Management in an organization is easily defined; it is a system of people within an organization with at least minimal decision-making abilities that use company resources to achieve organizational goals. Management is often task-oriented, and  the categories of employees that fall under management are staffing, controlling, planning, and organizing.  On the other hand, leadership is a term that is usually a lot less clearly defined. It can be argued that the definition of leadership is to ‘lead a group of people to achieve a common goal,’ and managers do that. It is no wonder the terms are so easily confused…

Within an organization, it is the leaders that create the common goal and the processes by which managers will ensure their employees achieve it. An organization starts with leadership and a vision. Take Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for example; He is true leader whose multi-billion dollar corporation started from his vision. Now Facebook continues to expand and create world-changing updates to its system, because visionary Mark Zuckerberg strategically identifies leaders to manage the continued evolution of Facebook.

Is every leader a manager? No. Is every manager a leader? No … but the best managers are. The most successful organizations have a solid mixture of effective managers and effective leaders. Leaders generate new ideas, and managers execute them. Leaders create a system, and managers oversee the day to day operations within that system. Leaders are effective, and managers are efficient. Leaders inspire others to do great, and managers motivate others to achieve a goal. Leaders create change, and managers work to create stability & consistency. Leaders have followers, while managers have associates. Leaders make the rules (and sometimes break them,) and managers follow the rules. Leaders oversee, and managers supervise.  Every organization is different, but regardless of the overall vision for the company, it is important to understand that there is a difference between leadership and management. Often times, the definitions of both management and leadership are situational and according to the organizational structure. The best organizations understand and value both managers & leaders and encourage their managers to lead. 

• Amber Bozman said, “Regina has spent many days here at WastePro, which has made her a part of our extended WastePro family! Every opportunity we get to spend some time with Regina, we take it and enjoy every moment. She has a way of brightening the room she is in and the people that are around her … She is intelligent, a hard worker, learns quickly and always gets the job done beyond satisfactorily. We are glad to hear about the Employee of the Month Award and feel like she is very deserving. GO REGINA!”

• “Regina is always willing to go beyond what is expected of her and always with a smile on her face. I always look forward to working with her because she brings so much joy to those around her. She is so deserving of this award!” – Dawn Gonzalez

• “She always has a smile on her face, gorgeous, dependable, and has the most friendly, pleasant voice. She has a heart of GOLD! …She is a very special lady and so much deserves this award. For a week and a half we set sail on the USS Regina, now we have docked and miss her very much.” – Brenda Mehringer

• “Regina always has a smile on her face and is always willing to help out in any way that she can. She is pleasant, friendly, a hard worker and we enjoy every single minute that she is here with us.” – Dana Marina

Congratulations Regina! Ad-VANCE could go on and on, but these wonderful client compliments just about sum up why Regina is so deserving of this recognition. You can also see Regina on the “Testimonials” page of our website. Ad-VANCE is lucky to have so many outstanding employees, but Regina truly is one of the best! We wish her much continued success in the future and look forward to sharing her with new clients as well as those who have already had the pleasure of working with her. Call Ad-VANCE today to see if Regina or another one of our fabulous temps is available for your temporary office needs!

Many organizations within the state of Florida only check local backgrounds, because the judicial system website makes it simple to screen anyone by county. It is important to remember that often times, potential candidates have lived outside of Florida or are not being completely honest on their application, and a national criminal background check (including sexual offender status and worker’s compensation claim history) is necessary for any new employee that you bring in to your organization.

Employers should always refer to the Fair Credit Reporting Act when conducting employee background screening and ensure that all practices are according to local, state, and federal law. Some companies find that the easiest, most-effective, and most certainly legal way to screen candidates is turning to a trusted, third-party source to conduct all screening, including both credentialing and complete criminal history checks. Ad-VANCE Talent Solutions is a one-stop human resource provider that offers a  variety of screening solutions for any business. Call Ad-VANCE today for more tips and information on our screening and hiring services!

As a former military spouse who struggled with starting a career while serving, I believe it is important to also note the struggle that military families face when seeking employment. The government has launched the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, and now it is up to those of us in the private sector to follow suit!

You, too, can join the cause at:  http://americawantsyou.net/.  Beyond this initiative (and even if you don’t have any job opportunities to offer,) you can support our troops, just by being AWARE of the struggles that our veterans and their families face when seeking employment during and after their service to our country.

