Have you missed one of the past Tips of the Week?  Here are some of my favorites that our users have found to be helpful.

Counters are Cool

Who Changed That?

Match ‘em Up Automatch

Paycheck Voids/Reversals

Save Time – Shortcuts

Generating Resumes

Do You Document?

Forgotten Timecards

I’ve Got Skills

Sometimes Basic is Best

Search Options

Too Many Tabs

Favorites v2010

Keeping Track of Candidates

Start Sheets

Do You Inspect?

Ending Assignments

Tracking Sources

Quarter End Reports

Look What I Can See

My Favorite Child

Assignment Changes

Data Requirement Message

Mass Resume Parser

QuickPlace

Mass Mail

More Than a Message

Mass Mail

New Back Office Features

Search Options in Advanced Search

New Back Office Features

Adding Transactions to Orders

Agency

New Resume Parser Feature

Web Time Entry

Employer Health Reporting

Contacts

User Security

Data Requirement Message

Using Quick Place to Track Orders

I Love Skill Marketing

User Security

Contacts

Back Office Corrections

A Little “Extra” Tracking

Advance Search

Favorites and Mass Mail

Text Messaging

Users

Easy Labels

Candidate vs. Candidates

Counters are Cool Part 2

Do You See What I See?

Two AQ’s for You

Clean Up Time

Do More in Less Time

 EEO/Affirmative Action

Why Worksite?

A Few of My Favorites

Filling an Assignment 101

Do you have an idea for the Tip of the Week?  Send me an email.

Company’s rapid revenue growth leads to staff increase and improved software capabilities.

Avionté Software, a provider of staffing and recruiting technology solutions, announced another successful year with a year-over-year revenue growth of 55%.  2012 was the seventh consecutive year that Avionté has reported a revenue growth at 35% or greater.

In 2012, the company partnered with many of the nation’s leading independent staffing firms, adding 47 clients and nearly 1800 new users. Among these are The Reserves Network, Advance Services, Protocall Group, Helpmates, Northwest Staffing, and Ad-a-Staff.

The company’s rapid client growth created an additional 35 jobs in the areas of development, implementation, customer care, and support, easing the process of implementation and making it possible to meet continuing demands for new functionality. Avionté Staffing Software offered three version releases in 2012, which included a long list of new features, integrations and software enhancements. In addition, Avionté performed 73 software upgrades in 2012 and went live with 46 new clients.

With a push for a stronger and more reliable upgrade procedure, Avionté created a comprehensive and seamless upgrade process, necessary for accommodating the large number of clients who were moving to the latest version and ensuring that every client is equipped with the necessary software functionality to succeed competitively in their markets.

In its efforts to continue to drive value and create an efficient solution for its staffing firm clients, Avionté also introduced several new third-party integrations in 2012: Call-Em-All, an automated messaging service, PeopleClues, for pre-employment personality assessments, Data Frenzy, for resume search and aggregating purposes, and the most recent, Sterling Info Systems, which offers pre-employment background screenings.

Other highlights of 2012 for the company include the launching of Avionté’s nonprofit division, the Avionté Hope Foundation.  This division donated approximately $20,000 in 2012 to individuals and organizations in Minnesota and Nepal. Avionté also relocated to its current headquarters in early August, which moved its employees from a 4,000-square-foot office and expansion space across the road into a 16,000-square-foot space specifically built for the company’s needs. It was the company’s sixth office expansion move since 2005.

Last year’s success and growth for Avionté did not go unnoticed. The company was included on the StarTribune’s Top Workplaces of Minnesota list and honored on Inc. 500/5000’s Fastest Growing Companies list.

“I am very proud of our growth in 2012,” said CEO at Avionté John Long. “Even though we have grown to over 100 employees [in the U.S. and Nepal], we’ve still maintained our tight-knit, small company feel that is firmly rooted in our partnerships with our clients.”

I needed some information about my daughter’s recent immunizations.  I was partially at fault for not keeping the records in a place that was readily accessible; however I knew her pediatrician could easily provide the necessary information for me.

Her pediatrician is fantastic as are all the people that work in his office, but they do have very limited “office hours”.  The office is open from 9am to 4pm, with an hour off for lunch.  Coordinating schedules is always a challenge, and the same difficulties apply to calling the doctor’s office.  I started calling the office at 9am on the dot, rolled right to voicemail.  I kept hitting redial until approximately 9:07am when someone answered the phone.  I realize this was only 7 minutes out of my day, but it was 7 minutes of valuable time.

