PERSONNEL FILE
Page 70
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• With the current downturn in the economy, many operators are thinking twice about recruiting more staff. Most hauliers foresee difficult months ahead, and Commercial Motor's Business News Pages have recently contained a steady stream of stories marking the demise of several wellestablished operators.
Such market conditions and talk of redundancies in the industry have led many operators to think the muchheralded recruitment crisis in haulage can be averted.
However, despite the recent redundancies many are still re
porting problems in recruiting suitably qualified and experienced staff, and this is especially true of the small firms which make up the majority of operators in the UK. They are unable to offer the job security and the big-company perks, such as pension schemes and Luncheon Vouchers, which are administered by personnel professionals in the big road transport companies.
Over the past five years the number of employees working for small transport companies (with 10 trucks or fewer), has dropped by almost 20% — and this was a period when total employment levels in road transport increased by 8%.
During the next five years, when demographic trends will severely curtail the number of school leavers joining the job market, small transport corn
panies are going to find recruiting even more difficult.
In an attempt to help these small hauliers compete effectively in the jobs market the CBI has produced a guide to recruitment specifically for them.
Harry Kleeman, chairman of the CBI Smaller Firms Council, says: "Competition for labour is likely to be fierce in the coming years, and it is therefore essential that small businesses make the best use of their specific advantages in order to attract good staff."
The booklet provides a guide to the whole recruitment process, from defining the job and determining what sort of employee is needed, through the recruitment and selection process to starting work. There is also advice on employment law and recruiting people on Youth Training Schemes or Employment Training.
Writing an employee con
tract can be one of the most daunting tasks for a new employer. The CBI guide explains what form the contract should take and runs through the main terms of a typical contract of employment, which every employer is required by law to give to a new employee within 13 weeks of starting.
It also suggests how to decide upon the employment package you intend to offer, and what points to mention in the offer letter.