Possible Solutions for Meeting Headcount Goals
Manufacturers nationwide, from New York to California, are facing a common problem – meeting headcounts while controlling the cost of labor to meet designated profit and loss (P&L) targets. Common ways to meet these goals include reducing overtime, cutting headcounts or squeezing markups; however, this is still a balancing act that does not always pay off. In fact, using any of these tactics could hinder a manufacturer’s ability to maintain production and efficiency.
With achieving accurate headcounts long-term becoming an industry-wide problem, it has never been more important to focus explore the effect that a wage analysis could have on improving these numbers. Focusing on attracting a workforce that contributes to productivity is critical for meeting headcounts. Although, paying a competitive market wage to manufacturing employees is yet another key component that must be addressed. A competitive wage analysis then quickly becomes a clear tactic that should be utilized by the manufacturing industry to ensure employees are meeting net goals while employees receive the value they deserve and make decisions to retain employment with the manufacturer long term. 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?
As organizations expand and grow, it is not uncommon for wages and associated benefits to get lost in the growth process – resulting in non-competitive wages and excessive levels of employee turnover. A wage analysis is a comprehensive examination of the current wage and benefits programs within the manufacturing facility for an individual position type in comparison with other similar positions locally, nationally or industry-wide. The results of a wage analysis can, in turn, help determine if current wages and benefits packages are attracting top talent or directly contributing to low headcounts.
The top priority for many modern manufacturers is maintaining a consistent workforce. Unfortunately, this leads many manufacturers to recruit employees that are not always a great fit just to ensure headcounts are being consistently met instead of focusing on not only meeting headcounts but attracting and retaining the right quality of employees. With a competitive wage analysis, manufacturers can determine what hourly pay rate would attract the right talent that would stay long-term while also contributing to the overall success of the business. This actively reduces employee turnover and creates a reliable workforce that further improves productivity and efficiency.
Understanding the right market wage for labor, paying employees fairly, and ensuring they are treated well is important for positive results. Taking the bold step to determine the right wage and offer higher pay than competitors may seem like a costly approach. Although, this increased wage can help recruit and attract qualified candidates while also increasing the demands placed on each employee at a line level. While this may seem like a daunting task for many modern manufacturers, Certified Source makes finding the right wage easy while improving headcounts through performance-based staffing services.
Exploring Targeted Recruitment and Retention Programs as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcounts
In addition to wage analysis benefits, taking the time to search for the right employees and actively targeting them is critical for continued success.
Implementing a targeted employment recruitment strategy has many benefits for businesses that want to gain employees under a specific niche, fill hard-to-hire positions or increase applicant quality while lowering their acquisition costs. Creating this focus ensures that only individuals who fit a vacant position's unique requirements are shown or offered opportunities for consideration or employment.
Targeting recruitment is a strategy often used to narrow down advertising efforts on a skills-based and geographic level. For this approach to be successful, businesses have to know what they are looking for in an employee and thoroughly research their qualifications for a candidate. Recruiters and hiring managers need to work together to determine required skill sets and the criteria used to ensure the best candidates possible. But what benefits can be achieved with this information and a well-crafted targeted recruitment and retention program designed the meet headcounts?
How Can Targeted Recruitment and Retention Programs Help Meet Headcounts?
Numerous benefits can be achieved when a company focuses on targeted recruitment and retention programs. Initially, these programs facilitate building an employer brand presence in front of the best talent available.
When a targeting message is compelling, it creates a positive brand image among job seekers. It also ensures that candidates are familiar with your brand in the future if new opportunities that meet their criteria become available. In essence, this strategy creates the opportunity to prepare for future positions and those currently available.
An additional benefit afforded by targeting recruitment strategies designed to meet headcounts is that any "hard-to-fill" positions within the organization will become easier. This happens because the organization knows the exact skill sets and experience needed; however, the real benefit is that candidates can be matched against these requirements to ensure the right fit. With this strategy in place, any received applications are more likely to meet the minimum requirements, allowing the recruiter or employer to focus on quality candidates instead of sifting through applications that do not meet their needs.
Once these headcounts are met, good retention programs must be in place to ensure that this talent does not leave in the short-term. Even the implementation of a basic employee retention program can help a company further improve its ability to recruit top talent – instead of being viewed as just a stepping stone to other industry opportunities.
Far too often, organizations worry about slowing employee churn since high turnover rates drain available time and resources. Having strong employee recruitment and retention plan in place can help mitigate this risk long-term. Although creating new employee retention and targeted recruitment strategies takes time, the benefits that can be achieved are immense. Just remember to align your plans with your existing company culture for the most impact. Through Certified Source’s Performance Based Staffing services, companies are able to ensure that their headcounts are being met through well-crafted and implemented targeted recruitment strategies.
