The Best Days to Advertise Job Openings

Have you ever wondered if the date and tine you post online job applications affect the overall quality of the applications you receive? After analyzing recruiting software, Ninja Gig is here to answer that valuable question: maybe.

Mondays are the best days to advertise and the day you will receive the most qualified applications. That number continues to decrease through Saturday, with Sunday giving only slightly better results. The consensus is that weekdays are the best days to advertise job openings.

In fact, the number of applications varies as much as 100 percent between Monday and Saturday. This is largely contributed to job aggregation sites that use a ranking factor based on recent posts in their feed algorithms. Additionally, new jobs are included in many email updates and on the front page of many job board search sites.

If you want to appear in the most qualified applicants’ inboxes, forgo the late Friday job posting and aim for Monday. While Fridays are the most popular days for companies to advertise, you will be sorry you did not wait until Monday. The only exception to this rule is print newspapers and classifieds postings, but there again, most people do not receive the newspaper and more applicants simply search for jobs via their Smartphones. Additionally, many web-based applications make applicants apply online, which makes it easier for companies to review resumes and find the most qualified candidates. Just remember that no one is sitting at home and searching for jobs on the weekend.

In fact, if you want to know the exact time of day to post your job opening, aim for Monday during the middle of the day. Most people get back to work on Mondays and around mid-day find they would rather spend their time looking for new jobs than be working.

Just remember to post your jobs during these times so that you can attract more applicants that are qualified.

Ninja Gig offers customizable online job applications, which makes it easy to post jobs at your convenience, receive resumes, filter unqualified candidates and hire the best talent for your team.  Did you also know that Ninja Gig automatically feeds your jobs to the largest job boards, at no additional cost to you?  Sign up today for a free trial, and start receiving job applicants immediately!

The Secrets to Growing Your Cleaning Business

Are you looking to start a successful, profitable cleaning service? Whether you want to offer janitorial services, maid services or carpet and upholstery cleaning, Ninja Gig can give you 10 tips for starting your professional cleaning company.

  1. Resources – Tap into all your resources. Many associations work with professional cleaning companies. Additionally, there are also state and government agencies that offer support for small businesses.
  2. Never Stop Learning – Stay up-to-date with the latest advances in cleaning equipment, chemical safety issues and more. Ask your suppliers to keep you up to speed on new cleaning products. Consider participating in local trade organizations, attend conventions and read industry publications.
  3. Develop Systems – Create detailed systems to help boost and maintain efficiency. This includes systems for cleaning, supervision, customer service, laundry, reporting, management and accounting. Whether you are there to supervise or not, put in place systems that will ensure employees’ success.
  4. Clean Thoroughly – Regardless of what your employees are cleaning, explain to them that they need to treat customers the way they would want to be treated. This includes cleaning as if they are cleaning their office or home and being careful around valuable items. While some items are easy to repair or replace, it is better to avoid harming customer relations and just work more carefully.
  5. Take Care of Employees – If you have your own business, you need to value and take care of your employees. Train employees and treat them with respect while giving them space and not micromanaging. Give incentives and bonuses to employees that are top performers and give them perks, such as using company equipment in their own homes.
  6. Don’t Undersell Yourself – If you only try to undercut the competition’s prices, you won’t survive. Instead, focus on providing quality work.
  7. Cleaning Niche – Find a unique cleaning niche that appeals to a substantial market. For example, if you have a niche cleaning smaller office buildings, avoid offering home cleaning services. When you spread yourself out, you will not be successful overall.
  8. Track Labor Costs – The biggest costs associated with cleaning companies is labor. Create a daily labor costs sheet and address trends before they become issues. For example, if an employee’s time increases for a certain job, are there extra services you should be charging?
  9. Computer Skills – While the cleaning business is not high tech, you need to stay on top of billing, estimates, inventory control and other record-keeping.
  10. Customer Service – Investing in customer service can take a company far. Build strong relationships with clients by consistently following up to ensure they are satisfied with your services.

To help you hire qualified cleaning applicants, use Ninja Gig’s online job applications. You can customize these applications online to target qualified cleaning staff that will contribute to making your company successful.  Sign up now for your free trial and quickly simplify the hiring process.

