Why You Should Review Your 2021 Staffing Needs NOW

All businesses are dynamic in their own way and some have greater needs to absorb changes in operational requirements. We are in a new year which makes it a great time to review your 2021 staffing needs especially with Coronavirus impacting all businesses. It’s going to be difficult for  you to know what to expect for the next full year. Hopefully you will improve existing business levels and bring on new challenges and responsibilities. The last thing you need is to get caught flat-footed with insufficient staffing. It’s not just a lack of manpower; you will not have the critical skills your business needs to progress.Covid-19 workforce

 

Tracking Known and New Variables

Analyzing your workforce needs means discovery, planning, and knowing what will change as much as possible. You have historically known changes such as retiring employees and statistically known attrition rates over a 12-month period. If you have not been tracking and organizing staffing trends, then you should implement a program to do it soon. Doing so will make your business more efficient and better prepared for staffing forecasts.

If you are planning to use new technology and systems in 2021, are you aware of how that may impact existing employee levels? There are many ways in which new technology and processes impact use of human resources. Because of COVID-19 or an effective vaccine certain positions may become obsolete or amended in some way. You may find that training existing employees for new roles is necessary. Another option is using their skills in another capacity within your organization. Current employees are trained to work in your company, and valuable employees are an asset in many ways.  What will you do to retain them?

Skills Your Business Needs – Short and Long Term Goals

Companies with dynamic and changing needs should have a process for identifying skills needed to achieve business objectives. You can further break this down to short term, intermediate and long term business goals. For now, are you aware of the skills needed to accomplish 2021 goals?

That question has to be carefully examined in the situation of introducing new systems in common business departments such as IT or manufacturing. Other good examples are adding technology upgrades in data management, records, and other information intensive processes. The point is you need people with the mandatory skills to operate and maintain these workflows. If your business requires skilled personnel in new areas, then you have to train existing employees, hire new employees, or outsource these skill sets.

Human Resources and Departmental Cooperation

Usually the tasks for assessing staffing needs falls under Human Resources. A capable HR department will know how to identify staffing needs in all time frames. However, all operational department managers need to be involved because they are closest to where the work is done. Each department or branch will have more detailed understanding and their fingers are on the pulse of how the pandemic has affected them.

How accurate your knowledge is for future staffing needs in 2021 depends on many factors. Ultimately it comes down to taking advantage of methods for extracting useful data from existing information. That, plus asking the right and most important questions will help yield the best answers.

Flexicrew Support

If you need help defining your requirements or deciding if they should be contingent or permanent, give Flexicrew a call 423.648.1130 to support your analysis and projections.

8 Ways a Staffing Agency Will Help Reduce Your Costs during Pandemic

A skilled staffing agency can help businesses of all sizes and industries in reducing staffing expenses, while the economy and financials environment are wracked by Coronavirus. 8 staffing related approaches which can be realistically implemented to improve the overall effectiveness of an organization by reducing overheads and costs are discussed below.

older worker

1.Reducing Mistakes While Hiring

Hiring the wrong employee will usually cost you up to two times the annual salary of the employee. To prevent this problem, staffing firms are screening the direct hires and temporary staff thoroughly, so that you get the right workers. In addition to choosing applicants who have the experience, skills required, the applicant will also have the personal traits, which match your work culture. Hiring risk can be reduced using the firm’s guarantees for direct placement and temp hire service.

2. Overtime Elimination

If you have laid-off or furloughed your permanent staff to a skeletal level, your company may have to pay overtime to achieve your targets. Yet overtime is an awfully expensive approach to accomplishing your workload. Clearly it is better to use temporary employees to reduce the labor cost at least for the short term.

3. Transferring Fixed Costs To Variable Costs

In most businesses, labor cost is the largest expense, and it can be reduced using a temporary staffing agency. The core permanent staff should be reduced to a nominal level that still accommodates normal functioning but a staffing agency can be used to provide temporary staff for peak workloads, whenever required. This strategy is very effective for organizations which get a sudden large demand that lasts for only a limited time.

