Yup. Happens.
Use multiple sources to source employees. Multiple job posting sites, solicit to anyone you know that you're hiring.
Schedule many people for interviews.
Have the "best" candidate start working for you.
See how it goes and call the people who didn't get the first chance if the first guy sucks.
I have a policy that financially incentivizes people who give a two week notice if they quit after signing up. I give them a day or two to decide if the job is right for them, and once they commit, they are financially disincentivized to just quit without notice. It has worked very well.
Another strategy that I'll be testing for my business is to hire 3 people for a 2 person crew and have them work part time. Make it a clear policy that there are x amount of sick days when they are new, and if they want a day off they need to have someone cover their shift. If they can prove themselves over time, they get moved to a full time position, but the two-week notice rule still applies.
Also, pay is always never caught up. It's once a week and it was for the work you did two weeks ago. Last weeks pay comes next Monday. There is always money that they worked for that they don't have yet, since so many flakey workers would work until payday. For example if you worked for me from October 4th through the 10th, you would be paid on the 19th. The 11th through the 17th would be paid for on the 26th.
These people do not care about you. To them, you deserve to be taken advantage of. They will use every loophole and excuse to benefit themselves and not you. Refuse to be taken advantage of. It was the same way with customers. Yes, many people are honest and good and helpful and not trying to pull one over on you, but you should still protect yourself against the people who will not be so honest. Set up your company in a way so that good people are able to be recognized and rewarded, and that you can defend yourself ruthlessly against bad people who would throw you under the bus and lie about it just to save $20.
This is why we have agreements, signatures, cancellation fees, two-week notice policies, insurance, GPS tracking, locks, cameras, photos of work, etc. All of these things are protections. I would say 100+ people have come through my business either as a malicious customer or an employee. I've been stolen from, lied to, lied about, harassed, threatened, and much more. I used to have no protections. Almost every single one can be traced back to specific instances where it had cost me. I can think back to the individuals that caused me to place protections into my business to make sure that those types of people would not get the upper hand in the future.
I won't let bad customers and employees get in the way of my goals and vision for the company and for myself. I know there are good employees and I am going to find enough of them to build a large company. I know there are good customers and I am going to find enough of them to build a large company. I expect to find many more bad people in the process, but at least the damages they cause will be marginal, infrequent, and not fatal. It's a numbers game.
"When people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my general attitude, all my life, has been to fight back very hard. The risk is you'll make a bad situation worse, and I certainly don't recommend this approach to everyone. But my experience is that if you're fighting for something you believe in — even if it means alienating some people along the way — things usually work out for the best in the end" - Donald Trump
Use multiple sources to source employees. Multiple job posting sites, solicit to anyone you know that you're hiring.
Schedule many people for interviews.
Have the "best" candidate start working for you.
See how it goes and call the people who didn't get the first chance if the first guy sucks.
I have a policy that financially incentivizes people who give a two week notice if they quit after signing up. I give them a day or two to decide if the job is right for them, and once they commit, they are financially disincentivized to just quit without notice. It has worked very well.
Another strategy that I'll be testing for my business is to hire 3 people for a 2 person crew and have them work part time. Make it a clear policy that there are x amount of sick days when they are new, and if they want a day off they need to have someone cover their shift. If they can prove themselves over time, they get moved to a full time position, but the two-week notice rule still applies.
Also, pay is always never caught up. It's once a week and it was for the work you did two weeks ago. Last weeks pay comes next Monday. There is always money that they worked for that they don't have yet, since so many flakey workers would work until payday. For example if you worked for me from October 4th through the 10th, you would be paid on the 19th. The 11th through the 17th would be paid for on the 26th.
These people do not care about you. To them, you deserve to be taken advantage of. They will use every loophole and excuse to benefit themselves and not you. Refuse to be taken advantage of. It was the same way with customers. Yes, many people are honest and good and helpful and not trying to pull one over on you, but you should still protect yourself against the people who will not be so honest. Set up your company in a way so that good people are able to be recognized and rewarded, and that you can defend yourself ruthlessly against bad people who would throw you under the bus and lie about it just to save $20.
This is why we have agreements, signatures, cancellation fees, two-week notice policies, insurance, GPS tracking, locks, cameras, photos of work, etc. All of these things are protections. I would say 100+ people have come through my business either as a malicious customer or an employee. I've been stolen from, lied to, lied about, harassed, threatened, and much more. I used to have no protections. Almost every single one can be traced back to specific instances where it had cost me. I can think back to the individuals that caused me to place protections into my business to make sure that those types of people would not get the upper hand in the future.
I won't let bad customers and employees get in the way of my goals and vision for the company and for myself. I know there are good employees and I am going to find enough of them to build a large company. I know there are good customers and I am going to find enough of them to build a large company. I expect to find many more bad people in the process, but at least the damages they cause will be marginal, infrequent, and not fatal. It's a numbers game.
"When people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my general attitude, all my life, has been to fight back very hard. The risk is you'll make a bad situation worse, and I certainly don't recommend this approach to everyone. But my experience is that if you're fighting for something you believe in — even if it means alienating some people along the way — things usually work out for the best in the end" - Donald Trump