Advertising a Cashier Job

It’s summertime, and you desperately need to advertise for your company’s cashier position. Let Ninja Gig help you optimize your online employment advertisement.

Position Title

First, make sure to include all possible descriptions in your ad since these are target keywords: Sales Associate, Retail Clerk, Sales Clerk, Customer Service Clerk and Cashier.

Responsibilities

The second part of your online job description should highlight the responsibilities of the position.

  • Scanning goods
  • Collecting payments
  • Managing the cash register
  • Handling cash transactions with customers
  • Issuing receipts or refunds
  • Cross-selling products and introducing new products
  • Greeting customers
  • Resolving any customer complaints, including guiding them by providing additional information
  • Maintaining a tidy and clean checkout area
  • Bagging, boxing or wrapping packages
  • Managing transaction reports

Job Description

Consider adding a brief paragraph to the cashier job description that summarizes the role.

We are looking for an experienced cashier to help process all cash transactions. Efficiency and accuracy are a requirement. The successful candidate will contribute to improving customer satisfaction and boost revenue growth objectives. Duties and responsibilities of this position include greeting customers, keeping reports of all cash and credit transactions and maintaining a neat and clean check out area.

Requirements

Next, you will need to add the necessary requirements for the job. This will help you eliminate unqualified applicants.

  • Strong communication skills
  • Experience working in sales or as a retail cashier
  • Basic knowledge of electronic equipment, such as a PC, cash register, money counters, scanners and credit card machines
  • Strong time management skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Basic mathematical skills
  • Customer satisfaction oriented
  • Sales Skills
  • High school degree

By having a complete job description, your company can use Ninja Gig’s online job application to help ensure that the right talent is attracted to applying to your company.  Sign up now for your 30-day free trial of the Ninja Gig employment application software, digitize your application form, and see how easy the hiring process can become by going digital!

Tips for Minimizing Turnover and Retaining Employees

Successful employers listen to their employees and understand why employees leave to pursue careers with other companies. However, there are many misconceptions that employees only leave companies to obtain higher pay. Educating managers and management about why employees leave companies can dramatically reduce turnover rates.

 

The following are some of the top reasons why employees leave companies:

  • Employees sometimes do not feel a connection with their jobs.
  • Employees sometimes feel the workplace or the job simply were not what they expected.
  • There is little feedback or coaching.
  • Employees felt unrecognized and devalued for their work.
  • There are not enough advancement and growth opportunities.
  • The employee does not have the confidence to trust his/her senior management leaders.
  • Employees feel over-stressed from working too much or not spending enough time on their personal lives.

Turnover costs companies money. Estimates show that it takes nearly three times an employee’s salary to replace him/her. These costs include lost opportunities, recruitment, lost productivity and severance payments.

Here are some other mind-boggling statistics to share with your management team:

 

  • Nearly 50% of people that are recruited into a company leave within two years.
  • 70% of companies report that turnover costs them money recruiting, hiring and training replacement employees, in addition to having current employees work overtime until the vacant position is filled with a qualified employee.
  • 1 in 4 new hires leave a company within six months.
  • 50% of companies experience regular issues that relate directly to employee retention.
  • 70% of companies report having problems replacing staff.

 

To help boost retention rates, companies should consider implementing one or all of the following methods:

 

  • Training – Train employees and help reinforce their sense of worth and value. Well-trained employees are likely to feel more successful as they achieve their goals.
  • Mentoring – By implementing a mentoring program, companies can offer employees a goal-oriented feedback system. By pairing an experienced employee with a new employee, companies can help boost competencies, feedback and provide an individualized career development plan.
  • Positive Culture – If a company focuses on incorporating a positive culture, employee turnover decreases.
  • Communication – Every employer should focus on having employees build their communication, offer their opinions and suggestions and understand that management values feedback.
  • Compensation and Benefits – Employees appreciate companies that show them they care by offering healthy compensation and benefits packages.
  • Referrals and Recruitment – Have current employees offer referrals and hire from within the organization.
  • Growth Opportunities – Companies should offer software, workshops and other tools to help boost employees’ performance and confidence in themselves. Employees also require some job challenges to help them expand their knowledge within the field. Employees are likely to stay with a company longer if the organization invests in their future and career development.
  • Coaching and Feedback – Companies should regularly give employees coaching and feedback, which ensures that employees align with company goals and meet expectations.
  • Value Employees – Employees that feel companies value them go the extra mile with completing their job responsibilities.
  • Work and Life Balance – Help employees create a work and life balance by accommodating telecommuting, flextime, extra holidays, etc. Employees that are happy and healthy are more productive.