4. Reducing Benefits Expenses

Employee benefits are usually 30-35% of their payroll. These expenses can be eliminated using temporary or contingent workers paid through a staffing firm. To reduce employment risks, these employees can replace independent contractors. This option should be mainly used for short term employees like for a limited-time project or for a unique skillset that is difficult to recruit and only needed periodically.

5. Shift The Administrative Work

When temporary staff is hired instead of employees, all expenses for processing, administering payroll, benefits are transferred to the staffing firm. The organization can partner with the staffing firm to create a program for orientation, training for new recruits to eliminate training expenses

6. Reduce Costs By Hiring

Permanent employees have only so much capacity for getting work done and capacity constraints can adversely affect the productivity of the employee and the organization. Hiring lower-paid temporary staff to handle routine tasks will cost considerably less.  Letting the permanent staff focus on their core job and avoid lower value tasks will also boost their productivity and quality of results. That assures the company gets the most value and return for their employees’ salary. Professional and technical temporary workers can be hired for their expertise and to help complete project work on time. Hiring the right staff will help to complete the most work efficiently at a lower average cost.

7. Staffing Firms Responsible for Temporary Staff Unemployment Claims

Staffing agencies hire the temporary staff on their payroll, so any unemployment claims for the temporary staff are handled by the staffing firm.  The customer can lay them off if demand falters or a project ends but the claims will not affect the company profit or rating.

8. Key Employees Focus On Critical Work

If key HR employees are spending their time on hiring work, the staffing firm should screen, test, interview and check references of job applicants. Using the experience of a staffing firm will reduce hiring time and the employees can focus on other important work instead of hours reviewing multiple resumes to find the right candidate.

How Can Flexicrew Help

If you would like to discuss your resourcing challenges and optimize your workforce for cost and productivity during this uncertain pandemic work environment, contact one of our Flexicrew talent acquisition professionals Today!

Why You Should Review Your 2020 Staffing Needs NOW

All businesses are dynamic in their own way and some have greater needs to absorb changes in operational requirements. We are coming up on a new year which makes it a great time to review your 2020 staffing needs. If you are staying on top of things, then you will know what to expect for the next full year. Hopefully you will retain existing business levels and bring on new challenges and responsibilities. The last thing you need is to get caught flat-footed with insufficient staffing. It’s not just a lack of manpower; you will not have the critical skills your business needs to progress.

Tracking Known and New Variables

Analyzing your workforce needs means discovery, planning, and knowing what will change as much as possible. You have historically known changes such as retiring employees and statistically known attrition rates over a 12-month period. If you have not been tracking and organizing staffing trends, then you should implement a program to do it soon. Doing so will make your business more efficient and better prepared for staffing forecasts.

If you are planning to use new technology and systems in 2020, are you aware of how that may impact existing employee levels? There are many ways in which new technology and processes impact use of human resources. In some cases, certain positions may become obsolete or amended in some way. You may find that training existing employees for new roles is necessary. Another option is using their skills in another capacity within your organization. Current employees are trained to work in your company, and valuable employees are an asset in many ways.  What will you do to retain them?

Skills Your Business Needs – Short and Long Term Goals

Companies with dynamic and changing needs should have a process for identifying skills needed to achieve business objectives. You can further break this down to short term, intermediate and long term business goals. For now, are you aware of the skills needed to accomplish 2020 goals?

That question has to be carefully examined in the situation of introducing new systems in common business departments such as IT or manufacturing. Other good examples are adding technology upgrades in data management, records, and other information intensive processes. The point here is you need people with the needed skills to operate and maintain these workflows. If your business requires skilled personnel in new areas, then you have to train existing employees, hire new employees, or outsource these skill sets.

Human Resources and Departmental Cooperation

Usually the tasks for determining staffing needs falls under the domain of Human Resources. A capable HR department will know how to identify staffing needs in all time frames. However, all operational department managers need to be involved because they are closest to where the work is done. Each department will have more detailed understanding and their fingers are on the pulse of their respective organizations.

How accurate your knowledge is for future staffing needs in 2020 depends on many factors. Ultimately it comes down to taking advantage of methods for extracting useful data from existing information. That plus asking the right and most important questions will help yield the best answers.

 

If you need help defining your requirements or deciding if they should be contingent or permanent, give Flexicrew a jingle 423.648.1130 to support your analysis and projections.

