New Hire No Show

Balloonman

It does not happen often, but this week I had a person who was supposed to start just not show up, he did not call, nothing.
I was discussing the situation with the manager and we were discussing the costs associated with hiring people, background checks, drug tests etc.
I am wondering what all of you gurus think of charging people who do not start and do not give say, 48 hour notice for the costs incurred. The wording could easily be put into the releases they sign. That way if they no call no show from the beginning a company would be able to recoup their expenses.
What are your thoughts. I am looking for your $0.02 worth.
PS I am wearing my kelvar clothing.
DJ The Balloonman

jmpmo

I can't imagine how you would be able to do that and collect. You could put the wording in there all day long, but would your company really pursue legal action if they had too? x:-/
It seems like that would be more trouble then the money you lose to begin with. Another solution, since you are in Missouri, is the Full Employment Council. They have subsidized grants to help pay training, etc. I would be happy to give you contact information if you like.

cebudragonlady

And actually how much was the out-of-pocket expenses in this particular case?
Perhaps, if it is not too much - you could have future new hires agree ( when they sign the offer letter ) pay for their testing up front, to be reimbursed by the employer after X number of days on the job. Just an idea.

Chari

Balloonman

The drug test and background checks run combined around $90.00. Not including my time. I am not comfortable with having them pay for it up front. I am just looking at the occassional individual who goes through the process then never comes to work. I really don't mind if they change their mind if they had the curtesy to say, hey I don't know if this is best for me.
I am thinking one paragraph added on the the release saying the applicant agrees to reimburse the company for all preemployment expenses if they fail to show for work and notify the company at least 48 hours before they are to start. Applicant also agrees to reimburse company for all expenses related to the collection of this money.
The manager of the no call no show from the other day thinks we should send him an invoice.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Ballooman
Perfroming tonight at Kauffman Stadium as the Royal beat up the Cards.

Yahoo

You're right - the Cards are going DOWN!!!! Go Royals!

Don D

I don't think the idea is feasible at all. It's simply the cost of doing business. Mess with it too much and your boss' boss will have a brainstorm that it should come out of the pocket of the guy who recruited him! So, be careful. At my last job, we did, however, have a clause in some of our offer letters requiring reverse relocation if we fired an employee for other than cause and also that he/she would reimburse all the costs associated with relocation if they left on their own within a certain time period. These were only so-called super-salespeople who convinced us to relocated them 2-3000 miles to our location.

Reckon anybody out there has anything like an 'application fee' whereby the fee of those not hired is returned and if they are hired and quit, they forfeit the fee. Or is that the telephone hook-up process that does that?

Rockie

I'd be tempted to send them an invoice just to "rattle their cage". I have run into this problem several times lately with no shows where we have stopped the recruiting process and waited on these people to work a notice. It puts our recruiting behind at the minimum of a month when this happens. I chalk it up to a lack of integrity.

CCH1400

No shows are frustrating. I do orientation for new hires and when they don't call or show up I have wasted my time. It also can be costly as you indicated. Recently we had someone who went for the pre-employment physical, PPD testing, drug test and when the PPD came back positive we paid for an x-ray. Now, it's not only the $82.00 cost of the x-ray but the $84.00 charge for a doctor to read it. When he spoke to our recruiter he was told that we changed his days off so he decided to go elsewhere. Plus we have also paid for background checks!!

Balloonman

Don,
Pretty standard to have to pay relocation expenses if you quit within a certain time frame as long as it is not an unreasonable length. I have signed those, and had others sign them in the past. Same with sign on bonuses.

Well it is somewhat comforting to hear that others have the same issue. It amazes me in today's job market that someone would pass on a good employment with a good company. I have no shows, and then I just hired a salesperson away from Coke, go figure.

Rockie, I think I will send him that invoice, see what happens.

My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Crout

The cost of enforcement will exceed the cost of the no-show. On the other hand, if your local economy is such that people are lining up to work for you, why not have every candidate post a check that covers the cost of recruitment, which you could refund after a certain period of time? Just an idea.

Dasher

Yep, I had this happen once. After the initial frustration, I was so glad not to have hired someone who would just not show that I was tempted to pay him! The best thing is just to chalk these up to learning experiences and go on. This kind of person would give you a bounced check or ignore your billing -- why bother. :-?

HotTopic

Just a thought; maybe you can charge them up front for the cost associated with hiring them, have them sign a release form. Then explain to them, after their first week they will be reimbursed that money on their first check......

ladyzuesse

We used to have prospectives reimburse for preemployment costs, but VA now has a law prohibiting the practice if the cost is a condition of employment (Drug screen/physical etc.) New employees reimburse for boots if they don't stay 90 days - but other than that, VA says you can't do it. Just a cost of doing business. Annoying isn't it.

Tammy

scottorr

When I used to work in health care, we used to hire home health aides. We would pay for their training along with a drug screen and background check with a total cost of about $400. We had many no shows and it was costing us big time. So in their offer letters we had them sign, we included a statement that said if they did not show up for work they would be responsible for reimbursing the company the $400. The no shows became very few and far between. We never actually persued the money but just having that statement scared enough of them into either showing up or at least calling. Hope this helps.