Are you hearing a ringing in your ears? If it's summer, it could be sleigh bells. Because for packagers, the weather and peak seasonal production require planning months in advance. Whether you survive with margins intact may depend on how well you manage your workforce.
Securing and managing a workforce amid production peaks and valleys is among co-packers’ top challenges. To better cope with labor highs and lows, co-packers alternately hire temporary workers, or outsource that function to temporary staffing firms. And, as with any outsourcing relationship, such personnel partnerships must be treated as “true partnerships, not just as client-vendor relationships,” says Peter Lugo, owner of Secure Staff, an Ontario-based temporary workforce provider. He offers offers the following best practices for managing a relationship with a temporary staffing firm (or for those who make direct hires, for managing a temporary workforce):
1. Realize your product is your people.
2. Pair the candidate with the job description.
3. Share your goals, from vision to performance metrics.
4. Evaluate your practices in the spirit of continuous improvement.
For details on these practices and hands-on advice from co-packers, read the full story at the The Contract Packaging Association website: "Tips for Temps: How to Handle Seasonal Spikes and Production Peaks."
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