Your success depends on having a dependable workforce, and at Metrodata Services we have been offering employment screening services in Buffalo and beyond for over 20 years. And while we are already assisting over 600 organizations across the country with cutting-edge screening services, that doesn’t mean we’re resting on our laurels.

In fact, on October 12, 2017, we attended the Human Resource Association of the Twin Tiers (HRATT) conference at Corning Community College in Corning, New York. We believe that our continuing education is critical to being able to help your company make the best hiring decisions, and this conference further enhanced our expertise in the pre-employment screening industry.

The theme of this year’s conference was “HR—Is There an App for That?” And while each keynote speaker was very great with an important message, we would like to share a few takeaways from the topics included in three of the breakout sessions:

Addictions Awareness and Impact in the Workplace

Employers must be vigilant to the common signs of substance abuse. Maintaining an awareness can result in employers being able to offer help and intervention early on. Watch for these warning signs:

• Decline in the quality of work: Drugs and alcohol affect concentration, making it harder to produce quality work
• Increased absenteeism: Workers who abuse drugs or alcohol miss ten times more work than sober employees
• More accident prone: Repeated accidents on the job could be a sign of substance abuse
• Changes in appearance and mood: Personal hygiene can suffer, and normally even-keeled workers can become aggressive when they’re using

Employers who notice any of these signs and changes should make a note of them. At some point, you may need to confront the worker, and it’s good to have objective facts when you do.

Recruiting and Retaining Millennials

Our second session centered on finding and keeping our millennials, that group of workers born between 1980 and 2000.  You may have already discovered that they are unique and often require a different management strategy from their predecessors. Here are some suggestions we want to share with you from this extremely interesting session:

• Learn as much as you can about them: Find out what makes Millennialls tick. You may be surprised.
• Provide them with feedback: They like to know where they stand.
• Give them challenging assignments: They like new experiences and opportunities to show their skills.
• Offer them flexibility: They believe in a proper work/life balance.
• Help them grow professionally: They place a lot of value on developing their skills.

Feedback Doesn’t Work but “Feed Forward” Does!

The conference planners saved the most entertaining session for last—the idea of providing “feed forward” instead of feedback. What could be wrong with feedback? Well, for one thing, it’s focused on a past that can’t be altered. Feedforward, on the other hand, helps your employees to envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past.

Through a series of exercises and training, managers can learn to use the feedforward technique to reinforce the possibility of change rather than the feeling of failure that can come from feedback. It’s an interesting concept, to say the least.

At Metrodata we strive for excellence

We’ve given you a sampling of what we learned at HRATT. There is much more we have to offer to you, our valued clients. We will continue on this path of continuous learning so we can provide you with the latest ideas and methods for obtaining and retaining the best employees.

Let us know how we can help you with your specific screening requirements. We stand ready to assist you!