The workforce gap puts tremendous strain on manufacturers. It’s created conditions that ripple out through all facets of the business — unfulfilled orders, overworked employees, and halted operations. But what manufacturers do in the face of these challenges determines how significant their impact becomes.
Filling the gap to get production back on schedule happens in one of three ways: traditional hiring practices, engaging with a local staffing agency, or investing in critical situation travel labor. Which one you choose depends on your situation.
Adding to your permanent headcount
Nurturing a traditional hiring pipeline is essential for most businesses, but it’s not a short-term solution. People you hire on through this process are meant to stay long-term, adding to your permanent headcount.
The process for traditional hiring can take some time and you’re competing with similar companies in the same geographic area. However, it’s an effective solution for a long term need.
Temporary general labor
Partnering with local staffing agencies allows manufacturers to build flexible capacity, wherein they pull in temporary employees when needed. When the temporary need ends, those workers return to the staffing agency without adding to your permanent headcount..
Local staffing agency solutions can be an excellent choice for routine temporary and general staffing needs, particularly when required workers are available within the local staffing market. This means highly skilled roles aren’t usually backfilled through this mechanism, but it’s an excellent choice for administrative and other general staffing needs.
Skilled labor, deployed quickly
When the speed, skill, scale, or geography of the labor you need exceeds what other staffing solutions can provide, critical situation travel labor (CSTL) might be what you need. A CSTL partner can deploy skilled travel labor across many different disciplines in as little as 72 hours — and it can scale based on your needs.
The talent pool for these staff isn’t limited to your local geographic area. Instead, the staff you need are sourced from all over the nation. It’s a reliable solution to fill out your workforce and maintain operational continuity. And as the need changes, the workforce can scale or demobilize accordingly.
