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Hiring for warehouses and distribution centers can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, especially when you are undertaking regular rectuitment rounds or onboarding a significant number of people.
That is why many companies prefer outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers, which can come in a number of forms to suit different needs, of which two outstanding choices are highlighted below.
Options range from assistance with sourcing personell to fill specific roles to a more comprehensive service including the onboarding, ongoing administration, and eventual offboarding of anyone being hired.
Whether you are looking to hire highly qualified specialists on a short-term basis, or large numbers of people to staff up an entire operation, outsourcing recruitment for your warehouse or distribution center can be an agile, convenient and cost-effective choice.
Challenges of hiring warehouse staff
The success of warehouse operation relies on the training and competency of its workers. Hiring qualified warehouse staff presents a unique set of challenges that businesses must navigate.
Some of the most significant challenges include:
1) High turnover rates
Warehouse work can be physically demanding and may involve repetitive tasks, which can contribute to higher turnover rates.
Additionally, seasonal demands can cause fluctuations in personnel needs. In such circumstances, outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers can make hiring more agile and responsive to the ebbs and flows of the business.
2) Shortages of skills
Finding candidates with the necessary skills, experience and certifications to perform specialist roles can be challenging. Outsourcing recruitment to a seasoned provider allows you to tap into their established recruitment network and find people for harder to fill roles quicker.
3) High recruitment costs
Hiring personnel can be a time and resource heavy process, including advertising for roles, vetting applicants, holding interviews and performing background checks. When that is coupled with seasonal fluctuations, maintaining permanent recruitment operations can also be a source of operational inefficiency.
4) Limited candidate pool
When warehouses are located in rural or isolated locations, businesses may face difficulty accessing a diverse pool of candidates with the required skills and experience. So by outsourcing recruitment of warehouse workers to a third-party, it is possible to tap into a broader pool of people who may be willing to relocate.
5) Training and development
Providing comprehensive training and development opportunities for warehouse staff is essential for enhancing skills, improving retention, and fostering career advancement. However, investing in training programs can be time-consuming and costly for businesses, particularly if turnover rates are high.
7) Compliance and regulations
Warehouse operations are subject to various regulations and compliance requirements, such as the ABNT in Brazil, OSHA in the United States, and STPS in Mexico. It’s important to understand these regulatory requirements and make sure that anyone being hired is aware of any laws relevant to their roles.
Options for outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers
When it comes to outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers, the type of support that usually first springs to mind is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO services). This service involves a third-party taking on responsibility for sourcing candidates and presenting them to you to be interviewed.
In some cases, RPO services can also include the provider undertaking preliminary interviews to verify qualifiactions, experience and guiarantee that candidates meet any other criteria before being presented to you.
Recruitment process outsourcing offers a rapid and convenient option for hiring staff in the logistics industry, with the provider’s recruitment network and expert understanding of the local job market helping them to fill roles quickly. RPO services also offer the convenience of being available upon demand, meaning that significant cost-savings can be made when compared to maintaining a full time recruitment team in-house.
A more comprehensive, and increasingly popular, solution for outsorucing recruitment is to hire staff through an employer of record (EOR). When you choose EOR services, the provider not only sources talent for you, but also hires them on your behalf and takes care of their payroll and ongoing administration.
That means responsibility for properly implementing labor laws and other legistlation related to the employment of those workers is taken on by your provider — who assumes the vast majority of risk in the event of a non-compliance issue arising. Those workers, meanwhile, report directly to you, behaving exactly like directly hired employees.
As in the case of RPO services, a provider of EOR services will have an established recruitment network and experience of sourcing talent in the market you work with them in, so that you can expect roles to be filled quickly.
Generally an EOR will source candidates and present them to you to be interviewed, but you also have the option of allowing the provider to make final selections. This can be particularly attractive in the event that you are contracting them to staff up an entire operation or large-scale project.
EOR services also offer the advantage of being easily expanded or reduced to suit needs, without you needing to maintain permanent in-house recruitment and payroll operations, which can be under utilized when the business goes through a natural lull.
How to hire warehouse workers: 7 key steps
Outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers can be an effective strategy for quickly finding specialists for specific roles, or for staffing up an entire operation with general operatives. Some of the key steps involved in executing your outsourcing strategy include:
1) Choose your arrangement
Before getting into the recruitment process, you’ll need to determine which arrangement suits you better. If you just need assistance with sourcing talent, RPO services will be most suitable.
However, if you are need workers hired on your behalf, or are seeking operational agility, hiring via an employer of record is likely your best choice.
2) Identify experienced providers
Experience in recruiting and the established network that comes with it can be vital to the efficiency and quality of the service you receive. Research potential recruitment providers with with a track record in outsourcing warehouse recruiting, being sure that the one you choose has a history of providing the service you choose in the first step.
3) Establish your goals
Once you have chosen a provider, you will need to lay out all of your goals and expectations, so that a service agreement can be drawn up that guarantees your needs will be met. The roles you need filled, along with timelines, milestones and any other considerations will need to be discussed so that your provider can guarantee your satisfaction with the service.
4) Review initial candidates
In the event you have opted for RPO services, for each role being filled, your provider will submit a first round of candidates for you to review and select interview candidates from. Should chosen candidates not pass the interview, this step will be repeated. Should you choose EOR services, this initial review may be carried out by the provider, depending on how the services agreement was laid out.
5) Carry out interviews
Both RPO services and EOR services can include the provider undertaking an initial interview to verify qualifications and experience. In both cases you can also allow the provider to carry out detailed interviews and make final selections, however in the event that the person being hired is a highly qualified specialist, this is likely something you will conduct in-house.
6) Onboard new employees
Once candidates have been slected, your new team members will need to be onboarded. In the case of RPO services, this part of the process will usually be handled in-house. In the event you are hiring them through an employer of record, this step will be undertaken by the provider with some support on your part, to make sure that all relevant information and guidance is delivered.
7) Ongoing compliant administration
Once your new team members are in place, they payroll and other administrative matters will need to be managed in full compliance with all local regulations, in order to avoid legal complications or financial penalties. Should you they be hired via an EOR, your provider will take care of this and assume most legal responsibility for compliance.
Serviap Logistics can help with outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers
At Serviap Logistics, we offer a wide range of warehouse setup and optimization solutions in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States.
Those include providing and installing protection barriers, racking & mezzanines, and warehouse signage. We also supply warehouse labels.
Additional services include warehouse floor marking & maintenance, industrial cleaning, project management, and warehouse staffing. So if you are interested in outsourcing recruitment for warehouse workers, we can help you.
Contact us to find out more.
