Low Unemployment, Seasonal hiring, and Your Business

A Booming Economy and Seasonal Labor

The US economy continues to roar – unemployment, currently at 3.9%, is at a 15-year low. Strong performance from the retail sector indicates a surge in an industry that’s had a tough decade – with some commenting that retail is entering a “renaissance” era. As consumers continue to be optimistic (a 17-year high), logistics and distribution companies will face constraints that have not been present in the market for more than a decade.

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These economic metrics are good news for the country – but it only means one thing to those responsible for operational performance behind the good news. The impacts of seasonality will reach crisis mode – companies competing for labor will spike wage rates or offer overtime as an up-front benefit.

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The worst practitioners of these tactics will even market seasonal positions as having potential for full-time hire, when they already know a down cycle naturally occurs in Q1. Many companies that enjoy low turnover and high labor retention throughout the year will see workers jump ship for marginal wage increases – effectively starting a bidding war.

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There are two paths for operations leaders to take:

1. The status quo : enter the bidding war and hope for the best. This scenario requires businesses to forfeit the maximum benefit and good fortune of a booming economy. Labor costs go up, productivity remains stagnate or declines – it requires giving up profit by over-committing to methods such as full-time seasonal hiring, or utilizing expensive augmentation via temp staffing
2. Embrace change : meet the demands of a new, booming economy with a tech advantage and a labor marketplace that drives individual performance, tailors labor to demand, and meets the needs of customers

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The Veryable Solution

At Veryable, we believe operations leaders should be empowered to face challenges presented in this economy. By utilizing Veryable’s on-demand marketplace, your business can post Ops when your full-time workforce reaches capacity. For seasonal hiring, your business can end the annual, predictable cycle of trying to flex capacity through traditional full-time hiring or temp staffing, only to see all the training investment walk out the door in January. The best part of utilizing a marketplace is that you know what you’re getting – businesses on the platform rate the Operators based on performance. When the need arises, you can select your “favorite” Operators to come back to work.

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Seize the opportunity to thrive in this economic upturn, and Veryable can help you make the most of it! Get a head start on building your labor pool at company.veryableops.com.