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Industry News

Less Means More in Modern Housing

Maximizing Luxury and Minimizing Impact

Written By: James Aiken

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Bigger used to be better when it came to the housing market in America. Size still matters in the housing market but the scales are tipping in favor of the smaller end. There are many reasons for the reversal of housing preferences. Younger Americans are opting for a minimalist lifestyle that offers smaller and simpler living.

Many of the homeowners that are joining this movement are opting to live in tiny houses. These houses reduce the size of the home substantially but still offer many of the same amenities.

Smaller Homes, Bigger Wallets

Americans are choosing to follow the tiny house movement for a variety of reasons. Among the top reasons are financial concerns, environmental concerns, and freedom from huge property maintenance. The typical American spends up to 50 percent of their income on normal housing costs. This cost can be reduced drastically by building a home to be just the size that you need.

A popular trend is to use the money saved on reducing the size to provide amazing amenities to the homes. There are tiny homes as small as 300 square feet that have solar power, hot tubs ad even bars. These could be purchased due to the amount of money saved by reducing square footage.

The trend of wanting smaller homes with high-quality materials and top of the line amenities is not only in the tiny house market but in the regular home market as well. Last year the typical new home that was manufactured dropped in square footage. This was the first drop in size since 2009 which shows that this trend is rapidly catching on.

Affordable Luxury

The average millennial home buyer is looking for substance instead of size. House size is becoming less important. Many homeowners are looking for things like energy star rated appliances, smart thermostats, low energy windows, and other energy-efficient amenities. New homeowners also seem to be leaning toward patios, wrap around porches and separate laundry rooms.

Most people looking for a home prefer building a new structure as opposed to buying an existing home. This means that the homeowners can add the amenities and the square footage that they want as opposed to more expensive renovations to existing structures. These homeowners are also moving out of cities with 65% of them wanting to build their houses in the suburbs.

Most of these millennial first time homeowners would prefer to build a new house. However, most are purchasing existing homes simply because it is an easier process, they can get deals on foreclosed homes, and they can move in almost immediately.

Do It Yourself: Tiny General Contracting

These homeowners are turning to the reality television craze to learn how to add amenities and features to their homes on their own. These do it yourself home improvement shows are starting a trend of homeowners making improvements to their homes on their own.

Many of these renovations tend to be outdoor spaces for entertaining company and relaxing. Decks, fences, and vegetable gardens top the list but gazebos, swimming pools, hot tubs, and BBQ pits are up there on the top of the list as well.

The biggest thing these millennials are looking for is value. They are looking to add to the equity of these homes so they can flip them for a profit and build their own homes the way they want. After these homes sell, they are tending to build homes that are smaller and have amenities such as mud rooms, separate laundry rooms, and gathering places such as outdoor kitchens with a dining area. Millennials seem to like to gather in groups and be close-knit by having parties and cookouts.

The state of the economy forced many Americans to be frugal in spending. This is the reason the trend for building smaller homes began. New Home building companies are building smaller homes to stay in business. They knew that big extravagant homes were not going to sell in the market at the time and began to market smaller more affordable homes.

Housing Market is Bigger, but Less Affordable

Over the last thirty years’ homes have more than doubled in size for the average home. Back then the average new home was 1,700 square feet. Any homeowner who has a house that was built in the previous decade has a living area that is four times larger than most of the homes built in the 1950’s. Many of these homes are being foreclosed and sold at low prices and in turn that brings down the price of other homes on the market.

Most construction companies are reporting that their clients are asking for smaller homes and 90% of these companies stated that they are either planning to build smaller homes or are already in the process of building them.

The trend to move toward smaller cost efficient homes began before or at the beginning of the recession. The housing market started to hit rock bottom and devastated homeowners began looking at these large homes as a bad investment and realized how much of a cash drain they had on their hands. These larger homes are not only more expensive because of the building materials but they cost more to heat and cool, property taxes are higher, and maintenance is harder and costs more.

Waste Not, Want Not

Therefore, homeowners are transitioning to smaller homes. Smaller homes are more cost efficient, easier to clean, and cheaper to furnish with those high-quality amenities that everyone seems to want.

This trend can be seen in divorces of all things. Divorcing couples used to fight over who was going to get the house and all the costs associated with it because neither wanted it. Now divorcing couples are fighting to try and keep the homes for themselves.

Living in a smaller home also makes homeowners think wisely about the things they want in their home because of less space. All of this has led to homeowners using the money they saved to purchase the high-quality amenities.

Taking Advantage of the Environment

These homeowners have made the decision to go with quality over quantity and everyone benefits from this trend.  Not only is this trend great for the environment but also good for the housing market and economy because fewer people are foreclosing on homes because they can afford to keep them due to the money saved by swapping square footage for nice amenities.


