a great fit.

• Faster Interview Process

The current job market is very competitive and when a good candidate is in the mix, you better believe all companies will be after them so the interview process must be expedited. With baby boomers retiring, we have a new generation taking over the workforce; Generation Z. This upcoming generation has a fleeting attention span because they grew up in an era of snapchat and sixty-second vine videos and will eventually represent the bulk of the job market. On the contrary, Generation Z can retain information immediately and propel your workforce to a fast-paced working machine.

• Competitive with the Market

With unemployment at an all-time low, candidates are not actively seeking new opportunities. As a Staffing Company, we are currently seeing an influx in hiring passive candidates or those that are already employed. One of the biggest issues Hiring Managers have is not offering positions at a competitive market rate. Jobs sites such as Glassdoor and CareerBuilder can be very helpful when looking pay ranges and reading the market trends and it is very important to be competitive in compensation

Fifteen years ago, Amerit Consulting was formed in a response to the increasing demand for qualified diversity staffing services to address the needs of Fortune 500 and other progressive businesses. Since 2002, Amerit has evolved from strictly staffing solutions to offering additional complimentary services including consulting, managed service provider solutions, business process outsourcing, independent contractor compliance and payroll services.

Amerit’s humble roots started in Dan Williams living room, where he, along with co-owners Gary Herbold and Amein Punjani laid the foundation of what Amerit is today. “We believed in ourselves, our abilities and never wavered in our trust in each other to succeed in becoming the largest DVBE company in the country,” states Gary Herbold. “I was ecstatic when we got the call that we had our very first $100,000 in the bank!”

As the business grew, more employees were added to the team which led to the company opening its first small office in Berkeley, CA then Lafayette, CA followed by Walnut Creek, CA and now to the current headquarters located in San Ramon, CA. President Michael Larkins weighs in, “My thoughts from the Lafayette office: Mangia Pizza, server in the closet that was next to the volleyball net, no air conditioning, no parking but a lot of great memories.”

Employees were then hired in San Diego county to assist in the expansion. “My orientation during my first week of work was actually at Vice President of Operations, Sabrina Chisholm’s house. Nothing screams trust in your new employer like spending your first week of work at your new boss’s house. Even then I knew this company was special,” Director of HR Operations and Client Services, Lahka Egbert comments.

Amerit’s owners have always believed in hard work, family and fun; which is why they host an annual Company Event to show their appreciation for all the contributors who have shaped Amerit over the last 15 years. The Company Events consist of activities ranging from croquet and epic beach volleyball tournaments to scavenger hunts and dance competitions.

After the addition of the southern California office, Amerit expanded globally establishing an office in Chandigarh, India in 2010. Amerit’s India team has been a crucial part of the ability to expand services and meet the demands of the staffing industry.

Originating from humble beginnings to today with an annual revenue of over $150 million, operating in forty-four states and eight office locations, Amerit Consulting has claimed their space in the diverse human capital industry.

To check out more photos over the years, please click here.

Computer security terms like ransomware and phishing can get thrown around a lot and sometimes we don’t understand exactly what the term means or what the dangers are that each term describes.

How does computer security affect me or my company?  Why should I care or take the time to learn about computer security and attempt to become better prepared to avoid the bad stuff?

Most attempts have been focused on trying to steal money through electronic money transfers, but some have also attempted to steal sensitive employee data.  Sometimes the warning flags are very subtle and we always need to be on guard. Often once this money is transferred, even if you catch it a short time later it’s already too late to get it back and the bank isn’t going make up the difference.  You’re out of luck at that point.

Another example, what if an email asks for sensitive employee information and the bad guys are successful in tricking someone to send that information to them or even to get login information to one of your company’s computer systems where they download a report that has information on all employees?  Employees/Customers would need to be notified about this data breach.  The bad publicity would be huge and could cause a company to lose customers, employees and ultimately lead to lower revenues overall.  You would have to pay for credit monitoring, notifications to employees, attorney fees, etc. This type of events can easily cost a company hundreds of thousands of dollars

.

The primary delivery method for these attacks is email. Here are the warning signs to watch out for in an email.

1. Malicious emails can appear to come from people you know just as easily as they can come from someone you don’t know.  Just because an email comes from someone you know don’t blindly assume the email is safe.  Remember, the person who sent you the email, their email account could have been comprised and now is in control of a bad guy.
2. Does the email attempt to create a sense of urgency?  Your account will be deleted, please confirm before it is too late.  We’ve seen fraudulent activity on your account.  We need a money transfer right away for a critical need.
3. Does the email want you to open an attachment that you were not expecting to receive?
4. Does the email tell you to click on a link to a website?
5. Does the email tell you that you need to reset your username and or password?
6. If you hover your mouse over website links in the email (don’t click on them) you’ll see that they point to a random website that appears to have nothing to do with the email.
7. If you look closely at the sender information on the email (hover the mouse over their name and/or email to get more details), you may, but not always, see that the email is coming from an unknown email address.
8. The email is not one you were expecting.  The subject matter of the email is unexpected and not something you would typically receive from the person sending it.