Exploring Pre-Screening as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcounts
When looking for qualified candidates, most employers will use a pre-screening system to ensure trustworthiness and reliability. These techniques are often implemented to ensure that candidates are as honest about their qualifications, skills or previous job experience as possible. While this helps secure the best candidates available in a local market, how might it also be beneficial when attempting to meet designated company headcounts?
Before we get into the benefits of pre-screening employees as a possible solution for meeting headcounts, it is essential to stress the importance of using pre-screening tools that do not violate any anti-discrimination laws that have been implemented federally. This means that no tests or checks should be used to discriminate against candidates based on color, sex, race, national origin, disabilities, age and much more. In addition to this, companies must make sure the pre-screening tools used also are allowed under state law for the designated area that they are being used.
How Can Pre-Screening Help with Meeting Headcounts?
Two of the most critical tools when pre-screening candidates often center around the resume and the employment application. Any company that asks candidates to fill out a resume can use these tools to quickly screen them to determine if the candidate is qualified enough for an interview or continue to the next step. Without a system like this in place, companies may be prolonging their hiring process and leaving jobs vacant for extended periods.
While many hiring managers feel pressure to fill job vacancies quickly, they may not be bringing in the top talent needed to fulfill job duties and stay with the company long-term. This revolving door of employees can skyrocket turnover numbers and leave consistent gaps among the actual headcounts the organization can achieve. Without pre-screening measures and technologies in place, this cycle will never be broken. Headcounts will constantly fluctuate, causing even more problems for a company than they may have previously imagined.
Researching and implementing pre-screening processes may seem daunting for companies; however, once the process is developed, the benefits that it will provide to the organization are immense. If a pre-screening system is being implemented, it is vital to ensure that the system scans for the unique qualifications and requirements that the organization is looking for in a new employee.
As previously noted, it is essential to make sure that these qualifications are not being used to discriminate against candidates. All efforts should be devoted to focusing on skills, work experience or qualifications alone.
Certified Source provides Performance Based Staffing services that help fulfill employers' needs to ensure they are getting the best candidates possible at all times. Through our unique system, employers can take a hands-off approach. At the same time, we manage the workforce, limit turnover and ensure that the best candidates possible are filling and 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 Pre-Employment Evaluations as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcounts
Pre-employment evaluations have become a popular part of the hiring process for many industries. These tests give employers valuable insight into the unique skills and experience that a candidate may have and helps determine if a candidate will be the right fit for a specific job opening.
There are nearly seven different pre-employment evaluations available right now to ensure a candidate meets particular requirements, including job knowledge tests, cognitive ability tests, personality tests, physical ability tests and much more. Finding the right balance is critical for sorting through applicants and ensuring they are the right fit to meet headcounts.
As a centralized method used to acquire and document information during the hiring process, pre-employment evaluations are critical in the modern job market. Finding and retaining the top talent is one of the best ways to ensure headcounts are being met long-term without sacrificing quality at the same time just to ensure vacant positions are filled. Finding the perfect balance of tests required to meet your job requirements and fine-tuning them as applications come in will ensure the process is easy and no unforeseen problems occur that could hinder your ability to find the right candidate for the available position. Although, all tests must be legal, equitable and reliable to ensure they remain effective.
How Do Pre-Employment Evaluations Help Meet Headcounts?
Organizations often have a wide variety of reasons for implementing pre-employment evaluations; however, using them to find the suitable candidates to meet headcounts is frequently among the most critical. Fortunately, pre-employment evaluations can be tailor-fit for any position, and the wide variety of testing types will likely be beneficial for the pickiest hiring manager.
In many cases, successful employers that garner the top talent will use pre-employment evaluations to quickly sort through resumes while also ensuring they retain the top talent available within those candidate pools.
Taking the time to gather sufficient data on new applicants through pre-employment evaluations can also help increase the quality of interviews that organizations can have with their narrowed-down list of candidates. With these evaluations completed, hiring managers can then ask specific questions about the candidate’s skills or work experience to determine if they are the right fit for a job. This ensures quality standards are still being met to create a long-term partnership with potential employees while also expediting the process to ensure headcounts are being met as efficiently as possible.