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Industry News

Innovations in Insulation

Weather Controllers – Insulation for Comfort

Written By: Thomas Berry

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Mankind has long sought ways to retain hot air in the winter and keep hot air out in the summer. In medieval days, workers would stuff walls with different materials such as straw and cover it with a mud plaster to keep air out. This method of stuffing walls with various materials to provide insulation was the go-to method until an accidental discovery was made in 1932.

Fiberglass Insulation

In 1932 the process to make fiberglass was discovered and insulation in the form of blankets burst onto the scene. Although this created a huge stride in insulation, the process of making and installing the insulation was highly dangerous because of small glass particles being released into the air. This also posed a threat to occupants of the building being insulated.

Spray Foam Insulation

These issues lead to the creation of spray foam which alleviated the dangers of the fiberglass and was also easier to install. However, spray insulation is not without its downside. Sprayed insulation is vulnerable to water which limits where it can be installed and any water getting to it ruins its insulative properties.

Aerogel: Alien Technology Powered by NASA

The newest innovation in insulation is thanks to a material called Aerogel created by NASA. Aerogel is a silica-based product that holds several Guinness Book of Records. Two of those records are lowest density solid and most importantly, the best insulator. Aerogel is made by taking silica alcogel and removing the water from it and replacing it with nothing but air. Aerogels can have a density as low as .001 grams per cubic centimeter and the reason they make such a fantastic insulator is because they eliminate convection, radiation, and conduction which are the three methods of heat transfer.

Maximizing R-Value: ThermaBlock

This aerogel technology lead to the invention of Thermablock. Thermablock comes in plastic incased strips that attach to studs of a wall that increase the overall R-Value by up to 35 percent regardless of cavity insulation. R-Value is the measurement that tells how well insulation keeps heat out in the summer and retains it in the winter. The higher the number the better the insulation. Thermablok can also be purchased with self-adhesive backing that makes it easy to install. Thermablok also contains the added benefits of never aging, mildewing, or molding. This is thanks to the hydrophobic properties of the aerogel. Thermablok is also environmentally safe and can be recycled because it is made up of amorphous silica.

When standard metal stud and gypsum board walls are tested with an infrared thermal test, the studs stand out glaringly obviously as the points of thermal conductivity. The biggest reason for energy loss in a building is thermal bridging. This is where Thermablok makes all the difference in the world. Since Thermablok utilizes aerogel which is composed of 95 percent air and is located between the stud and drywall, it breaks the thermal bridging connection and provides greater insulation.

Government-Tested, Contractor Approved

Thermablock was tested by the US department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and J. M. Laboratory.  The test compared two identical walls, one with Thermablok strips on each 2×4 stud, and the second wall without any Thermablok applied. The testing revealed that the wall with Thermablok strips improved the R-Value by almost 42 percent. Additional insulation was added to the wall cavity to stop thermal convection which added to the R-Value.

Thermablock has greatly increased energy savings in residential and commercial buildings which make it more cost efficient to heat a building in the winter and cool a building in the summer. We have come a long way since straw and mud and there is a little irony in the fact that the best current product to keep air out is comprised of 95% air.

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Company Spotlight

Company Spotlight: Prosoco

PROSOCO is a national manufacturer of products for cleaning, protecting and maintaining concrete; making building envelopes air- and water-tight; and cleaning, protecting and restoring new and existing masonry buildings.

Since its founding in 1939, the company has excelled at the innovation and development of superior products and services for the construction industry.

PROSOCO has offices and production facilities in Lawrence, Kansas with an extensive sales and technical support staff throughout the United States. PROSOCO products are available internationally with products currently sold in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and China through licensed manufacturers.

SMXLL

 

PROSOCO Products

Sure Klean

Sure Klean products first hit hardware store shelves in 1956. Ever since then, Sure Klean has been a go-to product for engineers, contractors, and architects across the country. These industry professionals quickly realized the dual purpose that Sure Klean could solve, it was great for the final cleanup of new construction and equally as great for restorative cleaning of existing masonry buildings.

When you look at the enormous price of a building, the price of masonry cleaners does not even become a thought for most people. When masonry cleaning, if done properly, not only does it look great on the contractor but makes the natural beauty and appearance of a building much better as well.

PROSOCO has created a special formula in this product that allows the user to apply it to Masonry to remove stains without damage to the surface. Professional after professional have attempted to clean masonry with a solution not intended to clean masonry and ended with disastrous results. Sure Klean ensures that this never needs to happen and PROSOCO is so confident in this product that every gallon is backed by free job site testing and support as well as a toll-free customer care line for any questions regarding Sure Klean.

