It may seem counter-intuitive, but taking some time now to do business projections and staffing planning can help your business handle an unpredictable and competitive business environment moving forward. Having some contingency planning in place for your business means you can be proactive rather than reactive to change.

Developing a Flexible Staffing Plan

During the pandemic, businesses have had to learn how to deliver their products and services differently. Or businesses are refocusing on areas of the company that are most profitable in this new environment. As a manager, this often means moving resources and reassigning staff to new roles to fit new priorities. Additionally, when you decide it is safe to reopen for business, you may be managing people both in an office and at home.

A flexible staffing strategy that considers different business projections can give your business a competitive edge.

What are Your Business Goals?

The best starting point for a staffing strategy is your organization’s business plan. Considering both your short-term and long-term goals for the company, what positions and skills will you need to have in place to meet those goals?

What are Current and Projected Staffing Needs?

Look at your current workforce and see if roles, titles, and duties are still aligned. It is natural for positions to change over time and for people to take on new responsibilities. Identify what skills are missing to meet your long-term business goals. Could current staff participate in training or an online certificate course to gain new needed skills? For instance, the switch to remote work and more online interactions recently means new digital, website, and e-commerce skills may be required.

To make your staffing plan flexible, consider adding a mix of talent to meet your business goals. Independent contractors, temporary, project, or specialized short-term employees help you avoid a disruptive cycle of hiring and layoffs-followed by more hiring when business improves. Bringing in project professionals to work alongside your existing full-time staff often makes business sense.

The Society for Human Resources Management has an overview article on the steps to use when creating a staffing plan. This article covers staffing for an HR department, but the concepts transfer well to developing a general staffing plan.

Get Hiring Help

Our team will help identify your staffing needs, launch a search for skilled candidates, assess applicants, and reduce the time and stress caused by other aspects of hiring a new employee.

We can also help you design and put in place a flexible staffing strategy to meet your current and projected business goals. This plan will allow you to add flexibility to your workforce, control hiring costs, and remain fully staffed no matter what the circumstances-to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing business landscape.

Ready to set up a flexible staffing plan? Questions about how a staffing agency can support your business? Give us a call – 760-862-1818 or Contact Us.