Monthly Archives: February 2012
Randstad US, Professionals Companies Make the 2012 Best of Staffing Lists
BOSTON, MA /PRNewswire/ ~ Randstad US, Professionals announced today that four of its specialized staffing verticals have individually been named to both the Inavero’s 2012 Best of Staffing(TM) Client list and the Best of Staffing(TM) Talent list, presented by CareerBuilder.
Best of Staffing(TM) Client list: Best of Staffing(TM) Talent list:
- Randstad Finance and Accounting
- Accountants International
- Randstad Technologies
- Randstad Engineering
- The Mergis Group
- Randstad Finance and Accounting
- Randstad Human Resources
- Randstad Human Resources
Best of Staffing, presented in partnership with CareerBuilder, is the nation’s only award that recognizes staffing firms that receive remarkable reviews from their clients, as well as candidates. Fewer than one percent of North American staffing firms have been named to the 2012 Best of Staffing lists.
“We are incredibly proud to see so many of our professional businesses listed on both Best of Staffing lists,” said Dan Foley, President of Randstad US, Professionals. “These rankings speak volumes to the quality of our internal employees and their commitment to consistently delivering service excellence, the highest level of quality support, and an unmatched customer and candidate experience.”
Staffing firms competing to make the Best of Staffing lists underwent a rigorous survey process followed by careful analysis of responses to determine satisfaction levels. Best of Staffing participants secured a place on the lists by earning an average Net Promoter Score® that was nearly double the national staffing industry benchmark for client satisfaction.
“The staffing industry continues to play a key role in helping to revitalize the economy,” said Eric Gregg, Inavero’s Founder and CEO. “Staffing firms give growth-minded organizations a more flexible alternative to recruiting their own employees, letting both the employee and employer determine if the fit is right for a more permanent position. Both sides receive tremendous value in a flexible, yet meaningful working relationship, and as they engage with staffing firms to help achieve those goals, the service experience they have is very important to their success. The Best of Staffing lists are a resource for businesses and talent who are trying to find staffing firms that provide exceptional service.”
Inavero’s complete Best of Staffing list can be viewed at www.bestofstaffing.com. For more information about Inavero, visit www.inavero.com. To learn more about Randstad US, Professionals, visit http://www.randstadusa.com/.
About Randstad
Randstad is a $22.5 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. From temporary staffing to permanent placement to inhouse, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions, Randstad holds top positions around the world and has approximately 31,100 corporate employees working from its nearly 4,700 branches and inhouse locations in 40 countries. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands, Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam (RAND.AS).
Learn more at www.randstad.com.
About Inavero, Inc.
Inavero designs and manages satisfaction surveys for a global list of staffing and recruiting firms in more than 15 countries. Inavero’s proprietary technology platform gathers and reports staffing firm client and talent satisfaction information through online surveys. Inavero’s team analyzes satisfaction feedback from more than 500,000 staffing firm clients and talent each year, and serves at the American Staffing Association’s exclusive research partner.
For more information contact Inavero by email bestofstaffing@inavero.com“>bestofstaffing@inavero.com. www.inavero.com | www.bestofstaffing.com.
Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld
SOURCE Randstad
CONTACT: Lesly Cardec, PR Director, lesly.cardec@randstadusa.com
Web Site: http://www.randstadusa.com
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
Q&A ~ How do I get into information research jobs if I lack academic or military experience?
by Bill G.
CEO, IntelligenceCareers.com
Question: What if you are a pretty well read individual but lack college / military experience and want to enter into the information gathering sector what should you do?
Answer: Without college or military service it is more than just difficult to get into the intelligence side of information gathering.
My recommendation is to seek out a local community college that offers certification in information sciences, open source intelligence (OSINT) research, and technical writing.
You should also consider joining several professional organizations that are focused on areas that you have interest in, getting to know the members, and volunteering to write articles for the organization newsletter or magazine. People need to see your research, logic and writing in action.
Be sure to set up a blog along the way so you can highlight your research and writing ability. Have a page on your blog that tells readers that you are always willing to freelance topical research and to contact you for rates. I recommend using WordPress to establish your blog ~ it is free, simple to use, and comes with many options as you need them.
You should also consider freelance writing for online news organizations such as Yahoo News, The Huffington Post, and many others.
Along the way your research, logic and writing should speak for itself and you will end up where you want to be without the need for military service or seeking a full degree.
Best regards,
Bill G.
