In today’s times of significant labour shortages it is difficult finding the right person for a role, so when you find a good candidate who has the qualifications, skills and experience you need, it is very tempting to offer them the job immediately. But, what about their suitability for the physical requirements of the role? Will the person be able to perform the role safely and with no or little risk of injury to themselves or others?
Without a doubt, the business doesn’t want any accidents, workers’ compensation claims, or an increase in insurance premiums. To gauge the physical suitability of the candidate to conduct the role safely, book a fitness for work assessment to help you make the right and safe decision.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should assess a worker before your hire them:
- Match the person to the role – a pre-employment fitness for work assessment is based on the task analysis and will provide you with an overview of the candidate’s physical suitability to safely perform the role.
- Pick up potential issues early – it’s now 2 months on, all is going well so you think, and after a random drug and alcohol test, it’s been discovered the new candidate has a drug problem. This could have been picked up in the fitness for work assessment as drug and alcohol testing can be incorporated into the assessment.
- Reduce hassle & legal issues – it is difficult to let go of an employee that has been hired and is now not-so-fit for the role. This can be prevented if an appropriate fitness assessment is conducted.
- Keep your workforce safe – assessing a worker before you hire them keeps your other employees and workers who may engage with them safe, avoids additional workload on the team from a low-performing member, and reduces claims and costs to the business.
- Get the right information at the right time – incorporating a fitness for work assessment as part of the business’ overall safety policy will ensure your workers can safely perform their roles. A fitness for work assessment can be used for pre-employment, when an employee is returning after an injury or illness, an employee has been in the same role for a long time and their physical health has deteriorated, or even moving into a new role with increased physical tasks.
Have all the boxes ticked in evaluating the best person for the business. You’ll feel more at ease knowing you have applied all possible analysis to make the right decision.
Find out more on fitness for work assessments.