 

Ninja Gig can help companies find qualified applicants. Using an online employment application system, companies can customize job applications to each available position. Potential candidates can then apply online and companies can target qualified candidates.  Start your free-trial today and see how easy this process can become.

What Employers Can and Can’t Highlight In Online Job Applications

As a HR professional, you likely have questions about what you legally can and can’t say in an online job application. Ninja Gig will help highlight some basic job application rules.

Things to Avoid in Job Postings

Employers cannot discriminate and screen candidates that have traditional high school diplomas versus GEDs. Additionally, nearly half of all U.S. states prohibit employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation. While there are no federal laws that prohibit this, federal job postings should not reference sexual orientation.

Job applications cannot request that applicants that currently have jobs and are not receiving unemployment benefits apply. In fact, New York City has legislation that bans employers from discriminating against unemployed applicants.

Certain Types of Applicants

Most companies know that they cannot violate federal and state laws by requesting something as ludicrous as “Only married men should apply for the position.” Common violations seen in online job postings include inadvertent discrimination for protected classes of people. An example of this is “candidates with a strong family orientation” or “looking for applicants that have a young perspective on marketing and social media habits.”

Some companies do not have discriminating language in the job description but may post mission statements that make applicants assume they are looking for particular types of candidates. For example, “Our business mission is to know Jesus Christ and to live a fulfilling life within the Church.”

One way to avoid any potential misunderstandings is for businesses to state: “Women and men, and members of all ethnic and racial groups are encouraged to apply. We are interested in hiring all individuals, women and men, including those with disabilities and persons who are gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual or intersex.”

There are rare discrimination law exceptions. If someone is disabled and the physical requirements and accommodations would make it physically challenging for the applicant to carry out the job duties, employers do not have to accommodate these types of requests.

Religious groups are permitted to give preference to a specific gender. Additionally, religious organizations are allowed to ask people with particular beliefs to apply, if the doctrine of the group requires a certain spiritual practice to sufficiently carry out job duties. For example, Lutheran Ministers are of the Lutheran faith, and Catholic Ministers are of the Catholic faith.

In very rare circumstances, if the connection of someone’s age is relevant to the job, an employer may be permitted to imply certain age limits. For example: “Applicants must be able to complete 25 years of service before the age of 62.”

If businesses have any questions related to what is and isn’t legal to incorporate into online job applications or employment postings, it is best to contact the federal and/or state government for additional information. Ninja Gig also recommends obtaining legal advice to ensure that all compliance requirements and laws are met.

Ninja Gig specializes in helping companies create unique online job applications. Whether you are looking to hire cashiers, registered nurses, teachers, insurance agents or build your customer service department, having a detailed employment application can help you find qualified applicants for your company.  By signing up for a free trial today, you can start accepting employment applications online immediately!

How Health Incentives Can Leave Employers Open to Legal Issues

Most large companies offer some health-improvement programs. Whether it’s education, weight loss, biometric screening or walking programs, there are wide varieties of wellness programs that are very easy for businesses to administer. However, these types of plans may seem beneficial to companies, but they are wrought with compliance issues.

Human resources departments are aware that wellness plans are subject to laws, such as HIPAA and ACA. What most companies do not know is that there are nine different federal statutes that wellness plans can be subject to accommodating. This includes the following:

 

  1. ACA (Affordable Care Act)
  2. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
  3. ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
  4. COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act)
  5. ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
  6. GINA (Generic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008)
  7. FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act)
  8. IRC (Internal Revenue Code)
  9. NLRA (National Labor Relations Act)

 

Additionally, some states have even stricter laws, federal regulations create confusion and acts even contradict one another.

