It’s Monday morning, an hour before your team’s shift begins. You arrived early to prep for the batch of new temporary hires that are starting today. As you walk to your office, you can’t help but wonder: will this new batch of hires be any different than the last?
Retention rates have been dismal lately – new starts leaving after just a couple weeks, (sometimes just a few days) citing everything from lack of training to expecting different job responsibilities.
Your regular employees are starting to get frustrated at the never-ending cycle of temporary workers that they help train, only for them to turnover and start all over again with a new group.
You had hoped by now that you would have permanently hired at least four of the temporary employees that your staffing agency provided, but because they never stay long enough, it feels like you’ll always be depending on temporary workers to meet productivity goals.
There has to be a better solution — a way to bridge the gap between the skills desperately needed and the talent you just can’t seem to hold onto.
You need a staffing partner, not just a recruiter.
Common Challenges Working With Staffing Agencies
Hiring managers today face a multitude of staffing challenges in the manufacturing, logistics, warehouse, and distribution industries.
Many managers view using staffing agencies as a necessary evil to help keep teams appropriately staffed during fluctuating production schedules. They often encounter agency frustrations that make the recruitment process feel like a never-ending uphill battle, like:
Perceived High Agency Fees and Overhead Costs: The need for flexible and cost-effective staffing solutions often clashes with the perceived high fees charged by staffing agencies. Employers sometimes overlook the cost of taxes, benefits, and fixed recruiting expenses when comparing the bill rate of a staffing agency to the direct pay rate of an employee.
However, a good staffing partner can lead to long-term savings through reduced turnover and improved productivity.
High Turnover: Temporary workers tend to leave after a short period, leading to constant rehiring and retraining costs.
Inconsistent Candidate Quality: The quality of candidates provided can vary greatly, with some being reliable and skilled, while others fail to fit the company culture or meet job requirements.
Poor Communication: A lack of onsite representation, misalignment with company goals, and slow response times from staffing agencies can hinder effective collaboration and problem-solving.
Lengthy Recruitment Process: The time-consuming nature of recruitment and inefficient recruiting strategies can delay the scaling of workforces and increase the workload for existing staff if positions remain vacant.
You Know You Have A Good Staffing Partner When…
Is it even possible to have a staffing partner that helps you strategically plan and build a dependable, fully-charged workforce?
We’re here to tell you that yes, it is possible.
Not only that, but a great staffing partnership can be the secret weapon you need to overcome these hurdles and build a thriving team in this crazy hiring landscape.
Here’s how to know when you’ve found a good staffing partner.
You’re Conquering the Skills Gap
That skills gap that’s been keeping you up some nights? It’s starting to shrink because of their:
Deep Industry Knowledge. Your partner specializes in manufacturing and industrial staffing; they’re not a generalist agency. They’re familiar with the current job market and emerging trends.
Most of all, they understand the required skill sets for your industry, whether you need a skilled manufacturing supervisor, forklift operator, or production associate. Plus, your staffing partner has their own vetted candidate pipeline and targets their search accordingly, ensuring your talent pool isn’t just qualified, but relevant.
Comprehensive Screening. Technical skills are crucial, but your staffing agency goes beyond resumes with a vetting process that ensures job fit and culture fit. To ensure that new hires integrate seamlessly into your company, they conduct in-person and virtual behavioral interviews to assess a candidate’s:
- Reliability
- Skills
- Potential
- Cultural fit
- Communication style
- Ability to learn
You’re Turning the Tide on Turnover
A great staffing partner helps reduce turnover and increase productivity and team morale by:
Understanding Your Needs. High turnover often stems from a mismatch between expectations and reality. Your staffing partner takes the time to understand your company culture, work environment, and the specific job responsibilities and expectations. This thorough understanding allows them to consistently present qualified candidates who are reliable, well-prepared for their roles, and a good fit from the get-go.
Implementing Retention Strategies. Great staffing agencies are invested in your success, and yours is no exception. They offer resources and expert guidance to onboard and retain new hires — all aimed at keeping your top talent happy and engaged. They suggest things like:
- Training opportunities
- Mentorship programs
- Employee Incentives
- Competitive compensation packages
You’re Taking Back Your Time
The best staffing partners free up your valuable time to focus on core business needs. Your agency saves time and finds candidates fast through:
A Streamlined Process. Their entire recruitment process is smooth and efficient thanks to utilization of pre-screening tools, conducting initial interviews and assessments, managing reference checks, onboarding, and ongoing employee coaching.
Multi-Source Recruitment. There’s more to sourcing than Indeed. Your staffing agency uses a combination of job sites, internal databases, referrals, social media, and advanced technologies like AI and texting automation for immediate responses.
One Dedicated Point of Contact. Your staffing partner understands that having multiple people to stay in touch with can be frustrating and confusing so they provide one main contact. This avoids the need to sift through multiple different emails and voicemails and meeting notes to make sure everyone is on the same page.
And because your main contact has gotten to know exactly how your company operates and what kind of talent will thrive in your facility, they’ve reduced overall time to hire. Not too shabby!
You’re Conquering Communication
Nothing is worse than a staffing agency who is slow to respond or doesn’t provide status updates. That’s why you’re grateful for your staffing partner’s:
Reporting and Transparency. They regularly offer performance data and business intelligence reports, alongside regular meetings with executive leadership. This transparency has helped build trust (and renewed your faith in staffing agencies) and allows for data-driven decision-making.
Partnership Dynamics. Your staffing agency is proactive, responsive, and committed to your success. Congratulations: you’ve built a strong, communicative, and reliable partnership that adds significant value to your operations.
Transform a Problematic Staffing Partnership Into an Outstanding One
A great staffing partnership isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Nor is it a magic wand that will solve all of your hiring challenges.
But when you have a partner who can adapt to your specific challenges and goals and offers customized staffing solutions, you can overcome many of these common hiring frustrations and build a team that propels your business forward — once and for all.
Want More Insights?
For more insights and helpful recruitment and staffing resources designed for industrial, manufacturing, and warehouse employers, join our resource hub and follow Alliance Industrial Staffing on LinkedIn.
