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

by Laura Schmitz

Many of you know by now that I am a loud and proud proponent for paperless processes and functionality.  Do I have some deep-rooted resentment for the post-it note?  A debilitating allergy to envelope glue?  A fateful and traumatizing fax incident in my past?   No, no and maybe.  In fact I have great respect for all of these things and think that each has an honored place in good ole Americana, like the Disco ball and the 8 track.  Unfortunately, just like the Walkman, they have been quickly replaced by ever-changing technologies faster than any of us who began life prior to 1995 ever thought they could be.  In fact, many of us cling to post-it notes like they offer life saving oxygen.  It’s time to move on.  Paperless is here to stay and offers the best way yet to increase productivity, improve customer service inside and out and hold our workforce accountable.  No longer should we have file drawers full of papers that you may or may not have access to or that may or may not need to be shredded.  In a paperless environment, everyone can have access to the same information, simultaneously, without the cost of toner, paper or time spent trying to un-jam a copy machine.   Decisions can be made with all the facts, bills can be paid faster, orders and assignments can matched up better and there are overall less chance for errors or wrong practices.

Usually around this point, somebody pipes up and says “That’s all great Laura, but OUR workers don’t know how to use the internet or email, our people HAVE to have their files and our candidates NEED to fill out our 100 page application”.  Really?  When was the last time you or anyone you know looked something up in the actual white pages book?  Bought and wrestled with a road map?  Filled out with a pen, your whole tax return?   Received an actual paper party invitation (I recently got an Evite to a wedding for Pete’s sake!)?

Is it that the workforce can’t or won’t go paperless or is it because you’re holding on to some shred of the past so YOU can keep the paper security blanket and what you’re familiar with?  It’s time to look in the mirror.  Paperless is a done deal and in the case of the new generation coming into the workforce the only thing they know.  If we want to sustain productive, growing businesses and industry, we have to accept that we can do pretty much everything without a scrap of paper or a pen or a highlighter.

The question is who can do it better?  At Avionté, we have developed many features and functions that eliminate and/or reduce paperwork to increase knowledge sharing, efficiency and ultimately the bottom line.  Just some examples are automated messaging, on-line billing and payroll, electronic document storage and many, many more.  So, I ask you, do you want to be the next exhibit at the Smithsonian; or do you want to be at the on-line table electronically signing the next big deal?  Let us know if you’d like to join the next generation in staffing; paperless counselors are standing by to help you. Send us an e-mail.

by John Long

by John Long

On August 11-13^th, Avionte had our first ever Client Connection Forum.   

We called it that because we intended it to be a whole lot more than just a User Group meeting. 
To us, we had a couple simple goals:  

• Listen to our clients
• Build relationships
• Help clients gain a greater understanding of Avionté and how they can apply the tools to their businesses.

As our first forum in a poor economy, we were expecting a low number of attendees.   As the registrations continued to climb, our final count was close to 50!  However, numbers alone wouldn’t begin to describe the success of this Forum.  Even now, over 2 weeks later, I’m still humbled and honored to have such a great group of customers and frankly put, friends. 

Top 5 things that I got out of our Forum: 

1.  What a great group of customers and friends we have.  The talent and knowledge level represented was staggering. 
2. Always, always, always listen to your customers about what they need.  Don’t just assume.
3. Our clients are just as interested in each other, as they are in us.   One of the biggest feedbacks about the forum was to have more breakout sessions that featured smaller groups for the staffing individuals to interact.
4. More training – people wanted more staffing software training in all areas.
5. More time with the entire Avionte staff.  Our staff works very closely with each of our clients, so giving them the opportunity to get to know each other and put a face with the voice was a big hit.

Overall, this forum was simply amazing.  Everyone walking out of there (both us and our customers) were blown away and looking forward t next year!

by Briana Morgan

We had a great time at the Avionté Staffing Software - Client Connection Forum, and have heard tons of great feedback from our clients!  It was informational, beneficial and most importantly, they all walked away learning more about Avionté and our staff.  Over the 3 days the conference was held, I had the opportunity to meet many great people, who shared with me some things in return as well.  Here are just a couple of the most memorable. 

