Regularizing ‘endo’ workers: Your issues answered
We’re now in the process of absorbing some temporary workers from our manpower agencies and cooperatives. What are the things that we should consider so that we can come out with the best possible decision before we convert their employment status to regular positions? — Reformed.
A longer-term perspective is all you need to come out with an intelligent decision on whom to regularize, regardless of where people come from. But of course, since you have already worked with some temps, then you should be able to understand how to evaluate their work performance.
The trouble is that this same relationship can make you reach a subjective decision. Because of the number of years that you’ve worked with temps, no matter how simply they coast along with an average performance, your tendency is to color your judgment in their favor. If you do that, you’ll be like an economist who thinks he knows more about money than the people who actually have it.
Suppose that your organization is hiring people for a customer relations group that should be fully-operational before a new product or service is launched, would you consider regularizing the best merchandisers provided by your manpower agency to become part of your regular work force?
If yes, which jobs will be fully staffed before the launch? If not, why not? Furthermore, which jobs will be filled up with regular staff after two or three months after the launch? Which positions would make these ex-temps become potential supervisors in three years? Those questions and more can give you a proactive approach. The same approach can be done when an organization is opening a new branch or facility.
Now, here are some good measures you should always keep in mind:
First, identify manpower issues in the business plan. Sometimes, management fails to correlate hiring decisions with the particular aspects of organizational objectives. This is due in part to your over-reliance on temps, who are easy to hire and fire. Now is the time to reassess your manpower strategy. Be forewarned that hiring temps and perpetuating their employment to the point of abuse is not exactly a good idea.
In every step of the way, never apply a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If you need additional workers for seasonal production, then so be it but not to the point of maintaining them under the guise of outsourcing.
Second, focus on specific positions, not all jobs that are currently held by temps. How strategic are these “specific” positions to your organization? If we don’t have these jobs, can you perform the tasks necessary in producing your products and performing your services to customers? Check out Art. 280 of the Labor Code and answer that six-million dollar question: What are the regular positions where the employee has been engaged to perform activities that are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer?”
For instance, in a large brick and mortar supermarket chain, are cashiering jobs “necessary or desirable?” Clearly, the answer is in the affirmative. How do customers intend to pay their merchandise if you don’t have cashiers? The cashiering job is different from baggers, which are not necessary, as what’s being done in other countries where customers are given only plastic bags for their paid goods, if not the cashiers act as baggers themselves.
Third, solve problems, instead of creating more jobs. Don’t get me wrong. Of course, we want jobs for everyone, I mean decent jobs. Yet some managers focus their efforts on developing complicated work processes and systems to meet organizational need for control resulting in the creation of low-skill tasks. Take the case of a security guard manning the gate that is complete with CCTV cameras and automatic access system.
Why do you have to duplicate the control system? Why use manual checking and computer control at the same time? Which is more reliable, anyway? This reminds me of an old story about an American space project that required millions of dollars to create a ballpoint pen that would defy gravity while ignoring the Soviets who used pencil. Of course, this was proven to be a myth, but the lesson is still being used by experts to doubly emphasize common sense.
That’s why I believe in job enrichment, job enlargement and job rotation. The trick is to make the work more interesting so that people can be responsible for problem solving and do independent decision making, even if they’re not part of management. Unfortunately, not all temps can do this.
The above-stated advice is not complete. But they’re enough to jump-start or improve the effectiveness of an existing manpower planning process in the midst of the current administrations’ thrust against labor-only contracting.
ELBONOMICS: Prevention is much better than coercion and intervention.