R-Guard barrier systems

One of the biggest things looked at when architects design a building is controlling the leakage of air and water to maintain an energy efficient building. R-Guard is a barrier system that helps these architects achieve a building that is capable of withstanding extreme wind and wet conditions making the building more durable, resilient, and sustainable.

PROSOCO designed the R-guard air barrier system to stop air leakage in rough openings, through wall structures, sheathing seams, and material transitions to create a building that is virtually air tight. The result of an air tight building is a building that is energy efficient. Some of the buildings that receive the most extreme weather in the world rely on R-Guard by Prosoco. One of these is the Bullitt Center in Seattle that utilizes R-Guard because of the amount of wind and rain it encounters.

Blok-Guard & Graffiti Control

One of the unforeseen and costly issues for any building is graffiti cleanup. Sure Klean Weather Seal Blok-Guard and Graffiti control helps alleviate those costs while also providing protection against the elements. Blok-Guard and Graffiti Control is a solvent-based silicone elastomer that PROSOCO formulated to weatherproof custom masonry units, architectural concrete block, cast stone, wood, precast concrete, and any other porous material that could soak up the paint from graffiti or rainwater and ruin the material. Blok-Guard and graffiti control protects these surfaces from repeated graffiti attacks without altering the natural appearance, the treated surfaces resist penetration of most types of graffiti making the graffiti removal process quick, easy, and cost effective. The product also controls rainwater penetration through exterior blocked walls but the treated surface breathes so moisture does not become trapped.

Enviro Klean

Back in 1998, Prosoco developed the first environmentally safe all surface cleaner and became a pioneer in the green movement. Ever since then the cleaning company has been pushing the industry to develop safe for the environment cleansers and chemical technology. Prosoco employs a full staff of chemists whose job is to develop cleaning products for masonry buildings while staying ahead of the consistently changing chemical regulations industry.

The Enviro Klean product line effectively cleans masonry without the addition of caustics, solvents, or harsh acids. These products are a safer alternative than all the other abrasive alternatives on the market today.

Consolideck®

The Consolideck system is a line of products from PROSOCO that comes with 100% Free training to ensure the end users have the ultimate system for finished concrete flooring. The system included water based stains, color hardeners, concrete hardener and densifiers, protective treatments, and maintenance cleaners.

Sustainability

Since the beginning of the company, PROSOCO has been leading initiatives for transparency in the construction industry. The company has spent millions of dollars while working alongside contractors, building scientists, architects, and more to develop sustainable options for the construction industry. All PROSOCOS products surpass the highest green standards in contemporary building design and construction and they have a plethora of awards and achievements because of this.  The LEED v4 and Living building challenge V2.2 are a blueprint to a great deal of PROSCOS’s formulations that have led to this success. PROSOCO has a broad mission to design products that maximize building energy efficiency and durability while leaving the smallest carbon footprint possible.

Living Building Challenge

The Living Building Challenge has high standards for acceptance and PROSOCO has met the all. The standards are net-zero water consumption, net-zero energy consumption and reduced construction materials, impact on people and environment. With very few exceptions, any materials used in the creation of products must not have any “Red List” materials. The Red list is a gathering of items that have been selected to be phased out because they present some health or toxicity concerns with most of these coming from the construction industry and building materials. There are hundreds of unique chemicals on this list. PROSOCO was selected as the concrete finish and air and water resistive barrier supplier for the most notable Living Building Challenge commercial project, the Bullitt Center.

The effect PROSOCO has on the environment is just one of the many reasons to buy products from this company. Not only have they been in the marketplace for a very long time but their products are also amazing. When it comes to a wide variety of products and the customer support to ensure that you use the correct product to get the job done, it is hard to beat PROSOCO.

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Human Resources

Secrets of Retaining Top-Performing Millennials

Retaining the Millennials

Written By: James Aiken

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Common “Solutions” to Retaining Millennials:
– Increase compensation
– Give them newer tech (cell, laptop, etc.)
– Let them work remotely
– Tuition reimbursement & training opportunities
– Increase company social events
– Avoid requiring overtime

Retaining your employees is one of the most crucial aspects of leadership. There’s a lot of different options on how to address chronic millennial turnover in a certain position. We have come to realize that all of the above solutions are actually just added bonuses. They’re often like a band-aid over the issue. A manager shouldn’t focus on implementing one of these as a solution until making some other changes first. Often times, turnover isn’t an operations problem, it’s a recruiting problem. In the building materials industry, there has never been as much need for focus on retention.