WHY OUTSOURCE STAFFING TO A 3RD PARTY

Sometimes smaller businesses need to outsource staffing because they lack sufficient resources. In such cases this could include accounting, processing payroll, direct deposit processing, and distribution channels. Larger companies want to contain costs and bring in temporary resources for short-term projects. There are additional benefits of outsource staffing to a 3rd party organizations that go beyond money saving measures.

OUTSOURCE STAFFING TO A 3RD PARTY

Outsource Staffing – Fixed vs Variable Cost Benefits

Outsourcing is a powerful method for transforming costs from being fixed to available for other uses. Many companies take advantage of this by using increased capital for investing purposes. This is an excellent way to fund important projects or research. There may be a domino effect in that new research or projects that can result in expansion and growth will attract new investors.

Additional gains with creating variable costs can be decreased expenses that normally would cause prices to rise. This is a matter of efficiency in a real sense and wise use of resources. Taking on important R&D typically means your market will pay for it at some point. Avoiding this transfer of expenses help you to maintain or increase your competitive advantage in the market.

Outsource Staffing Improves Reaction Time

One of the hallmarks of large corporations is they move like glaciers. Smaller businesses are very nimble which can be a tremendous asset. Using third party outsourcing can give even a large business speed. One perfect example is with new projects. All new staff can be dedicated, and you will just need to assign company oversight. This structure will minimize drain on full-time resources. Time to start-up will be dramatically reduced in many ways. Attempting a large project with all in-house resources will certainly take weeks if not months.

Outsource Staffing is a Form of Leverage

Small businesses face many obstacles because they lack resources. This is part of the playing field that is not level. Outsourcing is a form of leverage for the smaller companies if they understand how to best take advantage of it. All of the benefits of temp staffing are available with economy of scale being chief among them. Additional expertise can be acquired when it is needed, and capital can be diverted where it can provide a larger ROI.

A Means to Lighten the Load – Peripheral Responsibilities

One common complaint by permanent employees is additional lower level responsibilities. Managers are often subject to the same challenges and can quickly become spread too thin. Outsourcing can be an ideal way to use precise application of additional staffing. Your business can have a greater focus on core duties and priorities. The best approach to this is analyzing all the peripheral duties in your organization. Identify and isolate the functions and responsibilities that can be best handled with temporary staffing.

Outsource Staffing

Flexicrew Staffing has the expert knowledge and resources to help you find candidates you won’t find on your own. Let us assist you in finding the right person for your small or midsize business.  Call today.  flexicrew.com/contact-us/

Flexicrew Receives Client Award for 6th Year

CHATTANOOGA, TN  (February 7, 2019) – Flexicrew Staffing, a leader in the industrial staffing industry, has earned a nationally recognized Best of Staffing® Client Award for providing superior service to their clients for the 6th time in the last 7 years, this year earning the highest score in Flexicrew history with an average of 9 out of 10 stars.

Client companies rated Flexicrew by taking a simple survey about the service they received, and the scores are tallied by ClearlyRated.com, an independent Net Promotor Score focused survey company. Only the top 1-2% of all staffing companies are rated high enough to earn the Best of Staffing award.

“We are proud to receive this award for the sixth time,” Flexicrew VP and owner, Misty Brennan said. “Every year brings new challenges to our industry and our team works hard to provide the best service, with the speed and flexibility that our clients expect. Client feedback is very important for us. We have to be able to touch base on a regular basis and change and grow based on our clients’ needs. We know that honest and timely feedback is the only way we can truly get better and best our competitors.”

The survey had clients rank their relationship with Flexicrew on a scale of 1-10. A score of 9 or 10 indicates the client has a positive relationship with the company and is likely to recommend us to peer companies. Flexicrew received satisfaction ratings of 9 or 10 from 77 percent of their clients, 2.5 times higher than the industry average of 32 percent.

REAL CLIENT REVIEWS:

“Extremely happy working with Flexicrew.”

“If there are any issues, and those have been very few, they are resolved promptly and with great attention.”

“Good Service.”

“The team was very professional and provided a great service and candidates.”

“I enjoy working with Flexicrew and they have helped us many times.”

