Exploring Wage Analysis as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcount
Across the United States, employers are all having trouble meeting headcount goals while also ensuring their labor costs are kept in check. This trend is especially prominent among industries that require a high level of skill. While there are many common ways to address this profit loss, including reducing overtime availability and squeezing markup to pass costs along to customers, this can create a bottleneck that still limits the availability of new, skilled candidates to meet overall headcounts. Unfortunately, it has never been more important for businesses to focus on improving these numbers while also implementing wage analysis methods into their overall plan.
Luring candidates that will contribute to both organizational and departmental goals is crucial for meeting headcounts. Taking the time to perform a wage analysis and determine a competitive market wage for potential employees is crucial for ensuring that these headcounts are met and candidates that are looking for a long-term career are offered positions. Not only can a wage analysis help with meeting headcount, but it can also help bolster retention strategies and incentivize employee loyalty within the company. But how does a competitive wage analysis improve headcounts and what other benefits can be achieved through an improved salary and benefits package?
How Does Wage Analysis Improve Headcounts?
When modern businesses expand, wages and other associated benefits are often left behind in the growth process. This, in turn, results in non-competitive wages and high levels of employee turnover that make meeting headcounts even more difficult. A wage analysis can best be described as a comprehensive examination of current salary and benefit programs for an individual position type that is then compared with local, regional and national data. This helps businesses stay a competitive option for job seekers while also ensuring that current employees are not being lost in the mix.
Among industries that are reliant on meeting headcounts, like manufacturing, is it common for a sub-par candidate to be accepted just because they have the minimum skills required and can quickly fulfill headcount goals with little disruption. With this strategy, those same employees will likely leave quickly or be removed from the team – further hindering the ability to meet headcounts. In some industry, this creates a stream of constant churn that makes it impossible to have a solid workforce daily. This can cause stress on other employees and further hinder morale and productivity, potentially resulting in even more turnover of the most valued employees within the company.
Paying employees a fair wage and ensuring they are receiving the benefits that they are looking for is critical for meeting headcounts. As many employers are now starting to understand, one of the best ways to accomplish this is through a solid wage analysis plan that regulates pay caps and ensures the business remains at the forefront of jobseekers’ minds when they are looking for a new career path. Although this may seem like a bold step, the benefits that can be achieved in high-turnover industries are immense. Certified Source can help cut out the guesswork and improve headcounts through our unique performance based staffing solutions.
Targeted Recruitment and Retention Programs as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcount
Anyone who has done hiring for an extensive period likely remembers how hard it used to be to create an effective targeted recruitment plan to attract new talent. At first, the big job boards, like CareerBuilder and Monster, were one of the first viable ways to find new talent online easily; however, changes in the job market and technology have made it easier than ever to get a job listing in front of a suitable candidate.
Targeted recruitment, particularly when striving for diversity, is one of the most important topics today in the American corporate world. And, while this approach is critical when establishing a business, it still has equal importance during a ramp-up phase. To make matters even more complicated, organizations also need to have a solid retention program in order to retain talent. How might a targeted recruitment and retention program be a possible solution for meeting headcounts with these two approaches in mind?
How Can Targeted Recruitment and Retention Programs Help Meet Headcounts?
When a business focuses on targeted recruitment and retention programs during a ramp-up phase, they can often ensure that they are meeting headcounts effectively as a company scales upward at the same time. Unfortunately, not having a program in place could hinder the ability to grow effectively.
One of the essential facets of a targeted recruitment and retention program is to ensure that candidates' messaging resonates with them and helps them familiarize themselves with the organization. Even if a candidate doesn't receive a formal invitation for employment, they could still meet other position guidelines both now and in the future. For this reason, it is vital to keep track of candidates that have shown interest in working with the company. This forward-thinking approach helps fill positions rapidly as they become available during ramp-up periods.
