So, “peak season” is almost here and you’re obviously planning to ramp up your operations in order to keep up with market demand. Obviously, this is one of those periods where you need to make sure you’ve got a large enough workforce to handle the pressure.
Being understaffed at such a time can be the worst. After all, you don’t want to lose revenue at a time when it’s the easiest to generate.
However, there’s no need to panic. Here are a few tips to help avoid understaffing.
Provide flexible schedules
One way to overcome the understaffing issue is by providing flexible work schedules. Offer incentives to your tenured staff. This will encourage them to keep contributing. Consider options such as weekend flexibility, job-sharing and even hiring temporary staff.
Temporary staff can be very helpful if you’re looking to cover shifts.
Identify strengths
Your workforce has various strengths to offer. There are employees who are good at one thing and then there are those who are good at something else. Find out who’s capable of what and allocate tasks accordingly.
A simple example of this is allocating the important tasks to your more experienced workers while leaving the small stuff with the freshers or new hires. It’s all about optimization.
Eliminate bottlenecks in production
All production processes are bound to have a couple of bottleneck areas. On a regular day, bottlenecks may not cause significant delays. However, you don’t want them when demand for your product is at its highest. So, take the time to analyze the production process.
Look at the sectors or areas where bottlenecks occur and make sure they’re fixed. Get your most capable employees to work in these areas to ensure there isn’t any slowing down in productivity.
More incentives
Apart from simply offering flexible hours, make sure you do a little more to keep your workers rolling in during peak season. Offer a free lunch or provide them with large discounts on your own products. Whatever it is that you do, make sure it’s good enough to get your staff motivated.
Recognize the employees that have surpassed expectations and have kept things on track.
Invest in WFM software
Last but not least, we recommend investing in a workforce management software. These are tools designed to specifically help you with scheduling and forecasting. WFM solutions can make life a whole lot easier by telling you how to manage the workforce more effectively and efficiently.
At iMovo we specialise in Workforce Management and are local partners of the leading workforce scheduling software, Planday, which helps you manage the logistics and scheduling of your staff. By bringing together iMovo’s extensive experience in customer service solutions together with Planday’s flexibility, your company has access to an unbeatable combination, which will make your life easier.
If you are running a shift-based business, contact us today to learn how we can help you manage your workforce!