This got me thinking about when I was in staffing, recalling all the employees’ requests for information. Each of these employees (or even candidates) had to wait until our office opened at 8am and time it right within their day to be sure they called before 5:30pm.  I’m sure many of them felt the same frustration that I felt last week.  Why in the world is technology not being used?

As I was dialing for what felt like the 100^th time, I thought about how much easier it would be for the both of us to correspond over email.  I could send it anytime of the day or night and they could answer at their convenience as well.  Both parties being able to enjoy the benefits of the 21^st century.

How about your current operation?  Are you expecting your employees or even customers to work around your schedule?  I’m sure not everyone walks around with a smart phone attached to their hip, but a lot of people do.  In a world of conveniences, it’s tough to figure out why something as simple as email , an online application or employee portal are not being used.

I hear all the reasons why prospects or even current customers are not using technology that is readily available.

1.  Our employees are not that tech savvy.
2. Most don’t even have a computer or email address
3.  We are comfortable with our current  system
4. We like to talk to our employees and customers

Varying statistics say that about 70-80% of the US population owns a computer.  About 90% of the US population has an email address.  Likewise, you would be surprised with the number of people that have text service on their phones.  Most people will check their text messages prior to voicemails or emails.  Think about how much you actually “talk” on your phone.  In 2010 an article was published in the NY Times talking about data being more widely used on cell phones than actual talk time.

An Avionte user and presenter at the last ASA Conference said it best, “The higher the technology, the higher the touch.”  John Thomas knows what he is talking about as a leader in the staffing industry.  He went on to explain that by allowing your customers (and employees) to have access to the information they need on their own schedule, your conversation with them will be much more meaningful.

Why wouldn’t you want to make information as easy and accessible to your employees and customers?  Why wouldn’t you want to make data entry and retrieval as easy and painless on your internal staff?  Think about some of the dated processes you are currently using, and ask yourself (and us!) could there be a better way?  Chances are……there is!

Don’t Miss Out, Register Today!

Avionté, a rapidly growing staffing technology firm, is seeking a dynamic, high energy Customer Care Rep.  Avionté’s Customer Care department provides exceptional customer service and support of our proprietary software system to our nationwide client base.

Avionté is a firm believer that our most important asset is our customers.

Customer Care Department Responsibilities/Specializations:

The customer care team has many facets and variety allowing individual team members to focus in specific areas.

• Customer Care/Account Management: you will be in charge of managing customer relationships with our clients that utilize our proprietary software.  From providing regular check-in calls to assisting with development requests or customizations, you will be their main point of contact.
• External & Internal Training:  this position requires the aptitude to learn a comprehensive software inside and out.  This department provides training on work flow, processes, new functionality, etc. to internal employees as well as external customers.
• QA: as we are constantly developing and improving the software, new functionality is always being added or changed.  This position will be responsible for driving quality assurance and testing functionality to increase efficiency and usability with version releases.
• Documentation:  Updating and maintaining documentation for the software.
• 3rd Party Integrations:  We integrate and partner with many other industry vendors to bring further efficiencies to our clients.  Relationships with industry vendors need to be maintained as well as future endeavors and customizations with other 3rd parties.
• Overflow Implementation & Sales:  As we are experiencing tremendous growth as a company, there will often be times where other departments need additional resources.  Avionté operates as a team and it will be expected that everyone steps in to ensure the best possible experience for our clients and prospective clients.   The Customer Care department has a great depth of knowledge and will be asked to use this at times to assist with sales demonstrations and implementation support services.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Staffing Industry experience (3-5 years)
• Extremely detailed oriented and very organized
• Great multi-tasking and follow-up
• Ability to work and thrive in a fast paced environment
• Bring an enthusiastic energy, drive to create lasting relationships
• Technical aptitude and motivation to learn a comprehensive software program
• Bachelor’s degree
• Previous account management experience a bonus but not required
• Excellent customer service skills, written and verbal communication skills

Perks:

• Work for a high growth, energetic organization
• Competitive benefits including retirement plan, company paid health insurance and profit sharing
• Work with others that share your drive and commitment for excellence
• A career with extreme advancement opportunities that will take you as far as you want to go!