In addition to helping a business maintain headcounts, a targeted recruitment and retention program can also help ensure that mission-critical positions that are harder to fill have a surplus of candidates available to choose from. This means that, even if churn should occur, the positions in question that make the most impact will still have candidates ready to fill them. Often, this benefit alone makes having a great targeted recruitment and retention strategy in place important for various industries that experience high employee churn.
While maintaining headcounts is an ongoing process, once sufficient levels have been reached, a good retention plan can be used to keep them engaged and employed with the organization. Even the use of basic retention strategies can improve the employee experience long-term.
Far too often, businesses will try to eliminate churn at all costs necessary; however, taking the time to ensure you are hiring the right employees through targeted recruitment strategies and then using retention programs to keep them happy long-term is critical. Each of these plans should be formulated in conjunction with the existing company culture to attract candidates with the talent and ability to assimilate quickly. Through Certified Source's Performance Based Staffing services, companies can ensure that their headcounts are being met through well-crafted and implemented targeted recruitment strategies.
Pre-Screening as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcount
Hiring managers are often under a lot of pressure to meet headcounts. Consequentially, this means that they tend to hire new personnel as quickly as possible. The consequences of these actions often result in high turnover rates, impeding a permanent meeting of headcount. Under this tremendous amount of pressure, the most reliable process an organization can implement is pre-screening.
Most companies use pre-screening to ensure trustworthiness and reliability among their top candidates. However, it is vital to ensure pre-screening tools do not violate any anti-discrimination laws that are federally implemented. This means that candidates can only be selected based on qualifications, experience, work history, and legal history. No test should discriminate against color, sex, race, national origin, disabilities, age, etc.
How can pre-screening help with meeting headcounts?
Companies that implement pre-screening into their hiring process receive the advantage of saving money and time by only meeting with the top talent and speeding up the process. In addition to these benefits, any company that requires pre-screening on the application process can also eliminate candidates who are not serious about the job or untruthful on their resumes. Without this process, hiring can be prolonged due to the hiring team having to manually decide who is truthful or reliable and who is not.
Without pre-screening, hiring managers would still feel the pressure of fill up vacancies as quickly as possible, often deciding on the first option available instead of the most qualified one. This causes more turnover than expected, leaving constant gaps in the headcount, and causing additional problems in the company. Pre-screening can help meeting headcount and solve many other issues in the company, such as reducing turnover, increasing the quality of employees, and making retention programs successful.
When implementing pre-screening, companies should consider the job demands of each vacant position and modify the process to target the top talent available. Implementing a test that can measure job-specific attitudes often covers these requirements. Pre-screening is also helpful to reveal any history of a candidate that might clash with the company values, such as a history of workplace violence, identity theft, fraud and misrepresentation, breaches of confidentiality agreements, criminal offenses, sexual misconduct, and more.
Researching and implementing a pre-screening process might seem like a load for some companies. However, once mastered, it can bring multiple benefits to the company, allowing it to focus its time and resources on external growth opportunities.
As mentioned above, pre-screening information cannot be used to discriminate against candidates according to federal law and maintain a professional and respectful relationship with all applicants. Certified Source provides performance based staffing services that help fulfill employers' needs to ensure they always get the best candidates possible.
Through our unique system, employers can take a hands-off approach. Our experienced and trustworthy team can manage the workforce, limit turnover occurring, and ensure that the best candidates possible fill vacancies that may be available. No matter what an employer client's needs may be, our team is sure to have the right fit to meet their required headcounts.
Exploring Site Orientations as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcounts
Although often overlooked, new employee orientation is crucial for developing long-term employees within an organization. From the moment training begins, new employees form opinions about whether they have made the right career decision. When orientations aren’t effective, this can lead to a loss of confidence and make it harder to meet headcounts. This training lays a foundation for what employees should expect. It also helps them assimilate into the overall team and lay their own career roots. Without these roots established, they are more likely to leave prematurely.