• There are creative ways to shower outside if your plumbing goes out.
• Believe it or not, there are Viking fans outside of Minnesota!
• Hot sauce is a collector’s item
• There is a great coffee shop in Door County, WI – http://gtcoffee2.com/
• You may want to bring an alarm clock, even if you never regularly use one.
• A Ghost is a great high-school mascot
• 3^rd party vendor give-a-ways make great gifts for your children!
• Down south, flowers once a week is an expected tradition
• Wisconsin cheese curds are assumed to be just a myth by many!

John and Brenda stopped by the coffee shop on their way through D0or County, WI the following week.  Owned by the daughter of Ann Janquart from Opportunites Inc.

Mike Scoville, VP of Sales

by Briana Morgan

Mike has made the transition to the staffing industry through several years of software sales experience.  Having this background in ATS and ERP, front and back office systems allows him to provide valuable insight and guidance to our clients.  Mike’s great energy, easy going attitude and highly driven perspective are a perfect fit here at Avionté Staffing Software.  Please feel free to introduce yourself or ask him any questions!  Mike can be reached at mike@avionte.com or 651-556-2121.

Role at Avionté:  VP of Sales – Providing prospects and clients an in-depth knowledge of our front and back office system, while presenting solutions to meet their specific staffing needs.  An active member and participant in several staffing industry associations, Mike is the voice of our organization for his territory, while building upon relationships he’s developed with other organizations and industry partners in the staffing space.

Outside of Work:  Mike maximizes our Minnesota climate, whether it’s heading out of the city during the summers for a weekend at Battle Lake, a back yard barbeque or the annual ski trip to the Rockies, he enjoys surrounding himself with family, friends and always having a good time.

On the Lighter Side…

If you could live anywhere for 1 year where would it be?  Nashville, TN

What is the strangest food you ever ate?  Lutefisk

What is your favorite color?  Blue

What do you think the secret to a good life is?  Carpe Diem

Only the Staff at Avionté knows… just how dangerous a Bluetooth speaker system in a car can be.

ST. PAUL, MN, July 14, 2010 – Avionté, a provider of staffing and recruiting technology solutions, announced a recent upgrade release to v2010.  The new release includes many key improvements, enhancements and innovative new features focused on driving efficiencies throughout staffing and recruiting organizations across the country.

“The whole premise of v2010 is enabling staffing firms to do more with less as the economy returns to full swing.  Companies that manage to maintain a lean staff while utilizing technology and automation to handle increases in business will be the first to see profits climb,” says John Long, CEO at Avionté. 

The Group and Marketing management tools are among the many new development features expected to drive high value and greater reach for Avionté clients.    These elements are designed to enable staffing firms to take a job order or candidate and turn it into a full blown marketing campaign within a matter of minutes.  The auto-match feature quickly identifies and targets candidates who are the best fit for a particular job order or companies who may be looking for particular skills.  Placing these individuals or companies into relevant groups allows for easy management and tracking of all activity taking place.  Mass emailing allows users to get the word out quickly to a targeted group utilizing email templates, mail merge and Outlook integration functionality. 

Among the list of additional features the company announced are applicant on-boarding, direct hire, document management, calendar sharing, rosters, quick place and advanced search.

Other significant features and enhancements also available in the latest staffing software release include an entirely new suite of web portals and third-party integrations.  

Avionté is releasing a fresh new suite of dynamic web portals utilizing the latest .net framework.  The portals which include employee, client, vendor, timeclock, online application and job board now offer data driven configurations that are controlled by the client through a new user-friendly administrator portal.  The admin portal provides Avionté clients the ability to access and modify configurations, views, workflow and data on the fly without any intervention from a programmer or Avionté staff.  

“We are excited to give our clients what they have been asking for, which is greater control over their web presence.  Clients now have a tool that simplifies the deployment of the modifications and configurations they wish to make such as adjusting required fields, changing applicant interview questions and the overall look of the portal sites,” states Phi Ngo, CTO at Avionté.

Additional third-party integrations are also available in v2010 allowing staffing firms to deliver business value to clients while continuing to decrease costs.  Seamless integrations to leading providers of tax credit processing, pay cards, job boards and background screenings are among those included in the new release.