Creating Workforce Inertia – Pairing Common Goals

A manager can lower their turnover by understanding who they are recruiting past their objective skills. Dive into the DNA. Often times managers will get caught up in technicalities, which is so easy to do. The technical aspects of a candidate are certainly important. However, an employee shouldn’t just be viewed as “can this candidate do the job?” Managers should consider “how can I create workforce inertia to keep this candidate performing at their best?” There should be a focus on helping them advance their own personal career goals.

Understanding the Future to Motivate the Present

Some managers will complain that they can’t retain someone in a certain position past a year, but they never ask the candidate/employee where they want to be in a year. When a manager recruits for a position, they need to use candor – plain and simple. They need to understand a prospect’s aspirations. Hiring managers need to understand what makes the candidate tick. There’s a need to understand the candidate’s vision for their future.

Our interactions with millennial candidates has concluded that for millennials – its often a matter of them wanting to do more. They want to increase their scope – they want to develop their career. They want to build a legacy. Keep them happy up front by understanding where they want to be. Help carve the path in front of them. If managers want to retain, they need to understand their yearly outlooks (1, 2, 5). These should be kept up with as much as quarterly. Don’t have them answer by a form, ask them face-to-face. Having a candidate or employee answer on a form doesn’t help them feel like you actually care about their future. This will make candidates more apt to stretch the truth on their answers for short term solutions.

Be Frank like Sinatra

On the other hand, managers/interviewers need to be frank with the candidate on what the position entails. If the position is one of those positions where there’s no vertical opportunities, managers/interviewers need to disclose it. Is the person going to be traveling three weeks out of the month? Disclose it! Even if the company vehicle is a PT Cruiser, disclose it. Disclose to the candidate the most difficult parts about the responsibilities and environment. Disclose it up front and save Human Resources the tears, time, and money.

It’s tough to retain millennials. However, with the right level of communication, forecasting, and planning, you’ll be able to cut down on your aspirin bill.

 


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Human Resources

Interview to Understand Aspirations

Peer into the Future to Retain Employees Better

Written By: James Aiken

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Depending on the hiring manager, recruiter or human resources department – interviewers may not necessarily have as much time to interview as they wish. I’ve seen interviews that last from thirty minutes to a chain of interviews lasting eight hours. Regardless, interviewers need to make sure to take advantage of the time spent interviewing. More often than not, they ask questions that don’t necessarily give a real understanding of the candidate.

Reading the Future: Crystal Ball Questions

In a previous article, the importance of understanding a candidate’s foreground, or what they understand as their near future (aspirations etc) was put into consideration. Technical questions are absolutely critical in the process. However, time needs to be taken to interview for personality and aspirations. When a hiring manager doesn’t understand a candidate’s aspirations, it makes it much harder on the firm to retain an employee since they don’t know what would actually make them happy!

Interviewing on Past Behavior

Some do not necessarily put a huge deal of weight on the new fad of “behavioral questions” in human resources, although some firms do put a lot of confidence behind these questions. These are often more reactive questions and certainly help hiring managers understand a candidates reactions and past actions. They are also likely to hear the highlights of that candidate’s career versus everyday interactions. In this case, it may not necessarily be the most accurate representation of the candidate. If someone is interviewing to be a fisherman, they’re more likely to tell you about the time that they saved a coworker from going overboard than the time they tossed another fisherman overboard. These are good questions to ask, but the answers should certainly be taken with a grain of salt.

“I’m Best When I’m at My Weakest”

An interviewer could technically flip the questions to make them a negative as in “What are your weaknesses?” but you’re likely to get a less extreme version of Michael Scott’s answer when he said:
“…my greatest weaknesses? I work too hard. I care too much. And sometimes I can be too invested in my job.”
 All the more reason to focus on the candidate’s aspirations and what they see as their future to see if it matches up with the future an interviewer sees in the possible associate.  More importantly, down to the questions:

1. What do you see as the next big step in your career?

This is nearly always the first question a good recruiting firm will ask a prospective candidate. Before speaking about the job opening, the company or details on what the candidate does – a candidate’s aspirations must be addressed. If the opportunity doesn’t match up with what they realistically see as their future, it probably isn’t the best fit. Not to say this is a disqualifier, but you can be assured that the candidate will not be as enthusiastic about the opportunity than someone else who really matches up as far as aspirations go.
In addition, this gives the interviewer or company as a whole a clearer image of the candidate in order to emphasize the parts of the job that do line up with their aspirations

2. If you could change one thing about your current employer, what would it be?

 Associates always have some type of idea or suggestion to make their workplace better. They may be in an environment where there are already so many processes they don’t have an opportunity to implement anything. This question gives an interviewer an inside look at a candidates analytical thinking as well as how well they can put up with not being able to implement/influence a change.

