Agencies, Lies and Lazy Girls

October 1, 2007

Recruiting staff is something most business owners have to do at some point. Unfortunately, it is not easy, as I learned a long time ago. I wasn’t just bad at it - I was completely terrible. And what started as one stupid mistake spiralled into a major disaster.

Anyway, I’ve decided that the benefit of helping you avoid the same mistakes I made outweighs the embarrassment of knowing you are going to be reading this post thinking “What an idiot.” and “How could anyone possibly screw up so many times?” So here goes.

Idiots Guide to Recruitment 1: Don’t wait until you’re completely desperate to recruit staff: You might think it seems smart waiting until you’re absolutely desperate to recruit extra help (eg. Until working through the night becomes a regular thing, and you can’t remember what your children look like). But believe me it’s not.

I hired productive labourers, but I didn’t recruit any admin support until I looked like the living dead. And by then, I was so desperate, I would have taken anyone.

Mistake number one was getting myself into a desperate situation to begin with. Then I called an agency.

Idiots Guide to Recruitment 2: Don’t Use an Agency to Recruit Permanent Staff - Unless They Have A Brilliant Reputation: The agency sent me a young girl - the perfect worker. She’d just spent 3 months - with another company and they loved her. But they couldn’t afford to keep her. At least that’s what the agency told me.

The truth was - she sucked. I set off giving her the simplest tasks to do, but when I tried to give her anything slightly taxing, she complained that it was too difficult and she’d rather do the easier stuff. I felt like a babysitter. She didn’t come in on time, extended her lunch breaks by two hours and seemed to have no interest in anything bar doing as little as possible. And I was still working through the night.

I put up with her for a 2 or 3 weeks, before telling the agency I didn’t want her back. I suppose I felt that I must be doing something wrong, as the other company had apparently loved her.

Idiots Guide to Recruitment 3: Don’t Take Someone Back Once You’ve Fired Them: Lazy Girl’s mother came to see me and begged me to give her another chance. And being a complete doormat - I did. I felt sorry for the mother, and I still had this nagging feeling that it was somehow my fault. After all, the agency had said the girl was superwoman. And the other company had loved her.

Well, she improved for a couple of days. Then, after she’d activated and stolen our new mobile phones, she went AWOL and we had to call the police to get them back.

So what did I do about the agency?

Idiots Guide to Recruitment 4: If An Agency Screws You - Nail them to the Wall: Or at the very least, make sure you get every penny of your fees back.

In the case of this agency it would be easy. One of their staff contacted us, off the record, and said that Lazy Girl had been just as bad at the previous place they’d sent her, and the glowing report was all lies. In fact the other company had complained about her, and said they never wanted her back again.

I know I should have demanded the fees back, but I was so pissed off, I decided to forget all about it, and find a new assistant myself.

Lessons learned to that point - 1) Don’t wait until you’re desperate to recruit. 2) Don’t use an agency unless you’re certain of their reputation. 3) Never ever take someone back when you’ve fired them. 4) Don’t let an agency rip you off. 5) Never assume that just because someone wants a job, they actually want to work.

So did things improve after that? Well no - they got much worse, because there were still plenty more stupid recruiting mistakes that I hadn’t made.

To be continued in part 2.

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Comments

6 Responses to “Agencies, Lies and Lazy Girls”

Ian on October 1st, 2007 1:56 pm

Excellent post! And for the record, I don’t think it reflects poorly on you to share the experiences.

Even the best started somewhere and made far bigger mistakes than this.

Mistakes are fascinating because it helps you learn.

I can see nearly everyone doing exactly the same. I have.

And I spent far too long dealing with issues relating to the wrong people. The right people however need little looking after. Self-motivated and self-managing people are always better - even if they have to be managed (if that makes sense!).

But they’re rare. And that’s where I think agencies are often wrong.

I did though recruit one member of staff through an agency who was everything and more the agency claimed.

So to be fair, I have had a good experience.

But you do wonder sometimes if it’s just luck! I don’t know any sort of testing can really guarantee someone’s attitude is what they say it is.
Modern Worker on October 1st, 2007 8:49 pm

Amen to #3!
Barbara on October 2nd, 2007 2:55 am

Catherine,

If you’re in business, and not making mistakes, how can you improve? If anyone tells you they can run a business perfectly, without making any mistakes, they are lying.

Years ago we hired, who we thought, was a nice kid. He ended up stealing blank checks out of a locked cabinet. He forged my husband’s signature…..but, made the checks out to himself. Needless to say, the police didn’t have to go far to find the culprit.

Sharing what you are learning, is going to help others. And, isn’t that why we blog? I commend you for your honesty.
JoLynn Braley on October 2nd, 2007 3:30 am

Well, at least you learned from your mistakes, and you’re definitely not alone when it comes to making them! However if we didn’t make any mistakes, then it would mean that we had just given up and weren’t even trying.
cathlawson on October 2nd, 2007 11:34 am

Thanks Ian. I don’t know if it’s just luck with agencies or what. One person I recruited said the agency didn’t interview her, just gave her a form to fill out and sent her to me for an interview! I was livid when she told me this, as I had paid the equivalent of three months of her salary to the agency.

Modern Worker - I know - it’s one of the silliest recruitment mistakes you can make.

Barbara - that is terrible. How did he think you would not be able to trace him?

JoLynn - that is true, we have to keep making mistakes to learn. I just wish there weren’t so many mistakes out their to make.
Don't Recruit a Ventriloquist Who Hates Talking on October 10th, 2007 7:30 am

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