Another thing wrong with the Indiana Unemployment system

Posted by Mike Sylvester - 4/19/09 @ 6:29 pm - Filed Under Featured, State Politics

Over the last few weeks someone from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development has called my office once a week and has asked us if we are looking to hire someone.  Each time we tell them no.

After several weeks of this I got frustrated and told them that I am a small business, that I do not want them to call me again, and for them to remove me from their phone call list.

The last straw was when they called me on April 14th (A rather busy day for most CPA’s who work at a firm that handles a lot of tax preparation) and left a message asking me to call a specific person at a specific number.  The caller did not identify themself as being with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.  Instead they left their first name and a phone number for me to call. 

So I figured the call came from one of our existing clients or a new client and I immediately returned the call when I was able to.

When I realized that it was the Indiana Department of Workforce Development I asked them to remove me from the list of employers they call once a week.  In fact, I told them to never call me again.

There are several reasons I think that this program the Indiana Department of Workforce Development has where one of their employees calls businesses once a week asking them if they are looking to hire someone this week is a complete waste of taxpayer dollars:

  1. First of all my business has never hired anyone through the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.  
  2. Secondly my business employs three people during our “slow season” and will likely not hire anyone new until next year.
  3. Third why on Earth are they calling these businesses once a week.  I figure most business owners are competent enough to contact the Indiana Department of Workforce Development directly if they need somethig from them.
  4. Fourth fielding these phone calls is a complete waste of our time.
  5. Fifth they are actually paying an employee a salary and benefits to make blind calls to place the unemployed.
  6. Sixth the Indiana Unemployment program will be well over a billion dollars in the red at the end of this year; programs like this will put them further in the red. 
  7. Seventh I am on the Indiana “do not call list.”


What a complete waste of taxpayer dollars.

Mike Sylvester

Comments

3 Responses to “Another thing wrong with the Indiana Unemployment system”

  1. gadfly on April 19th, 2009 9:19 pm

    Mike . . . the “Do Not Call List” is not designed to protect businesses and further, it permits calls from any source with whom you have an ongoing relationship. For example, I do my banking with Wells Fargo, so they are permitted to call me for any reason.

  2. Anonymous on April 20th, 2009 10:10 am

    Gadfly,

    I do not have an “ongoing relationship” with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development execpt for the fact that I pay them taxes…

    Mike

  3. Jeff Pruitt on April 20th, 2009 11:10 am

    Regardless of any “ongoing relationship, if you ask someone not to call you they should stop calling - it’s just common courtesy…

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