3. Being from a (small/large) company, do you prefer an environment with established processes or an environment with more opportunity to implement processes?

This is an important question to ask due to polarization. Associates from small companies gripe that there aren’t processes in place, that software isn’t sophisticated or that things are inefficient. Associates from large companies gripe that they are being drowned by processes. They mention that there are many things they would like to change, but can’t. On occasion associates believe their employers strategies “can’t see the forest for the trees”.
This gives a hiring manager another opportunity to sell to strengths. Many times, an associate from a large process-oriented firm will be very excited to join a smaller firm if they have the opportunity to implement processes of their own. On the other side of the coin, associates from a smaller more liberally run firm may be excited to join a large firm where they can learn processes, techniques and strategies that they didn’t previously have the opportunity to be a part of.

4. What accomplishment in your current role makes you most proud? 

This may seem like a background-searching question as the setting is in the past, but its actually forward-looking as the interviewer is figuring out what drives pride behind an associates work. An interviewer is greatly benefited by understanding what makes an associate happy with their work, go figure!
The interviewer may also be surprised, as the answers aren’t always profit or process-driven. Occasionally there are answers focusing on healing fragmented teams, improving employee pride or team engagement.

5. If you had to train someone in one of your current work-related skills, which would you be most enthusiastic about?

Teaching is a key factor behind leadership. As Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” According to my application to Harvard’s Law Department, you can’t teach something you don’t know! In addition, this again explains the passions behind an interviewee’s background in order to more accurately predict their future.

Understand Employees to Better Motivate Them

Some of the most important information to understand about a candidate is what drives them. An interviewer should understand what their passions are, as well as where their pride and enthusiasm lies. When a company can line up the succession plan of their open role with the future aspirations of a current candidate – they will greatly increase their average employee tenure.



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Human Resources

Interviewing for Red Flag Identification

Getting the Right Candidate Means Identifying the Wrong Candidate Early

Written By: James Aiken

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You have a vacant position. You need to fill it. Yet, you need to fill it with the right candidate. The interviewing process, notwithstanding whether you love it or hate it, is costing you both time and lost productivity due to this gap. However, hiring can go wrong. This article will help you avoid “toxic” candidates and help you source the right talent for your business.

This article will give you a new approach. Don’t waste time on the wrong candidate. Learn to quickly recognize signs of a mismatch so you can focus on the right candidate for your urgent vacancy. The latest academic research along with industry best practice all point towards the centrality of nurturing good talent. However, the converse of this outcome is to quickly move on from talent that doesn’t align with your candidate profile.

BABY STEPS IN RECRUITING

It is all about knowing what you want. You should know what the position entails, what the duties are and the responsibilities therein. You need to understand how that role interplays with the wider business. This way you can take small steps towards getting the right candidate first, without being bogged down with candidates that do not match what you’re seeking.

According to Harvard Business Review, in a paper entitled Toxic Workers, the cost associated with hiring the wrong person can exceed $12,489 – excluding litigation and regulatory costs. Furthermore, some academics believe hiring the wrong person can also decrease organisational productivity by creating a negative influencer within the organisation who will counter the wider business goals and objectives through their negative psychology.

There is a dilemma and a conundrum here. Getting the wrong staff member can cost a business a lot of money. However, the metrics and benchmarks used to target the right member of staff can sometimes be gamed by the right ‘negative’ influencer. The research above highlight this reality and as such it is crucial that businesses plan their recruitment processes on the assumption of such negative counter-experiences.

PLANNING AHEAD

It is crucial that your job advertisement is curated to define the full range of employment and role experiences. This way, the candidate, can be sure the role suits their skills sets and experiences. However, as a business leader, your role is to focus, with laser pointed clarity, at the wider issues.

As a business leader, when looking at candidates, you need to focus on a nuanced reality. All the candidates can do the role – they’ve curated their own resumes in order to highlight this certainty. Therefore, you need to ask yourself whether the candidate should do the role. This is not about employment history or qualifications but about a wider array of intersectional experiences from emotional intelligence markers to outside workplace interests. These diverse metrics can help identify crucial markers. As a leader, you need to be able to understand the team you lead.

 


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Human Resources

Six Markers of a “Toxic” Employee

There are six ways, as a business leader, you can avoid the hassle of recruiting a toxic employee. This section will explore a series of useful processes that can help to nurture an environment in which recruiting a toxic employee is difficult. The six stages are as follows:

  • MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS AND DIFFERENT ANGLES

Get two or three stages of the interview process – you can offer a telephone interview, followed by a face to face interview and perhaps a test-based interview. This myriad of diverse investigation will be able to help identify flaws in the candidate’s personality and whether their personal values would impact on your business.

