7/30/2019 Making the Right Hiring Decisions

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Gain a Competitive Advantagewith the Correct Hiring Decision

Matt Kent: 0488 061 529 m.kent@advancedphysio.com.au

Safe, healthy workplaces support strong

business performance stemming from:

Lower insurance premiums

Reduced staff turnover

Increased productivity

Lower hiring costs

Better employee morale

Working is conclusively good for ones health, and

for the health of ones family and society. In fact, ithas been demonstrated that being unable to work

has the equivalent health effects of smoking 10

packets of cigarettes per day (Ross 1995).

The Problem Facing Employers and Workers

Understanding this, regulators and many employers

now emphasise Workplace Safety as a core value,

yet in 2008 and 2009 over 130,000 work-related

injuries and illnesses were reported to NSW Work

Cover, with almost 43,000 resulting in more than 5

days off work, and around 9000 resulting in

permanent disability. The cost to employers and the

community of these injuries is staggering with total

payments of the system increasing to over 2.5 billion

in 2008 and 2009.

Working Towards an Effective Solution

There are many aspects to injury prevention

including ergonomics, job design and safety

procedures, however one often-overlooked factor is

that there is a gap between the physical ability of aperson to perform a job and the demands of a job.

Sporting clubs at even the most basic level will fitness

test players prior to returning to play; yet employers

frequently employ people manifestly unstainable for

the job.

There is increasing evidence that properly

administered pre-employment physical tests are one

of the best ways to minimise the risks associated with

a bad hiring decision.

Effective Pre-Employment Testing

1 The testing must be objective and well

documented. To ensure defensibility of the hiring

decision. If tested, it is essential that hiring is

objective, equitable and legally defensible.

2 Testing must be customised.

It is essential that testing is relevant to the job being

tested. Different jobs have different demands

associated with them and if the testing is not

relevant to these then it is not likely to be effective.

3 Testing should follow the guidelines derived

from available scientific evidence.

4 The testing interview is as important as the

test. In a study conducted on 594 security staff

published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine

in 2010 found that a questionaire tool used at the

pre-employment stage was predictive of future

absense and work restriction.

5 Testing must be conducted by suitably

qualified staff. Relevant findings are often subtle. An

inexperienced assessor can invalidate good testing

protocols. Physical testing for example requires

someone with knowledge and skills in Physical

Capacity Evaluation and Orthopedic Assessment

with knowledge of injury and pathology.

Our mission at Advanced Physiotherapy is to be the

Hunters leading provider of Occupational HealthServices and our pre-employment screening service

is up to date, staffed by qualified medical and allied

health personnel.

To contact our Occupational Health Team, please call or email: