Supply chain disruption continues. Hourly workers are harder to hire & retain. What’s the answer?

It’s Tuesday morning, around 6am. I’ve got my coffee, I am ready to get my day started. I pick up my phone and take a look at the latest news…my news feed is full of articles about the Covid-19 variant.  As I scroll down my feed, I am starting to see a common theme – the ongoing supply chain disruptions and challenges businesses are faced with. More specifically, the challenges pertaining to supply chain frontline workers. Is this a case of Deja Vu?

There’s no surprise that workforce shortages continue to be at the top of the list when it comes to the top reasons why normally predictable supply chains are struggling to meet demand. Quite simply, businesses are struggling to hire and retain their hourly workforce in today’s challenging environment. But, why is that?

The impact of the workforce shortage across the supply chain

A recent survey found that more than 15,000 driver positions are open in the food distribution service alone which is significantly impacting the distribution chain.

Warehouse and distribution companies are also struggling to hire enough staff to maintain their pre-pandemic levels. We are seeing businesses reacting by increasing pay scales for their hourly employees to attract the right talent. In some cases, hourly wages have increased by $3-$5 an hour, and sometimes more.

But what are businesses doing today to recruit their top talent? Job Boards? High fee agencies? Other?

The increasing costs associated with sourcing a job board applicant

As demand for attracting the right hourly talent increases, as does the cost. WorkStep data highlights that the average cost of sourcing a single job board applicant for a CDL Driver has increased significantly by 133% from Q3 2020 to Q2 2021. Similar increases are noted for production workers, skilled trades, and warehouse workers. Does this mean that job boards are no longer a viable option for supply chain businesses?

The future of hiring hourly employees

Time is of the essence when it comes to sourcing and finding top talent. That’s why so many supply chain talent acquisition teams are moving away from traditional job boards and agencies towards technology solutions like WorkStep.

WorkStep is the only provider of talent acquisition and management solutions specifically designed for supply chain businesses while providing a significant value-add. Our extensive talent network empowers talent acquisition teams to source high-quality retainable talent, seamlessly. And what’s more, WorkStep only gets paid when an employer finds a successful long-term fit, which creates an affordable and dependable cost per hire.

Gone are the days of searching for a needle in a haystack. Instead, you’ll have the time back to focus on more strategic activities, like workforce development.