 

For example, both ACA and ADA have financial incentives for wellness initiatives, up to 30-percent of the employee-only costs for coverage. After that, each regulation differs in how they calculate the 30-percent incentive. This means that ironically both ACA and ADA can be in violation of each other. Ultimately, employers will need to look at each incentive separately under both plans to make sure they are in compliance. If you are not sure, it may be best to contact your company’s legal department for an assessment and advice.

 

Another important IRC change is that all non-group health plan incentives, whether it’s gift cards, cash or even a gym membership is subject to taxable W2 wages and subject to income tax withholding, FICA and FUTA. This is also true if a health insurer and not the company provide the incentives.

 

If companies offer a health-contingent wellness program and it requires staffers to comply with the standard for a health factor, it is required to meet five conditions under HIPAA. One condition that may prove difficult for employers is that plans are required to provide notice of a reasonable alternative for the reward in plan materials that discuss the terms of the program. This notice must be included in every brochure or booklet about the wellness program. Failure to do so could result in a HIPAA violation.

 

If companies have any questions about these rules and want to make sure they comply with federal and state regulations, it is best to contact government offices or an attorney.

 

Ninja Gig specializes in helping companies streamline their online job application process. We offer the flexibility of customizing online applications for jobs, which can help streamline job searches and the applicant hiring process.  Sign up today for a 30-day free trial and you can start accepting employment applications online immediately!

Teachers: The Latest Supply and Demand Statistics

A teacher shortage has been predicted for many years. Once the Great Recession began recovering, districts overcame budget cuts and layoffs and started hiring again. However, many school districts were surprised to find that they had great difficulty hiring qualified teachers. It is especially difficult for districts to find teachers that specialize in science, mathematics, bilingual education, English language development and special education.

There are several different reasons why our nation may be experiencing a teacher shortage.

  • In Demand – After many years of enrollments declining, the demand for teachers increased after the Great Recession.
  • Hiring Trends – The 2017 and 2018 projections anticipate that annual hires will be around 300,000 teachers per year.
  • Enrollment Predictions – The National Center for Education Statistics is predicting that the school population will increase by 3 million in the next decade.
  • Reinstated Programs – Many programs were reduced or cut during the Great Recession. Districts are now reinstating these programs, which are anticipated to generate an additional 145,000 new teacher hires.
  • Student-Teacher Ratios – Districts are also looking to reduce the average student-teacher ratios, which are currently at 16-to-1, but were around 15.3-to-1 before the Great Recession.
  • Teacher Education Enrollments – Between 2009 and 2014, teacher college education enrollments dropped from 691,000 to 451,000. This was a 35% reduction, which equals approximately 240,000 professional teaching positions.
  • Exit Ratios – Only one-third of teachers that leave teaching before the age of retirement will return to this profession.
  • High-Poverty Schools – Schools that have higher-than-average poverty levels are at a risk of losing teachers.

Some key points factor into the above statistics. For example, if teachers are not adequately prepared when they enter their teaching careers, the rate of turnover is significantly higher. This can add valuable costs to the replacement process and can contribute to decreases in overall student achievement.

Long-term solutions to help boost the teacher workforce include having recruitment and retention strategies in place. This will help assist in creating a stronger workforce and prioritize student learning.

Ninja Gig offers online job applications, which are ideal for public and private school districts. These job applications are easy to customize and allow districts to pre-qualify potential applicants.  Sign up for a 30-day free trial and start accepting job applications online immediately!

Why Minimum Wage Jobs Have High Turnover

When companies analyze their turnover rates, they will likely notice that minimum wage jobs have a higher turnover rate than higher paying positions.

There are several different reasons why minimum wage jobs regularly experience these higher-than-average turnover rates.

 

  • Education – Many minimum wage employees are not in working positions where they have long-term dedicated interests. In some cases, employees in these positions may lack the education that is necessary to obtain a better paying job. Sometimes employees are continuing their education and only have a minimum wage job until they receive their degrees. To help overcome this turnover, employers can offer educational opportunities to help employees improve both their personal and professional skills. When companies invest in their employees, they feel more loyalty to businesses.
  • Economic Conditions – The economy plays a significant contributing factor to minimum wage turnover. During exit interviews, one of the most cited reasons for leaving minimum wage jobs is seeking higher-paying employment. When the economy is healthy and ripe with opportunities, there tend to be more opportunities for good paying jobs. When the economy is poor and if businesses are experiencing cutbacks, layoffs, etc., more people are willing to take minimum wage jobs.
  • Turnover – Companies will need to analyze the costs of paying workers minimum wage and having to train new employees for these positions, especially if businesses have high turnover rates. Companies need to determine if they can afford to pay their employees more than minimum wage. Secondly, to help absorb some of these costs, can any expenses be passed down to customers? Finally, if employers want to pay employees minimum wage, they need to determine if they can absorb higher turnover rates.

