The Challenge

The Bakery was using the resources of their Personnel Department to source, select, assign, train and provide payroll services for a casual workforce.

This task was made more difficult by unpredictable fluctuations in demand, which meant that the staff selected were often unavailable when required.

Wise Employment was approached to propose a staffing solution that would:

- Reduce the time spent by the Bakery on recruiting, training and managing the casual workforce
- Provide maximum flexibility to accommodate planned and unplanned fluctuations in demand
- Improve staff retention
- Increase productivity
- Deliver real value for money

The Wise Solution

Having carried out a detailed needs analysis; Wise Employment proposed the following solution to meet the specific challenges posed by this Contract:

- A dedicated Consultant, at our local branch, would recruit and train a flexible temporary workforce to meet the Bakery’s specific skills, aptitude, health and hygiene requirements
- Prior to assignment, all temporaries would attend an Induction Briefing at Wise Employment’s training suite. This briefing would cover such issues as health, hygiene, company standards, policies, safe working practices, site facilities and welfare issues.
- The service would be provided to pre-agreed standards to meet the critical needs of the production area. Key criteria for performance monitoring would include fill rate of assignments, daily absence levels and staff retention.
- A Working Supervisor would be provided on each shift to greet the new starters, issue their locker keys, uniforms and pass cards. This Supervisor would also provide immediate resolution to routine difficulties and would act as an interface between client, temporaries and Wise Employment. These duties should take no more than 2-3 hours per shift, after which time the Supervisor would be free to work under the Bakery’s direction
- A Mobile Contract Coordinator would provide a regular on-site presence to maintain contact with Bakery Team Leaders and Senior Management, Temporaries and Working Supervisors. This regular, personal communication has been demonstrated to facilitate accurate staff appraisals, promote staff retention and increase productivity.
- The Contract Coordinator would also attend weekly meetings with Bakery Production Managers to assist work force planning and performance monitoring.
- The Contract Coordinator and the Bakery would be jointly responsible for the assessment of new starters following their probationary period. However, the Contract Coordinator would handle all disciplinary issues.
- Regular Performance Reviews would facilitate continuous improvement.

The Outcome

- The Personnel Department was able to reduce their involvement in training and assessing the complementary workforce.
- Retention levels and subsequent productivity were improved, through close control, absence counseling and the provision of alternative employment during periods of low demand.
- Real value for money was achieved, through savings in management time, administration costs, improved productivity and Wise Employment’s keen pricing policy.