About Avionté Staffing Software
Creating a fully synchronized staffing experience, Avionté provides the industry an all-in-one front and back office software solution that allows staffing firms to do more, in one system and in less time.  Rich and innovative functionality designed for the rapid pace and demands of today’s generation of staffing.  For more information, please visit Software for Staffing: www.avionte.com

Staffing Software Press Release

Avionté is excited to announce its first annual Client Connection Forum.  We look forward to bringing together a great group of staffing industry professionals for several days of knowledge sharing, networking and learning. 

To register or request more information, please contact Brenda Long  brenda@avionte.com

by John Long

As a novice writer, I do try to make sure the stuff I write is relevant and hopefully helpful to at least someone out there.  All of us are extremely busy and don’t have time to waste reading unentertaining, uninformative stuff.  But this posting – well, it just doesn’t have much in the way of educational value and may be a little inappropriate, but my staff found the story entertaining so I figured I’d share!

Earlier last week, one of our sales reps (Jason) and I went to a customer’s charity golf tournament held about an hour from our office.  We were early, so we went to Cabela’s, which is an outdoors superstore.  I like the place because of the huge aquariums that have monster bass, pike, catfish, panfish, crappies – basically, native fish to Minnesota.  At this point, I had to use the restroom.  Instead of trying to wait through the golf tournament for the safety confines of home, I decided I should bite the bullet.   After careful deliberation in choosing my destination, I was greeted with a protruding foot.  I’m talking the kind that there is no WAY my next door neighbor can even SEE the tip of his shoe.

Now – I don’t know what y’all would do in those types of situations.  It is one of the unwritten man-codes that there just isn’t any talking amongst neighbors in the bathroom.  Also - I’m not sure what I’d really say anyway?  “Excuse me, but your laces look a little loose.  Would you like me to tie those for you?”   So – I just kept quiet. 

I don’t know if y’all remember the incident we had here in the MSP airport with a certain politician, but that certainly popped into my brain.  So, while I was staring the invading foot down – waiting for the tapping – I couldn’t help but think – of all places, why an outdoors store?  What is the etiquette if the shoe does start tapping? 

1)      Ignore it, pretend you aren’t hearing the tapping?  This seems rude.  In my single days, if I tried my best lines and the lady didn’t respond at all – seemed a little rude, no?

2)      Quick stomp?  This is the equivalent of a slap.   But here is the thing – what if it the tap wasn’t on purpose and then I just stomped on the guys foot for no reason?  Then, he comes out of the stall, all 6’4”, UFC fighter wanting to kick my butt in its precarious position!  Well – in all fairness – I could be outfitted with a helmet and a baseball bat and still be in trouble. 

3)      Verbal response?  Would I go against the unwritten man-code that clearly states no talking from the restroom stall?  

Anyway – I kept my eyes on the shoe – still wondering logistically how the guy could get a foot that far over while still sitting.  There was no tapping and I got out of there in record speed. 

To make the business parallel, because I feel I should offer something worthwhile… 3 things you might be able to take from this story and apply to your business:

1)      Who surrounds you?  Fundamentally – we are all people and it is important to be yourself.  However, some of your actions might cause unintended reactions among people you are dealing with, your employees or your customers.  You should surround yourself with people that feel comfortable enough with you to just tell you that your foot is too far over, you have food in your teeth or a policy/mannerism you have makes them feel uncomfortable.

2)      No answer is sometimes best.  Have you noticed that the better you get at anything, the more people/society tries to bring you down?  I struggle with this a lot.  As we have grown quickly and are producing great technology solutions for staffing firms, we have been subjected to more outside, unproductive criticism and targeted attacks.  Same is true with any individual leader.  There is always a subset of people that won’t like you.  No matter what you say, what you do, it won’t matter.  So, the trick is to just move on.  Do your business and live your life.

3)      Focus on the big picture.  I love the little things of life – but, I can sometimes get lost in the details instead of focusing on the big picture.  For the example above, the big picture was I had a need and should just get it done.  By not focusing on the minor detail of a foot, I could have saved myself torment by knowing things weren’t perfect, but I was going to get my job done.  Same in business – there are so many details that we need to get done in a day, it is important to keep the big picture front and center.

