When military generals are outnumbered on the battlefield, they call in reinforcements. And when the battle is won, they draw down their forces and tighten their supply lines. Now, staffing managers are also realizing the power of flexible deployment.

Temporary workers offer a game-changing advantage for businesses in the industrial and warehouse sectors. These sectors often experience seasonal peak periods of demand, and a flexible staffing strategy featuring temporary workers can help to meet fluctuating productivity goals while controlling payroll costs.

Benefits of Temporary Workers

Here are six benefits of hiring temporary workers for industrial and warehouse companies:

1. Controls Costs

Employing temporary workers offers savings on staffing costs that directly benefit the company’s bottom line. 

Since temporary workers are not full-time employees, companies need not spend on providing benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and vacation time. This translates into considerable savings on recruitment and training costs compared to hiring full-time employees. 

According to Jombone, a leading staffing services provider, the cost of hiring a full-time employee can range from 1.3 to 1.7 times the employee’s salary once benefits are factored in. Employing temporary workers only requires paying the hourly rate agreed upon with the staffing agency, making it a far more cost-effective solution.

2. Scales with Demand

Seasonal peak periods are typical for North America’s industrial and warehouse sectors. Hiring temporary employees can ease the burden on permanent employees during peak demand. 
A key advantage of using a temporary employee is the ability to scale with demand. This saves a company from paying unnecessary overtime wages to a comparable permanent employee covering a shortfall of seasonal workers, or filling gaps created by permanent employees on vacation or maternity leave (common reasons for staffing shortfalls). 

Furthermore, hiring temporary employees is an economical way to bring in new employees for short-term assignments or special projects. As noted by Jombone, employing a temporary worker for a short period for seasonal work or temporary vacancies helps companies save up to 30% on labour costs.

3. Accesses Skilled Workers

Workers with the necessary skill sets can take time to find and groom. Staffing agencies recruit only qualified and skilled temporary staff targeted at specific job market sectors, workers who will make an instant impact. 

This pre-screened pool of temporary employees allows industrial and warehouse companies to access skilled and experienced staff on demand. According to Jombone, this sector-specific recruitment process will save time and reduce direct hiring, advertising, and recruiting costs, among others. 

4. Reduces Risks and Liabilities

Compliance regulations can be complex and costly, requiring fluency with regulatory compliance relating to employee benefits, taxes, and payroll. Partnering with a temporary staffing agency reduces this burden on employers – the agency manages compliance risks and liabilities. 

Furthermore, staffing and temp agencies generally carry liability insurance policies, reducing your exposure to the risks and costs associated with legal actions arising from injuries and damages on the job.

5. Try Before You Buy

Employing temporary workers on a ‘temp-to-hire’ trial period provides a longer, more accurate assessment of potential employees before offering them a permanent position. 

Temps can prove their work ethic, skills, and ability to fit into the company culture on the job, giving businesses an accurate, short-term evaluation to help them decide which employees to hire for permanent roles.

6. Maximizes Productivity

Temporary workers improve productivity. Think of them like a crack special-forces team that can be airlifted into any situation and have an immediate impact without the need for basic training.

Experienced and adaptable, temporary employees are accustomed to switching between organizations with different demands and cultures. This reduces the time spent on training that permanent workers would require. 

Moreover, as staffing companies like Jombone hire temporary workers whose qualifications meet their client companies’ needs, delays and errors due to subpar staff in operations are reduced if not eliminated altogether.

Modern Challenges, Modern Strategies

The labour market in Canada is changing. Companies adapt to these new business conditions by using flexible staffing strategies anchored by temporary employees to manage and absorb changes brought about by the economy and technological advances. And the changes are not just in how we do business – workers are changing, too.

According to Jombone, the younger generation dominating the current labour market is less committed to staying with a single employer for an extended period, and this trend will likely continue. 

A flexible staffing strategy gives companies access to the workforce required to manage seasonal demands and provides millennial and Gen Z employees with an employment structure that fits their lifestyle goals.

Calling in the Cavalry

Temporary and contract workers offer significant advantages for managing seasonal labour needs in the industrial and warehouse sectors. 

Temporary employees provide businesses with the flexibility to supplement existing staff to scale with demand, provide access to a pool of skilled potential employees that can be deployed within a short time frame, reduce regulatory compliance risks and liabilities, and allow you to screen candidates before offering them permanent placement.

Best of all, businesses that hire temporary employees maximize productivity while reducing overall staffing costs. A flexible staffing strategy ensures that you always have the troops to win the day, no matter what war you’re waging.