  • GET SOMEONE ELSE TO INTERVIEW

You have been fooled many times. You know it. Your colleagues as individuals have been hoodwinked. However, getting a team to interview a candidate, whilst daunting for the candidate, can help to create a group mentality around the recruitment process which can lead to a group attitude towards the candidate’s suitability.

  • TOXIC MINDS THINK TOXIC THOUGHTS

Ask the crazy questions! Think outside of the box. Ask a question like; “can you think of six issues relating to your previous employer?” This question is a leading question designed to get the candidate to not just answer a singular question but to explore a myriad of themes within the confines of a singular answer. If blame is appropriated into this experience, you can understand how this person endeavours. So, ask a crazy question.

  • CRYSTAL BALL GAZING

The dreaded question, “where do you see yourself in ten years”, is the ultimate question for discerning the narcissist toxic employee. The purpose of the question is to understand the long-term goals of the individual within the context of the organisation. This tricks the individual into providing information about their values and the worth they have placed on their prospective employer.

  • DON’T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF

There are lessons from history you can learn, as the maxim goes. This is so true when it is placed alongside the context of recruiting individuals. Bad and negative experiences are central in deconstructing toxic future employees. You can ask questions that force the candidate to explore their past. If patterns begin to emerge, there is a chance this could happen again – within your organisation!

  • THERE IS NO I IN TEAM, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A WE IN RECRUITMENT

When sourcing, sorting and interviewing a candidate. There is one way you can identify a toxic employee and that is by discussing their work history and listening to their responses. Do they use the word “we”? Did they work in a team, but the interviewee sounds like it was a solo one-man project? These vanity responses hint at an altogether more troubling sub-dynamic and that is the presence of narcissism. Toxic employees are toxic because they’re more about themselves than the wider team or business goals. Listen for the “we” in candidate responses.

These six markers can help a business leader avoid the costly pitfalls of recruiting a toxic employee and by-pass the ancillary costs of such a mistake. This article has identified the science surrounding toxic employees. It has discerned the real problem a toxic employee would create and how this would impact your own business goals and objectives. Therefore, as a business leader, you need to plan. You need to strategize your recruitment process. You need to understand the vacancy. You need to understand what that role will entail. From this knowledge, you need to approach the selection as a wider team effort.

THE NEXT STEP

The six markers herald a more collaborative approach to recruitment that can help you to find the right candidate for your business. By following these six metric markers, your business can save tens of thousands of dollars and hire the best staff for your business needs.

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Human Resources

Find a Job Like a Recruiter in 4 Strategic Steps

Finding the next step in your career can be a lot less stressful than applying to job postings and hoping for the best. If a job-searcher takes a more active approach, they can guarantee a higher level of success and have much more control over their future. It’s overused, but most agree, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

1) Create your job profile

I like to think about a job profile as location, industry, function & scope. If I sell insulation across the southeast from Greenville, SC – then I would likely be looking for a job within sales in the southeast (preferably Greenville) in the building materials industry. At this point you start making your company target list. A good number is around 20 with your top 5 segmented out.

2) Sweep through applications

Go on to the popular websites such as Indeed, CareerBuilder, Monster & ZipRecruiter and apply to all of the applicable positions according to your job profile. Do not limit your companies, however. That list is to be used later. When you’re applying for jobs, you’re best off spending maybe 4-8 hours applying for all of the jobs you possibly can. Afterwards, forget you even applied. After you do this (once every two weeks max), you should only be waiting for phone calls back. Focus on phone conversations, if they call you, the relationship can be on your radar, otherwise its not worth the brain strain. Apply liberally, this can also be used as a networking tool. If something seems a bit too high, apply anyway. Applying above your pay grade is obviously much more productive than applying below it.

3) Connect with applicable recruiters

Connect yourself with recruiters that apply to your job profile as far as location, industry & function go. For example, a company/recruiter that works exclusively in your city/metro/target area. If you’re in IT, you’re probably going to work best with an IT firm like MDI Group. If you’re in building materials, sales or manufacturing operations, you’ll do great with Legacy.

4) Network and Grow Your Niche Like a recruiter

At this point you’ve clearly stated exactly what you’re looking for, you’ve got your eye on the prize. Now its time to get out and spread the story. Don’t wait for new jobs to get posted, don’t rely on the recruiters to find you a job, it’s time for you to really get to work. Here you should be chatting and getting introduced to anyone and everyone that falls within your niche, more specifically your top 20/5 list! Stay focused and continue to build out your network within your target job.

