Leading a Meaningful Life

What are your proudest accomplishments?  What deep failure, fear or frustration do you have to overcome?  According to Derek Deprey, these initial questions will help you to begin your journey on leading a meaningful life!

To get started on your journey, you will need to form your CORE VALUES.  Define what your idea of success looks like, and develop this into your core values.  These core values with guide your decision making and your actions.

MOVE TO GROWTH.  What is your plan for personal development?  Identify the goals you have for your personal growth and pursue them.

VISION.  What gives you direction and purpose?  What do you want your future to look like?

FLOW:  On this journey, develop an APE attitude!

A:  Attitude.  Adapt a positive mindset:  Everyone is a TEN!  Give loyalty first, then you will get it back!  Realize that YOU have the ability to be more positive.

P:  Passion.  How do your passions drive your life?  What do you enjoy most and what skills do you need to get there? What do you have a strong desire to do or to achieve, that will typically require determination and hard work.  Identify these ambitions.

E:  Execution.  “Do it Afraid!”  Commit time to yourself to work on your goals.

Ask yourself, on a scale of 1 – 10, how was your last 3 months?  What would you need to do to increase your happiness score!!

FUSION.  You can lead a fulfilled life when personal values tie in with work values.  Think about what’s been bothering you.  Schedule the time to do what you would like to do and “Jump in the Pool!”  At this level work and play can become synonymous!

IMPACT!  Care about the dreams of others, and inspire fellow travelers along the way!

Source:  2017 Midwest Staffing Conference, Derek Deprey, www.derekdeprey.com

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Using Big Data to Make Employee Decisions

Big data may be helpful in making decisions about your employees. However, predictive analytics shouldn’t be the only foundation on which you base your judgments. Here are three mistakes to avoid when using big data to make decisions about your employees.

Being Secretive with Healthcare Data  

If your company uses healthcare data to make better healthcare decisions, be transparent about it with all of your employees. Because many companies use outside firms to predict health risks in their employees, your workers may be concerned that you’re using the data to predict which employees may become sick or pregnant or develop serious health conditions, then terminate those workers to save on healthcare costs. Therefore, it’s important you show your employees that you respectfully use HR analytics in ways that comply with HIPPA and all privacy and HR laws. For example, you may point out that HR analytics help evaluate your healthcare costs and wellness programs to determine their effectiveness, find out whether there are gaps in healthcare coverage or employee benefits, and uncover ways to improve your programs. You may also compare employee and company data to industry data to offer the best, most cost-effective healthcare coverage and benefits to your employees.

Using Predictive Performance Analytics to Make All Decisions   

You may use predictive performance analytics to help make decisions about employees, but you should incorporate human input as well. For example, you may use predictive analytics to help manage and train employees, assess future hiring needs and create a pipeline of talent, yet you should still gain supervisors’ and HR’s input on exactly how to proceed with each employee. Also, you may use predictive analytics to determine which employees get promoted or fired, yet you should gather input on individual performance from supervisors and HR before making a final decision. This will help you avoid wrongful termination lawsuits and other issues.

Focusing on Details Rather Than the Big Picture   

Use big data as a guide for making decisions about your employees while focusing on the big picture. Ensure you don’t use only one piece of data for hiring or firing and that your actions are honest and legal. For example, if your analytics show that employees who live closer to the office are more likely to work for the company longer, avoid using that information to terminate employment for workers who live farther away. Rather, form your hiring and firing decisions based on individual performance and what’s best for your company.

Work with a Top Financial Recruiter in Chicago

Use big data along with supervisors’ and HR’s input to help make better decisions about your employees. For help filling your accounting and finance roles, contact the financial staffing experts at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources!

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Top Candidates – March 2017 Newsletter

Senior Financial Analyst
Areas of expertise: Budget and Modeling and Analysis, Financial Planning and Analysis, Corporate Reporting and Analysis, Cost Benefit and Product Analysis, Operations Modeling and Process Review, Procedural Development and Review.

