We all know the phrase ‘I deserve a break …’. This year, it rings truer than ever the world over.
After what has been a most challenging year, workers from Cape Town all the way through to Calgary in Canada are more than ready to hand over their responsibilities to trustworthy contingency staff so they can switch off and go recharge their batteries.
There are a few questions that need answers before your staff can power down their laptops and put up their feet, though …
How do I go about finding the perfect individual to stand in for a worker in my team?
You know your employees worth, and you know how long it takes to learn how to do their job right. So, how on earth does someone else just walk in and take over without messing things up?
First, invest the time to create a comprehensive profile of your worker’s duties and responsibilities. The better the job description, the easier it will be to find exactly the right fit for your requirements.
Next … talk to us! For more than three decades, Express Employment Professionals have been providing top-notch human resource solutions to all conceivable industries in South Africa, the USA and Canada. We have the numbers and the knowledge to fill the gap, fast and efficiently.
Save time, get the best fit, and enjoy the security of knowing that temporary replacement staff have not only been vetted (!) but are guaranteed to cover your back for the full hiring period.
But what about all those loose ends that are bound to haunt me while employees are on holiday?
It can be really hard to let go and trust someone from the outside with complex details that your employees are unable to resolve before stepping away from their work stations. And what if they should turn out to be a round peg that has to fit a square hole when it comes to company culture fit?
Rest assured – we will take the time to understand the full picture and place supplement staff with the right skills, abilities and personal profile for the position and your company. All candidates are carefully screened and evaluated before we propose the best temporary fit for your worker’s desk.
All we need from you is to provide them with a complete list of current projects and tasks, and whatever it is they need to make happen while your staff are away.
Smoothing out the handover
Give your staff replacement an overview of the company, starting with the big details and then drilling down to whatever smaller details are relevant to them.
Then run through the job description, leaving enough time for a thorough discussion of any aspects that are of particular importance, and flagging potential snag areas. Also important is to allow your staff member replacement to ask questions and familiarise themselves with the bigger as well as the smaller aspects.
Make sure you introduce the stand in worker to any remaining colleagues at the office, and especially to anyone who might be able to assist them with job- and task-related queries.
Also important is to put in place an email reply notification of the absence of your employee and to update your staff’s voicemail messages, providing the stand-in’s contact details. Contact any large project clients personally to give them a heads-up.
Takeaway
Take the time to write out a detailed job description and to list all current goings-on, make sure your staff’s replacement is up to speed, and then breathe out and relax – we’ve got your back!