One of these warning flags should be enough to raise your suspicions.  Two or more of these warning flags is practically a guarantee that you have a malicious email on your hands.

What do you do?  Be aware of these warning flags.  Watch out for them.  If you see anything that seems suspicious to you, please forward it to your IT Department so that they can review.  You may be 100% confident that it’s a bogus email and should simply delete it, but it is helpful for IT to see these so that we can better gauge trends and monitor the activities of the bad guys.  When you do forward the email please attach it to an email.  Don’t forward the email inline.  When an email is forwarded inline we lose some information the help with any research IT might do.

Something else you can do is to verify via a phone call to the email sender that the email you received is legitimate.

Computer security is crucial these days and being on top of it can help your company in many different ways. These precautions can save your company money and time spent on the recovery of lost data or money, not to mention ease the workload of your IT department so that they can focus on other things.

In government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime that is established by the Department of Labor and Industries for each occupation and skill set by geographic region.

Kansas was the first state to pass the Labor Law Act in 1891 due in part to unclear and erratic compensation rates provided to skilled trades. Workers skill sets varied as well as overall compensation and total hours worked.

In 1927, during the construction of a federally funded project in New York, it came to light that labor was being provided to companies from outside states because it was less expensive than hiring local talent. Thus, in 1931 the Davis-Bacon Act was passed after nearly 14 attempts to regulate wages and benefits on federally funded projects. The Act established a “prevailing wage” or minimum compensation and benefits to workers and created the foundation of what exits in our workforce today.

Wage Determination Rates are established for each County and are determined based on research data, surveys, collective bargaining agreements and cost of living.

• Largest City in County – If more than half of the worker’s hours reported are at one wage for the city than this will become the majority wage rate. If there is no majority wage rate than the average of all the survey data will become the prevailing wage for that city.

• Existing Wage – If no data is found for the country than the old prevailing wage will be the new prevailing wage.

California’s prevailing wage laws ensure competitors do not lower wage rates in order to obtain a public works contract. As a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business, we are engaged with several federally funded projects, many of which require compliance for prevailing wage rates and per diem allowances. Any contractors or subcontractors that have knowingly neglected projects covered under the Davis-Bacon Act are subject to contract termination and exclusion from future contracts. In addition, any unpaid wages or damages that result in overtime violations are subject to the withholding of contract payments, fines and/or civil or criminal prosecution.

There are currently 20 states that do not recognize prevailing wage laws. These states include: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Note: General Determinations are issued twice a year: February 22nd and August 22^nd.

Our VP of Business Development, Eve Nasby, had the opportunity to go onboard the U.S.S. Nimitz. We sat down with Eve and she explained her experience below…

We were honored to have been recommended, vetted and accepted to this great honor of spending the night on the U.S.S. Nimitz last week. Unless you have served in the military and on an aircraft carrier, you have no idea how hard these folks work daily. As the shifts were getting on and off, they shuffled across the hangar bay below the flight deck, red-eyed and wearied, passed by their perky just getting on shift counterparts. Everyone has a role. In fact, everyone has a few roles, and they train for even more roles! From the guy who washes 5,000 forks each meal to the ‘grapes’ who handle all of the fuelings on the flight deck to the Admiral. Each has his or her own role and each is mission critical in its own way.

To launch our 2-day tour, we did an initial briefing with “Downtown,” a Commander. After our very informative briefing and Q&A, we then suited up in a very flattering (not) life vest with a color tea bag in case you get dunked in the ocean, the color will tip your rescuers off. We also sported a chem light and whistle as well as our “cranial” helmets with ear pro and goggles. All set, decked out and ready to launch!

We were shuttled onto a C2 Greyhound dual prop and flew for about an hour to the U.S.S. Nimitz. The drone of the engines as we sat backward in the fuselage invited to sleep, but the adrenaline of what we were about to do kept us wide awake. BAM! We felt it. We heard it. We did it! We did an arrested landing; tail hook! Way to go Providers VRC-30! We were ushered immediately to the Captain’s quarters where we were introduced to Admiral Nimitz’s original desk and a map with his writing on it describing the battle plan and notes they intercepted from the Japanese during WWII. We were spoiled as we were served hors d’oeuvre and tea/coffee and listened to Captain Kevin Lenox give us the history of the USS Nimitz. We were then taken to the Admiral’s quarters for another Q&A. By the way, the person driving this multi-billion-dollar collection of assets was a 23-year-old female. (Please tell me again why you don’t want to hire a Veteran?)