Noteworthy: 15 years of experience within the manufacturing arena. In the last three roles they held sole responsibility for Financial Planning and Analysis as well as closing out all of the books.

Position Interest- Sr. Financial Analyst or Finance Manager
Available for: Direct Hire Placement
Location: Northwest Suburbs.

Treasury Operations Manager
Areas of Expertise: MBA and pursuing his CPA. Banking consolidation projects, FX hedging and netting, Compliance reporting,  Prepare quarterly Board Meeting reports for the CFO, Implemented e-payment solutions, Implemented new treasury and banking platforms including foreign currency, the treasury workstation and bank fee analysis portals. Certified Treasury Professional

Noteworthy: MBA and pursuing his CPA with experience within manufacturing Fortune 500 Companies.

Position of Interest: Treasury Manager
Available for: Direct Hire Placement
Location: Northwest Suburbs

Sr. Credit Analyst
Areas of Expertise: 10+ years of working with SAP FICO and customized SAP programs. International credit analysis for Mexico, Australia, Canada and South America. Has handled a portfolio up to $350M.Deduction experience includes: shortages, discounts, promotions, damaged goods and spoiled product. Full DSO responsibility.

Noteworthy: SAP expertise as well as International Credit Analysis expertise.

Position of Interest: Sr. Credit Analyst
Available for: Contract, Contract to Hire or Direct Hire
Location: Western Suburbs

Staff Accountant
Expertise includes:  Advanced Excel  (pivot tables, lookups, formulas), G/L Accounting, Fixed Assets and Bank Reconciliations

Noteworthy:  This person is only looking for temp work over the next 6 months while finishing a Master’s Degree and studying for the CPA test.

Position of Interest:  Staff or Senior Accountant level
Available for:  temporary
Location:  West Suburbs

Senior Accountant/Analyst
Expertise includes:   Month-End G/L close, sales forecasting, budgets, Analysis of SG&A expenses

Noteworthy:  CPA and MBA with manufacturing industry experience.

Position of interest:  Senior Accountant or Financial Analyst
Available for: Temporary, Temp to Hire and Direct Hire
Location:  North Suburbs and NW Suburbs

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Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, Inc. Wins Invaero’s 2017 Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Awards

Rolling Meadows, IL  60008 – Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, a leading employment agency specializing in placing Accounting and Finance Professionals, announced today they have won Inavero’s Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and job seekers. Presented in partnership with CareerBuilder, Inavero’s Best of Staffing winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based completely on the ratings given to them by their clients and the permanent and temporary employees they’ve helped find jobs. On average, clients of winning agencies are 2.5 times more likely to be completely satisfied and talent of winning agencies are 3.6 times more likely to be completely satisfied with the services provided compared to those working with non-winning agencies.  Award winners make up less than two percent of all staffing agencies in the U.S. and Canada who earned the Best of Staffing Award for service excellence.

Focused on helping to connect people with the right job openings at US companies, Arlington Resources received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from a majority of their clients and their talent, significantly higher than the industry’s average.

“Our staff is dedicated to finding the best talent for our clients, and the best opportunities for our talent.  We work hard to make service a priority, and we are proud and honored to be recognized for our efforts in this way.”  Casey Accounting & Finance Resources’ President and CEO, Patricia Casey said.

“Staffing firms are giving top companies a competitive advantage as they search for talent in North America,” said Inavero’s CEO Eric Gregg. “The 2017 Best of Staffing winners have achieved exceptionally high levels of satisfaction and I’m proud to feature them on BestofStaffing.com.”

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, Inc.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources specializes in the placement of Accounting & Finance Professionals for direct hire, contract and temporary services.  As a nationally accredited, best in class recruitment firm, our staff is well networked in the Accounting & Finance community, tenured and industry certified. With our dedicated staff experienced in developing relationships, obtaining referrals, and sourcing candidates, we can locate top talent that you may not be able to find on your own. In addition to our outstanding recruiting practices, our team is committed to community service and philanthropy.

