Are you short on labor resources, or are you actually just coming up short on proper allocation?

There is a lot of talk about how difficult it is for businesses to find and keep workers. Whether you call it “The Great Resignation” or another term, something is clearly happening. The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is, “What’s driving this?”.

The skilled labor shortage has been a persistent problem in manufacturing for some time now. What’s causing this, and how do we fix it?

There are many reasons you might be lacking labor capacity to meet the day’s demand. Workforce burnout, sick employees, religious accommodations, PTO, and a tight labor market are all common causes of labor capacity fluctuations.

There are tons of opportunities right now in manufacturing and warehousing. Maybe you’ve thought about expanding your resume into these areas of work, but you didn’t know how to get started, or whether it would be worth your time.

So you need workers now, but you aren’t sure if you’re ready to hire anyone yet. Maybe the need for workers won’t last, or maybe you would rather test the waters with any newcomers before extending an offer of full-time employment.

You’ve seen the words “pick and pack” floating around on job boards or in work descriptions, but what exactly does that mean?

Companies in the US have faced challenges finding workers for the past few years. This is partially due to the pandemic, but inflation, commodity prices, and shifting expectations about work are trends that will continue to make the labor market challenging.

The past year has presented many challenges in the supply chain. A boom in e-commerce, unemployment fluctuation, labor participation, and commodity prices have contributed heavily to the volatility of the economy.

Your operation cannot seem to get over the workforce hump and hit its stride because people keep walking out the door, which is holding back productivity and preventing you from growing the business. Across the United States, distribution and fulfillment centers are experiencing turnover rates of 50% on average, while others are experiencing even more dramatic turnover rates approaching 100%. 

You’ve heard the term labor pool and have an idea of what it is, but now you are likely wondering: what level of commitment is needed, and is it worth it for me and my business?

Operations leaders across the country are wrestling with the issue of balancing their daily execution with finding time to drive operational improvements. The truth is that creating a labor pool is something we’ve seen plenty of clients utilize to solve this problem. The other truth is that creating a labor pool is a bonafide change to the way that most businesses have viewed their labor force, which is understandably a reason to be skeptical.

At Veryable, we operate an on-demand labor platform to solve the need for efficiently responding to changes in customer demand. We understand that this isn’t for everyone, but by the end of this blog you will be better equipped to make that determination for your business.

The big question is: should building a labor pool be an operational improvement priority?

When someone first hears about on-demand labor and the concept of a labor pool, they often think they can get out of the hiring game for good. It can be confusing at first when you’re trying to balance managing your full-time workforce and building a flexible labor pool alongside it, so the temptation is to just choose one or the other. We get asked if people should stop hiring completely once they build their labor pool to a large enough size to cover all their work. 

You’re probably wondering where the workers for an on-demand labor marketplace like ours come from. You might be thinking, if they specialize in manufacturing work, why would they be using an app to find short-term engagements at many businesses instead of working full-time at one business?

If you’ve ever managed an operation in manufacturing or logistics, you’ve noticed that some workers get more done than others. You’ve likely heard jokes justifying a slow pace of work by saying “I’m paid by the hour.” People say there is always a bit of truth in a joke, so what’s the truth in the difference between being paid by the hour and being paid based on what’s actually accomplished?

You probably think you can’t afford to pay employees any more than you already do. It makes sense on the surface, but digging deeper, you have to ask what you could gain if you paid more and how that might affect your stance.

If you’ve been in management long, you’ve probably encountered a situation where you suspected a worker of drug use. And if you’ve been tasked with hiring employees or selecting independent contractors, you have weighed the decision of whether to drug screen before the work or wait to see if something gives you cause for concern.

That’s a big, costly decision. So how do you decide?

Confusing rules around worker classification might have kept you away from engaging with independent contractors before, but now that the regulations are being made more clear, maybe you’re ready to try it.

It’s that time of year when every business that engages in the holiday retail dash is ramping up operations. Everybody is competing to hire hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers to meet holiday demand.

But some parts of the seasonal hiring are way different in 2020. The coronavirus has expanded the timeline for the holiday dash beyond the traditional timeframe. Scaling up to capture your share of the increased demand during this season is a huge boost for many businesses. If you’re hoping to fill higher order volumes in Q4 this year, you likely find yourself asking, “How can I compete in the holiday hiring spree?”

Last week, we published a blog called Manufacturing Companies, Keep the Faith and Soldier On, which was a call to action for US producers and distributors to prepare to play offense in this time of crisis. Because although it is clear that the near-term will be uncertain in terms of restrictions, delays in materials, and workforce challenges... that should not prevent you from preparing to take on pent-up demand that is just around the corner. 

The US economy is currently experiencing larger growth than it has seen in a long time – the unemployment rate is 4.1%, Q1 US GDP is expected to hit 3%, and consumer confidence has reached the highest levels in 14 years.