A Revolutionary Approach to Staffing
Posted: 12.07.2015
By Hannah McKinnon, Founder of PoolingPeople.ca
Staffing often tops the list of challenges facing businesses, regardless of the industry. Having the right number of staff at the right time is a common issue facing all businesses, particularly those whose operations are subject to seasonal or project related ups and downs.
It would be hard to find too many businesses that have not faced the problem of changing staffing needs. Changes in the flow of orders, contracts and client requests can easily cause peaks and troughs in the workload requirements.
Companies try to plan their employment cycles ahead of time, but that's as tricky as coming up with a budgeting forecast that will hit the mark further down the road.
Estimates do not guarantee accuracy. At the same time, inaccuracies can be very costly. If a company ends up understaffed for example, it could be paying more than it should to hire additional temporary staff. Alternatively, it might be overstaffed during an unexpected idle time. Either way, both situations have a direct and negative impact on the bottom line, and it hurts.
Diving into Pooling Resources
One solution to this problem is closely collaborating with companies that have similar fluctuating human resource needs and pooling resources. Take for example Company A and Company B. Company A underestimated the number of staff required and is faced with a busy period for which it needs more people. It could hire additional staff on a permanent basis, and run the risk of having to lay them off later.
Alternatively, it could hire staff temporarily through an agency, which can be very expensive.
On the other hand, Company B has less work than originally anticipated because of a project delay, and has permanent staff members that are idle.
If these companies were brought together to pool their human resources, they could solve the problem efficiently from a staffing and economic standpoint. Company B would lend their underutilized permanent staff to Company A and invoice Company A the staff salary cost. The employees may not even have to work in a different location. Depending on the work to be done, and the available technology, the employees could carry out the tasks for Company A from their usual place of work at Company B.
The end result is that Company B saves money by offsetting downtime costs and increasing its bottom line. Company A obtains the resources of suitably qualified and recommended staff. Paying salary costs for these resources is more costâ€effective that hiring them through a staffing agency. The employees also benefit by being able to work on different projects, in a different environment and at the very least, broadening their horizons.
This approach could also be used for two companies that operate during opposite seasons, for example. If they could be brought together to share their human resources, this solution could guarantee continuity in service of their employees.
The bigger picture
Pooling of human resources can apply to countless branches of commerce and industry. In fact, there are many roles that are not industry dependent and are perfectly transferable from one to the other. After all, the greatest asset that any business possesses is its staff. But for the most part, staff is also the most expensive item on the profit and loss statement. Over the years, many efforts have been made in the workplace to increase working efficiency, yet virtually nothing has been done to create more efficient use of staff.
It stands to reason that we could see far greater economic efficiency by bringing together companies that have fluctuating staffing problems. While that may mean developing closer working relationships with competitors, resolving staffing shortages or overages through pooling can have considerable benefits from both an economic and employee retention standpoint.
In most cases, the fear of "industrial espionage" is no more of an issue than hiring people from a staffing agency. On the contrary, whether you are the "borrower" or the "lender", staff is entirely in the hands of each individual company, which is in control of the process. It is the company that decides to whom it will lend its staff and from whom it will borrow. This is a luxury that traditional recruitment solutions simply do not allow for.
Good will hunting
Pooling can also extend to permanent staffing needs. A company may need to downsize and permanently reduce a fulltime employee to part-time, or terminate an employment contract altogether. Other companies can look to them to tap into a rich source of qualified, recommended personnel. In helping employees find alternative employment, companies are able to gain goodwill and respect, both of which help image and reputation.
Learning to be flexible when managing fluctuating staffing needs can be a challenge, but ultimately it will be beneficial for everyone concerned — from shareholders, to companies to employees. So before laying off staff members, or calling a staffing agency, pooling is well worth a closer examination.
Hannah McKinnon is founder of PoolingPeople.ca, a Canadian based company that has created an online business community enabling members to temporarily borrow and lend or permanently transfer employees among other members.
Staffing often tops the list of challenges facing businesses, regardless of the industry. Having the right number of staff at the right time is a common issue facing all businesses, particularly those whose operations are subject to seasonal or project related ups and downs.
It would be hard to find too many businesses that have not faced the problem of changing staffing needs. Changes in the flow of orders, contracts and client requests can easily cause peaks and troughs in the workload requirements.
Companies try to plan their employment cycles ahead of time, but that's as tricky as coming up with a budgeting forecast that will hit the mark further down the road.
Estimates do not guarantee accuracy. At the same time, inaccuracies can be very costly. If a company ends up understaffed for example, it could be paying more than it should to hire additional temporary staff. Alternatively, it might be overstaffed during an unexpected idle time. Either way, both situations have a direct and negative impact on the bottom line, and it hurts.
Diving into Pooling Resources
One solution to this problem is closely collaborating with companies that have similar fluctuating human resource needs and pooling resources. Take for example Company A and Company B. Company A underestimated the number of staff required and is faced with a busy period for which it needs more people. It could hire additional staff on a permanent basis, and run the risk of having to lay them off later.
Alternatively, it could hire staff temporarily through an agency, which can be very expensive.
On the other hand, Company B has less work than originally anticipated because of a project delay, and has permanent staff members that are idle.
If these companies were brought together to pool their human resources, they could solve the problem efficiently from a staffing and economic standpoint. Company B would lend their underutilized permanent staff to Company A and invoice Company A the staff salary cost. The employees may not even have to work in a different location. Depending on the work to be done, and the available technology, the employees could carry out the tasks for Company A from their usual place of work at Company B.
The end result is that Company B saves money by offsetting downtime costs and increasing its bottom line. Company A obtains the resources of suitably qualified and recommended staff. Paying salary costs for these resources is more costâ€effective that hiring them through a staffing agency. The employees also benefit by being able to work on different projects, in a different environment and at the very least, broadening their horizons.
This approach could also be used for two companies that operate during opposite seasons, for example. If they could be brought together to share their human resources, this solution could guarantee continuity in service of their employees.
The bigger picture
Pooling of human resources can apply to countless branches of commerce and industry. In fact, there are many roles that are not industry dependent and are perfectly transferable from one to the other. After all, the greatest asset that any business possesses is its staff. But for the most part, staff is also the most expensive item on the profit and loss statement. Over the years, many efforts have been made in the workplace to increase working efficiency, yet virtually nothing has been done to create more efficient use of staff.
It stands to reason that we could see far greater economic efficiency by bringing together companies that have fluctuating staffing problems. While that may mean developing closer working relationships with competitors, resolving staffing shortages or overages through pooling can have considerable benefits from both an economic and employee retention standpoint.
In most cases, the fear of "industrial espionage" is no more of an issue than hiring people from a staffing agency. On the contrary, whether you are the "borrower" or the "lender", staff is entirely in the hands of each individual company, which is in control of the process. It is the company that decides to whom it will lend its staff and from whom it will borrow. This is a luxury that traditional recruitment solutions simply do not allow for.
Good will hunting
Pooling can also extend to permanent staffing needs. A company may need to downsize and permanently reduce a fulltime employee to part-time, or terminate an employment contract altogether. Other companies can look to them to tap into a rich source of qualified, recommended personnel. In helping employees find alternative employment, companies are able to gain goodwill and respect, both of which help image and reputation.
Learning to be flexible when managing fluctuating staffing needs can be a challenge, but ultimately it will be beneficial for everyone concerned — from shareholders, to companies to employees. So before laying off staff members, or calling a staffing agency, pooling is well worth a closer examination.
Hannah McKinnon is founder of PoolingPeople.ca, a Canadian based company that has created an online business community enabling members to temporarily borrow and lend or permanently transfer employees among other members.