Taking an active approach and tracking relationships will help you greatly in finding a job. Treat it like a sales job. You’re selling yourself! Build your network, gain trust and offer solutions. Remember, there’s a job opening because there’s something that needs to be addressed, sell the solution. As much as you’re going to be concerned with what the company is going to do for you, you need to have a clear idea of the value behind what you’re able to do for the company. This will make you much more confident and clear-minded during interviews. Follow these steps and you’ll have your next job in no time!

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Human Resources

Why College Kids Hate Recruiters and How We Can Solve It

I recently read through Elana Goodwin’s article on ERE Media titled “Why Students May Not Want to Work with Recruiters”. It seemed pretty important to me because if students aren’t interested in working with recruiters, I need to know why and I need to figure out how to fix these issues. If students feel a certain way – I’m sure there are others outside of University that feel the same way.
At the same time, I wanted to be able to provide a look from a different angle at the objections towards working with a recruiter and explain some of the stemming causes of these points of conflict. Elana covered multiple issues, the four strongest arguments I believe she made were the lack of transparency, lack of response, lack of activity and lack of reliability.
“Students feel working with a recruiter can be challenging as you can’t always be sure that what they’re telling you is the truth… Whether students work with an external or internal recruiter, they may end up being lied to — and while it may sometimes be ‘for their own good’ or to soften a blow, it’s still a lie.” (Goodwin)
This is a common issue raised by candidates working with recruiters. As Elana mentions, we see this with internal as well as external recruiters. I think the issue here stems from two things: a recruiter’s hesitance for confrontation. If you are working with a recruiter who shies from confrontation or that may be restricted behind corporate red tape from saying certain things, you will end up running into this situation.
One of the points we make at Legacy is that we must work with honesty and transparency. This isn’t only ethical, but it improves our business processes and our quality altogether. We do not look to put square pegs into round holes. We do not look to shy away from being honest with our candidates. We are a team looking to achieve a goal – increase a candidate’s quality of life through their career while at the same time building our client’s human capital. If we do both of those, retention is not an issue.
“Additionally, there are recruiters who may never call back candidates, and students will expect and accept a no-response when applying to jobs through a website in situations where says they won’t contact all candidates unless selected to move forward in the application and interview process. When students are dealing with a person and that recruiter fails to get back to them and let them know they weren’t picked, it’s likely that student won’t want to work with any other recruiters in the future, thanks to bad experiences in the past.” (Goodwin)
Another very common issue – most common with high-volume jobs where the amount of active candidates interviewed gets to an overwhelming level for human resources or recruiters. That doesn’t excuse the action, though. There is no excuse for not getting back to an active candidate in the interviewing process.
At Legacy, we don’t typically work high-volume roles. We are able to commit ourselves to conversation by phone. If we are working a high-volume job on a project, our software is able to send out status updates automatically through our system when certain stages are met in the hiring process.
Some firms have recruiters working eight to sixteen different search assignments at once which would make it very difficult to keep up with all candidates, but at Legacy we make sure to keep the search assignment load low in order to ensure we are giving candidates the attention they deserve. We have found that splitting a recruiter’s hours per week between fifteen jobs doesn’t turn out as positively as focusing in on two to four jobs.
“Some recruiters will keep a backlog of resumes to peruse and review for new job openings when they’re tasked with filling a position while others will seek out completely new candidates and won’t even check past applicants to see if anyone would be a good match. Knowing this, students may question why they should bother working with a recruiter, and the answer to that will depend on the practices the recruiter uses to fill empty positions.” (Goodwin)
Elana makes a great point here that took me a while in my career to really understand. A recruiter must be able to realize the passive candidate pipeline just as much (if not better) than the active candidate pipeline. A very prominent external recruiter swears by the process of building your passive candidate roster specific to the job functions you’re most likely to address.
For example, Legacy works primarily in the building materials industry and we focus on meeting and understanding sales and operations individuals’ aspirations for the next step of their career. That way, when our clients bring up the need to either increase their company’s revenue (sales) or lower their company’s costs (operations) – we are able to solve their problems faster than a company that needs to go out into the market and run an entire search! When the Panthers are in the middle of the season and need a lineman to cover an injury, do they quickly sign someone from the free agency or do they wait around and scout for next years draft? More than likely, they have a couple of free agents they know they can pull in when necessary.
“Students feel they are the ones who will be most motivated to find themselves a job — so relying on a recruiter may seem counter-intuitive and counterproductive to students. Students, especially millennials, approach job-hunting as they do many other tasks and things: with independence and the knowledge that whatever is unknown about the job or application process is inherently know-able and self-teachable, thanks to the power of the Internet”. (Goodwin)
This is one of the great things about millennials when it comes to finding a job – they know that ultimately, they are the ones responsible for finding themselves a job. For soon-to-be (or recent) graduates, I typically suggest the following strategy focusing energy on five avenues:
  • Passive Opportunities
    • Recruiters – Pair yourself with recruiters specialized around your background
      • Industry
      • Function
      • Location
    • Personal Network – Make your availability and interests known. Don’t stop at friends and family. Figure out friends of friends that may fall into an industry/function you’re interested in.
  • Active Opportunities
    • Job Boards – Apply liberally. If you’re on the fence, apply to learn more. Its a numbers game, remember the plate-spinning theory.
    • University Job Fairs – Make it a focus to speak to as many companies as possible in person. Endorse opportunity, learn as much as you can about every company and role so you can accurately make the best decision for yourself. It’s better to have five offers and turn down four than to fight for one offer because you limited yourself.
    • Target Companies – Make a list of 20-40 companies you are most interested in and reach out to their human resources department. There are plenty of ways to meet influencers if you are truly determined.
Want to know one of Warren Buffet’s big secrets behind getting rich? Multiple income sources. That way, when one fails, you still have money coming in from a handful of other avenues. The same applies to finding a job (or any goal for that matter). Don’t let your success come down to one strategy being successful, work through multiple avenues to leverage your efforts.
All in all, the criticisms college students have of recruiters are valid and present in many recruiting firms we see in the industry. As companies get larger and more complex, some things do fall through the cracks of process and overleveraging. All firms need to make sure they are able to respect a candidate’s time and perception or they may find themselves without any candidates in the future!
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Industry News

