A Sobering Moment

Wednesdays’ Hudson announcement should be a sobering moment for everyone in the recruitment industry. Hudson is just one of many innovative staffing agencies in the Asia Pacific region and to be found or volunteered to have gotten things so horribly wrong with payments to their temporary workers and enter into an undertaking to hang out their “Dirty Laundry” for all to see - personally I can only empathise with them. No one needs this type of press, let alone the industry and this really should be a shot across the bow, a tap on the shoulder or an “Ah Ha” moment for all to get a grip on the reality as we head into 2022.

Of course, after many years working in the industry and having built a tool to assist staffing businesses to reduce risk, enable better compliance, reduce human errors, we understand no system can be completely “Fool proof”. It is an extremely complex issue with lots of considerations. If anyone in the staffing industry has fallen into the “Won’t happen to me” mentality, this is the starkest of warnings that Naivety and Ignorance will bite you where it hurts.

Of course - Hudson is an organisation that prides itself on professional standards and is strong enough to withstand this setback but for others ignorance will not be bliss - it will be oblivion.

I believe that, like many corporate organisations, as an industry the majority of staffing agencies have got it wrong - perhaps as high as 90% - Yes, I know you’d like to challenge me on that which is quite fine, and I welcome your call!

The bottom line is that the government has not made it easy for Australian Industry to understand and follow the laws governing employment. It’s completely and utterly mind-boggling to say the least. Payroll systems, award interpretation and so on is complex – very! So, for those of you that have got this far- you’re thinking when’s the pitch ?? Well, sure, we can help, we can impart our knowledge with you if you are a client of ours – no question about that - but what is the answer to solving this problem? Well, there are a few and I have listed them below

1. Training, training and more training – Invest in your people, pull together a program to ensure your teams are across the legislation and understand their market specialisations. If they are specialists, then they should know a level of employment law. After all - Isn’t that why clients buy from you??
2. System review – Many times I have reviewed payroll systems and am astounded by the volume of legacy information that is not maintained/ archived etc. This occurs over the history of the business, when staff become complacent, or the business mix changes. There are over 800 payroll systems in Australia today - many which are old and perhaps haven’t kept up with the times - That is technology right? So, ask yourself a few questions - Does your payroll provider keep you informed of government and legislative changes? Does this automatically update for you? Including rule changes? The answer will be NO. And there lies a problem in itself - let alone getting your quoting right and then capturing time and paying correctly.?
3. Payroll practitioners are a rare breed - that is a good one at least, so be sure you are using the most appropriate person who understands your markets - don’t just hire a processor of payroll - that is part of the job but not what is going to keep you out of the press. Knowledge is power as we know but when that knowledge departs the building then you have some challenges you are not even aware of. Or source the best Managed Payroll service that can take some of the headaches away as your business may not be able to justify a full-time resource. There are many reasons businesses outsource their payroll and understandably - why not - it’s not your core business. But I will let you in on something you may not know - It actually is! you must know your business and the finer details THAT makes it work. How else can you hire/select arguably one of the most important roles in your business today?
4. The Old Plan “B” So when it comes down to it, your payroll staff leave, you cannot find a replacement suitable, you discover your system is no longer fit for purpose, you are under-resourced and don’t have time to train or what’s worse- How to Train? These are just a few of the plan “B’s you need to consider

Employing people is a risky business whether directly or to other parties and you need to know what you are doing. You need to reduce your risks by using the best people, technology, and resources - If you need a hand drop us a line here at RatesCalc – we may very well be able to help you, and make sure you only ever hit the papers for the right reasons.