How Staffing Agencies Provide Vital Support to Warehousing and Fulfillment Providers

September 6, 2024 –

By Nicolette Bleidt

Seasonal shifts and fluctuating demand are inevitable in the warehousing industry. It forces businesses to adjust their workforce quickly to maintain seamless operations and stay profitable. To navigate these challenges, many companies turn to staffing agencies, relying on their expertise to quickly find the right talent. In this article, we’ll go over the importance of proper staffing for warehouses and why partnering with a staffing agency could be a game-changer for your warehouse.

The Importance of Proper Staffing In Warehouses

Smooth staffing in warehouses is a critical component of successful warehouse operations, directly influencing everything from efficiency and cost management to employee satisfaction and customer service. Warehouses that manage their staffing effectively are better equipped to handle the demands of a dynamic environment, ensuring that operations run seamlessly and that customers receive their products on time.

Operational Efficiency

When a warehouse is fully staffed, it allows for a consistent workflow. Tasks such as receiving goods, picking and packing orders, and shipping are executed on schedule, preventing delays that could disrupt the entire supply chain. It also plays a crucial role in minimizing downtime. When there are enough workers to handle the various tasks, operations can continue without interruption, even when there are unexpected absences or surges in workload. This continuous operation is vital for maximizing productivity and ensuring that the warehouse functions at its highest capacity.

Accuracy and Quality Control

Well-staffed warehouses are better equipped to maintain accuracy in order fulfillment and inventory management. This reduces errors such as mis-picks, incorrect shipments, or inventory discrepancies, leading to higher customer satisfaction.

Safety

Warehousing involves physically demanding tasks and the operation of heavy machinery like forklifts. Proper staffing helps prevent accidents by ensuring that workers are not overworked and can follow safety protocols effectively.

Meeting Customer Demands

A major benefit of efficient staffing is the ability to meet customer demands promptly and reliably. A well-staffed warehouse can process and fulfill orders quickly, reducing lead times and ensuring that products are delivered to customers as expected, even during peak seasons or promotional periods when demand can skyrocket. Additionally, smooth staffing helps maintain high service levels by ensuring that operations are not only timely but also accurate. With the right workforce in place, orders are processed correctly, inventory is managed efficiently, and customers receive the right products in the right quantities, which is crucial for building and maintaining customer trust and loyalty.

Cost Management

Proper staffing is crucial for managing labor costs effectively by aligning workforce levels with operational needs. This allows warehouses to avoid the problems of overstaffing, which leads to unnecessary expenses, and understaffing, which can result in costly overtime. This ensures that labor resources are used efficiently, keeping costs under control. Additionally, smooth staffing helps reduce errors in the warehouse, as a well-trained and appropriately sized workforce significantly lowers the likelihood of operational mistakes. Fewer errors mean less money spent on correcting mistakes, handling returns, or dealing with lost inventory.

Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Although the warehousing industry has one of the highest turnover rates in any industry, proper staffing levels contribute to a more balanced workload for employees, which is crucial for maintaining morale and reducing burnout. When workers are not overburdened, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and remain with the company longer. This not only reduces turnover but also helps retain experienced staff, which is essential for maintaining a high level of operational expertise and efficiency. Proper staffing practices also foster a positive work environment, where employees feel valued and supported. When staffing is managed well, employees are less likely to experience the stress and frustration that can arise from being understaffed or overworked.

Common Staffing Challenges In The Warehousing Industry and How Staffing Agencies Can Help

The warehousing industry plays a critical role in the global supply chain, ensuring that goods are stored, managed, and distributed efficiently. However, these businesses face many staffing challenges that can hinder operations and impact overall productivity. These include:

Seasonal Demand Fluctuations: Warehousing often experiences significant fluctuations in staffing needs due to seasonal demands, such as holiday peaks or promotional events. This requires a flexible workforce that can scale up or down quickly, which can be challenging to manage without the right staffing solutions.
- How staffing agencies help: They can quickly provide temporary workers to meet short-term spikes in demand, ensuring that operations continue smoothly without the need for long-term commitments.
High Turnover Rates: The warehousing industry is notorious for high employee turnover, driven by the physically demanding nature of the work, lower wages, and sometimes a lack of career advancement opportunities. High turnover rates can lead to increased recruitment costs and training efforts.
- How staffing agencies help: Agencies can maintain a pool of pre-screened candidates who can be quickly placed in open positions, minimizing disruptions. Providing workers who are a good fit for the company culture, they also help in reducing turnover and improving morale. They can also manage worker expectations, making them more likely to stay for the duration of the assignment.
Labor Shortages: Finding a sufficient number of qualified workers can be difficult, particularly in tight labor markets or during economic upswings. Labor shortages can lead to understaffed warehouses, resulting in operational inefficiencies and potential delays in fulfilling orders.
- How staffing agencies help: Staffing agencies have extensive networks and recruitment strategies to source candidates from a broader pool, helping to fill positions more effectively.
Retention of Skilled Workers: Retaining skilled workers is a persistent challenge, especially in a competitive job market. Workers with specialized skills, such as forklift operation or inventory management, are often in high demand and may be poached by competitors offering better pay or benefits.
- How staffing agencies help: Staffing agencies often have access to workers with specialized skills and can provide training to ensure they are job-ready.
Training and Onboarding: Getting new hires ready during peak seasons without compromising safety or efficiency is a significant challenge. Effective training programs are essential but can be resource-intensive to develop and implement, particularly when dealing with high turnover.
- How staffing agencies help: Staffing agencies can handle the initial training and orientation, providing workers who are already familiar with the basic requirements of the job. This speeds up the onboarding process.
Workforce Management and Scheduling: Efficiently scheduling workers to match fluctuating workloads while minimizing downtime and avoiding burnout is a logistical challenge. Poor workforce management can lead to overstaffing during slow periods or understaffing during busy times.
- How staffing agencies help: Staffing agencies assist with workforce management and scheduling in warehousing by providing flexible staffing solutions. These help adapt to fluctuating demand, ensuring that the right number of workers are available when needed. They also handle the complexities of shift scheduling, minimizing gaps and overlaps in coverage. Additionally, agencies manage workforce logistics, such as coordinating temporary workers for peak periods, which streamlines operations and reduces the administrative burden on warehouse managers.
Cost Management: Balancing labor costs while maintaining an optimal workforce size is a constant struggle. Excessive overtime, high turnover, and the need for frequent training can all drive up costs, affecting the overall profitability of the warehouse.
- How staffing agencies help: Using a staffing agency can reduce the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training employees.