Self-Healing Concrete of the Future

Self-Healing Concrete: Reinforcements from Bacteria

Written By: Thomas Berry

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Ever since the Ancient Romans learned that mixing horsehair in their version of concrete prevented cracking, man has sought ways to increase the longevity of this pivotal building material. Little did anyone know, the answer to this problem has been around since the Romans mixed up the first batch of horsehair concrete. The answer does not lie in horsehair but in bacteria!

Bring in the Materials Scientists! 

In 2006, Professor Henk Jonkers of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands was approached by a civil engineer friend who had read an article about introducing limestone-producing bacteria to monuments for increased longevity. This friend wondered if the same application could be applied to building materials and challenged Professor Jonkers with the difficult task of producing a self-healing concrete utilizing bacteria. Professor Jonkers worked diligently over the next few years and came up with a viable solution.

Professor Jonkers knew that the problem with regular concrete was small cracks that became larger due to leakage. Jonkers knew that concrete was extremely alkaline. This meant not only would the bacteria have to lie dormant in the concrete for many years until cracks appeared, but it would also have to be able to survive the alkaline conditions of concrete. He found his answer with bacillus bacteria. These bacteria can survive in extremely alkaline conditions and produce spores that can lie dormant for years without food or water.

With the bacteria and water problems solved, Professor Jonkers had to come up with a solution to feed the bacteria at the precise moment to repair cracks. The bacterium could be fed sugar by mixing sugar in with the concrete but this would make the concrete soft and weak. Jonkers found the solution with calcium lactate which does not compromise the integrity of the concrete. He mixed the bacteria and calcium lactate into water soluble capsules within the wet mix of the concrete itself. When water leaks through the cracks of the concrete the capsule dissolves releasing the bacteria with a food and water source. The bacteria feeds on the calcium lactate and produces calcite, which is limestone, and this heals the cracks of the concrete. Professor Jonkers called his new creation “bioconcrete”.

Bioconcrete: Powered by Bacteria

Bioconcrete is mixed just like any other concrete is mixed today but introduces the bacteria healing agent into the mix cycle. The bacteria lie dormant in the hardened concrete until years later when the concrete cracks and water leaks in. This water activates the bacteria which then begins to feed and produce a limestone waste that heals the cracks in the concrete.

This invention comes in three different forms. A spray to apply to existing structures with small cracks, a repair mortar for repairing large cracks in existing structure, and the self-healing concrete form to build from scratch.

There are currently many locations that could benefit from this technology in concrete. Coastal areas and areas that see high annual rainfall amounts could greatly benefit in Professor Jonker’s self-healing concrete. These areas that have higher than average rainfalls typically have some of the worst concrete damage due to the high likelihood of water leaking through micro cracks in their concrete structures.

elf-healing Irrigation Canals in Ecuador

Professor Jonkers’s invention has already been tested in several applications in developing countries. Most notably is a concrete canal and irrigation system in Ecuador made completely of bioconcrete.

As of right now, bioconcrete seems like expensive technology since it costs 30% more than standard concrete but Professor Jonkers says the costs can be reduced if they can find a way to incorporate sugars instead of calcium nitrate. He hopes that the construction industry will see the benefit in saving repair costs down the road as opposed to building costs.