Avionté is based in Eagan, Minnesota.  While there are other offices nationwide, the candidate must work from the Eagan, MN office.  This position is not ideal for timid, measured, slow thinking, coasting individuals.  This position is hard, fast and intense but also very rewarding.  If you currently are employed with one of our customers, we will require approval from the company before we could officially offer you the position.

Please email your cover letter and resume along with salary requirements.

Section 179 Deduction limit increased to $500,000 for the 2011 tax year

Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment (including staffing software) purchased or financed during the tax year. This means if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income.

So, if you’ve been thinking of making a change, you won’t want to miss out on this significant tax savings.

Simplify your Year End Process- Online printing and reprinting of W2′s
What is it costing you in resources and product to print, mail, re-print and in many cases re-print W2′s? Allowing your employees to access and print their own paystubs and W2′s, not to mention the ability to re-print those W2′s for years to come, equates to an enormous cost savings for staffing firms.

Set the stage for the company you want to have in 2012
Have you already started thinking about what you want to change for 2012? How you want to improve your business, become more profitable, change processes to be more efficient, be more competitive and set the stage to become a leader in your market? Does your current software provide you the tools needed to make all of that happen and truly make a change in the right direction for 2012? If not, it could be time to re-evaluate. 

To learn more about Avionte Staffing Software, please give us a call at 651-556-2121 or send an email to info@avionte.com

Is it possible to create a report that will not only help your staffing company improve sales and service, but save you nearly $100,000 a year at the same time?  The answer is yes!  BONNEY Staffing Center is Maine and New Hampshire’s largest independently owned and operated staffing company.  One of the many ways it maintains the high level of service the company is so well known for is through ongoing follow-up and onsite visits that keep them connected with current clients. 

Read about how BONNEY took advantage of the Avionte Staffing Software reporting features to save the company a substantial amount of money each year while continuing to provide top quality service to its clients and employees.  FULL CASE STUDY

Well that might be a little bit of an overreaction since they do have some use like leaving funny notes for your co-workers.  They are pretty good for brainstorming new ideas too.  However, they have lost their place at the table when it comes to tracking job orders.

It doesn’t surprise or even amaze me to hear that very successful staffing and recruiting companies are still using whiteboards to monitor jobs, candidates and statuses.  What does surprise me is the inability to even think about letting it go!  A few months back I was onsite with a company and spotted the whiteboard.  I had to fight the urge to walk over and erase the board with all of its detailed information.  Each of the staffing specialists and recruiters could find the exact same information on their computer screen.  So why is it so hard to let go?

Staffing, as any other industry has processes, procedures or even tools that have worked well in the past.  If something is working why change it?  Well how about productivity and profitability?  Yes I have touted both of these in many of my ramblings, but how productive is it for you or your staff to write or change information about a job order or a candidate on a board?    And how profitable is it for you to not know exactly what is going on with each order?  Can you track time to fill or sources methods from a board?  How about the dollars lost on duplication of work?  Unless you have an amazing white board that is linked to your staffing software, the information is going nowhere.  Just because it used to work does not mean there is a better way to do something.  Companies that have the ability to quickly change and adapt to new technology are generally the ones still standing during tough times because they have learned how to do more with less.

Cons of using a whiteboard:

• Double work.  Writing it on a board and then entering it into your staffing software.
• Time for someone to write it all out. (If you are still using this method, do a time study for one week how much time is being spent writing, erasing, adding, etc.)
• Who else can see this information?  I certainly would not want my name being broadcast to everyone who walked into the office (most of the whiteboards I have seen are in plain view)
• Divulging who your job orders are for.  I’ve mentioned before that applicants are smart, if they think they can go directly to the source, they will.
• Difficult to get metrics and reports from a whiteboard.
• No audit trail.

I could go on and on with the cons of using a whiteboard, but I think you get my point.  It’s a lot of work for something that really isn’t going to offer much in return.

Pros of using a whiteboard:

• Everyone can see what orders you have, and I mean everyone.

I’m sure there are a few more pros, but I think our time will be better served talking about making the switch.

The biggest opposition that I have heard about letting go of the whiteboard is the motivation factor.  Many of the supporters state the whiteboard motivates them and it’s fun to get up and erase a job order that has been filled.  Or it’s exciting to see how many orders have come in during the day.  My response – dashboard.  With Avionté each user has counters to see new orders that have come in, new applicants or even applicants who are available today.  Want a little more information?  An integration with Qlikview offers a higher level dashboard to see in real time what is happening in each location.  Even better, reports can be generated in real time to fully understand what is going on with a specific branch or even customer.  Can your whiteboard do that?

