Summer is here, and that means office parties, company barbecues and team building events are in full swing. In the spirit of the summer party season, Stafflink Solutions has partnered with Lenzr.com, a serial photo contest site, to bring you the Best Office Staff Party photo contest. If you have a great picture from your latest office party or work retreat, submit it and you could win a Sony laptop!
We want to see your office in action, unwinding and relaxing. If you've got a photo of the sales and marketing teams, mingling with the IT staff of web developers, IT programmers and business analysts, submit it with a creative caption.
To enter, visit Lenzr.com, submit your photo and get your co-workers, friends and family to vote for your picture. Get you photo submitted as soon as possible. Voting starts July 15th and closes on July 25th. On July 25th, the photos with the most votes will move into the top ten, where the final winning photo will be decided by the Lenzr judges. The winner will be chosen based on the photo quality as well as the most imaginative description provided. The contest closes August 1st, so get your photo posted soon!
We've already had a number of great submissions. Click here to check them out.
Showing posts with label Work-Life Balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work-Life Balance. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Golf A Little, Get A Lot
It’s 7:15am on a beautiful Thursday morning in June. On any given Thursday, I would normally be getting ready to start recruiting Toronto’s top talent; however, today isn’t just any Thursday – it is the day I will play my first round of golf! Not to mention, I will be playing it with the extremely athletic (and golf saavy) Stafflink team! Luckily, I have a new golf outfit, so at least I look the part.
Although the Stafflink team is a rather adventurous group, today’s golf adventure means much more than trying out a new sport or showing off some superb skills. Today we are participating in Bereaved Families of York Region’s 17th Annual Forget-Me-Not Golf Tournament.
www.bfoyr.com is an organization that is very close to my heart. I became involved in the organization back in 2007 when they hired me as a summer student, while I was completing my degree. The organization’s mission is to provide volunteer bereavement support services to families and individuals grieving the death of a loved one. Their services are offered free of charge and they receive no federal or municipal funding. The majority of their funding comes from individual contributions and fundraising events, such as their golf tournament. They are an organization who runs on the generous hearts and hard-work of a very strong and compassionate community.
After telling the Stafflink team about my involvement with BFOYR and the upcoming tournament - it took absolutely no convincing, our amazing founder, Tim Collins, had already signed us up.
So how did my first round go? I may not be Michelle Wei but I hit a few good drives and I learned how to “chip”. I also discovered that Tim is a phenomenal golfer, Ryan can hit a ball farther than anyone I’ve ever seen, and Neil is a mini-putt champion. Most importantly, our day was filled with a tremendous amount of laughs, wonderful company and an opportunity for our staff to support a great cause while participating in a phenomenal team building exercise. Thanks BFOYR!
Other Posts by Michelle De Rubeis
Where are the Women? Connecting Women and TechnologyiPad versus Playbook Debate Revisited
Steve, Mark and Jim: Who Made 2010's Nice List?
How to Sparkle in a Room Full of Diamonds
About the Author
Michelle De Rubeis
,Technical Recruiter, StaffLink SolutionsWebsite: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis
Saturday, June 11, 2011
10 Tips to Capture Hot Candidates
Can your company improve the recruiting and hiring process? As the marketplace shifts to a candidate’s marketplace, companies are challenged to constantly analyze and improve their talent acquisition processes.If a candidate has three offers, are you confident that they will take your offer?
Smart employers are beginning to realize that they must be willing to be innovative and move quickly to capture these hot candidates. Some successful techniques that we have seen employers use to capture star candidates include:
- All interviews same day. Don’t force a candidate to come back twice if you can complete the evaluation in one day. Efficient hiring processes demonstrate to a candidate that you are an agile, efficient company. That you respect and value their time. This gives the candidate a preview of what the processes throughout the company will be like.
- Extend offers within days of the interview. How long do you really need to think about itJ
- Signing bonuses. A good alternative to raising the salary above a set salary band.
- Free Tablets. It’s pretty cool to give the candidate an iPad when they sign up. Cost low – impact high.
- Working from Home privileges. A great way to demonstrate your commitment to work-life balance.
- Flex Hours. Many companies have core hours when employees must be in the office but are flexible outside of the core hours.
- Free beer. If you fill an open engineering position at Hipster, a startup in Silicon Valley, they will reward you with $10,000 in cash and a year's supply of beer. http://bit.ly/ispZf3
- Have your stars interview star candidates. You need to bring out the top talent to capture the top talent
- Know what the market rates are. Don’t try and lowball. If you know market rates it shows the candidate that you've done your research and you are willing to pay them what they are worth.
- Gym Membership. A healthy employee is a happy, productive employee. Less sick daysJ
Empower the people doing the interviews to capture the top talent. Make sure they have the training and coaching to interview and sell star candidates on the opportunity to work for your business. Employers that can adapt and capture the best candidates will be more successful in the long run.
Related Articles- IT Job Market 2011: Who's Hot?
- IT Job Market 2011: Is This a Candidate's Job Market?
- Canada's Summer Job Market is Sizzling
- Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North
- Top 10 IT Skills in Demand 2010
Written by: Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
Monday, February 28, 2011
CPA Ski Day: A Great Team Building Event
Every February we invite our staff and their significant others to join us at the CPA Ski Day (Canadian Paraplegic Association). It's a surprisingly popular event considering that only the owners are regular skiers.
Months before the big event we retell stories from last year's CPA Ski Day. Like the time that Ryan's wife fell on top of the boss's son while getting off a chairlift. Or when Joanne froze at the top of a blue run and got yelled at by a stranger. Or that horrible cross country trek we endured while trying to find a green run called the Northwest Passage, and Lorraine towed Ryan with her ski pole.