About Inavero

Inavero administers more staffing agency client and talent satisfaction surveys than any other firm in the world. Inavero’s team reports on over 1.2 million satisfaction surveys from staffing agency clients and talent each year and the company serves as the American Staffing Association’s exclusive service quality partner.

About Inavero’s Best of Staffing

Inavero’s Best of Staffing® Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based completely on the ratings given to them by their clients and job candidates. Award winners are showcased by city and area of expertise on BestofStaffing.com – an online resource for hiring professionals and job seekers to find the best staffing agencies to call when they are in need.

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Write Better Job Descriptions to Eliminate Gender Bias

 

Writing accurate and descriptive job summaries is essential for attracting the right type of talent. If your job descriptions are too vague or generic, you may end up attracting a large talent pool that isn’t qualified for the job — and your screening process will take that much longer. Another important thing to keep in mind is the risk of gender bias. Some roles may often be assumed by either men or women, but you cannot discriminate based on sex for any position at your company. You need to make sure your job description conveys that anybody qualified for the position should apply — regardless of gender.

Here are some ways to write better job descriptions to eliminate gender bias:

1. Be mindful of word choice.

Avoid using masculine words in your descriptions, no matter how much you want to emphasize a certain trait or characteristic. For example, avoid using words like ‘assertive,’ ‘decisive,’ ‘driven,’ and other terms that tend to be linked to masculine energies.

2. Highlight must-have skills.

It will be in your favor to prioritize the must-haves and ‘nice-to-haves’ within your job description. Even a bulleted list can make it easier for the candidate to determine whether they are truly qualified for the job. This will help screen out candidates that could be a ‘maybe’ so you don’t have to move forward with an interview.

3. Eliminate nonessential skills.

Unless having an outgoing personality or similar qualities are required to perform the job well, eliminate nonessential skills that tend to turn otherwise-qualified female talent away. Provide a taste of company culture, but you don’t create a job description for a model employee. You want the employee’s unique personality and contributions to benefit your team, so you may not need to create a laundry list of traits, work habits, or personal characteristics as part of the job description.

If you need help with your financial recruiting efforts, consider working with an award-winning staffing firm. Casey Accounting and Finance Resources can help you attract quality candidates.

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2017 Salary Survey for Accounting and Finance

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources has compiled updated salary data for the fields of accounting and finance. With the start of the year, candidates are looking for jobs as a part of their resolution, making the job market busy.

With compensation trends changing on a monthly basis, both sides can benefit from having this information during job negotiations.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can help financial professionals who want to learn more about what salary expectations should be. We have compiled our salary survey list with updated facts and figures including job descriptions for more than 120 accounting and finance positions for the Chicago metropolitan area.

Email us today at FinancialSalarySurvey@caseyresources.com and we will be happy to share this with you.  In the “YOUR MESSAGE” section, please enter “2017chicago-finance-recruiters Accounting & Finance Salary Survey”.  Enjoy the rest of the summer!

 

3 Ways to Make Employee Reviews Less Stressful

Employee reviews or performance reviews can be stressful on a manager, especially if they haven’t worked directly with the employee for a significant period of time or are new to the position. Employee reviews are necessary for improving productivity and ensuring your good employees stay for the long-term. However, there are some things you can do to make review time a smooth, simple, and productive process.

Here are three ways to make employee reviews less stressful.

1. Conduct ongoing reviews.

Instead of just doing one annual review, consider conducing ongoing reviews so that you are addressing key areas of concern as they happen. Conducting ongoing reviews also opens up the line of communication and makes it easier to correct problems as they occur. You also can pass along compliments and share good information at these consistent meetings. Waiting an extended period of time to address a problem with an employee isn’t successful for anyone.

