The summer vacation season creates major challenges for warehouse operations across the country. Many key employees take time off during these months, but customer demands remain steady or even increase. This creates labor shortages that can slow down operations and hurt productivity.
What can your business do to manage your workforce and avoid costly downtime? The key is to go beyond traditional hiring. Consider other solutions, such as workforce planning and temporary staffing.
Strategies for Proactive Workforce Planning
Proactive workforce planning is the most important thing employers need to focus on when preparing for the summer vacation season. This means creating a plan before problems happen instead of scrambling to fix issues after they occur. Some examples of effective strategies you can implement to be ready for unplanned downtime and labor shortages are:
1. Cross-Training
This strategy involves teaching employees how to do multiple jobs instead of just one role. This is necessary because it creates backup workers for every critical position in the warehouse. When someone goes on vacation, another trained employee can step in and keep the work flowing.
To implement cross-training, start by identifying the most important roles that cause bottlenecks when empty. Then pair experienced workers with newer employees for hands-on learning sessions. Schedule these training sessions during slower periods so regular work doesn’t suffer. Make sure to document each process with simple step-by-step guides that workers can reference later.
2. Succession Planning
Succession planning requires employees to take over key leadership roles when managers or supervisors are absent. Losing a supervisor during a busy vacation season can leave entire teams without direction. Without clear leadership, productivity drops and mistakes increase.
To create a succession plan, identify top performers who show leadership potential. Give these employees extra responsibilities gradually so they can learn management skills. Have them shadow current supervisors during different shifts and situations. You can also create a clear chain-of-command chart that shows who takes charge when regular managers are away.
3. Upskilling and Reskilling
Upskilling refers to teaching current employees new advanced skills in their field, while reskilling focuses on training them for completely different roles. Both are necessary because they create more versatile workers who can handle various tasks during staffing shortages. A worker, for example, who knows both forklift operations and inventory management can fill two different roles as needed.
- Start by assessing what skills your workforce currently has and what gaps exist.
- Create simple training modules that focus on one skill at a time.
- Use experienced employees as mentors to teach these new skills through hands-on practice.
You can offer small incentives like pay increases or recognition for those who complete additional employee training. This motivates workers to learn new skills and makes your team more flexible.
Best Solution to Avoid Downtime: Benefits of Temp Staffing
Workforce planning is necessary to prevent unplanned downtime, but even the best strategies can’t completely solve increased labor shortages. Planning can minimize downtime, but prolonged staffing issues lead to lost productivity and low operational efficiency.
This is where temp staffing is useful. Instead of spending on the hidden costs of traditional hiring, acquiring temporary staff members allows you to pay for workers only when you need them. It also provides these benefits:
1. Maintain business efficiency
Temp staffing helps maintain business efficiency by providing immediate workforce coverage when regular employees take vacation time. Instead of falling behind on orders or missing deadlines, temporary workers step in to keep production moving at normal speed. These workers often have experience in similar warehouse environments and can start contributing right away.
2. Reduce existing bottlenecks
Temporary workers help reduce bottlenecks by adding extra hands to the areas where operations are slowest. During vacation season, certain departments might become understaffed while others remain fully covered. Temp staffing lets you target these problem areas with additional workers who have the right skills.
For example, if your shipping department is short-staffed but receiving is fully covered, you can bring in temporary shipping specialists. This targeted approach prevents one slow department from holding up your entire operation and keeps products moving through the warehouse at a steady pace.
Read more: The $2,000 Mistake: How Poor Scheduling Costs Warehouses This Year
3. Access specialized skills
Temporary staffing can give you access to specialized skills that might be hard to find or expensive to develop in-house. Many temporary workers have experience with specific equipment, software systems, or warehouse processes that your regular staff might not know.
When a skilled forklift operator or inventory specialist goes on vacation, you can get a replacement with the same expertise through a staffing agency. This means you don’t have to train someone new or reassign workers to unfamiliar tasks. Specialized temp workers can handle complex jobs immediately and maintain the same quality standards your customers expect.
4. Control costs
When you choose temp staffing solutions, you gain the ability to control costs since you only pay for workers when you actually need them. Instead of hiring full-time employees who might not be needed after vacation season ends, you can scale your workforce up and down based on demand. Moreover, temp workers don’t receive the same benefits packages as permanent employees. This can reduce your overall labor costs and expenses.
5. Reduce compliance risks
Staffing agencies handle most of the administrative and legal requirements for their workers. This reduces the chance of compliance risks as you onboard new people during the summer vacation rush. Your chosen agency takes care of background checks, drug testing, work eligibility verification, and safety training before sending workers to your facility. This means you don’t have to worry about missing important compliance steps during the busy vacation season when your HR team might also be stretched thin.
How to Make the Best of Temp Staffing?
Unplanned downtime affects your overall business. Utilizing temporary staffing helps you avoid downtime costs while reducing human error and improving your business continuity.
To help you effectively utilize this staffing solution, the following are three simple steps to get you started:
1. Assess and forecast staffing needs
Start by reviewing your vacation schedules. Identify when you will need the most coverage. Look at your employee time-off requests for the summer months and mark any dates when multiple people will be away at the same time.
Calculate how many workers you need for each department during these peak vacation periods. Check your order volumes and delivery schedules to understand when demand will be highest. It’s also wise to create a calendar that shows exactly which positions need temporary coverage and for how long. This can help you request the right number of workers at the right times instead of scrambling for last-minute help.
2. Define role requirements
Write clear job descriptions that explain exactly what temporary workers need to do and what skills they must have. List the specific tasks, equipment they will use, and safety requirements for each position. Include details about physical demands like lifting requirements, standing time, and walking distances. Specify any certifications needed, such as forklift licenses or hazmat training. Remember that clear requirements prevent mismatches and ensure temporary workers can contribute effectively from day one.
3. Partner with a reputable staffing agency
Last but not least, temporary staffing is far more effective when you partner with the right staffing firm. Choose a staffing agency that specializes in warehouse and logistics work because they understand your industry’s unique challenges and requirements. Research agencies by reading reviews and checking their track records.
Meet with potential agencies to discuss your specific needs and evaluate how well they understand your business. Establish clear communication channels and response times so you can rapidly hire workers when vacation schedules change.
A strong agency partnership becomes your competitive advantage during busy seasons because they prioritize your requests and provide their best temporary workers. This relationship ensures you get reliable, skilled workers exactly when you need them most.
Ensure smooth operations with Horizon America.
With over 30 years of combined experience, Horizon America is ready to provide you with the best staffing solutions tailored to the challenges you encounter. When you choose us as your partner, you gain access to a wide network of specialists who are dedicated to quality work.
Want to learn more about temp staffing and how it can help solve your seasonal problems? Contact us today!
