This, really struck a chord in me.
And maybe more other people who’s involved in the job of employing people.
And I realised I was not the only one.
One issue that has become a challenge for many businesses is excessive job-hopping. This has come about only because of our economic success and a very tight labour market.
– Victor Mills
I had tonnes of applicants. Chose a few for interviews. Asked some questions, and let an insight of what to expect in the job scope. Asked if they are really sure of taking up the job and whether there are any issues they need to raise. And we were really frank. Like the job requires a lot of data entry cos we understand not all people can bear with so much data entry, sometimes they might be required to stay back a bit late due to heavy shipments…blah blah. All said no problem confidently.
Like what Mr Mills had mentioned, some turned up one day for the job and disappeared. Can’t get through them on the phone. Some worked for a few days. Said feeling sick when we managed to get her on the phone. Thereafter never to turn up also.
Some took MC 1-2 days every week. Very disruptive cos we do not know when to teach them stuff properly when we do not even know if they will turn up.
Or when we thought that this person will stay (mind you, we frequently asked if they face any problems with their work and they said no problem) so we started teaching them more stuff, which is not like mountains of it, doesn’t require hair-tearing moments, then they disappear without a trace.
My poor gal ended up teaching a lot of people with a lot of time wasted.
Unfortunately when we have got one whom seemed to be interested and coping well, but due to personal reasons for someone in her family, she had to leave cos she wasn’t very comfortable having to take so many unpaid leave to take care of her parent who is having health issues.
And mind you, the job is not even so stressful. It was just a normal coordinator job which require only basic skills.
Distance is also another issue.
I know of an industrial fragrance company which invested $25 million in Singapore. But they could not get a Singaporean to do the job. No matter what they paid, there were no takers because there was no direct bus or train. Also, nobody could tahan (Malay for tolerate) the smell at the plant.
– Victor Mills
This reminded me of E’s woes on getting people to do the job.
His company is located at an industrial area which there is no MRT right next to it. Best thing was, the address was indicated in the job ad. Someone actually said (I’ve also gotten one potential candidate who cited the same reason when we asked her to come for interview) that they didn’t want the job/come for interview because the workplace is not very accessible or far from their home (my workplace is next to MRT station by the way).
I was like, hello, then why you still send in your application when the workplace is so evidently published in the ad?
Really a waste of time. Either they didn’t bother reading what the job really require or just blindly apply for a job hoping to cast their nets far and wide so they have more chances and choices.
What happened to the good old days where people really set their mind to do a job rather than taking it as a tool for passing time or a just-in-case-a-better-job-offer-will-come-in-a-few-days’-time? Or ‘I will try out this for a year or two before deciding this is right for me’, rather than being quick to say ‘this job is not for me’ after one day?
Or someone who would not say “the work place is too far from home I don’t want the job” (this is Singapore for heaven’s sake. Just imagine you work in Malaysia or even Jakarta where you have distance and traffic woes much worse than here!
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