Filling just one open role can be a hassle for many light industrial hiring managers. You spend hours searching for someone with the right skill set for the position in a competitive job market. Sometimes you’re successful, and sometimes you’re not.
But what if you need to ramp up and fill dozens of positions all at the same time. It might seem like a nightmare situation for many operations, but ramping up to meet production goals doesn’t have to be a headache. Here are three tactics that will make it easier for you to hire many employees quickly.
To be successful in your ramp-up, you first need to understand when you’ll truly need the extra help. Many manufacturers’ busy season occurs at the end of the year leading up to the holidays, but depending on your industry and product, your busy season might be at a different time. For instance, a wine producer might need extra help at harvest time.
Once you hone in on the seasonal period when you think you’ll need the extra help, you should also strategically plan for when bringing on additional help will be most efficient. For many organizations, the best time to add extra hands is when your stock is full, and you are expecting heavy demand. Which means you’ll need to plan ahead. If you wait until you have no products to sell, you’re too late.
In addition, schedule your ramp-up around supply chain demands and delivery estimates. Raw materials shortages are still causing manufacturing delays across many industries, so make sure you know you’ll have materials on hand during your ramp-up. Otherwise, you may need to delay the start date for your new employees, and they might then decide to look for opportunities elsewhere.
The job market is competitive for manufacturing talent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 3.3% unemployment rate for light industrial workers in October 2021 — that’s below the rate of 4.6% for all industries. Plus, in two of the three previous months, there were more manufacturing employees hired than separated from their jobs. With lots of organizations hiring, this means you’ll need to do a little bit more to hire qualified talent.
Offering competitive job benefits is one of the easiest ways to attract talent to your open roles — whether you need one or 10 people. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to offer higher than average pay, although that will help. Offer flexible scheduling when possible and consider offering opportunities for full-time work after the ramp-up period is over. These may seem like simple things, but they can be enough to persuade the best workers to pick your light industrial operation over a competitor.
While it is possible to hire for multiple roles in a short period of time by yourself, chances are you’ll spend weeks trying to fill your positions. According to Statista, the average time to hire a manufacturing worker is around 40 days. Now think about the logistics of conducting hiring process multiple times and simultaneously.
When you work with a staffing company, they’ll handle all of the leg work to recruit and interview potential candidates on a schedule that works for you. You’ll get a short list of qualified candidates, and then you just need to approve or conduct final interviews to make your hiring selections. Not only does this process cut down on the time you’ll spend making hiring decisions, but it also frees you up to perform more important duties in your light industrial operation.
Ramping up for the busy season or simply when you are expecting more demand for your products can be challenging. But when you follow a few simple tips, you’ll find it’s easier to hire for multiple roles than you think.
If you need to ramp up your workforce, we’re here to help.
Contact Nelson Connects today about how
we can find the best talent for your open roles.
Brian Carberry is an award-winning journalist and content creator based in Atlanta. He specializes in career and workplace trends, business solutions, and the rental housing market. His work has been featured in CNN, Forbes, Fox Business, Wall Street Journal, and hundreds of local media outlets across the country.