Picture a warehouse scheduling out their week, one day they will have 1 shipment they need to process. The next day they have 4 shipments planned to come in. The day after they will have no shipments. How do they choose a staffing level to meet that varying demand?
The best way to choose a staffing level to meet demand is to use a flexible staffing option. Staffing levels matter more than ever. Overstaffing, understaffing and high turnover costs businesses time and money.
Online staffing platforms allow businesses to align staffing levels with real demand. Using modern tools like on-demand staffing platform Bacon are the better way to staff.
Step-by-Step – How to Choose the Right Staffing Level to Meet Demand
Step 1: Forecast Your Demand
Use historical data, upcoming contracts, and seasonal trends to forecast your demand. Include volume metrics like orders, units, events, customer traffic etc.
Step 2: Define Your Baseline Labor Needs
Identify the roles you will need and how often you will need them. This can include pickers, loaders, packers, servers, bartenders, security, etc.
Decides what portion of that can be handled by full-time employees and what portion could be done by temp labor.
Step 3: Add Flex Buffer
Build a 10-30% flexible labor buffer. This is a plan for coverage for call-outs, turnover, or shift gaps.
Flex labor gives warehouse temp staffing or event staffing that competitive advantage to be able to flex up and down based on real demand.
Step 4: Choose Your Labor Mix
Choose the mix of labor that will be right for your business. Compare the types of staffing services available.
Traditional labor agencies near you can be an option to businesses who want to do things traditionally. But they are often inflexible and expensive. Most importantly they have a reputation of being unreliable.
Online staffing platforms like Bacon are the way to find temp employees without reliability and want to create an efficient staffing strategy .
Internal recruiting and full time hiring is great for leadership and high skill roles. These are roles you want to know your business culture and how to lead. This type of staffing isn’t ideal for general labor staffing because of the lack of hiring speed and inflexibility.
Step 5: Test, Measure & Adjust
After choosing your staffing sources monitor how the staffing plan performs. Monitor fill rates, no-shows, performance and if the business is staffed efficiently. Bacon has built in rating and review tools.
Using on-demand platforms can help businesses adjust on a shift by shift basis. This flexible temporary labor near you helps to adjust to real time needs if the current staffing plan is falling short.
Common Mistakes When Choosing Staffing Levels
A few common mistakes to avoid when choosing staffing levels are not utilizing data, and avoiding flexiblity. Avoiding these will help find the right level of staffing for your business.
Common Mistakes
- Relying on “gut feeling”
- Underestimating peak demand
- Overcommitted to traditional temp agencies near you without flexibility.
- Not accounting for no-shows or turnover.
These can be avoided by utilizing data and flexibility to accurately forecast staffing demand and finding staff to fill those roles
Why On-Demand Staffing Platforms Like Bacon Are Ideal for Variable Staffing
Online staffing platforms are ideal for finding temp staff for your business because they provide speed, flexibility, and reliability.
With Bacon businesses get instant access to local, rated temp labor near you. Businesses can see workers' star rating and Bacon Score. With no long contracts, you only pay when a shift is worked.
Businesses have the control over staffing levels and can adjust their staffing on a shift by shift basis. Bacon helps managers quickly find temp employees and adjust staffing on demand.
Staffing Smarter, Not Harder
Choosing staffing levels is a strategic decision, not a guess. With tools like Bacon, businesses can stay lean, efficient, and fully staffed. Bacon helps businesses find temp workers near them and staff according to demand.