“Always had a solid business relationship with Flexicrew.”

“Most of the guys I have in my shop have come from Flexicrew.”

About Flexicrew

Flexicrew is family-owned and run since 2008, focusing on fast and flexible staffing solutions. Flexicrew makes use of technology and industry best practices to deliver the most talented and qualified professionals –industrial, skilled and unskilled, clerical – to clients within most major industries. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, and have current plans to continue expanding in the TN, GA, SC, and north AL markets.

About Best of Staffing®

ClearlyRated’s Best of Staffing® Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Award winners are showcased by city and area of expertise on ClearlyRated.com – an online business that helps buyers of professional services find service leaders and vet prospective firms – based exclusively on validated client and talent ratings.

How Staffing is like Football

In business, there are several ways staffing is like football.

At Flexicrew we often discuss recruiting and sports analogies.  And recently, one of our recruiters blurted out, “Staffing is like football.” We discussed this idea with several thoughtful employers and they also see parallels where staffing is like football.

Manage Staffing Levels to Budget

Both football teams and employers have to manage their staff size to available budgets annually.

And that ain’t easy…

On salaries alone, NFL teams have considerable variability on base pay, bonuses, performance overrides, etc.  Companies must predict business demand changes, performance increases, employee retention and continued evolving responsibilities. But, in a quote from Yogi Berra, “Never make predictions, especially about the future.”

Dealing with uncertainty creates situations where staffing is like football.  Because of the uncertainty of future business conditions, there are justifiable business reasons to hold off on direct hiring and instead using a temporary staffing agency.

Risk of Bad Hires

What if companies could use the NFL’s “practice squad” method?  They could keep players around?  They train, practice with the team and are available to play but at a greatly reduced salary.

Well, companies actually can…

Staffing is like football for savvy employers who take advantage of similar “practice squad” or “test drive” opportunities before making a large investment.  Staffing agencies offer clients a chance to “test drive” a potential new hire.  In fact there has been significant growth of the hiring tactic known as temp-to-hire.  In this model, a company will hire a temporary employee through a staffing agency for an undefined time.  During this temporary period, the employer gets the benefit of:

  • Filling immediate hiring needs by bridging the gap with temps until direct hire budgets are approved
  • Watching the candidate in a variety of real-life situations
  • Saving money by avoiding the long term cost of a bad hiring decision
  • Seeing how the candidate interacts with the team
  • Letting the staffing agency assume all the employment risks, payroll costs and legal compliance.

Ebb and Flow of Employee Levels

NFL teams have a set number of players they can keep on board.  Their numbers rise and fall due to normal loss of key players from injury, sickness, poor performance, etc.  They replace those players by hiring from their own practice squad.  Or they can go outside their team for trades or to bring in unemployed players for a tryout.

Frequently, companies go through workforce issues caused by business growth, followed eventually by slowdown. This leads to shifts in employment levels with frenzied hiring followed by later reductions. The challenges of this hire-fire cycle include recruiting, training, retaining and firing employees.  Frequently there’s pressure from economic downturns, product becoming outdated and sales falloff.  That involves staff reductions of even their more experienced and talented employees.

But yes, there is an improved way: Flexible Staffing.

Flexible Staffing is Like Football

So growing reliance on staffing agencies for their staffing requirements gives a welcome reprieve to employers.  This is true especially for those experiencing periods of high growth.  Especially where delivery must keep in step with demand. With flexible staffing organizations are increasingly protecting their best and brightest resources. The ability to more effectively retain and nurture in-house expertise lets companies improve results.  They can really focus and train the core competencies key to the company’s mission.

Today’s flexible staffing model allows companies to hold onto the key skills they need to advance.  This way they ride out the ebb and flow of business demand. With this type of staffing model, an organization can make better use of in-house resources to attack vital activities.  They can maximize their productivity by adding outsourced staff only when needed. The result is improved ability to balance cost with budget.  Also it minimizes the inefficient business practice of hiring bursts and staff reductions.

Flexicrew Staff Management

For staffing agencies, this flexible staffing model improves their efficiency of moving staff between customers.  Thus, they apply their own flexible staffing across accounts. Moving the job of staffing from an internal department to a staffing agency lets employers pay more attention to their core ability.