We always try to take this same approach at Ad-VANCE and initiate interviews by asking applicants about what they know about Ad-VANCE and what we have to offer. What we’ve found is that most candidates expect a certain outcome from coming to us, and often times, that outcome is negative. We’ve heard all kinds of stories from sub par interviews to the dreaded “They never called me for an interview.” They almost always expect that there are no benefits (holiday pay, health insurance, bonus incentives, etc.) Often times, clients expect that we only do temp placements or that we don’t ever show up on site to meet with them in person. This is no way means that other staffing companies give bad service or have bad practices, but these experiences were more than likely driven from a lack of understanding of each company’s services and procedures. At Ad-VANCE, we understand that it is imperative to make sure that clients and employees alike understand from Day 1: who we are, what we do, & how we do it.

It is very important for clients and employees to understand that every employment/recruiting agency is different. We’re different in the types of positions we specialize in recruiting for, the methodologies used to recruit, the level of service provided to our clients, and the treatment of our employees (from the time they enter our lobby to the time they become a permanent employee with a client.) Ad-VANCE strives to create unique HR partnerships with all clients & solid relationships with employees to best fit their needs. We are proud to offer health insurance, holiday & vacation pay, and bonus incentives to all employees. Because we are entirely locally owned & operated, we also offer unique staffing & recruiting approaches and a level of flexibility to all clients. It’s not just about recruiting bodies and fillings positions; It is about creating unique relationships with both employees and clients to ensure that every placement is the ideal fit.

Call Ad-VANCE today, and speak to any staff member for an explanation of our services! Employers can also view our Employer Information page: http://ad-vance.com/employers/ & Job Seekers/Employees can access more detailed information about Ad-VANCE’s procedures at our Job Seekers page: http://ad-vance.com/job-seekers/.

If you are an Ad-VANCE employee or client and have ANY questions about worker’s compensation, unemployment, employee injuries, etc. … Call any Ad-VANCE coordinator today! We are all trained & here to ensure a solid relationship and understanding for all employees & clients!

Ad-VANCE Talent Solutions would like to congratulate Bradley Tenhoff, our Employee of the Month for March 2012!! Brad was one of our temp success stories: When he came into Ad-VANCE on a Friday afternoon, having very little knowledge about us and what we do, he never expected that he’d end up becoming Sarasota County’s mailroom delivery clerk by Monday! He’s been there ever since, and continues to be a very valuable asset to their team. Sarasota County Government just wouldn’t be the same without him!

Brad’s supervisor for Sarasota County had this to say about him,” Brad is a wonderful choice for this. His performance exhibits efficient professionalism based on a high level of customer service.” Here at Ad-VANCE, we could not agree more! He has always been reliable, hard-working, grateful for every opportunity, and an absolute pleasure to be around. … You can actually see Brad on our employee testimonial page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjE6R5CUO-M&feature=g-all-u&context=G2458c67FAAAAAAAACAA

Congratulations Brad! Keep up the EXCELLENT work!!!

Bradley Tenhoff

JDRF is the world’s leading organization in Type 1 diabetes research, and Ad-VANCE Talent Solutions is proud to support the cause! The entire Ad-VANCE staff team has assembled into “Team Ad-VANCE” and we’ll be walking for the cause. You can donate to our team today, or you can start your own team and join us for the walk on Saturday, April 14th on Lakewood Ranch Main Street!

You can view Team Ad-VANCE’s page and donote here: http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/Ad-Vance

The four candidates were carefully selected from the Sarasota & Bradenton communities to become lifegaurd certified and serve as important members of the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex staff & New Town community. All 4 new lifeguards were chosen based on their genuine desire to be a positive addition to the the New Town community, and we are all excited to have them on board!

Congratulations to: Jaime Wilson, Aaron Ball, Matthew Guthrie, and Rafael Vera!!! (and good luck on getting your certification completed this week!)

Whether an employee from the top 1% or the lowest level of the company leaves, it is always important to perform an exit interview and gain a full understanding of their reasoning for leaving. What you’ll usually find is that the employee feels under-stimulated, underutilized, or unclear about the direction of the company. When you start to see your top performers leaving your organization, it is time to evaluate the direction of the company and the managers overseeing these exiting employees. More importantly, you must maintain a clear vision & direction and be sure it is communicated to employees at all times to avoid losing them. 

Check out the article “Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent” by Forbes blogger Eric Jackson: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2011/12/14/top-ten-reasons-why-large-companies-fail-to-keep-their-best-talent/. With close to two million views, this article clearly resonates with many professionals. While it mostly pertains to larger organizations, Jackson’s message can easily be applied to smaller companies as well.

Have you ever left an organization voluntarily? What was your reasoning??? Ad-VANCE is interested to hear you feedback!