{"id":3213,"date":"2017-05-01T11:22:08","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T01:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ppmmagazine.com.au\/?p=3213"},"modified":"2021-04-23T03:30:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T17:30:29","slug":"recruitment-insurance-considerations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/professionalpestmanager.com\/nz\/professional-pest-manager-magazine\/recruitment-insurance-considerations\/","title":{"rendered":"RECRUITMENT \u2013 INSURANCE CONSIDERATIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nathan Kerr<\/strong> of Wymark Insurance Brokers<\/a> shares his tips on how to protect yourself and your business\u00a0during the advertising and recruitment process.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Recruitment of both field technicians and admin staff can be a timely and costly exercise. It\u2019s a process that should be given considerable time and effort to ensure your business attracts the very best candidates for the job on offer.<\/p>\n

All too often the recruitment process is done on a reactive basis, i.e. the employer has a technician who leaves with little or no notice, leaving the business in a vulnerable position of a mounting workload, both in the field and in the office, and being short staffed. This often leads to a quick and unstructured recruitment campaign \u2013 most times ending up with a less than desirable outcome.<\/p>\n

Finding the time to advertise for a new technician when you\u2019re already juggling an increased workload is a significant challenge. A much-preferred approach is to develop a recruitment campaign when you don\u2019t need it, and then \u2018shelve it\u2019 for a rainy day. When you are then faced with a technician leaving unannounced at a later date, you\u2019re armed with a job description and advertisement ready to put into the market.<\/p>\n

Also, be sure to allocate sufficient resources and time to find a candidate that fits the qualities, culture and philosophy of your business. If your business is known for being \u2018green\u2019 and environmentally aware, then try and attract a technician who has the same values and outlook. Or perhaps you are known for your intricate knowledge of bugs and insects. If so, a candidate with qualifications or a special interest in this area may fit in well.<\/p>\n

From an insurance perspective, there are a number of things we always recommend be considered during the advertising and recruitment process to ensure full transparency and communication during this time. A key factor that influences the nature of the recruitment and contract is the employee\u00a0status \u2013 will the employment be on a sub-contract basis, or will they be a permanent full-time, part time or casual employee?<\/p>\n

Before offering employment, in addition to checking qualifications, experience, licensing and past work history, references should be sort. This should include discussing the employee with referees \u2013 it provides a crucial insight into a prospective employee\u2019s past work history. Ideally you should be offered more than one workplace referee and you should ask questions about attendance levels, punctuality to jobs, presentation, communication with customers, etc.<\/p>\n

There are some additional checks that should be done to understand whether you may be taking on some \u2018hidden\u2019 risks:<\/p>\n