FAQs Archive - On Demand HR

Q: Why don't you carry out interviews on our behalf?

Whilst we do our best to learn the ins and outs of your business, no one knows your team culture and requirements like you do. For this reason, we believe we are best at ensuring candidates meet minimum criteria, and you are best at ensuring they meet your cultural and skills fit.

Q: Are there any additional costs to the campaign fee?

The only additional costs are those associated with: Job advert expenses: this would generally be (at a minimum) the cost of the Seek Advertisement, and any other job platforms used (with prior approval). Any pre-employment checks requested: such as police checks, licence checks, health checks (pending your requirements).

Q: What happens if the campaign does not find the right candidate?

We will meet to debrief on the unsuccessful campaign, and may make recommendations to improve the campaign to go live again. Generally speaking, the only additional cost is the readvertisement of the job advert on Seek (or other platforms as per recommendations made and with pre-approval).

Q: Do you offer a placement guarantee?

No, but sort of yes. We do not guarantee a placement because there are factors that are outside of our control. We don’t know for sure and certain we have a candidate before going live with a role, because we don’t keep a database of candidates. So we can only advise you on the best recruitment approach, and put forward suitable candidates. If you don’t like the quality of what we are putting forward, there may be an issue with what you are looking for. It also depends on hiring manager responsiveness and willingness to progress candidates. But sort of yes – because in most circumstances, we will continue to work on your campaign until we either make a placement or you tell us to stop looking.

Q: Will I have to sign up for a 12 month contract or more?

No – our initial membership term is for 3 months, following which you can cancel at any time with the provision of 30 day notice. Our current members have told us that some of the other players in the marketplace have asked them to sign up for anywhere between 12 months to 5 year contracts for HR and Workplace Relations support. From our perspective, this sort of practice is something that we fundamentally disagree with. Our initial term for all of our memberships is 3 months, and following this a month-to-month basis. These terms were put in place on the simple basis that we feel that we should be “earning” your business each and every month and if we are unable to do this, we should not have to rely on “terms and conditions” to keep you around.

Q: Why don't you directly engage with employees on our behalf?

We often get requests to carry out performance management processes, terminations and other direct-to-employee meetings on behalf of our clients. There are a number of reasons that we generally don’t do this including: We would like to remain independent in the event we are required to represent our members in some sort of tribunal claim We don’t feel that we can do this as an external consultant in a genuine manner. How can we have an opinion on an employee's daily activity or attitude? This type of feedback or management albeit challenging will be much better received coming direct from a line manager The line managers with our coaching, support and documentation will grow and develop as a result of the membership and carrying out these processes directly

Q: Can't I just go to my lawyer for HR support?

Sure – there is nothing preventing you going to your lawyer for things like employment contracts and HR support. However, lawyers are like doctors in that there are general practitioners and then there are specialists. HR is a specialist field requiring intimate knowledge of the Fair Work Act, Modern Awards and most importantly people. If you go to a specialist – expect to pay specialist prices of $500 + per hour. Trust us – we know when we have had to engage them for high level and specialist support. If your business can afford this for your day to day support – go for it! Finally, one thing we pride ourselves on here at On Demand HR is providing advice that not only considers risk but also the desired outcome of the business. In other words, our advice does not “sit on the fence”.

Q: Why don't you offer insurance to protect me against employment related claims?

No – we believe this to be a massive conflict of interest. Some of our current members were clients of competing businesses who offer insurance against any employment-related claims. Sounds great on the surface, but it is not until you dig a little deeper that you discover that this simply leads to advice that is always the least risky option. Think about it, if you were advising a business that was considering terminating an employee and if they lodged an unfair dismissal claim you would have to cover any compensation awarded out of your own pocket, which direction would your advice lean?

Q: What makes On Demand HR's advice different?

We would like to think lots! A couple of the key reasons we think our advice and support is a little different: You won’t have to put up with automated phone systems, call centres nor repeating key details about your business to a revolving door of HR consultants. You will have direct access to a team of experienced HR consultants who know your business. All of our consultants have experience in appearing before the commission in employment-related claims. This means that the advice that we give is based on practical experience and not just on theory. This practical experience allows us to achieve outcomes aligned with the interests of the business by using strategies that you can’t read in textbooks. Put simply we give clear and thought-out advice and we certainly don’t sit on the fence. For any situation, we will give you a firm recommendation on the direction and strategy we think you should take to empower you to make the best decision for your business or team.

Q: Can you help me with my recruitment?

Absolutely! We have a unique recruitment campaigning service which we have developed and refined since 2010 that delivers top candidates without the excessive placement fees from traditional recruitment agents. Learn more about On Demand HR recruitment campaigns.

Why don’t you carry out interviews on our behalf?

Are there any additional costs to the campaign fee?

What happens if the campaign does not find the right candidate?

Do you offer a placement guarantee?

Will I have to sign up for a 12 month contract or more?

Why don’t you directly engage with employees on our behalf?

Can’t I just go to my lawyer for HR support?

Why don’t you offer insurance to protect me against employment related claims?

What makes On Demand HR’s advice different?

Can you help me with my recruitment?

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