We had the opportunity to hang out on the Vultures Nest and watch both day and night ops…. helicopters landing and of course F18’s landing and taking off with the catapult. One of the pilots of the Black Knights was a pilot who didn’t know he liked to fly until he came up strong for aviation on his aptitude test. He thought he wanted to join the military, then decided not to and went to school for finance. He got out and was not quite satisfied with his work and he went to enlist. His recruiter didn’t tell him, but he changed the order of his preferences to reflect flying first, (per the test) and he got into the pilot training. Today he flies Hornets. The spectrum of talent and stories was wide as we engaged various folks aboard asking about their journey to the Nimitz.

After sleeping, or trying…right under the flight deck of landing and catapulting F18’s and in the wee hours of the morning going through the shuddering of entire ship as they did the “full steam ahead, then put on the brakes exercise” we awoke to breakfast with the Chief Petty Officers. There is nothing like sitting backward in the C2 for 15 minutes listening to the engines and other sounds, trying to predict when you will launch, thinking you can hear the engines revving up, only to be disappointed a few minutes later when nothing happens. Finally, the two folks in the front wave their hands frantically and WHOOSH! Off we go with G forces heavier than any amusement park ride you’ve been on. We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces.

Upon landing back on Coronado, we were presented with the following certificates:

“Know all by these present that Eve Nasby a fearless intrepid birdman has exhibited faultless courage, exceptional bravery, NAFOI (No apparent fear of death) and intestinal fortitude in examining the entire spectrum of air approach parameters while successfully completing an arrested landing aboard U.S.S. NIMITZ (CVN 68) with less than mortal injury. “

Loved the tour! Love our military! Let’s do all we can to corporate America to bring Veteran unemployment to its knees. These folks know how to work hard, as a team and get the job done!

Thank you to all the great folks who made this trip possible.

By Jerry A. White, Historian, 501st Combat Support Wing / Published February 04, 2009

ROYAL AIR FORCE ALCONBURY, England — While the Tuskegee Airmen story has become part of our heritage, there are many unusual individual journeys still not well known.

One of these journeys is of a graduate of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the only known Tuskegee Airman to finish two demanding flight training programs and wear both sets of wings.

Claude Rowe was born and raised in the Detroit area and wanted to fly but opportunities in the Army Air Forces for African-Americans in World War II were almost non-existent, unless you were fortunate enough to get a slot at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Looking at Canada across the lake, Claude knew there was another option and followed several thousand Americans across the border to Canada. During World War II, at least 8,800 Americans trained as pilots and a small number of them happened to be black.

The RCAF, as part of the British Commonwealth, was a major contributor to the RAF’s success, if not survival, training almost 50,000 pilots and more than 87,000 other aircrew during World War II.

Winning his wings and graduating as a sergeant pilot in late 1944, the war was drawing to a close and Americans were being sent back to the AAF or discharged. Finding himself back in Detroit, he was accepted for pilot training and, in mid-1946, Rowe qualified as a twin-engine pilot and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the last pilot training class to graduate at Tuskegee.

With a surplus of pilots at the end of World War II – many with long and distinguished combat records – anyone who wanted to stay in had to expand their skill-set, so Lieutenant Rowe trained as a weather officer, first at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and then at Chanute Air Force Base, Ill.

The Weather Officer school was one of the most difficult in the service, with coursework at the first-year graduate-school level. Serving as a weather officer and flying when possible, he served mostly overseas including Austria and twice in the United Kingdom, first as a weather officer at the Burtonwood Depot and later as a WB-50 pilot with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.

By 1958, with no combat time or college degree, he was passed over for promotion to Major, so he enlisted as a weather forecaster and retired in 1964 as a Captain.

Capt. Rowe recently was a part of history again as one of the Tuskegee Airmen able to accept the invitation to attend President Obama’s inauguration activities.

Let’s look at the Top Business Trends of 2017.

As the faces of our audience change, we noticed they are getting younger and the industries may change along with it. When we look into the Business Trends for 2017 we are seeing that Millennials are a big influence. Since they are the largest generation since the baby boomers, they have endured a lot of change for business tactics.

We discovered 4 major trends; we believe will come into effect in 2017.

1.) Expanded use of RPO’s
This will be driven by diversified talent requirements. This will make the talent acquisition process more streamlined.