Bottom line: Participating in the CPA ski day is more than a one day event. It's an event that brings us together for the entire winter. Why is it so compelling for all of us?
- It feels great to support CPA Ontario with their Track 3 Ski program. It is so beautiful to see the Track 3 volunteers give people with disabilities the chance to ski. Check out these amazing pictures of the 2011 CPA Ski Day.
- Skiing is dangerous, but not too dangerous. And it's super fun. That makes for lots of entertaining stories. It also gives us lots of opportunities to bond and help each other out.
- Skiing is social. Even if you're not a skier, it's really fun to sit in the ski lodge, share a beer and onion rings and have some laughs.
- It’s really fun to learn a new skill. Participants in the CPA Ski Day get free rentals, a lesson, lunch and delicious après ski snacks. They also get to ski at Craigleith, one of the best private ski clubs in Ontario.
I also want to thank CPA Ontario and their key sponsor The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company for hosting this amazing event and for supporting the Track 3 Ski program.
And of course I want to thank our amazing staff for embracing this event and making it so much fun. Now we are all brainstorming ideas for a community outreach activity where our staff could volunteer weekly for a few hours.
Do you have any suggestions for a volunteer program our staff could participate in? Do you have any teambuilding events that you recommend?
Stafflink Solutions Ltd.
http://stafflink.ca/
http://www.lauraupcott.com/
laurau@stafflink.ca
http://www.twitter.com/lauraupcott
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/lauraupcott
Thursday, September 9, 2010
What Motivates You at Work?
Money is a big motivator for many people. But if you're living comfortably and can afford a few extras like beer or Callaway Woods, money loses some of it's pull. I'm motivated by money too, but I'm also motivated by helping people. That's why I write these blogs. It's the reason I enjoy staffing. I truly enjoy connecting employers with talented people who want to work for them.
Every person I place in a new job has the best intentions to make a valuable contribution. It's that adorable honeymoon stage. Everyone involved catches the fever and works a little harder. But how do you keep that energy and motivation going? Soon or later reality sets in. Maybe personalities conflict or the job becomes routine.
Does it have to be that way? I've noticed that some people maintain enthusiasm for their job long after that first blush of excitement. What does it take to motivate you to keep giving your best even after the reality of the job sets in?
- Performance-based bonuses?
- Flexible work hours?
- Opportunity for career advancement or promotion?
- Working with and for people you trust and respect?
- Opportunity to learn on the job, training and skill development?
- Opportunity to help others?
- All of the above?
Please share your ideas in the comments, or take a minute to respond to my poll at http://www.stafflink.ca/#pd_a_3752594.
Thanks!
Related Articles:
Love What You Do
Balance Thursdays - Does Less Stress Equal More Productivity?
What's Your Superpower?
It's Time to Spring Forward
The Future's So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades
Posted By Tim Collins, President and Founder,
Stafflink Solutions Ltd
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Why is it so difficult to unplug from the world?
Funny enough I sleep with my Blackberry on my pillow beside my head. Constantly bombarded by media and current events. Why do I do this? Is it the need to be “just in time” or do I truly enjoy being plugged into the rest of the world?Recently I took a trip to Jamaica for my honey moon. I made a deal with my wife that I was only allowed to check my BB at night. The first few days I went through withdrawal. It was odd not carrying the extra weight on my hip and not constantly checking emails. I was forced to interact with the rest on the world face to face. I could not pull my BB out to check emails while waiting for lunch or in an elevator or any instance where I was not stimulated for 30 sec.
Don`t get me wrong. I truly value and love my BB and the ease and profitability it has brought me over the years....I guess my challenge is that I feel so dependant on a device that it supersedes being a convenience and a business tool and becomes a necessity/dependency. I don`t know how many times my friends have told me I would die without my BB or iPhone! What did people do before smart phones!?
I guess what I'm trying to say is that technology is a fantastic and wonderful thing that makes our lives easier and more convenient. But there has to be a balance. You need to unplug your brain from the barrage of media and social networking. Every once and a while we should leave our Palms, iPhones and Blackberrys in the safe in our hotel room, lay on a beach and watch the sunrise.
Ryan Ayres, Technical Recruiter
Stafflink Solutions Ltd
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Balance Thursdays: Does Less Stress Equal More Productivity?
Work/life balance. We all want it but how do we acheive it? Let me tell you about a little experiment we're trying in our office this month called Balance Thursdays. I've been commuting to Toronto from Mississauga for longer than I care to mention. On a good day I can make the commute in 25 minutes. But the good days only happen about once a month. Normally the commute takes two to three times that long. And its not just me. Several people on my team have even worse commutes. Sound familiar? Something's gotta give.
I decided to try a little experiment to lighten the load. It started with an email:
Hi Team, We're going to implement a trial flextime day on Thursdays for the next few weeks. After a month we'll meet to evaluate how it's working. The goal is to free us up from the commute for one day a week. We'll communicate via IM, telephone and email as usual but we can choose to work remotely. This will create a little more time for work-life balance. You're an excellent team. I know you'll thrive in whatever environment you work from. Keep up the great work!How's it working out so far? It's a smashing success! So far anyways. We acheived more placements this month than we've ever acheived in a one-month period in the eight year history of our company. I'm sure that our flexday experiment is not the only reason we just had our best month ever. But the flexday hasn't hurt our productivity. I've noticed a big improvement in team morale. Having a flexday near the end of the week creates some breathing space while we still remain fully engaged in our work (ideally). Does this make us more successful? Maybe. At least it puts me in better mood.
Am I writing this blog wearing Florida Gator boxers and a full-on beard? I'll never tell.
What are your work-life balance secrets? Do you think our experiment will work over the longterm?
Tim Collins, President and Founder,
Stafflink Solutions Ltd
Stafflink Solutions Ltd
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