Berks & Beyond Blog

Can staffing services really drive profits?  In a word, “Yes!”

In today’s economy, businesses need to do everything possible to maximize the R-E=P equation.  And if your company is like most, your employment-related expenses are among the biggest line items on your company’s P & L.  The more actively you manage these expenses, the more profitable you can become.

Of course, driving profits is about more than just cutting costs.  It’s also about maximizing workforce productivity and effectively matching your human resources to the changing challenges and opportunities your business faces.  Used properly, staffing services can play a vital role in achieving all these ends.  Here are just a few ways temporary employees can drive profits in your organization:

• Stay lean and flexible. Design a strategic staffing strategy that limits core employment to that necessary for minimum production volumes.  Staff up with skilled temporary employees to meet peak demand periods or sudden surges in business.
• Focus on core activities. A staffing professional can help you critically examine work flow processes in your organization to identify administrative, repetitive or other support tasks that are being performed by highly compensated employees.  Bring in temporary or part-time contingent staff to take over these tasks and free valuable team members to focus on their most vital priorities.
• Lower employment-related costs due to turnover. Take a look at your hiring and termination costs by job functions.  Determine where high turnover positions exist and re-staff with temporaries to reduce hiring, training and termination costs.
• Reduce overtime expenses.  Work with your staffing representative to analyze your overtime expenditures.  Look for opportunities to use supplemental temporaries instead of overtime to reduce labor costs and prevent employee burnout.
• Shorten learning curves. As your company incorporates new technologies, bring in contract technical professionals to support your project teams.  They can help get your employees up-to-speed and productive more quickly, saving time and money in the process.  Once training is done, so are your training expenses.
• Capitalize on new opportunities. Have you ever had to table a great idea, simply because you didn’t have the resources to work on it?  For those times, consider supplementing your team with temporary and contract employees.  From support staff to senior executives, highly qualified temporary employees can be brought in to either manage the execution of new ideas or support your internal team while they work on the new opportunities.

Berks & Beyond Employment Services – Driving Profits for Pennsylvania Employers

Need to aggressively manage staffing expenses?  Looking for new ways to increase productivity?  Have a great business idea, but lack the human resources to turn it into a reality?  Contact Berks & Beyond today.  We have the knowledge, business expertise and highly skilled candidates you need to get work done and become more profitable.

When it comes to finding rewarding employment, knowledge is power.

Whether you’re ready to contact a recruiter, want to speed up your job search, or are merely evaluating the flexible work options a staffing firm can provide, you need to begin the process by educating yourself.  Why?  Because if you understand our industry well, you’ll be better prepared to take full advantage of the resources and placement options we offer – and ultimately find that ideal work opportunity.

To get you started on the “path of enlightenment,” here is a list of common staffing terms (compliments of the American Staffing Association), as well as an overview of the occupational categories in the staffing industry:

Placement – A staffing firm brings together job seekers and potential employers for the purpose of establishing a “permanent” employment relationship.

Temporary Help – (also known as “contingent” or “on-time” help) A staffing firm hires its own employees and assigns them to support or supplement a client’s work force in situations involving employee absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal workloads and special projects.

Temporary-to-Hire – (also known as “temp-to-hire” or “temp-to-direct hire”) A staffing firm employee works for a client during a trial period in which both the employee and the client consider establishing a “permanent” employment relationship.  At the end of the trial period the assignment may end, or the client may extend an offer for employment.

Long-Term Staffing – (also known as “contract” staffing) A staffing firm supplies employees to work on long-term assignments or discrete projects.  Employees are recruited, screened and assigned by the staffing firm.

Recruiter - A recruiter is a person within a staffing firm who is responsible for identifying and screening/evaluating qualified candidates for an open position within a client business.  The recruiter generally works closely with the hiring firm to determine which candidates are best suited for any open positions.

Typical Occupational Categories in the Staffing Industry

Health Care
Physicians, dentists, nurses, hygienists, medical technicians, therapists, home health aides, custodial care workers, etc.

Industrial
Manual laborers, food handlers, cleaners, assemblers, drivers, tradesmen, machine operators, maintenance workers, etc.

Information Technology
Consultants, analysts, programmers, designers, installers, and other occupations involving computer sciences (hardware or software) or communications technology (Internet, telephone, etc.).

Office–Clerical
Secretaries, general office clerks, receptionists, administrative assistants, word-processing and data entry operators, cashiers, etc.

Professional–Managerial
Accountants, bookkeepers, attorneys, paralegals, middle and senior managers, advertising and marketing executives, and other nontechnical occupations that require higher skill or education levels.

Technical
Engineers, scientists, laboratory technicians, architects, draftsmen, technical writers and illustrators, and other individuals with special skills or training in technical fields involving math or science (not including information technology).

Want to learn more?

Find out how Berks & Beyond can match you with the ideal employment opportunity.  With staffing offices in Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading, Pottstown and York, Pennsylvania, it’s easy to come in and learn more about our services, available jobs and what we can do for you.  Contact a Recruiter to schedule your appointment today.

Do you know why the U.S. staffing industry is growing at a faster rate than the overall economy?  The answer can be summed up in a single word:  flexibility.

The American Staffing Association’s Intelligence Report called Workforce Flexibility:  Staffing for a Better Bottom Line speaks to this very topic.  The article details the numerous ways our industry delivers the workforce flexibility today’s businesses need - from quickly finding experienced specialists for short-term projects to helping organizations run leaner during these tough times. 

