The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major rethink of operations, especially in the light industrial and supply chain sectors.

Before the pandemic, both of these industries focused on Just-in-Time practices that minimized inventory costs. But this approach was blown up by COVID when the pandemic caused massive inventory shortages. According to Kardex, both industries also stepped up reshoring and nearshoring efforts after COVID hit. The pandemic exposed frailties in the global supply chain and bringing production capacity closer to home means less reliance on overextended supply chains.

In the supply chain, warehouses reacted to wild fluctuations in demand by adopting scalable processes and flexible picking strategies. These approaches let warehouses adapt their processes overnight and better sudden changes in demand. Many warehouse operations expanded in the wake of COVID, whether it was expanding existing facilities or adding more smaller warehouses. In fact, warehouses tended to become smaller and more decentralized as customers started to demand more same-day and next-day deliveries.

Now that the public health threat of COVID has ended, light industrial and warehouse operations in Pacific and Fenton are sticking with some of the lessons they learned. They’re also looking to improve efficiency and cut costs in the face of economic uncertainties unleashed by COVID. While some measures like automation and AI can provide marginal gains, local companies are finding that the most effective way to reduce costs is through the use of staffing services.

Reduce Costs with a Staffing Agency in Pacific and Fenton, Missouri

While the threat of COVID is seriously diminished, the discombobulation caused by the pandemic is still very much with us. From massive waves of resignations to runaway inflation to soaring interest rates, it’s hard to know what curveball light industrial and warehousing companies are getting next.

In light of all this uncertainty, companies should be looking to get lean and mean. Staffing agencies in Pacific and Fenton offer a great way to do this.

Scale Your Workforce as Needed

One of the most important ways a staffing agency in Pacific and Fenton can reduce costs for a local business is by transferring fixed labor costs to variable labor costs. Companies pay fixed costs like labor or rent regardless of sales or workload. Variable costs, by comparison, can be adjusted based on workload. If a manufacturing company is project-based or experiences significant fluctuations in business, shifting labor to variable costs is an effective way to avoid excessive labor costs during slow periods or between projects.

Employers know all too well how much it costs to pay full-time employees. In addition to paying a salary or hourly rate, full-time employees typically receive employee benefits, like health insurance and paid vacation days. This adds up to substantial fixed labor costs. By comparison, temporary light industrial or warehouse workers tend to only earn hourly pay.

One drawback to significantly scaling up and down a workforce is the amount of time it takes new employees to get up to speed. Manufacturers should work closely with their light industrial staffing services provider to develop targeted training programs that help new workers become productive as soon as possible. It may even be possible for temporary employees to start these training programs before their first day on the job.

Light Industrial Staffing Agencies Boost Efficiency

When used strategically, light industrial staffing services can make a company more efficient. The key part of doing this is treating temporary and contract workers like they are part of the organization. Many of these workers are willing to come back to a workplace that’s familiar, but only if they’ve had a good experience in the past. Companies that can cultivate strong relationships with temporary and contract workers can create a pool of temporary talent that is able to come back into their operation and hit the ground running. Returning workers don’t need to be onboarded like new workers, and they may even be able to offer insights based on their past experience for experience gained from other temporary assignments.

Light industrial staffing services can also boost efficiency when they support knowledge transfer from experienced contract workers. Workers bring years of experience and an outside perspective. They can teach less experienced workers tricks of their trade, but only if the host company provides opportunities for knowledge sharing.

The use of staffing services also boosts efficiency by supporting diversity. Research shows that companies that prioritized diversity tend to be more productive than those that don’t. For example, one 2019 University of Denver study on the healthcare industry showed diverse teams provided better patient care and created better financial outcomes.

Temporary Staffing Services are Cost Effective

Staffing agencies in Pacific and Fenton do charge for their services, and because of this, it’s not immediately obvious how they can be cost-effective. It’s understandable to see staffing service fees as a “necessary evil” for bringing in talent. However, warehouse and light industrial staffing services can save money in some ways, especially when you consider that in-house teams aren’t working for free.

One of the most direct ways that staffing agencies cut costs is by taking on the administrative burden associated with a contract workforce. Staffing agencies handle a lot of the hiring process and because they specialize in it, can do it more efficiently than HR workers, who have a wider range of responsibilities. Staffing agencies also handle payroll and other administrative duties associated with their workforce.

Minimizing overtime pay is another very direct way that staffing agencies can help minimize costs. With most companies paying one-and-a-half times the normal rate for overtime, the cost of overtime pay can add up pretty quickly. On top of that, research from Stanford University and elsewhere has shown that people become less productive as their work week becomes longer. These are the invisible costs of overtime that staffing agencies help to eliminate. Along the same line, staffing services can help prevent employee burnout, and its associated costs.

Another type of invisible cost that gets reduced through the use of staffing agencies in Pacific and Fenton is the cost associated with hiring mistakes. Research has shown that bad hires can cost companies thousands of dollars in the form of mistakes, decreased quality, negative impact on surrounding coworkers and more. One of the best ways to reduce the risk of a hiring mistake is through the use of temp-to-hire staffing services. With this “try it before you buy it” approach, employees must show they can succeed in a position before they receive an offer of full-time employment.

Leverage Light Industrial Staffing Services to Find Well-Rounded Workers

In smaller and mid-sized companies, it’s common for people to wear multiple hats. These companies can significantly minimize costs by using temporary and temp-to-hire staffing services to find well-rounded workers with multiple skill sets. To be fair, it may be difficult to find candidates with vastly different skill sets. However, it isn’t difficult to find people who have worked several different jobs in the past and are capable of handling different kinds of responsibilities.

Even when it’s difficult to find people with diverse backgrounds of experience, it is still possible to find people with strong transferable skills. So-called soft skills include problem-solving, communication, attention to detail, and leadership. Candidates who show a strong set of transferable skills are more able to pick up new responsibilities, decreasing the need to pay for additional talent. Well-rounded workers can be brought in through temp-to-hire services and offered a full-time job if they are successfully able to wear multiple hats at a company.

Control Warehouse Costs with a Light Industrial Staffing Agency in Pacific and Fenton, Mo. Today

From The Great Recession to COVID-19, we’ve seen a lot of disruptions over the past few decades here at Westside Personnel. When local warehousing and light industrial operations with us, they are getting one of the most knowledgeable staffing agencies in the Pacific and Fenton region. Our staffing services in these sectors include:

• Temporary staffing. Our temporary staffing services can help companies handle special projects, fill in skills gaps, and manage unexpected employee absences. We work with our clients to help them meet their production demands without the overhead of bringing in full-time staff members. We excel at finding qualified and dependable temporary workers for our clients and Pacific and Fenton.
• Direct hire. We take pride in clearing up the misconception that staffing agencies only provide temporary workers. Our direct-hire services simplify the standard hiring process for our clients and make it easy for them to fill their open positions with best-fit talent.
• Vendor-on-premise. For companies using a high-volume staffing solution, our vendor-on-premise service provides in-house administration designed to simplify everything from onboarding to workforce planning.
• Payrolling. Our payrolling service handles this mundane and rudimentary process so our clients can stay focused on their core revenue-generating activities.

All of these services are driven by our desire to be a dependable agency with integrity. We take pride in being there when you need us and supporting the success of other local businesses like ours. Please contact us today to find out how we can help your company find greater success by cutting costs.