And lastly, of course – if you are using a public bathroom and can’t see your foot – please retrieve it.

by John Long

As a fast growing staffing software company, I am constantly trying to make sure all of the team members are

1. Energized 
2. Know where the team is going
3. Feel ownership in the company

Being the son of teachers, I had little practical guidance or experience in leading people in those three areas.  I am constantly learning and trying new things.  Feel free to comment and post ideas!

One of the best methods, though, is Goal Setting.   Sure, everyone pays lip service to setting Goals.  Many follow through.  There is a nice rush of setting goals, as you are picturing the end result.  Think – I want to lose 20 pounds, how great would that be!  Or, I’m going to save 3 months expenses, wouldn’t that be great!  We all start strong, with high hopes.  But, after the initial honeymoon, discipline needs to kick in and that is when goals just go to the wayside. 

This doesn’t mean goals shouldn’t be set though!   The sales team and I just returned from our ‘reward’ for hitting our 6 month goal from July 2009 to December 2009. 

The goals had three parts: 

1) Specific number of users sold
2) Everyone in our database called (we had over 1700 staffing firms that hadn’t heard from us)
3) Specific number of incoming leads
If we made all three, then we went on a 4 day trip to Jamaica – which was a blast! 

10 tips for good goal setting:

  1)      Make it Specific:  Make your goals as specific as possible.  Anything vague like – “Try to do better at…” or “Think about….” Or “Get more….”, won’t motivate or communicate where you need to get to.   

2)      Make it Measurable:  What is the old adage – “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”?  This is very similar to the first one, but try to pick goals that you can easily measure and report on.  Graphs for progress are awesome!

3)      Make it Simple:  If your goal can’t be regurgitated in 10 words or less, it’s too complicated. 

4)      Consistent Progress Updates:  We do weekly sales meetings, though we try to keep them short.  These update meetings help to keep the goals first and foremost in people’s minds.

5)      Frequent and Short-term:  I really liked our 6 month goals plan.  It gave enough time to keep us focused on it, but not so long that it seemed unreal.

6)      Narrow it Down:  “Do fewer things well” is a theme in our evolution from small to mid-sized company.  Stick with your goals for the designated time period and resist the urge to add a bunch more as you go.  This is a difficult thing for me, as I’m always looking for ways to improve.  But, at the end of 6 months, I’d rather have had those 3 goals accomplished then 10 goals partially complete. 

7)      Long-term plan:  If you are like me – you don’t think you are anything special in the way of foresight.  I don’t believe I have psychic powers or the next Steve Jobs.  I’m just a normal guy working hard to make Avionté a great company.  It is tempting, then, to give up on a Long Term Plan.  Most of my day – and I bet your day as well – is focused on putting out fires and the next couple of weeks.  Creating goals, especially when you limit your goals to a few, helps you and your team follow a long term plan. 

8)      Publish your Goals:  Our team’s goals are published and not only does it bring us together as a team, but it has really helped the company know what we are doing.  This has significantly increased the accountability level in both our team and the other teams within the company.

9)      Positive Thinking:  One of my biggest pet peeves – and maybe I should write a diatribe about it – is negative, excuse laden thinking.  People drive me nuts when they just come up with stupid excuses as to why things are happening.  Creating good goals provides the structure to keep thinking in check.  As an example – our goal was to call everyone in the database.  Of all the goals, this is the one that is in our control the most.  I’d start to hear “I can’t call because I’m trying to close business” or “these companies aren’t in our target market anyway”.  These are excuses.  The goal is a mandate for the reward, regardless of the excuse.  Don’t meet the goal; guess we won’t go to Jamaica.  By focusing on what needs to be accomplished, the team members then gelled together to finish the task. 

10)   Motivation:  When you get to work, do you know exactly what you need to accomplish?  Most days, I don’t.  It is definitely something I struggle with.  During the writing of this blog, I had to ignore or be curt, with 3 different IM conversations, the little Outlook icon representing new email, a call from my brother and people thinking about coming into the office.  Having goals really helps that out.  Your team can judge quickly then, are they doing a great job or not.  Are they meeting expectations or not.  By having a goal, they can mentally clear their desk and focus on the goal.  That is a great motivator, especially when there is a nice reward at the end!

Again, please feel free to comment or share suggestions!  I am very interested in hearing ideas that help to make a company better.