Maximizing Your Current Workforce While Short Staffed

By now, you’ve probably heard all you care to about the Great Resignation. People are leaving their current employers in droves. In response, you may be actively recruiting new hires. Or maybe you’re simply trying to do your best with the staff you have. Either way, here are a few tips for making the most of your current workforce while you’re short-staffed.

Create a New Schedule

Your previous schedule was probably based on having more employees available. Now you’ll need to revisit it to ensure that all shifts are covered. Hold a staff meeting to determine what hours people are able and willing to work. You might find that some people are happy to put in overtime. Others might be interested in a compressed workweek—working more hours per day but fewer days per week.

Onsite Programs for Increased Productivity

Developing an onsite program in partnership with a staffing company can improve productivity. Your temp agency partner provides an additional stream of recruiting staff and also assumes many of the tasks of recruiting, onboarding and orientation, and day-to-day management of the temporary workforce. Onsite programs can significantly help with productivity and management of your workforce.

Upskill Everyone

When you’re short-staffed, it’s not a great idea to have a bunch of specialists on your team. Now is the time to make sure that everyone on staff has the skills to fill in as needed. Make two lists: on the first, write down the core skills needed for each position. On the second, write down the core skills that each employee currently possesses. Then set up training schedules to bring people up to speed on the skills they lack. When creating job descriptions and advertising for jobs, make sure you use inclusive language. Many potential candidates must feel they are welcomed and are in an open and diverse environment. Develop a learning-based culture where you emphasize cross-training, education, and individual career development.

Bring on Temporary Help

Fortunately, the pool of available temporary workers hasn’t been hit as hard by the Great Resignation. In fact, many people who have left their permanent jobs are now temping while they figure out what they want to do next. So it’s relatively easy to bring on temporary help that has the skills you need, especially if you work with a staffing firm like SURESTAFF. We can even set up temp-to-hire positions, which allow both you and a potential new hire to see if it’s the right fit before committing to a permanent job.

Start the Recruiting Process

You can’t remain short-staffed forever, so why not get ahead of the hiring game by starting the recruiting process now? At SURESTAFF, we know how to recruit and vet candidates for a wide variety of roles. We’ll do the hard work of finding and attracting potential employees, and checking their credentials, before presenting you with a shortlist of candidates to interview. We can also help with the onboarding process once you find the new hire of your dreams.

Ready to hire?

If you need new light industrial team members in Illinois, Indiana, Texas, New Jersey, or Wisconsin, learn how SURESTAFF can help.