Why employers spend more when they just cut staffing costs

 

Every single one of my clients is challenging me to sharpen my pencil and find new ways to trim expenses.

They’re turning to self-checkout micro markets and automation to preserve cash – or pressuring their procurement team to cut a certain percentage from the bottom line.

However, when I step into a meeting with a client, I try to shift the conversation with an entirely different question: What problem are we trying to solve?

Because from where I sit, when you pivot away from finding new ways to cut costs toward finding new ways to drive performance – it has a much bigger impact on your bottom line.

A true strategy isn’t just thinking only of cost savings. Balancing scalability with quality can be tricky to navigate, but you might just yield a better return at the end of the day, if you know where to start.

Look at every level

Most of the time, my clients just don't have the wherewithal to think about their team along with every other level in their organization. One way to start is by bringing other departments to the table when talking about staffing.

I like taking that approach because my goal coming in is to help find and define a balance. We can’t solely look at a price or mark-up. I want to know what’s your total cost for moving product out the door. I want to know when workers are leaving.

With my team, we build programs where we can measure the entire life cycle of a candidate and the true performance that we're seeing. Because when I can provide better strategy and quality, our team can also drive better performance.

Weigh output versus cost

Let’s say I have two options: I can buy a piece of equipment that costs me $60,000 – or I can buy a something similar at $180,000. If both machines do the same thing and have the same output, then why would I pay three times the cost for the second?

However, it’s a totally different conversation if the cheaper equipment does the same thing but at the tenth of the speed.

Apply that to your workforce. Take a look at the cost of vacancy, of filling new roles, of turnover, onboarding, and training costs. Consider the overtime you’re paying someone to do the same work that you’d prefer to pay straight time. (Don’t forget that longer hours can have domino effect, thanks to the added risk of workers being tired or not paying attention as much as they need to.)

Let’s take a close look at your current workforce and what those long-term costs look like, because chances are, we can address a lot of those challenges.

Engage your temporary workers

Within your organization, what is a temporary worker’s long-term outlook? What does career pathing and succession planning look like in your organization?

Look, if it were you, would you want to be in the exact same role you’re currently in 10 years from now? For some people, that answer is yes, and that’s fantastic.

You want people to start in your organization in one role and end up in a different one. When I’m hiring, I’m looking for people who want to grow and develop in their career – because we’re also going to need people who aspire to become a leader and are able to take that next step.

Temporary workers can’t always see what their career path is at your organization, which means as soon as a competitor offers them that kind of long-term opportunity, they’re going to leave your organization.

Consider where you want to be in 10 years

Look, I want to be a consultant who helps you, and I absolutely need to have a conversation about your current state and order fulfillment needs.

More importantly, I want to understand your future state – because I can help build a roadmap to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

If ultimately you want to become a global powerhouse, I might be the right partner to help build a Managed Service Provider (MSP) solution. If you want to expand into a new state, not only can I help staff your new site, but I also can help you stay compliant with local labor laws.

Understanding how your total contingent program is driving the future of your organization can be the big challenge, and here’s the thing, I may not be the right partner to get you there.

Build the right kind of strategy

I think about it this way, there are plenty of ways to drive from Point A to Point B. You can do it in a limousine with a chauffeur or you can do it in a Ford Fiesta that you drive yourself. There is a complete difference in the way that you get there and the price point that you got there.

You didn't give me a staffing request because you didn't have anything else to do. You gave me an order because there was a need to have somebody in a seat to do the job. And every day that somebody's not in that seat doing that job, it's costing your organization.

And maybe, it’s time to ask more from your staffing partner when just signing a contract under budget. At Adecco, we look at the data – your data, our data, market data, industry data – whatever we can find, to create a strategy that works for you.

Let’s talk about what your hiring process is today – and – what it needs to look like as you continue to move forward on this journey.