It never rains but it pours. University is back and that means the roster becomes a juggling act. Add to this three key team members taking up full time study and another deciding that nursing is the career for her. What looked a month ago like a manageable roster is now very empty. So, we’ve been interviewing to fill two full time and two casual positions.
The hiring process is tough because it’s often not the first choice for candidates and they take a job to get money waiting for what they really want comes along. I wouldn’t mind if they were up front about it, as one of our team has been. Instead we probe and dig in interviews to try and sort out if they want to make a career in a newsagency.
I’ve waded through 72 resumes, followed up fifteen with our position description and selected seven candidates I’d like to interview. In the week we have been looking four are no longer available.
This is going to be harder than I’d like.
We all feel the pain of staff recruitment. In the past two weeks we have had one staff member leave for uni, two reduce their hours to attend uni and one permanent staff member resign.
So in these past two weeks we have hired and are training one permanent staff, two part-time staff and two casual staff.
Amongst this it looks like we may have to let another two undesirable staff members go, which means the process starts again.
Its a big shock to the flow of the business, but on the brighter side it is nice to have some new (hopefully better) staff members. It gives the business environment a new feel.
Even though there is new staff, every time we mention ‘rosters’ (wisper) in the office the room still goes quiet.
Staff is the most stressful part of all small business and often the most difficult.
Jarryd you’re right. It does affect everyone. We’re interviewing today and the challenge is to find the person who genuinely adds to the business. Mark
Yes it is tough. This is why I cringe when I hear employers giving recruiters a hard time. Companies often don’t realise how tough a recruiters job is and the headaches they have to deal with on a daily basis.
What I have been doing the past couple of years is only hiring local kids who are currently in year 11 and 12 and who plan to go onto University. I then keep them for a couple more years of their degrees. Fingers crossed this process has worked a treat . . .
Finding ‘good’ staff is a tricky task in small business for a number of reasons. It is true that there are a lot of (potential) employees who may not fit into a business. The reason for this is not only governed by the employee’s personality, but also by the employer’s attitudes to business and their own biases.
The hiring and working relationship between employer and employee in small business is a much closer and more personalised experience than in large corporations. Emotion, bias, prejudice and a different set of preferences come into the bargain on BOTH sides of the desk for an interview in a small business.
Brett, I am one who complains about recruitment agencies. Based on my experience I’d rather take the risk with direct contact than a more expensive risk using them. Mark
I think the problem faced by most employers at present is that it is so hard hard to find unemployed people with a strong work ethic. All the people that want to work hard have a job and are treated like gold by their current employer, so all that is left is the dreggs. We just put on two trainees that interviewed well and within 2 days of working both told us that they didn’t want the job because newsagent work was ” too hard”, yes I suppose the nature of our business is we need a lot of small sales sometimes 800 to 000 sales per day, and this doesnt leave too much time to stand around chatting. This is spelt out to potential trainees in the interview,yet all we hear is “I just want a chance I will work hard”. Like I said before good employees are not looking for new jobs, unemployement is low and good help is hard to find, all we can do is keep trying for the diamond in the rough.
many newsagents complain that it is hard to find good staff. as an employee of newsagents for 13 years i have often found many are willing to sing the praises of good employees, however few are willing to adequately reward hard work, dedication or knowledge. simply paying minimum wage and expecting experienced staff (especially those intelligent enough to attain higher education ie university degrees) to remain working for you is never going to happen. if you wish to retain or attract such staff reward them appropriately.
Stephen, What newsagents pay can be complex. In Victoria for example, adult employees earn over $20 an hour and close to $40 on Sundays. For a business with an average GP of 30%, rent of 11%, wages of 12%, shrinkage of 3% and overheads of 5%, there is little room to move.
That said, people who contribute more than the average are often paid above the award in newsagencies I see.
Talk to your boss.
Mark
I agree with Stephen 100%. My husband worked in a busy city newsagency catering for businesses / finance people for 7 years starting in essence as a shop assistant and when he finished was more or less doing everything but the books. His employment only ceased due to lease negotiations breaking down with the Owner / shop owner so he had to find something else. He is not working in the business at the moment but why would he – a recent successful interview with a newsagency in a major shopping centre (the owner has two newsagencies in this complex) for an assistant manager looking after one of the shops attracted a salary that worked out to be just under $15.00 gross per hour. (approx $580 gross pw). We pay more than that on our mortgage alone. Business owners complain about staff letting them down, it would be hard to feel like going the extra mile for that paltry sum. My husband demonstrated all the attributes any employer would seek – honesty, integrity and loyalty. He put in extra, he wanted his employer to prosper, he gave more than he had too because he is genuinely a nice person and knew he was appreciated – so employers need to remember if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!
The award for a full time adult in a newsagency in Victoria is $15.29 plus super. casual is $20.38. With an average GP of between 29% and 32%, newsagents have tough economic circumstances to navigate. Mark