Happy 2007! I hope this newsletter finds everyone back on track after the holidays. This month, we share important tips on finding the right people for your team/organization from Staffing.org. Carefully choosing employees leads to increased production, profitability, and success in the workplace. These are tips you don't want to miss! Also, we revisit the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. One point he clearly makes is to have the right people on the bus and in the right seats. Finally, we take a look at the new Smile Campaign implemented in Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. Here's hoping each of you is on the right bus in the right seat and smiling!

Regards,

According to Staffing.org, staffing is the most critical element of organizational profitability and success. This is not difficult to believe, as we always want to be surrounded by the best and brightest in our workplace. The happier we are with our employees, the higher the office productivity level is bound to be. While this may seem obvious, we find ourselves faced with one major question: how do we find the right people? eRichards is prepared to help you with your IT staffing needs. www.e-richards.com

The most desirable candidates out there will only come to you if they're attracted to your organization. One key to this is establishing an organizational brand message that shows clear requirements for open positions and the targeting of appropriate candidate pools. Recruitment advertising and initiatives also largely contribute to meeting or falling short of an organization's recruitment goals, and should not be overlooked. Lastly, the ways in which candidates for open positions are treated by the organization say a lot about how current employees are treated. If you really want the best to work for you, your organization is going to have to work to create an ideal work environment. Keep in mind that while an organization is evaluating a candidate for a position, that candidate is also evaluating the organization.

Retention is another critical point to optimizing organizational profitability and success. This is as simple as holding on to the staff you want to hold on to. Retaining the best performing employees is crucial to the success of any organization. The ways in which you try to keep these five-star employees is what needs the extra attention. Today, salary-based incentives are rarely enough to achieve retention. Most employees are looking for advancement in the workplace, professional development, and a genuine work-life balance in addition to incentives and bonuses. They want to feel valued in the organization. According to Staffing.org, successful retention is best achieved by a proactive HR department that actively seeks out what employees want most. Also important is discovering the reasons behind the departure of former staff whom the organization has failed to keep, but wishes it had.

Workforce planning allows us to create a plan to have adequate human resources where and when they're needed. This involves adapting staff into performers who are capable of meeting the future needs of the organization through ongoing training, motivation, management , and reward. Workforce planning involves identifying current and future skill sets and the number of employees needed to deliver new and improved services to organizational customers. Comparison of the present workforce and the desired future workforce will highlight shortages, surpluses, and competency gaps, laying the framework for an optimal workforce plan in the years to come. Let us help you with your IT staffing solutions! www.e- richards.com