Frequently Asked Question For Companies
Pay rates for jobs differ depending on which client company our people work at, which shift, what transportation method is required, and what skills/experience are needed. The pay rate is calculated based on all those factors, as well as taking into consideration what the full-time employees are paid when they are hired for the same position.
We want our employees to be satisfied with their assignment at your worksite and their experience with ABL. Please direct any ABL employee with questions about their pay to contact the local ABL office. Our payroll team is available Monday to Friday 9AM to 5PM to help them with payroll questions.
During their personal interview with an ABL team member at our office, the employee will be asked about their experience, skills, preferences, transportation method, and availability.
We then document that info on their file in our database. Then, when a client company contacts ABL to request additional staff for their jobsite, ABL will ask the client company about the skills, experience and shift availability required. ABL will also investigate if the worksite is accessible by public transport or not. A representative from ABL will visit the jobsite to insure it meets safety standards and has health & safety procedures in place to protect our employees. Once we are satisfied that we have all the pertinent info, we will run a search of our database for a list of applicants who match these criteria.
We will call those applicants and present the work opportunity to them. We always start with the applicants who have most recently called in available for work. The applicants are free to accept or decline the work assignment, with no penalty. Once the person has heard the details and accepted the assignment, we will send them a Job Assignment Notice, which will reiterate all the details about the job in writing, including shift times, pay rates, a thorough job description, location, and tips for being successful at this assignment.
This is a very thorough, personal process, and results in happier matches between employees and worksites. We never send someone out to work that we have not fully interviewed and orientated to our procedures and processes.
There are a variety of useful tools available to job-seekers today. One of the most efficient tools is a temporary service or staffing agency. The purpose of these organizations is to match companies who need work done with people looking for work! The fee for a staffing agency’s services is paid by the client company, so it’s free to register for those who are looking for work.
Many of ABL’s employees find their full time jobs through our work assignments. Agencies like ABL Employment have contacts at a wide variety of local companies. So, when someone registers with an agency, they are in essence, submitting their name for consideration at local companies who are already currently hiring! In fact, many companies do all of their hiring strictly through an agency. It is a fast and efficient networking tool for both the job-seeker AND the worksite.
So how do unemployed individuals make the most of a staffing agency’s services? First, the employee must choose an agency that is reputable. Ensuring that the agency is a member of an Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS) is a good starting point. When registering with the agency, the employee should let the consultant know what kind of work, pay range, environment etc. interests them. That way, all the appropriate and relevant opportunities that become available can be presented for the employee’s consideration. With the help of a staffing company, they will no longer spend hours searching for jobs unsuccessfully. Instead, jobs will find them!
Temporary jobs present an excellent way to gain experience at a particular company or in a certain industry, while earning money. If the employee and the client company decides that it is an excellent skill and experience match, it could turn into a full time job. A large percentage of temporary jobs often result in full time positions. Being willing to consider temporary work can greatly increase someone’s employment opportunities. For someone who is looking for occasional work, registering with a temporary agency like ABL Employment allows them to have more options and gives the employee greater flexibility and control when it comes to their work schedule.
Our first priority is to understand what is required for our employees to be a successful match for your work assignment, and therefore help you meet your goals. We will ask you questions about the position, such as:
- The expected length of the assignment
- The skills and experience required
- The shift availability required
- The physical requirements of the job (lifting ability, amount of standing/bending/walking etc)
- What personal protective equipment is required or supplied
- Whether the worksite is accessible by public transport
- What full-time employees are paid upon hire for the same position, so we can make sure the pay rate we pay our people is in line with your own pay range
- Whether there is any equipment to be operated
- Whether any certification/training is required or provided to operate that equipment
Lastly, a credit check is conducted, to confirm that your company is able to compensate ABL for the services we will provide. (ABL provides recruiting, screening, payroll, human resources services, workers’ compensation & liability insurance and much more!)
After all this is completed, ABL will assign a representative to manage your account with us. This person is your main point of contact on a daily basis. This representative will need to tour your worksite to insure that he or she truly understands the work environment and the job description. This person will coordinate the recruiting, screening, interviewing and dispatching of any potential employees we may send to your worksite, so it is crucial that they have a complete picture of what will be expected of our employees.
This representative will want to meet with the direct supervisor overseeing our employees onsite, as well as the health & safety representatives on shift. The representative will want to tour exactly where our employees will enter the worksite, where they will keep their belongings, what lunchroom/restroom facilities are available, and also how they will have their hours recorded. It is important for this representative to be introduced to the reception, security or gate-house team who will likely be the first point of contact for our employees when they arrive onsite at the job.
Your representative will want to meet with the person who will record and/or submit timesheet information for our employees. ABL will provide a sign-in sheet for the security desk, as well as an electronic timesheet for the employee’s hours to be recorded on. The representative will make sure that the entire payroll and billing process is crystal clear. Our aim is to have this process as easy and transparent as possible, so as to avoid confusion at a later date.
How quickly the set-up process moves will be mostly up to you: credit checks usually come back within a couple of hours and a worksite tour can be arranged as soon as it is convenient for you.
You will be more satisfied with the outcome of your order if you work closely with the account representative. Also, the more staff you require, the more lead time needed to identify the right employees – ABL wants to send you our best employee matches possible, not just the first people to answer the phone and accept the job offer. Following our best practices minimizes turnover and training costs, and frees you up to do more of what your company does best!
Once the tour is complete, your account manager/representative will begin notifying you of applicants who they feel are good matches for your worksite. We call this process “Skill-Alerting”. We will do a thorough dispatch with the employee, and perform follow-up with both the onsite supervisor and employee to insure everyone’s expectations are being met.
This is a very reliable process, and going through these steps well in advance of placing your first order will go a long way to securing a strategic working partnership between the worksite, employee and the staffing company. This in turn ensures everyone’s goals are being met.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act places a general duty on employers to “take every precaution reasonable under the circumstances for the protection of the worker” and places more specific duties on employers regarding the maintenance of equipment and the training/instruction and supervision of workers. Ministry of Labour stresses competency as the main factor. Section 51 of Regulation 851 has two requirements for competency that relate to powered lift trucks. Clause 51(2)(a) requires the truck operator to be a competent person and, under clause 51(1)(b), the examination of the lift truck’s load-handling capability is to be carried out by a competent person. The regulation does not say specifically how these requirements are to be satisfied. However, there is a definition under the OHS Act, part of which requires a “competent person” to have “knowledge, training, and experience to organize the work and its performance”.
Please see:
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/lifttrucks/index.php
As ABL is not the on-site supervisor of the employees, we have outlined obligations in the due diligence form which includes the following:
ABL Employment’ Responsibility
- To pre-screen potential employees for work history on power equipment.
- Administer a written assessment to determine the worker’s knowledge.
Client Company’ Responsibility
- Accurately depict the expected duties of the vacancy.
- Determine competence of the worker upon arrival and prior to allowing the worker on the floor to begin his/her assignment.
- Provide ongoing and adequate supervision of the worker.
Human Resource Development Canada does an annual salary survey that is broken down by geographic area and job description. To access the most current survey, go to;
http://www.ic.gc.ca/cis-sic/cis-sic.nsf/IDE/cis-sic31-33sale.html#wag2
The information is updated annually. The ranges and geographic area is broad, so determine the accessibility of your location and desired shifts as well as the nature of the work environment to determine where your company falls in the range.
HRDC provides the following information. Note that annual trends in classified ads and unemployment rates generally reveal that in January to March there is a larger supply of qualified workers available as fewer companies are hiring. In September to early November, most sectors are busy and, with the student labour pool unavailable, there is a smaller supply of qualified workers.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410035401
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