Employer Resources

    ENSURE YOUR TEAM IS HAPPY, ENGAGED AND STAYS PRODUCTIVE     “Houston… we have a problem”. Well, this time it’s not the astronauts and it’s not in space, it’s right here on terra (not so) firma. As Texas…

    The workplace experienced cost-cutting measures as the first wave of COVID-19 impact and is now potentially facing turnover as the second wave. Are employees feeling the pain of taking on additional responsibilities after layoffs? People will happily take…

  Guest contributor: Jeff Roberts, founder of Innovation Vista, an IT strategy consultancy Download white paper “Companies must innovate or die”.  “Record-setting innovation investments poised to disrupt many industries”.  Headlines like these proliferate business journals and have become calls to…

    “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” — Henry Ford     Remote Leadership Tips from Industry Leaders Cooler temperatures have finally arrived in Texas, but seasons aren’t the only thing changing…

Finding the silver lining: How companies thrive during the pandemic   A quote from Warren Buffett: “Nothing can stop America when you get right down to it,” Warren Buffett told shareholders in April. “I will bet on America the rest…

    States are opening up and most leaders we are speaking with are targeting a return date by the end of July, while a few have already allowed key employees back in the office. Here’s what we are hearing…

Contract workforce: an efficient and flexible way to meet business demands Timing of reopening is a dilemma for businesses worldwide. This summer looks to be on the backside of the curve, so is now the time to start rebuilding and…

  Position Yourself For Success After COVID-19 There are two main types of leaders: “Peacetime leaders and Wartime leaders”, Danny Cahill, staffing industry veteran and training guru, said recently in a professional development session. This concept got us thinking and…

    Whitaker realizes many of our clients are experiencing tremendous pressure to create a remote workforce solution to maintain employee health and minimize potential risk. We want to let you know that we’re here to support you in any…

  HOW TO CREATE A HAPPY AND PRODUCTIVE PROJECT TEAM Following January’s newsletter about revising your candidate experience to attract top talent, let’s take a look at improving workplace happiness to keep your top employees happy and engaged. According to…

    Our leadership team recently held our annual State of the Business meeting in Houston to set 2020 goals and celebrate 2019 production and company award recipients. Congratulations to Alexandria Minetree, Linda Ranostaj, Patricia Simpson and Cassandra Fisher  as our…

  Economists say we are in the strongest labor market in decades (J. Bartash) which is great timing for Americans as we get ready for the hustle and bustle of a busy holiday season. The pace of layoffs and the…

Being involved in associations and conferences is a great way to enhance your knowledge and skills while increasing your professional network. For some technical professionals the idea of networking can sound overwhelming, causing them to shy away from the potential…

  Temps are heating up just in time to celebrate our nation’s independence this week. It’s important to keep in mind these safety tips if you are tasked with working in the summer heat: ASSE offers the following tips for…

  As we celebrate our nation’s independence, let’s take a look at one of the most influential IT leaders that served our country in the US Navy, Rear Admiral "Amazing" Grace Hopper. “In the world of technology, most women do…

  DevOps is coming up on its 10-year anniversary, and more industries across sectors are working to weave in the methodology. As the DevOps movement is increasing in popularity and demand across the country, these practitioners are becoming increasingly harder…

  We often hear about the gaps between Baby Boomers and Millennials, the bad reputation Millennials have in the workforce, and frankly, the overabundance of information can be burdensome and tiring. However, a recent article caught our attention that demonstrates…

You are invited to attend: SIM Women's Event March 26th, 5:30 PM-7:30 PM The ERP Journey: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Enterprise Resource Planning: Are you maintaining the status quo? Are you planning to move to the Cloud?…

Spring Break is here for most of the country, and summer vacation is just around the corner! Did you know both employers and employees benefit when workers actually use their vacation days? [gallery link="none" size="medium" ids="4992,4990,4991"]   According to a…

  As the disconnect of supply and demand continues to grow, how can companies get the security resources they need despite the skills shortage? It’s time for a significant change in approach to safeguard business. “The lack of skilled cybersecurity…

  How heart healthy is your work environment? According to the American Heart Association, heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and 2 killers worldwide. Did you know that “company culture can play a huge factor in heart health…”…

Competition for top talent is fierce, and with the abundant resources and information available to candidates online (think Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc), companies must carefully craft their talent acquisition strategies to involve an overall "candidate experience". Competition for top talent is fierce,…

A recent article featured on Thebalance.com "Top 10 Ways to Be Happy at Work" provides ideas that may help you find happiness at work and make this year your best year ever. Below are a few highlighted ideas from the…

Another great market for contract opportunities?  How to know if now really is a good time to consider contract roles instead of perm? Given the uncertainty surrounding H-1B legislation, IT professionals and departments across the US and here in Houston…

“Virtual Office” “Remote Worker” “Satellite” “Off Site” “Telecommuting” “iworkers, eworkers or Web Workers” “Portable Professionals” “Digital Nomads” “Non-Cubical Dwellers”  There are many names  for the  increasing number of professionals working in a nontraditional office setting. According to a GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com 2016…

2017 rebound underway?  In our limited view of the overall refining and chemical marketplace, we've experienced a very sluggish 2016 that ended with a flurry of mid and high-level management hires. Although it's not unusual for us to see last…

As one million security positions go unfilled worldwide, according to Cisco research, companies across all industries are gearing up to increase recruiting efforts focused not only on top IT talent but also on gender diversity within their IT workforce.  According…

“If you can hire people whose passion intersects with the job, they won’t require any supervision at all. They will manage themselves better than anyone could have ever manage them. Their fire comes from within, not from without.” Stephen Covey…

When you are trying to hire a person for an executive position, typically paying $150,000 or more, you don’t want to mess around. It’s important to hire the right person so you don’t experience a high rate of turnover. You…

Interviewing Tips for Government and Public Sector Companies Presented at the Executive Women in Texas Government 2014 Annual Conference by Linda Ranostaj. Between the challenges that Corporate America are facing with attracting the best candidates, younger generations and the factor of…

Attracting In-Demand IT Talent to the Public Sector Presented by Kristen Gaustad & Linda Ranostaj at the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) 2013 Annual Conference. How to attract potential employees from various levels of experience…

The Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Professional Outlook in 2025 As presented at the 28thAnnual TX/LA Environmental, Health & Safety Seminar, what’s the Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Professional outlook in 2025? Retirement is coming for a large group of…

Retention Ideas that Reach Across Generations For many years, the popular belief was that base salary is the main motivator for employees to stay happily employed with their current company.  However, over the years companies have discovered that money is…

In a tight job market, we experience an increase in project demands and competition for quality professionals.  Good talent does not stay on the market for long, so it’s a “no-brainer” that our clients are using Skype and other software…

For many, May brings thoughts of impending summer vacations, beautiful "sleep with the windows open" nights, and for the unfortunate few, spring allergy season. However in the corporate world, May signals the imminent influx of new graduates into the workplace…