Relying on an employment agency is growing more popular than ever before; untold thousands of companies around the globe today are relying on employment agencies to supply them with temporary workers, and HR departments around the world are struggling to meet the demands of these new, temporary employees.
Many of these workers come from abroad and can easily obtain work visas, particularly in countries with a more open immigration policy like Canada. Law firms there, such as immigrationlawyertorontofirm.ca, have been finding many people settle from abroad and find work through agencies.
Furthermore, every seasoned HR practitioner is familiar with the dreaded sensation of having a temporary employee fail to show up to work, or worse yet, one who arrives on time but produces dreadful results at their job.
Isn’t there a practical way for HR departments to avoid employment agency problems? As a matter of fact, yes; read up on these tips you should be keeping in mind when dealing with employment agencies, and you may very well save yourself from an employment-related headache in the near future.
Staffing agencies aren’t all bad
Before we even begin to touch on how you should avoid employment agency problems, it’s imperative for us to remember that not all staffing agencies are bad, and that they can actually provide vital services to companies who find themselves in a snag. If your seasoned employees up and quit without notice, or have to take a temporary leave of absence, then a staffing agency may be the only thing standing between your business and financial Armageddon; so, how should you approach these agencies when you have an employment need, and what things should you be looking out for when determining which agency to go with?
First and foremost, you can detect a bad staffing agency early on by learning how it treats its candidates before sending them your way. Check out a list of ways that staffing agencies either excel or utterly fail at treating their candidates early on in the process, and you’ll come to have a good idea of what kind of agency you’ll want to end up working with. You shouldn’t be afraid to make a cold call to the agency to see how they respond to you without a heads-up notice, and should definitely not be afraid to inquire about their interview process and how thoroughly they vet their candidates.
After all, there’s perhaps no greater dilemma for an HR manager than learning that one of the temporary employees they brought onboard through an employment agency turns out to be a bad apple that cost the company money, or worse, its reputation on the broader market. Thus, before you rely on an employment agency, read up on the things you need to know before making a hiring decision if you want to avoid bringing in a bad seed who will pollute your workspace with unprofessional behavior.
You should also be worried that some of your temporary employees brought on through an agency, if they’re kept around for too long, can become full time employees, which might put additional cost on your company’s shoulders. The University of Sussex has a tremendously handy series of guidance notes that HR officials can rely upon when it comes to determining how they can provide for temporary staffers, which you should read up on ahead of time if you want to avoid a financial tragedy.
Not everything is in your control
HR managers will end up tearing their teeth out in the end and need dentists if they don’t acknowledge that some things are simply beyond their control. While you should be extensively vetting employees so that you’re not bringing on workers with extensive criminal records or something of the sorts, you should be aware that sometimes, the agency you’re working with may be less than honest, or may have simply dropped the ball themselves and sent you a sub-par employee. HR departments should avoid finger pointing in such scenarios, and instead focus their energies on practical solutions to their problems. By and large, a great deal of employment agency problems can be avoided entirely if you only rely upon them when it comes to seasonal surges in business, when you have no other choice, or when it comes to filling in for someone on leave.
HR managers shouldn’t lull themselves into a fall sense of security, either, and believe that they hold no legal responsibility for temporary workers; employment agencies can and will quickly rope your firm into legal disputes, so don’t think you’re immune to the worst case legal scenario. If you think you’re immune from a lawsuit, then think again, or you’ll be coughing up in the form of extensive fines sooner rather than later. It should go without saying that relying too much on employment agencies will spell doom for any company in the long-term; you’ll need a savvy recruiting operation of your own, and should reserve temporary workers for labor emergencies or when you need to tackle a specific project. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be avoiding employment agency problems that would have otherwise been ailing your business before you know it.