Additional Ways Staffing Agencies Help With Warehouse Labor Needs

Many businesses in the logistics sector often utilize staffing agencies as opposed to facilitating the entire hiring process in-house which often costs much more money and time commitment. With the global warehousing industry continuing to grow, more and more businesses will turn to staffing agencies to help support their growing needs. Here are some additional services agencies provide:

Access to Warehouse-Ready Talent

Staffing agencies that specialize in the warehousing industry maintain a vast database of candidates with experience in various warehouse roles, such as pickers, packers, forklift operators, and inventory specialists. This allows warehouses to quickly onboard workers who are already familiar with the industry’s demands, reducing the need for extensive training.

Industry-Specific Recruitment Expertise

Staffing agencies that focus on warehousing understand the specific skills and qualifications needed for various roles within the industry. They handle the entire recruitment process, including sourcing candidates with experience in warehouse management systems (WMS), safety protocols, and the physical demands of warehouse work, ensuring that only the most suitable candidates are presented.

Rapid Placements For Your Labor Needs

When a warehouse suddenly needs additional staff due to an unexpected increase in workload or employee turnover, staffing agencies can quickly provide qualified workers. With a deep understanding of the warehousing sector, agencies can fill positions in a fraction of the time it would take for in-house recruitment, minimizing downtime and keeping operations running smoothly.

Compliance with Industry Regulations

Warehouses must adhere to strict safety and labor regulations, including those related to worker safety, overtime, and equipment handling certifications. Staffing agencies ensure that the workers they provide are compliant with these regulations and handle the necessary paperwork, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties for the warehouse.

Temp-to-Perm Solutions

Many warehouses prefer to evaluate workers on the job before making long-term hiring decisions. Staffing agencies often provide temp-to-perm options, allowing warehouses to observe a worker’s performance and fit within the team before offering a permanent position. This reduces the risk of turnover and ensures a better match for both parties.

An Opportunity To Focus on Core Warehousing Operations

By outsourcing the recruitment and management of temporary staff to a specialized staffing agency, warehouse managers can focus on core operations like inventory management, order fulfillment, and logistics. This allows them to optimize processes and improve efficiency, knowing that their labor needs are being expertly managed.

Let Staffing By Starboard Help Staff Your Warehouse

At Staffing By Starboard, we understand the complexities of sourcing the right staff for your warehouse operations. After all, we began out of necessity when our sister 3PL company faced challenges with over 10 different staffing agencies. We work closely with your team to understand your culture and values, ensuring we match the right employees to your needs. Having successfully supported various warehousing companies in the Kansas City area, we’re eager to see how we can help you too.

Warehouse Staff Statistics (2024)

There are nearly 1.8 million people staffed in the warehousing & storage industry (Source)
The average hourly earnings of an individual in the warehousing industry is $24.76 (Source)
The average time worked in a week for staff in the warehousing industry is 40.3 hours (Source)
There are over 22,000 warehousing establishments in the the United States (Source)
The average age for a warehouse employee is 37 years old. (Source)

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Employees Are In A Warehouse?

The amount of employees you will find in a warehouse will vary depending on the operations held inside. However, you can expect a ratio of one worker per 1,500-3,000 sq ft. in a non-fulfillment warehouse and a ratio of one worker per 700-1,000 sq ft. in a fulfillment warehouse.

Are Warehouse Workers In High Demand?

The amount of employees in the warehousing sector has been on a steady incline since 2014. Combine this with the fact that warehouses are continuing to be built around the country, we can continue to expect warehouse workers to be in high demand.

How Can I Staff My Warehouse Quickly?

Unless you already have a large recruiting team at your company, it may be difficult to quickly scale up and down workers for your warehouse alone. A staffing partner like Staffing By Starboard can quickly find you qualified workers ready to make a difference in your company.

Is It A Good Idea To Use A Staffing Agency?

We may be biased, but staffing agencies provide many benefits to businesses in all different sectors. Check out our blog entry that covers all the benefits of staffing agencies and how to find the right partner for your business.