Manufacturing leaders are under pressure to keep production moving despite labor challenges. The impact of staffing shortages extends beyond headcount, as shortages can disrupt production, increase overtime, and threaten the ability to operate at full capacity. A proactive staffing partner like Express Employment Professionals can support your workforce flexibility before shortages turn into costly downtime.
U.S. manufacturing economic activity increased for the seventh consecutive month, according to indexes from the Institute for Supply Chain Management. As reported by Manufacturing Dive, July reports showed increases in some of the largest manufacturing industries, including:
Manufacturing in Canada grew at its fastest rate in July in over four years, marking seven consecutive months of growth. According to Reuters, the S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index reached its highest point since June 2022 in July.
As business grows and increases downtime risks, solving staffing shortages becomes even more imperative.
Short-Term Solutions Can Help, But They Have Limits
Operating with staffing shortages isn’t impossible, but it isn’t optimal.
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Overtime: While it can be a short-term solution, overtime increases the risk of burnout, mistakes, turnover, and callouts from the workers who are left.
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Slower Output: When fewer trained employees are available, it can delay changeovers, limit coverage, and force production pauses or reductions. Slowing output may be sustainable for a period, but for most businesses, it isn’t for the long term.
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Maintain Production: Staffing shortages take a toll on the workers who remain. Pressuring employees to maintain production levels can lead to overwork, which undermines efficiency, elevates safety risks, weakens morale, and increases employee turnover.
Reduce Downtime with a Proactive Staffing Plan
Workforce flexibility and staffing plans are a downtime-reduction strategy. Understanding the most vulnerable staffing gaps at your company and having a plan ready to address them can avoid production shortfalls and added strains for workers.
Identify Production Risks Before They Happen
Conduct a skills audit and use the results to identify shifts and lines where production could be put at risk by a vacancy. Use the findings to cross-train workers, and take missing skills into consideration when hiring.
Plan Staffing Around Production Forecasts
Anticipating busy seasons, downtime for maintenance, and planned worker absences early creates the opportunity to flex staff up or down to meet the need. Partnering with staffing experts like Express who understand the local labor market can help identify candidates for hard-to-fill roles.
Strengthen Your Company’s Talent Pipeline
Clear career pathing in your company supports a strong talent pipeline by providing workers with a path to upskill, reskill, and cross-train. This improves retention and preserves institutional knowledge, and can reduce staffing shortages. Temporary staffing provides the potential to fill gaps in your talent pipeline and bring missing skills to your workforce.
Before labor challenges put production at risk, staffing planning can reduce downtime and help your company over the challenge. If staffing shortages are impacting your company’s production, a staffing partner like Express can connect you with the workers you need to optimize operations.
About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, employing more than 11 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/Employers or ExpressPros.ca/Employers.