Organizations that make intelligent hiring decisions often have higher productivity levels and less trouble meeting headcounts; however, this all hinges on how much effort is being placed on finding suitable candidates for the open positions. Any pre-employment evaluations that will be used must be selected carefully to avoid any potential ramifications for violating state or federal regulations through discriminatory hiring practices. For this reason, working with an experienced staffing agency is often recommended for the best outcomes and candidate selections. Certified Source can help make the process easy through our performance based staffing services.
Exploring Site Orientation as a Possible Solution for Meeting Headcounts
Site orientation, often known as training or onboarding, is an organizational process to introduce new, inexperienced workers to other team members, supervisors, work areas, job requirements, and other health and safety protocols. While this training is critical during the initial period of employment, this process also helps new employees develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities they need to complete their new duties safely.
Every business will have its own set of rules that pertain to safety management and enforcement. This is particularly true among construction companies, manufacturers and other “at-risk” job types that require advanced safety training among employees. Having a solid site orientation plan in place can help ensure that each employee understands how paramount safety is while also learning more about the job and the general duties they will be responsible for. But in what ways might orientation help organizations in meeting headcounts?
How Can Site Orientation Help Meet Headcounts?
Site orientation is crucial for organizations that want to meet and maintain headcounts because this process lays the foundation for new employees that are starting a new career with the company. This first impression is often critical because it establishes expectations and eliminates feelings of discomfort that commonly are associated with starting a new job. Simply put, without orientation, these employees may not feel like they are a member of the team or may not have the confidence to thrive. Site orientation helps eliminate many of barriers to success that new employees may face.
In addition to boosting confidence among new employees, site orientation helps meet headcounts because this period quickly introduces new employees to other team members and supervisors. Early introduction to other team members can often help new employees assimilate into the company culture faster and quickly create partnerships and build teamwork – even among long-term employees that have retained employment with the company for long periods. This can often also ensure that knowledge is being passed quickly as new employees are more comfortable asking for help from tenured employees.
Meeting headcounts is only possible if an organization focuses on attracting the best talent available for a position and quickly making them an integral part of the team. Site orientation can often expedite this process and contribute to a more productive and happier workforce. Naturally, a by-product of these factors is that employee retention becomes much more manageable. Businesses will not have to deal with as much churn that could negatively impact their ability to meet headcounts.
Certified Source has pioneered a new hiring model for employees called performance based staffing. With this process, top talent is readily available, and headcounts can be met much faster. As a bonus, all site orientation is handled for the client to ensure that new employees are ready to start providing support from day one. If you are interested in learning more about how performance-based staffing could 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
Many jobs that required specialized skills or education will often have trouble meeting headcounts. Usually, this stems from the presence of a skills gap; however, it could also be a by-product of a lack of function-specific training. For example, for employees that are required to deal with hazmat equipment to maintain a safe work environment, specific and in-depth courses must be completed before they can begin working with hazardous materials. Unfortunately, this is a common problem as organizations attempt to efficiently complete function-specific training to ensure they are meeting headcounts.
Function-specific training is common among many diverse industry types because it ensures that a new employee is completing the necessary training for their specific field of work. While this may seem like it should only be limited to distinct industries that pose a potential safety risk, function-specific training is a great way to improve the onboarding process while also ensuring that headcounts are met long term. But what is the true value of function-specific training for organizations that are struggling to maintain their workforce or aren’t finding candidates with the appropriate skills to successfully complete a project or daily job requirement?
How Can Function-Specific Training Help Meet Headcounts?
Taking the time to build the skills of an organization’s internal members not only propels their career growth but also makes them more likely to stay with the company. In fact, this effort to keep both new and existing employees engaged and enthusiastic can help create long-term partnerships between them and the organization. Effectively, these bonds ensure that headcounts are as accurate as possible at all times with minimal chances of unnecessary turnover occurring. Unfortunately, many companies do not provide high-caliber training and personalized learning pathways for their employees.
Providing employees with valued credentials as a reward for their hard work and engagement within the company not only helps meet headcounts but can also ensure that the organization continues to see constant growth in a positive direction. Simply put, providing the encouragement and education employees need to thrive in their current or future position is crucial for success. Even more so if the training is required to ensure safety standards are upheld at all times. This is one of the primary benefits that can be achieved with function-specific training, and organizations need to ensure their training plans reflect the needs of both the company and individual employees.
One final benefit that should be considered when looking at the ways that function-specific training might help with meeting headcounts is that these types of education can often shorten the learning cycle to help new employees become engaged and valued within the company faster. Any shortcuts that can be made through a thorough yet efficient education plan should be considered. Although, it is important to ensure that no corners are being cut and function-specific training is as efficient and effective as possible. Only then will a company understand the true value that is being obtained while their headcounts remain consistent.