I encourage you to follow the link above and learn more about how our industry can benefit yours.  And of course, if you have specific questions about how Berks & Beyond’s services could enhance your company’s workforce flexibility, please contact us directly.

Question:  What’s the one thing you can do to motivate employees, build camaraderie, and strengthen leadership – all while helping your staff understand company goals and vision?

Answer:  Hold a team-building event.  It’s a great way to boost the morale and spirit of any group.  And (despite the collective groan I can hear echoing through cyberspace) they CAN be fun.  Just follow these seven simple steps to make sure that your event is a success and not a flop:

1. Get out of the office.  If each day looks pretty much the same for your employees, shake things up a bit.  Conduct your event off-site.  A change of scenery will refresh, recharge, and reenergize your staff (and minimize distractions).
2. Generate excitement before the event.  Encourage full buy-in by using internal communication to get everyone interested.  Use e-mails, memos, your website, bulletin boards, etc. to arouse curiosity and generate enthusiasm.
3. Mix it up.  To stimulate interest and involvement throughout the day, divide your program into several sessions including work, play, and socializing.  End the day with a mealtime activity, awards ceremony, or happy hour.  Remember to include activities that are fun and relaxing, as well as frequent breaks, so your staff can recharge.
4. Get up and move around.  Games and outdoor challenges are an excellent way to encourage team cohesiveness.  They will allow your team to burn off some energy while building trust and respect among members.  Try a ropes course, a hike, or other trust-building games.
5. Record your memories.  To make a lasting impression and extend the program’s impact, document your day.  Hire a photographer, make a video, or take pictures yourself.  After the event, hand out pictures or highlight the event in your company newsletter or on your website.
6. Allow time to process and reflect.  Throughout the day, discuss new learning and how it applies to specific jobs as well as the company.  Games and activities will be of better use if you allow your team to reflect on the purpose and meaning behind each.
7. Solicit feedback.  At the end of the day, ask participants to complete a simple survey.  It’s a great way to find out what employees liked (and didn’t like) and garner recommendations for the next event.

Let Us Help You Build a Better Team

At Berks and Beyond, we have the resources and staffing services to make your team even stronger.  Contact us today to learn more.

It’s coming – your busiest time of year.

Like climbing the first hill of a roller coaster, staffing up for your high season can bring on real anxiety.  Placing want ads, recruiting, screening, interviewing, hiring and training a large number of employees – all for a few months of work – can be overwhelming.  And once you get over the peak, you’re sent screaming down the other side…

If you’d rather not “white knuckle” your way through another busy season, a staffing service can help.  Here’s what a provider can do to help even out the highs and lows of your business:

Get the flexibility you need.  Use seasonal temporaries to handle surges in demand without impacting fixed expenses.  When things slow down, let the contingent staff go – it’s that simple.

Gain instant access to talent.  Instead of competing with other businesses to attract the limited number of candidates looking for seasonal employment, leverage the continual recruiting efforts of your staffing provider.  Whenever your busy season hits, they will have qualified candidates ready to go to work for you.

Shorten the learning curve.  A good staffing service will recruit workers with the specific skills and experience you require.  At your request, they’ll even develop customized orientation materials for the employees they provide you.  You’ll reduce training costs and get seasonal workers up-to-speed more quickly.

Eliminate administrative burdens.  When a staffing service provides your seasonal help, the agency – not you – is the employer.  You don’t have to deal with the social security, payroll, and other tax and legal burdens associated with seasonal employees.

Cut back on overtime.  Temporary employees help you avoid paying higher overtime rates and eliminate the employee burn-out it causes.

Call Berks & Beyond to Plan Your Needs

Remember, it’s never too early to discuss your upcoming needs with us.  The sooner we know about an upcoming surge in your business, the better prepared we’ll be to save you time, money, and headaches.  By working together, Berks & Beyond can turn your seasonal roller coaster into a mere speed bump.

A Vendor-on-Premise (VOP) is exactly what it sounds like – a vendor (in this case, a staffing service like Berks & Beyond) provides an on-site representative to manage and coordinate temporary employees at your company.

If you’re a high-volume staffing user, a VOP can really make staffing easier for you.  In essence, he acts as an extension of your HR department to streamline your staffing function.  Here’s how:
Increasing Efficiency
A VOP can:
- Handle the daily deployment of temporary workers to get them on-task quickly.
- Make daily rounds to ensure contingent workers stay productive.
- Provide detailed, customized reports like: staffing usage, cost analyses, attendance and tardiness.
- Evaluate personnel needs to plan for peak and non-peak periods, and handle worker reassignment.
Reducing Headaches
A VOP can:
- Manage daily work issues, like problem resolution and worker injury reporting.
- Handle scheduling to ensure departments are adequately staffed.
- Resolve payroll and administrative issues.
- Recruit new temporary employees directly at your site.
Managing Other Staffing Functions
A VOP can:
- Screen, interview and skill-test candidates before they’re approved to work for you.
- Check references, and if required, drug test applicants.
- Distribute paychecks.
Ensuring Safety
A VOP can:
- Provide facilities tours and customized safety orientations for your new temporary employees.

Could a VOP become a VIP in your company?  Contact Berks & Beyond to find out more about our on-site services and determine if they’re right for you.