FrankCrum's VP of Human Resources, David Peasall, recently shared his thoughts on Plumber Magazine regarding controlling unemployment costs.
David writes about the importance of best practices for minimizing the number of claims, and why it's harder than it may seem.
Below is an excerpt of the article:
Minimizing Claims: Best Practices
Unemployment claims are most frequently related to employee performance, attendance or conduct; and less frequently to layoffs or an employee’s hours being reduced.
- Performance issues, specific to the plumbing industry, relate to, for example, an inability to install or repair fixtures properly the first time, store inventory properly, keep the work area clean, read blueprints, properly diagnose problems, make water-tight connections and many other factors.
- Attendance issues include absence, frequent tardiness and unexplained periods off the jobsite.
- Conduct includes inability to work well with fellow employees, other workers on site and poor customer relations.
Following are ways we suggest to minimize the number of claims:
- It starts with the recruitment and hiring processes: Best practices call for the use of job descriptions to clarify the role (for example, will the worker be required to do new construction installation? Remodels? Commercial or residential sites?), written employment applications, structured interviews, background checks, drug screenings and past employment verification. (Special Tip: The employment application and other related documents should state that employment is at-will, where states allow this). All these elements create an environment that results in hiring the best people, minimizing surprises and offering the job to a person who wants to stay. Satisfaction is a two-way street and you want the best employees to be with you long-term.
Read the whole article here: Can Plumbing Contractors Control Unemployment Costs?
