(Photos.com)
The salary he demanded was in the price range we could afford. I called the reference in another city that verified his employment, but not more recently than two years previous. The applicant confided to me that in the interim he had been attending to his dying mother overseas. I sympathized with him, as my own mother had just passed away.
He was a bookkeeper all right, and a clever one to boot. At some point, perhaps eight months later, I discovered money missing and checks improperly cashed, etc. When confronted, he dared me to prove misconduct. Through a lot of digging and sheer luck, my manager stumbled onto the only slip-up he made and was able to prove fraud. To my great frustration, the judge enjoined me from warning a prospective employer of the man's record and decreed that the fraud artist would not do jail time if he made restitution. This he did by defrauding his next employer.
From this comes a lesson: never sign a partially completed or blank check. Make sure that the invoice is attached and marked paid with the check number noted in ink.
In situations where you suspect internal theft, the person most vocal about the problem is just as likely to be the culprit. One should also be on guard against disruptive people who proclaim their devotion to the company by denouncing their colleagues (mind you, some people are a pain in the butt, but they do produce). Focus on your objectives.
Incidentally, if someone is to be entrusted with handling pricy goods and cash, it is wise to run a credit check on their personal finances. This can be done through your local credit bureau. If you are not a member, ask a business friend who is.
Sloppy employees entrusted with important jobs can cost you a lot of money. They can also antagonize a valued customer who may not be aware that she is dealing with a novice.
Of late, there has been a trend to sign experienced personnel to short or medium-term contracts. There are many reasons for doing this: the duties and length of employment are spelled out as well as the value of the contract. The employer is not obligated to pay his share of the various fringe benefits such as statutory holidays, vacation pay, etc.
Another reason for having staff on contract is that the employer does not have to give termination notice or worry about severance claims. This method of employment saves money. The contract may include an option to renew for a further term. Often the contracted person is incorporated and/or working part time for other firms as well. The disadvantage of this arrangement is the possibility that a valued temp may be lost to a competitor. This could be a serious blow since every enterprise has a certain amount of trade secrets that it wants to keep out of the clutches of competition—even if it's only the names of suppliers and customers.
Hiring staff on contract and getting work done by sub-contractors (outsourcing) is getting a lot of press these days. Contingent workers, contract, temp employees, whatever name you give it—you get what you pay for. How motivated will the temp be? Can they work as part of a team with your full time employees? What kind of corporate culture is one building with temps and how is a company to recoup the cost of training?
If you are dealing in goods that will be handled and moved, and you want to make sure that the job gets done right, you need someone that you have trained and can trust. Outsourcing is not an alternative.
An employment agency can help a company sidestep legal or tax problems by putting the “independent” contractor on their payroll and taking care of taxes and paperwork. And of course, many people prefer not to be on the payroll for their own tax reasons.
Manny Drukier has been in business, from manufacturing to publishing, retail to real estate, stocks to stockpots for the past 60 years. He is the author of two books and resides in Toronto, Canada.