CEO, IntelligenceCareers.com
aka DefenseCareers.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and USAJobZoo.com
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
NCO Group Adding 300+ Positions to St. Joseph, Missouri Contact Center
HORSHAM, PA /PRNewswire/ ~ NCO Group, Inc. (“NCO” or the “Company”), a leading provider of business process outsourcing services, announced today that it will hire approximately 300 individuals in its Customer Contact Center located in St. Joseph, Missouri. The hiring will coincide with client expansion opportunities for two Fortune 500 Clients.
NCO Group will be providing services for industry leaders in the telecommunications and financial services industry. Employment opportunities will include specific roles for Telesales, Call Center Representatives, Technical Support, and Accounts Receivables Management. There are also opportunities for Quality Representatives, Team Managers, Trainers, and other program specialist roles. Most positions are full-time and offer a complete employment benefit package. NCO will deploy industry recognized tools and support processes to train and develop associates. Associates will have opportunities to use multiple communication tools and apply and learn skills across the customer management lifecycle.
Commenting on the expansion, Jay King, Senior Vice President, NCO Group, stated, “The growth in St. Joseph is a great opportunity for our clients and our associates. The client expansion is a great testament to the quality of our employees and the reputation of our offerings. We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with our clients, grow our solutions, and offer employees opportunities for success today and in the future.”
NCO’s St. Joseph’s management team will be working closely with television and print media to drive awareness for potential employees. Applications are being accepted for immediate openings. Interested candidates should apply on-line at http://www.ncogroup.com/careers.
About NCO Group, Inc.
NCO Group, Inc. is a leading global provider of business process outsourcing services, primarily focused on customer relationship management and accounts receivable management. NCO provides services through over 100 offices throughout North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe and Australia.
SOURCE NCO Group, Inc.
CONTACT: Tom Hoy, NCO Marketing
Web Site: http://www.ncogroup.com
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
2012 Linux Job Forecast ~ Demand is on the Rise ~ Salaries Up!
NEW YORK, NY and SAN FRANCISCO, CA /PRNewswire/ ~ The first-ever report forecasting the Linux job market shows demand for Linux skills is on the rise but that finding talent is difficult. This is triggering better salaries and bonuses for Linux professionals.
The 2012 Linux Jobs Report released today shares the results of a recent survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers. The survey was conducted by Dice, the leading career site for technology and engineering professionals, and The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the growth of Linux.
Key statistics from the report include:
Eighty-one percent of survey respondents say that hiring Linux talent is a priority in 2012. This urgency is driving a substantial increase in recruiting activity, with nearly half (47%) of hiring managers expecting to add more Linux professionals to their firms in early 2012 and 63 percent noting Linux hires are increasing relative to jobs created in other skill areas.
But, a full 85 percent report having difficulty finding qualified Linux professionals to fill these positions, pointing to the need for more skilled Linux talent.
In an economy where contract and temp-to-hire positions have become more prevalent, Linux professionals garner more full-time positions and better salaries, bonuses and perks. While average pay increase for tech professionals averaged just two percent in 2011, professionals with Linux skills have seen a five percent increase in salaries and a 15 percent jump in bonus payouts over the same timeframe.
Seventy-five percent of respondents cited the mid-level professional with three to five years of experience as their most-sought hires, especially those with development or systems administration skills.
“Linux jobs have become some of the hottest jobs in all of tech,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. “Clearly, hiring managers throughout the IT tech sector understand this and are aggressively seeking Linux professionals. It is our job to meet this demand by ensuring developers and systems admins have access to the community networking opportunities and Linux training they need to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity.”
With the tech industry having twice as many openings as professionals who can do the job[1], college grads to mid-career professionals are considering how to take advantage of that opportunity. Software programming has been highly touted as a lucrative area of technology, and with the increasing use of Linux and open source software across industries, Linux know-how is topping the list of most highly sought expertise in this area.
“In the last ten years, there’s been no tech skill that matches Linux in terms of growth in hiring requests and size of demand and clearly it’s not done,” said Alice Hill, Managing Director, Dice.com. “The best Linux candidates have options and we need more talented professionals to join the community. Linux is simply a core skill for anyone pursuing a career in software development or systems administration.”