2. Ask the employee for feedback.

Very few managers will take the lead on asking for a critique of their own management style or behavior from an employee. However, this type of information can be very valuable because it can help you determine whether you and the employee can get along and what needs to be improved. Don’t be afraid to ask the employee what they like and dislike about your relationship so that you can both focus on improving things. Constructive criticism makes you a better leader, makes the department better and makes the company better.

3. Create an action plan together.

You’ll have both positive and negative points to share during an employee review. Be prepared to list everything out and work through the items together. The goal is to create an action plan to turn as many negatives into a positive. Get a verbal agreement or consensus on next steps so that you can work towards a better relationship and help the employee perform better at their job.

If you need help finding the right candidates for an open position, consider working with an award-winning financial staffing firm. Talk to the team at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources to connect with high-quality financial candidates.

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The 6 “R’s” in Recruiting!

Finding great candidates is every recruiter’s dream come true!   A great employee helps a company grow and be successful. Being aware of The 6 “R’s” in Recruiting will put you ahead of the rest of the organizations vying for the top candidates and victory will be yours!

Reviews

What is being said about your organization on social media sites such as Glassdoor and Facebook?  When a Google search is done of your company, what reviews are showing up and how many stars appear? Managing your brand and responding to good and bad reviews will put you in a good light with candidates. Candidates want to see good reviews and positive experiences when applying to work at an organization.

Responsive Design Websites

Are your recruiting applications and communications available on a mobile platform?  Constantly using smartphones, candidates are looking for new opportunities.  Will they be able to find yours?  Post short videos about your jobs on YouTube and incorporate a link from Google Maps so candidates can find you.

Referrals

Great referral programs bring in high-caliber candidates to your organization.  Need we say more!

Reduce your Hiring Time

Speed is important.  Candidates lose interest when the hiring process is dragged out.  Take a look at how long it takes to hire a candidate from start to finish and see where you can tighten your process.

References

Get it right and check their references.  Automated reference checking programs increase the response rate and accuracy of the reference checks.

Recruiting Firm

Working with a highly regarded staffing and recruiting firm can help significantly in finding great candidates quickly!  Let Casey Accounting & Finance Resources find top financial staff for you!

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What Can You Do to Incorporate Contract Workers into Your Corporate Culture?

Hiring contractors is a great way to fill open positions quickly and secure some high-quality employees for various projects. However, contract workers are often faced with the challenge of getting settled into an organization that also has many full-time workers. Since contract workers may only be with the company for few months or a year, they may not feel like they are part of the team and full-time workers may treat them differently.

Use the following tips to incorporate contract workers into your corporate culture.

Make an Effort to Make Workers Feel Welcome

Take the time to meet contractors on the first day to learn more about them. Introduce them to the team and take them out to lunch. You want to treat your workers like they are employees so they can get settled in quickly. Encourage some casual conversation to ease the anxiety some contractors may feel during their first few days. Announce the new contractors before they arrive so employees are aware who they will be working with in the near future.

Introduce Contractors in Person

Even if many of your contractors work remotely or offsite, it’s important that you introduce contractors in person. A face-to-face meeting or introduction can help get workers acclimated with each other and encourage workers to develop a good working relationship.

Outline Responsibilities

The induction process needs to help contractors understand their role in full, and also the responsibilities of their colleagues and team. Take the time to outline these responsibilities or host a meeting so the new recruits are well aware of their job duties.

Encourage an Atmosphere of Collaboration

You want your contractors to be able to contribute value even though they are only with you in the short term. Make sure they are equipped with the tools they need to get the job done and have access to resources and employee contacts who they may be collaborating with on various projects.

Encouraging contract workers to be a part of the organization will involve extra effort to make your workers feel welcome, and outlining responsibilities so everybody understands their role. If you need help finding high-quality financial candidates for contract positions, consider working with an award-winning financial staffing agency and contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources.

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