Responsive staffing is gaining momentum as businesses respond to complex consumer demands.
A responsive recruitment strategy encompasses both a proactive and reactive approach to the market. Responsive staffing and scheduling respond to an organization’s needs with stability and flexibility.
Responsive staffing is more than a calculated approach to shift scheduling. Instead, it requires a systems approach to staffing and scheduling.
How does responsive staffing work?
Responsive staffing is common in industries with shift scheduling, like the hospitality, healthcare, and retail industries, where demand is ever-changing. Responsive staffing addresses many challenges, such as budgeting for overtime, employee turnover, and handling complex shift requirements.
There are many solutions to accomplish responsive staffing. Data is key to practicing responsive staffing. Sales data over time can help businesses predict when demand will be higher or lower than usual and plan accordingly. Employee management software can also provide insight into employee retention trends. For instance, if your HR data shows many employees leave in September, you may want to begin looking for new hires for the holiday season in late July or early August to account for the deficit and the increase in demand.
Accessibility is also crucial in responsive staffing. Responding to hiring fluctuations with a talent pool of pre-vetted candidates provides on-demand talent for urgent requests. Some companies work with third-party recruiters that can quickly source and vet potential seasonal hires or contractors. Other companies use staffing platforms with built-in shift scheduling tools to find new employees and schedule them effectively.
Tools and partners to help with responsive staffing
Beyond your data and workforce management tools, vetting solutions like POS integrations make responsive staffing possible.
The right vetting system is crucial to responsive staffing. Pre-vetting candidates for temporary or seasonal work enables managers and HR teams to make fast decisions when demand increases. Tools like Accurate make it easy to perform background checks — even in high-volume hiring scenarios quickly. As your team starts to plan for a demand spike, recruiters can begin checking the background of everyone from a delivery driver to hourly retail staff, creating a pool of talent from which managers can quickly hire.
Next, workforce management tools, such as employee management applications and staffing platforms, that offer shift scheduling empower your core team — those you rely on year after year. Platforms such as Connecteam and TimeSaved provide easy-to-use applications, driving automation and engagement for candidates and employees alike.
And, finally, for small businesses, restaurants, and retail locations, POS integrations make it easy to connect all your data across apps. According to TechRadar POS integrations are a must for your business. The right POS system integration can optimize processes, increase visibility into costs, provide actionable data, and enhance hiring efficiency.
Responsive Staffing in the Future of Work
What happens if demand fluctuations aren’t predictable? The pandemic has caused many supply chain issues that prevent businesses from planning effectively. Burnout rates across industries have skyrocketed, forcing many employees to resign or find a new job.
“[To] even secure the staffing necessary to satisfy consumer needs this holiday season, businesses must first adapt to hourly worker needs for flexibility and convenience. This includes making changes to how they recruit and staff ahead of the highest-traffic business days of the year,” wrote Restaurant Dive.
Businesses are relying on flexible staffing technology this year more than ever. These solutions help managers quickly post and fill open positions; workers benefit from achieving the right level of work-life balance, only committing to those positions that they can feasibly take on during this busy time.