To download the complete report, please visit: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/linux-foundation/2012-linux-jobs-report
The 2012 Linux Jobs Report Methodology
From December 6 to December 16, 2011, Dice and The Linux Foundation surveyed hiring managers at corporations, Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), government organizations, and staffing agencies. More than 2,300 responded with 42 percent indicating their company was headquartered in the United States, 27 percent in Europe, 11 percent in Asia, seven percent in South America, as well as Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East, Mexico and Central America. Respondents needed to have hired at least one Linux professional in the last year, or plan to hire Linux professionals in 2012 to participate in the survey, and were allowed to check as many responses to questions as appropriate.
About Dice
Dice, a Dice Holdings, Inc. service, is the leading career site for technology and engineering professionals. With a 21-year track record of meeting the ever-changing needs of technology professionals, companies and recruiters, our specialty focus and exposure to highly skilled professional communities enable employers to reach hard-to-find, experienced and qualified technology and engineering candidates. www.Dice.com
About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2000, the organization sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and promotes, protects and advances the Linux operating system by marshaling the resources of its members and the open source development community. The Linux Foundation provides a neutral forum for collaboration and education by hosting Linux conferences, including LinuxCon, and generating original Linux research and content that advances the understanding of the Linux platform. Its web properties, including Linux.com, reach approximately two million people per month. The organization also provides extensive Linux training opportunities that feature the Linux kernel community’s leading experts as instructors. Follow The Linux Foundation on Twitter.
Trademarks: The Linux Foundation, Linux Standard Base, MeeGo, Tizen and Yocto Project are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.
[1] United States State of the Union, January 25, 2012
Dice Media Contact Rachel Ceccarelli dicemedia@dice.com
The Linux Foundation Media Contact Jennifer Cloer jennifer@linuxfoundation.org
SOURCE The Linux Foundation; Dice.com
Web Site: http://www.linuxfoundation.org
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Language Line Services Announces Plans to Hire 2,000 Interpreters in 2012
MONTEREY, CA /PRNewswire/ ~ Language Line Services, the global market leader in interpretation, localization and translation solutions, plans to hire 2,000 interpreters this year, the company announced today.
Language Line Services is recruiting 1,300 Spanish interpreters, 400 Mandarin, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Cantonese, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish and French interpreters and nearly 200 in more than 160 other languages. “It’s a great career opportunity with projections for the worldwide language access market as high as $38.1 billion by 2013. If you have near-native proficiency in both English and another language and are looking for employment with a company that will provide you with the training and coaching into this exciting profession, we have an opportunity for you,” said Louis F. Provenzano, Jr., President and CEO of Language Line Services.
“Interpreting is a profession that requires language skills, a wide knowledge base, mental agility and, most importantly, the compassion for those whom they assist. We are proud to have opened the door for thousands of interpreters into the language access industry through our comprehensive and rigorous training program,” added Winnie Heh, Senior VP of Global Operations of Language Line Services. “Our training program consists of Web-based and instructor-led sessions, one-on-one coaching, peer calibration as well as a multitude of reference materials. With multi-million dollar investments annually, the program is the result of 30 years of continuous improvement made by our team of training and Quality Assurance professionals,” He continued.
The majority of the positions offer the opportunity to work from home as an interpreter, providing services on your own schedule, 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. Work-at-home positions are available in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Language Line Services also has employment openings at its global centers in Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
“Interpreting is a great job for anyone, especially someone looking for a career change,” said Janet Eckles, who has been an interpreter at Language Line Services for more than 20 years. “You would probably be surprised how many people need the help of an interpreter. It is always exciting because you don’t know what your next call will be like. You see immediately how you’re helping people and how much they appreciate your assistance. It is truly rewarding. Not many people can say that about their jobs.”
Language Line Services handles more than 20 million interpretation calls annually for law enforcement, healthcare organizations, the courts and businesses in more than 170 languages, and handles about 90% of the telephone interpretations for 911 emergency calls nationwide.
“Interpreters and translators are increasingly critical for any number of industries to conduct their day-to-day business,” Provenzano said. “Companies naturally want to market their services to consumers who speak little, if any, English. They often must translate contracts with vendors and partners in a variety of languages. For the limited-English speakers themselves, the absence of language access can be life threatening, as social services struggle to keep up with the ongoing demographic shifts.”
Join Language Line Services and make a difference in peoples’ lives every day. Apply for an interpreter position here: http://www.languageline.com/page/careers/.