Think about the time that you started your current career. Were you given the proper resources and training needed to make a positive impact? While developing an orientation program may seem like a chore, it is an integral part of the employee lifecycle. For this reason, we recommend creating your own tailored new employee orientation or we encourage you to audit your current format to see if it could be improved. When this process is effective, turnover can be mitigated, and headcounts will be much easier to meet long term. But how does orientation help meet headcounts, and why should businesses ensure effective processes?
How Does Site Orientation Help Meet Headcounts?
Site orientation is more than just a quick primer into the correct way to complete a job. The best site orientations take the time to assimilate a new employee into the company culture. During this process, some of the critical factors include introducing new employees to their other team members and supervisors, building necessary skills to improve safety and efficiency, and ensuring a new employee has the tools and resources they need to succeed. When all of these criteria are met, employees are more likely to pursue a career with the company instead of using it as a steppingstone to other opportunities.
Meeting headcounts can be an insurmountable challenge for many businesses because they create an environment that thrives on churn. Companies that thrive take the time to ensure they attract top talent and make them feel like an important member of the organization. Site orientation helps expedite this process to improve employee morale and ensure that new team members quickly make a positive impact. However, this is an ongoing process, and employees should continue to be rewarded for great work and be kept happy with a great employee retainment program.
Certified Source knows how hard it can be to attract top talent and ensure they are confident in their ability to perform at peak levels. Employees are trained efficiently through our performance based staffing approach to help hit headcount goals consistently. All site orientation is handled for the employer client to make it possible for a new employee to hit the ground running from the moment they arrive on site. If you are interested in learning more about how performance-based staffing could help your organization meet its own unique headcounts, our friendly staffing professionals would love to hear from you!
Exploring Function-Specific Training as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcounts
It is not uncommon for manufacturers and other similar industries to have trouble finding employees to fill positions that require specialized skills. However, if you are currently nurturing your existing employee base through function-specific training, there is a good chance that you are investing in your future. During a ramp-up phase, manufacturing facilities should be cycling existing employees that are performing well and giving them the skills to advance in the company. Unfortunately, many of these employers will simply try to fill the position from outside sources.
Function-specific training is not a new thing. In fact, many of the most successful manufacturers have adapted this process to meet their specific goals for an extended time. As a pioneer in performance-based staffing, Certified Source helps hiring teams attract new talent to fill basic positions while also ensuring that existing employees are receiving the training they need to continue to meet the internal needs of the organization. With the right processes and education in place, businesses will no doubt see enormous benefits. But what value does function-specific training provide when the company is struggling to meet headcounts, and why should internal candidates be considered for new positions first?
How Can Function-Specific Training Help Meet Headcounts?
Ramp-up phases are a crucial time. Not only do manufacturers need to ensure that internal headcounts are being met, but they also must account for new positions that may be required to maintain momentum. Taking the time to invest in function-specific training for existing employees will help bridge skills gaps that are occurring while also opening new jobs for entry-level candidates. Even better, investing in your existing internal candidates will help them create a bond with the company while improving productivity and expertise.
One additional benefit of function-specific training is that it can be seen as a reward by internal candidates for the dedication and hard work they have given the facility during their tenure. Not only will this ensure continued growth in the right direction, but it will also keep internal members enthusiastic and excited about their future with the company. At the most basic level, hiring teams and HR managers need to understand that cultivating from within is the best way to guarantee headcounts remain consistent while new talent is brought in. This is the part of the process that working with performance-based staffing professionals like Certified Source can help with.
As a final benefit of function-specific training when looking to improve headcounts, businesses should understand that many of their internal employees will likely already have on-the-job skills related to the positions that are open. Providing them the minimal level of education required to transition into those roles can ensure they remain engaged and valued at the quickest pace possible. The most important things to remember are that your internal education programs must be robust enough to instill confidence and that internal candidates should always be climbing the ladder if they are performing appropriately.