Although I would like to see everyone who is reading this article jump up and remove their whiteboard, that simply is not going to happen.  When it comes to change management, baby steps are always best.  Talk with your staff as to why they are continuing to duplicate work.  You will then need to address their need to see a visual on the wall of this information.  Often times it is a lack of understanding of their software.  In the case of Avionté

it is very easy to see all the open job orders and who is available to fill them.  When a job order is filled, it simply drops off the list.  No need to get up and erase it (and risk getting marker on the side of your hand!)

One of the biggest hurdles will be the level of comfort.  Very few people embrace change quickly.  If they have worked in staffing for many years, this is comfortable to them.  Offer to have a push report created so each day at 4pm everyone in the branch or company receives an email with the key metrics for the day ie: new orders, new fills, resumes sent, interviews scheduled, etc.

Good luck to all in making the change! As always, I like to hear what is going on in your world.  Feel free to add a comment as to how you make the change over.

-Angela

I used to be quite particular with my staff when it came to posting jobs on the web.  Whether they posted it on our job portal or on an external site; this could very well be a first (and possibly last) impression to a prospective applicant or even customer.  Not only does it matter how the job is presented, it matters what information you are presenting.

Go ahead, take a look at your own postings and see if you spot any of the following:

One or two sentence descriptions.  I know it’s a posting for a TIG Welder and what you really want is to find someone with previous TIG experience.  However, the reader wants to know more about what it might be like to work for this particular company.  What kind of projects will they be working on, what type of benefits (other than traditional) might they expect?  Does this position have the possibility of going long term or even a direct hire?  Think about what is going to attract the right person that you want for the job.  I hear it all too often that people just “apply” to every open position.  Maybe you aren’t giving them enough to think about before applying?

Job Descriptions that are copied word for word from the client. First of all, I used to love this – on my competitors web sites.  Why?  I would simply take the first few lines, copy and put them in Google and search to see who they were recruiting for.  Next, I would call the client and see if I could work on the order.  Your professional level applicants are smart too; don’t think they aren’t trying to figure out who you are recruiting for.  We both know that an applicant would, in most cases, rather work directly with a client than go through a recruiter.  In most cases this is an applicant who is not aware of the many benefits of working with a recruiter.  In any case, try to use your own wording for the job description.

I thought about posting some samples, but then all of you would Google and see who it was, thus reveling the not so innocent.  So instead, take the time to check out your own postings.  Could they be better?  Are you attracting the right type of talent with your job postings?  What changes can you make right now?

Avionté, a staffing technology firm, is seeking a dynamic, high energy Technical Support Specialist. The Technical Support Specialist will be responsible for providing software and technical support to the existing client base. This includes researching issues, working with clients on the appropriate resolution, correcting technical issues and programming requested features.

What you will get to do:

• Maintain customer relationships through superior support and customer service
• Respond to calls and emails from current clients to prioritize, track, and resolve support issues
• Correct the issues and communicate resolution to the client
• Gain in-depth knowledge of the proprietary software system
• Assist in feature development utilizing SQL and C#
• Perform Software Upgrades to new versions
• Test new product features

Skills/Qualifications:

• SQL 2005/ T-SQL programming skill set
• Knowledge of C# programming and .Net 2.0 Framework
• 1 -2 years previous Help Desk experience
• Strong problem solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment
• Bachelor’s degree
• Excellent customer service skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Perks:

• High growth, energetic organization
• Work with others that share your same drive and commitment for excellence
• Significant opportunities for career advancement
• Competitive benefits including retirement plan and company-paid health insurance

Avionté is a fun, high-growth Technology Company based in Eagan, Minnesota. The company offers exciting opportunities for advancement and allows each employee to be intimately involved in the company’s growth and development. Utilizing the latest in Microsoft technology, Avionté offers a full suite of technology products to staffing firms across the country.

Tell us about what you have done!  Please include a quick introduction and responses to the following questions:

How many years of customer service experience do you posses?
Were your customers internal, external or both?
Tell us a little bit about your SQL and C# experience. What kind of projects have you worked on?
Rate your level of expertise with SQL and C# from 1-5 (5 being the highest).
What compelled you to apply for this position?
What are your salary requirements?

Please send us your cover letter, resume and salary expectations.