As a warehousing business, it’s common to have peak times and slower times throughout the year. When busier seasons arise, your full-time staff can feel pressured to keep up with increased demand. Providing them with temporary warehouse staff can help prevent them from being overworked, which can hopefully, in turn, prevent turnover.
If hiring more staff doesn’t sound appealing to you, we’re here to provide you with some tips to help you better understand how hiring temporary Workers can benefit your warehouse business. In addition, we’ll show you a way to quickly and efficiently access temporary labor that doesn’t break the bank the way traditional warehouse staffing agencies do.
Tips for Hiring Temporary Warehouse Workers
It’s never too early to start sourcing temporary warehouse staff
While you may not need additional employees immediately, hiring and training the right employees will take time. If you start looking when you need additional staffing, not only will you risk not finding Workers in time, but may end up training them in the middle of your busy season. This impacts both your new hires and the employees training them from being able to assist at full capacity, which will only exacerbate your problem.
Start working on job descriptions and recruiting strategies as far in advance as you can. Try to pinpoint the specific skill sets and expertise your successful full-time warehouse Workers have, and create temporary job posts with matching qualities. There are likely lots of positions or tasks taking place within your warehouse that are well-positioned for temporary Workers. By ‘templatizing’ these tasks, you’ll be set up to quickly outsource them, giving you the flexibility you need to meet expectations when peak time hits.
Preparing ahead will ensure you have plenty of time to find the right Workers for your needs. The sooner you can get them in, the more time they’ll have to get trained and comfortable with their tasks. The more experience they have working with your other employees and gaining knowledge at your warehouse, the more confident and productive they’ll be when peak time hits.
Never underestimate the value of employee referrals
You can’t beat an employee referral. Not only do referrals allow you to tap into a group of candidates that may not have seen your job ads, but having Workers that your current staff are already familiar with helps improve morale and the workplace environment.
Employee referrals can also significantly decrease the risk of turnover. And once you have a familiar candidate in your pipeline, you can use temporary staffing solutions, like GigSmart, to “try before you buy.” You can easily trial-run temporary Workers (as opposed to full-time employees) to get a good feel for whether or not they might be a long-term fit with the rest of your warehouse staff.
Make your job offers as unique as your company
While Workers are highly driven by pay rate, it’s far from the only benefit that encourages them to apply to or accept a job. According to AI-powered resume builder, Skillroads, “Workers are more attracted to great company culture and unique perks than a higher salary.”
Regardless of if your warehouse Workers are temporary or permanent, offering additional perks will undoubtedly make working for your business more attractive. If your business is located in a remote industrial area, and you know that transportation costs will be strenuous on employees, offer a free shuttle to your warehouse! If you’re in a larger city and trying to attract more Millennials, consider offering social gatherings, such as a free post-shift beer.
The Benefits of Hiring Temporary Warehouse Staff
A more cost-effective business plan
While you may need to pay a temporary warehouse Worker more than your full-time Workers, they are likely still significantly more cost-effective than hiring full-time employees. Especially when you can choose to utilize these Workers during your peak periods throughout the year.
Paying higher wages to temporary warehouse staff can help you attract more experienced Workers who have the knowledge and expertise to meet your business demands during your busy seasons. Afterward, you can offer your best temporary Workers full-time positions without the fear they won’t be a good fit.
If you’ve only considered using warehouse staffing agencies to source these Workers, we’re here to tell you there’s a better way. Skip the 50%+ sourcing fees, and try alternative solutions, like temporary staffing apps. They can help you cut costs while still providing you direct access to quality Workers on-demand.
Prevent higher turnover rates
Forbes found that the top reason employees quit their jobs is because they are overworked. Whether you hire additional warehouse Workers or not, consumers will always determine your busy periods. Without temporary warehouse staff, your permanent employees will be forced to work longer shifts and extra days. While most employees appreciate a little bit of overtime pay here and there, it’s also easy for them to burn out. Hiring temporary warehouse staff to share in the workload helps make sure your full-time employees are getting enough time off, which can prevent high turnover.
Build a pipeline of great candidates
One of the most significant benefits of hiring temporary warehouse staff is to help build a candidate pipeline. Rather than going through the recruiting process every time peak seasons hit, you can grow a pool of temporary warehouse staff that have helped before, and bring them back when needed. As they are already trained and familiar with your equipment, policies, 
expectations, etc., it’s a significantly smoother transition to rehire than over sourcing brand new Workers.
Find your next temporary Worker with GigSmart
GigSmart’s hiring platform not only provides you access to over 20,000 temporary warehouse Workers, but you’re also able to request specific Workers if you find people you want to keep hiring. The best part is all eligible Workers hired through the GigSmart platform are insured, which means potential accidents that might happen on-site won’t affect your business’ insurance policy or raise your premiums. If you’re ready to staff smarter, create your first free Gig posting with your Get Workers hiring account to get started.