Ninja Gig offers job applications online. Employers can customize these job application forms, tailoring them to minimum wage positions.  Sign up today for a 30-day free trial!

What jobs do people quit the most?

While unemployment numbers keep going down, there are some jobs that still have high turnover rates.

  1. Amazon – Ironically, the August 2015 “New York Times” Amazon expose highlights how the expectations of this mega-giant company make it difficult for most employees. The median employee tenure is only one year, and some local recruiters say that they will stay away from placing former Amazon employees. If workers can get through long and late night meetings, sending secret feedback to bosses and potentially sabotaging other employees, they may have a longer than average career at this online retailer.
  2. Life Insurance – The life insurance industry requires that people stay long-term before they start seeing an increase in their salaries through residuals and referrals. However, the difficulty in closing sales makes it easy for people to not stick with it and move on to other opportunities.
  3. Registered Nurses – The U.S. is facing a shortage of registered nurses. Surveys show that up to 43% of newly licensed registered nurses leave their first jobs within mere years of employment. The turnover rate for this profession is high due to stress, pressure and lack of support. Couple that with incredibly long shifts and nurses have a high burnout rate.
  4. Leisure and Hospitality Industry – This industry, which includes housekeepers and food service employees, regularly experiences a high turnover rate. With employees only making around minimum wage, it’s not uncommon for them to leave their jobs for higher earning positions. Even making an extra dollar an hour is a strong motivator for someone to pursue another employment opportunity.

Ninja Gig specializes in helping human resources departments create online employment applications. These applications are easy to customize and are ideal for industries that experience high turnover. It helps simplify the application process for companies while making it easy for applicants to submit their resumes.

Essential Tips for Retaining Customer Service Positions

For companies to rise above their competition, they need to maintain their customer base and attract new customers. The employers that are entrusted with customer support serve one of the most vital roles in any company – they, are the direct link to the company and their customers.

To help find the best, most talented customer service employees and retain them long-term, Ninja Gig has put together several helpful hiring tips.

  • Personality – It is important to hire the right employee that has a personality that shines. Customer support people represent your company, which means that if customers have problems, these are the people they turn to resolve any issues. An applicant needs to have the right personality to positively interact with their clients on a regular basis. Look for an employee that has excellent communication skills and is an effective problem solver.
  • Motivation – Customer service requires patience and a willingness to solve even the most complex issues. An employee should have the motivation to do a good job with every customer. They need to maintain a calm focus, especially when dealing with inpatient or frustrated customers. If an applicant has previous customer service experience, you can ask them how they solved some of the problems they faced at other jobs. You can also present a common customer service problem to applicants and ask how they would respond under pressure. Inquire about how they would handle challenging customers.
  • References – Ask for references and speak with former employers and coworkers about how the person handled different situations in their previous jobs. If the applicant has a natural inclination to work with people, he/she may be a good fit for a customer service position.

If an employee does well in customer sales, chances are another company will likely recruit them. To help offset employee turnover, human resources department need to consider implementing the following:

  • Comprehensive Benefits Package – Offer a comprehensive package that shows employees that companies care. While it may seem obvious, companies that go out of their way to care for their employees have a less frequent turnover.
  • Be Upfront – During the employment interview, it’s important to clearly state the company’s expectations. While you may lose some candidates up front, in the long run, you will hire better, more qualified and loyal employees.
  • Motivation – Never estimate the power of motivation. Motivating your employees can keep them challenged and let them know they are appreciated.
  • Goals – Always establish clear, individual goals to help encourage a creative thought process. This can help develop a thriving work environment that promotes long-term company benefits.

Ninja Gig specializes in accepting online job applications, which makes it easy to ask potential customer service employees about their job histories, qualifications and much more.