As a result, flexible staffing applies to all companies looking for gains in efficiency. Flexible staffing should be the goal of every firm that wants to score a touchdown.

Wrapping it up

Let’s wrap this up, shall we? Below is a recap of how flexible staffing is like football:

  • Risk of a bad hire decreases
  • It means lower turnover caused by changes in market demand
  • Flexibility means more time for your key staff to focus on critical tasks
  • Temporary staffing yields higher productivity.

So that’s a wrap! However, there are many more ways to gain competitive advantage through wise use of flexible staffing.

Partner With an Award-Winning Staffing Agency

Let Flexicrew Staffing do the hiring for you. Flexicrew is ready to bring your company the best employees. We will help you optimize your internal employee level.  Plus, we support them with contingent workers to let them focus on your top priorities.  Contact us today! Get started working with one of the key staffing agencies on the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

Wait….Using a Staffing Company to Find a Job?

3 Misconceptions about using a Staffing Company

We all know that using multiple job search tactics significantly increases your chances of finding a job. One purpose of a staffing company is to be an awesome resource in addition to the traditional job search.

Using a staffing company can be a new and exciting experience. But there are some inaccurate misconceptions out there in regards to staffing companies! We want to set the record straight and set realistic expectations for working with one!  Here are three common misconceptions job seekers have about using a staffing company:

#1 Misconception: Staffing companies only hire employees for temporary jobs.

 

Not true: Most staffing companies hire for a variety of jobs – not just temporary positions.

In addition to temporary jobs, we also offer “Contract-to-hire” assignments, meaning that you have the opportunity to be hired by your worksite employer after going through a trial period. If your worksite employer feels like you are a great fit for the organization, they can opt to hire you directly!

We also offer “Direct Placement” assignments, which is when we assist employers with recruiting and screening for candidates to be directly placed in their organization (no trial period needed). Direct Placement is generally used when employers need help finding candidates for leadership or high-level positions.
 

#2 Misconception: You must have the exact experience/requirements listed on the job description in order to be hired.

 

Not True: Although hiring managers do care about experience, finding an employee who is a great cultural fit is also a huge factor. Some examples of requirements on a job description that would be considered less flexible would be certain certifications (think RN or other healthcare qualifications), or if a company is looking for an experienced leader (they may want a background that shows proven leadership skills).Don’t let what you think is a lack of experience discourage you from going after the position. If the position sounds like something you would be good at, and you meet 75% of the requirements, let us help you go for it! As we said before, the hiring manager may care more about the cultural fit, and be willing to train you on the other 25% of the experience that you are missing.

#3 Misconception: A staffing service is required to find me a job.

 

Not True: A staffing agency is not the same as a “head-hunting” service.  We keep a database of candidates with a broad range of experience and skill levels in order to fill a variety of jobs. The goal is to make a perfect match for both the client and the candidate. However, we cannot guarantee employment.  We do not schedule an appointment until we feel confident your skill set is a great fit, so we are not wasting their time or yours. We are not in the business of giving false hope!

We will give nothing but our best effort, but nothing is ever guaranteed. You have nothing to lose but tons to gain by letting us help in the job search!

 

Search Flexicrew.com today or send us your resume to get started!

 

APPLY NOW!

Ask the Flexpert…Job Descriptions – Do they Matter?

Why formal job descriptions?

Ask the Flexpert
Ask our Flexpert any job description questions to get it right.

Hiring organizations have no legal obligation to develop, maintain or periodically revise job descriptions. By the same token, there are multiple advantages and legal upsides that make that practice useful.

 

Good job descriptions perform several important functions

They are especially useful if they are carefully written, maintained and used.

They describe the key elements, specifications and functions of every job for employers. Formal job descriptions are the basis for setting expectations for positions.  They reflect the skills and experience job candidates must have.  They are also useful as a basis for performance appraisals.

Likewise, they provide benefits to other teams or individuals who interface with a certain position to know what to expect from that function.