About Language Line Services
Language Line Services, the global leader in language solutions for over 30 years, serves clients in government, healthcare, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, retail and many other industries in more than 170 spoken and written languages, as well as American Sign Language (ASL) and Mexican Sign Language (LSM). Language Line Services is recognized as a trusted partner to thousands of public and private organizations throughout the world, providing easy access to the industry’s most dynamic and comprehensive suite of language solutions that drive a strong return on investment. Language Line Services is known for solving customers’ complex language communication issues with leading services that include telephone, on-site and video interpreting, translation and localization, as well as interpreter assessment and training programs. Please visit http://www.languageline.com.
Contact:
Trent Freeman Olmstead Williams Communications tfreeman@olmsteadwilliams.com http://www.olmsteadwilliams.com
SOURCE Language Line Services
Web Site: http://www.languageline.com
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Have You Been Hired as an “Independent Contractor”? Your Proper Title May Be “Employee” ~ and You May Be Entitled to Overtime
BOCA RATON, FL /PRNewswire/ ~ In these tough economic times, employers are increasingly using another ploy to salvage their bottom line: misclassifying workers who are truly employees as independent contractors. By slapping the label of “independent contractor” on a worker it actually treats as an employee, an employer tries to avoid numerous obligations, including the legal requirement to pay overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
According to Nancy Leppink, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the practice of misclassifying workers is “more pervasive” than ever, and it has jumped from the construction and home building industry to restaurants, health care and government contractors. FedEx was recently found to have misclassified workers and paid millions to its drivers who were improperly classified as independent contractors.
Fortunately for workers, mere labels do not control their status as either an employee entitled to overtime wages or an independent contractor not entitled to overtime. That status is determined by the “economic realities” test, which looks at a number of factors, including the degree of control an employer exercises over a worker, including the time, place and manner of the performance of work, as well as the worker’s economic dependence on the employer.
According to Employment Law Attorney Gregg Shavitz of the Shavitz Law Group, if an employer determines what duties a worker is to perform; where, when and how he or she is to perform such duties; and provides the materials to perform such duties, then the worker likely is an employee – and is entitled to overtime wages for hours worked above 40 hours in a week. If the extent of the worker’s duties are such that there is no or limited opportunity to perform work for others, then that fact provides further indication that the worker is an employee. A true independent contractor has the ability to accept or decline work; determines when, where and how work is to be performed; provides the materials necessary to perform the work; and contracts directly with clients or customers.
Notably, the FLSA utilizes the broadest possible definition of employee, which means that even if a worker does not fall within the definition of an “employee” for some purposes – for example, state workers’ compensation benefits,- that same worker still may be considered an employee pursuant to the FLSA.
Avoiding the payment of overtime wages is only one reason an employer may misclassify an employee as an independent contractor. According to the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), the IRS loses millions of dollars due to employees being misclassified as independent contractors. Avoidance of federal employment taxes, including payroll taxes, has become another motivation for misclassifying employees, as is the avoidance of paying other state and local benefits, such as unemployment compensation.
With deep cuts to their budgets, governments are looking for revenue sources and for companies misclassifying employees, this is not good news. Like the DOL, the IRS has made the issue of misclassification of employees a priority.
Recently, the IRS implemented an amnesty-type of program whereby employers who have misclassified employees as independent contractors may pay only a portion of their tax liability if they voluntarily reclassify “independent contractors” as employees. Notably, participation in this IRS program does not relieve an employer for other liabilities for misclassification, including overtime. Thus, if an employer avails itself of the IRS program and reclassifies former independent contractors as employees, then this indicates that the employer may owe unpaid overtime wages.
Further, if an employer fails to properly report wages to the IRS, an employee could file a private cause of action for actual or liquidated damages. In this instance, the district court has discretion to award attorney’s fees, requiring that the employer also pay the employee’s legal fees.
For employees, further investigation into the employer’s other obligations, including the requirement to pay overtime under the FLSA, may be warranted. “Workers who have worked more than 40 hours for an employer within one or more work weeks within the past three years but did not receive time-and-a-half wages for those overtime hours because they were classified as an independent contractor, may have been misclassified and may be owed overtime wages plus other penalties from the employer,” says Shavitz.
For more information about misclassification and workers’ rights, the Shavitz Law Group created the website www.helpingworkers.com.
This is a free community service provided by the law firm.
The Shavitz Law Group, P.A., founded in 1999, represents employees in thousands of unpaid overtime and minimum wage claims in both individual cases and collective/class actions in Florida and across the United States each year.
SOURCE Shavitz Law Group, P.A.
CONTACT: Gregg Shavitz
Web Site: http://www.helpingworkers.com
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