2.) Constructive Performance Feedback Loop
Performance management will stress more on personal and career development. It has been said that by 2020 millennials will be 50% of the workforce. Businesses will have to be more active on how to motivate them and decrease retention/turnover risk. By changing performance feedback, they will improve candidate and employee satisfaction. Some industries will lean towards the 360-degree feedback, which is anonymous feedback from the people you work with. This will increase awareness and give that instant feedback that some crave and motivate them to do better.

3.) The rise of Gig Economy
There has been much debate on how much increase the gig economy will make this year. However, as the gig economy rises, you will see an increased use of freelancers and independent contractors to gain more control over variable costs in the supply chain. According to Forbes, “The gig economy not only will benefit the small business but the offline workers too.”

4.) Technology Advances

Technology is an ongoing advancement in society. However, many people are not technologically savvy so these advances will help them. The growth of CMS platforms will allow for easy management. This, in turn, will grow business online for companies. You will also see an increase in access to talent such as freelancers/independent contractors. These technologies will advance into migrating into the Cloud which will help with the threat of cyber security and hacking.

These trends are slowly evolving into the business world. As the Millennials make more of a presence in the workforce and become the target market for all businesses, we will have to modify habits and continue to grow and change to survive as a business.

Did you know that the most highly requested item in homeless shelters is… socks?

It’s true! Socks wear out faster than any other article of clothing! This year Evergent Group decided to take action to help Homeless Shelters to have a bit of comfort for the holiday season.

In our San Ramon office we put together sandwiches and care packages stuffed in tube socks to hand out to folks on the streets. The socks were filled with vital items such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, nonperishable food items, coins for laundry and more!

Our Employee, Beth Roush fills us in on her experience with Volunteering, Fundraising and just giving back to those who need it most!

“This is my favorite way to volunteer. Fundraising is great and working with organizations is great but nothing beats direction action, in my book! Feeding people is so easy and so vital. I’d love to do it once a quarter. Also I do have to say that although I’ve distributed food many times and it’s always welcomed, I’ve never seen folks on the streets as excited about food as they were about those socks!”

As Beth went to distribute the socks two moments did stand out to her…..

“A shy guy who didn’t want to come out of his tent but peeked through his makeshift window to ask if he could have some socks. We had to make a loop back to get him, and we gave him 2 pair and he was most thankful.”

“One super cute Chihuahua all bundled up in a comforter and one big lab barking at us, but you could tell he was the kind of guy that was all bark and no bite. I’m so glad we had dog cookies to give them!”

This experience has made a severe impact on our organization as a whole and we are excited to continue to give back to those that need it.

Thank you again Amerit Consulting for being part of such an amazing experience and spreading Holiday Cheer to Homeless Shelters!

The ability to produce effective, measurable work can often be a daunting task. With everyday business functions ranging from checking and responding to emails to chatting with Kathy at the watercooler about your recent vacay in Cozumel, it’s easy to become distracted when you have a laundry list of items to complete. Majority of the time, the confusion and frustration of productivity lies in how well you can kick procrastination to the curb and prioritize your tasks at hand.

Why is Productivity so Important?

You may be asking yourself – How does one become productive? The answer, though perhaps obvious, lies in your ability to self-discipline your behavior and agenda. Think about it. If you struggle with being productive or find yourself constantly distracted, what drives you to finish a project and complete it in a timely manner? Is it your boss sending you passive aggressive reminder emails? Are you working off commission and need that big payday? Instead of being a passive employee, the true objective is to be a proactive dynamo.

Instead of thinking of all the negative things that could happen if you don’t complete your work, start thinking of all the positive things that could develop by not only meeting your deadlines but exceeding them. By barely squeaking by on your deadlines and getting away with the bare minimum, you don’t demonstrate to your boss or supervisors that you are capable of handling more and attaining a promotion.

Author Richie Norton states this best. “Opportunities will come and go, but if you do nothing about them, so will you.”

Start every day with a fresh slate.

Prioritize your tasks based on what will benefit your company and direct supervisors first then tackle projects of less importance.

Get organized.

You cannot expect to be on your “A game” if crucial documents are scattered, sticky notes are everywhere or you write vital information down on your hand (or not at all).

Write it down.

By organizing your work life with an agenda, calendar or notebook, you have a go-to reference for all important aspects of your job. Create a daily check list and you will begin to find pleasure in checking each item off as you complete.

Get out of your head.

Stressed by the timeline, a touch of writers block or a lack of inspiration? Take a short break, go for a walk and come back to your work energized and ready to produce efficiently.

Being productive is not always easy but it is always worth it. Finishing a task can not only land you in the good graces of your direct supervisor but it can also provide you with self-satisfaction for a job well done and reduce stress along the way.