Key components

Then, let’s define some important parts.  For instance:

  • Job titleList of The right job description elements
  • Goals of the job
  • Pay rates
  • Hours/shifts, overtime and weekend work
  • Exempt/non-exempt status
  • Employee benefits
  • Organization reporting relationships/hierarchy
  • General duties including descriptions of significant activities
  • Position duties which make up the main part of the job’s actions
  • Background including experience, education, licenses, credentials, training, and necessary tech skills
  • Harsh states such as: contact with severe temps, prolonged standing, heavy lifting,  major overtime, etc.

Summing up

In other words, job descriptions are key details of every job, for every firm.  We described how good ones perform many central functions.  We also outlined how to write clear, concise and accurate job descriptions that define defined roles.

Also, have new-hires sign employment contracts.  They should state that they have received their job specs, reviewed them, and agree what’s assumed in their role.  This can better protect and inform both employer and employee.

Want to find out how to access Flexicrew’s broad network of skilled workers and professionals?  Contact us today!

Or ask us to review your firm’s job descriptions.

 

Introducing the Employer Advocate

Launching Flexicrew’s Employer Advocate

We’re very excited to launch Flexicrew’s Employer Advocate.  We will post on many issues – from using a staffing agency to using seasonal workers, from risk of law violation in hiring, to retention of quality talent.

Talent acquisition and workforce management are difficult, so we will provide tips and shortcuts from our experience.

The tone will be serious and conservative – meaning factual – but with a light touch to make dry subjects readable.

Employer Advocate Feedback

Periodically, we will ask for your feedback by having a periodic survey or poll on the blog.

We hope you ask questions about what interests you because the Employer Advocate must be a useful tool for you. In other words, we plan to blog what you want to read.

Employer Advocate Content

How will we achieve this?

In the first place, the blog will offer content in several categories:

  • Staffing agency
  • Temporary employees
  • Industry trends
  • Best safety practices
  • Useful resources from the web
  • Flexicrew Company
  • News
  • Valuable insights from human resource articles

 

So, welcome to Employer Advocate blog, the online magazine devoted to:
• Helping you take the next steps in managing your workforce.
• Getting the most productivity out of your workplace
• Enhancing your career
• Meeting your goals.

Explore content focusing on important aspects related to achieving your ambitions and balancing your personal life on your path to career success.

Your Turn

In fact, please give us your feedback  and pass along any topics you would like us to address.

Flexicrew Staffing Executives Present to Disaster Recovery Industry Leaders

Flexicrew Disaster Recovery Recruitment Team Delivered Speech at Business Continuance Expo

 

Flexicrew executives, Lillian Stanley and Katie Blish, had the opportunity to present to a range of emergency response managers and disaster recovery professionals at the 2018 Business Continuance Conference held at Las Vegas Mandarin Chinese Hotel April 12 – 13, 2018.

 

Stanley and Blish offered essential insights for quickly resourcing necessary staff to support disaster recovery. They also reviewed crisis management strategies and tools for success. Their audience gained practical tools to achieve faster results in disaster recovery.

 

“We were excited that Lillian and Katie attended this event as prominent speakers,” said Flexicrew CEO, Bill Brennan. “They jump-started a post-lunch crowd with ideas and expertise that got attendees thinking.”

 

The presentation was open to all registered conference attendees. If you missed it, Lillian will share disaster recovery insights on partnering with an experienced staffing agency to quickly deploy the necessary qualified staff. Call her at 251.943.0777.

Disaster recovery solutions at work from Flexicrew Staffing agency

About The Flexicrew Companies

Flexicrew Staffing’s expertise in multiple phases of emergency management— response, recovery, and mitigation— enables them to provide critical aid to clients in times of greatest need. 

The staffing agency has rich history in supplying the fastest disaster recovery management, resources and tools to complex situations.  It has experience across a wide range of aviary virus, hurricanes, floods, spills and other crises.

 

Staffing Industry Analysts in 2015 recognized Flexicrew as the 4th fastest-growing staffing agency in the U.S. over a 5-year period. Flexicrew was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama.  It uses technology and industry best-practices to deliver qualified industrial, technical, and clerical talent to most major industries. Flexicrew has a presence in 25 markets with over 2,000 contractors placed in companies throughout the U.S. To learn more, visit https://www.flexicrew.com

 

If you would like more information about Flexicrew Staffing or any of our hiring initiatives, please contact us today.