The summer ramp-up is already underway, or at least, it should be. But if you’re underwater with a million other tasks and haven’t had time to plan ahead on hiring, it can feel like you’re falling behind. And when you do finally come up for air, you may be tempted to rush through the hiring process just so you can get more people onto the floor.

But this can present other, bigger, problems. Because you spend less time vetting and training qualified candidates, you end up bringing on workers who lower the quality of work and amplify operational risk.

So, what’s the solution? It all comes down to planning. In this article, we’ll show you how to build a ramp-up plan that will help keep the operation running safely and efficiently.

Key Takeaways

• The summer is a high demand season for manufacturing, which can lead to greater risk for organizations that haven’t planned ahead.
• Having a plan allows you to react to increased demand, staffing up key segments of production proactively to avoid higher costs and other risks.
• Working with staffing partners makes it easy to scale up production without cutting corners in the hiring process.

Why Peak Summer Season Leads to Staffing Headaches

During the summer, manufacturers face the perfect storm of increased product demand and shortfalls in labor availability. On the one hand, orders for Q3 and Q4 start to come in, and meeting those orders requires warehouses to start moving product in May and June. On the other hand, many people are taking well-earned summer vacations. This creates a scramble to backfill these roles and to bring in new or temporary hires to meet demand.

Although many of these factors are predictable, some organizations are still caught flat-footed when peak season rolls around. Here are some of the biggest reasons for these challenges.

Labor shortages

Lack of adequate staffing in any phase of the manufacturing process creates a bottleneck, which leads to lower productivity. This can negatively impact your reputation, driving clients to competitors and reducing revenue.

Burnout and overtime costs

Some organizations expect their staff to work longer hours during demand surges. However, extensive overtime reduces your margins while requiring staff to work beyond their normal schedule. It can also create a cycle of burnout, which leads to further labor shortages and productivity challenges.

Shortened hiring cycles

A sudden surge in demand forces organizations to rush, either backfilling staff on vacation or hiring to meet a production quota. Some will use a truncated hiring process, forgoing standard procedures like references, background checks, and training. This creates added risk as these new hires may be more likely to get injured, make mistakes, or fail compliance.

PTO Disruptions

Summer and the holidays are the main seasons for PTO use, which is another factor that can compound with demand surges to create staffing issues. PTO is tricky because it can’t be permanently backfilled, as the staff member will eventually return. Many organizations opt to have the rest of their staff pick up the slack, but during high-demand periods this can be untenable.

How to Ramp Up without Incurring More Risk

Thankfully, you aren’t limited to overspending on overtime or putting unqualified workers onto the floor. There’s a third option. First, work to gain more clarity into who you need to hire and when. Then, engage the right resources and partners to find those people fast without sacrificing candidate quality. Make a 90-day ramp-up plan

Even if it’s a rough estimate, you probably have enough information to start planning which departments you will need to bolster, when you need to bring in new hires for training, and how long you anticipate needing them. This allows you to prepare your existing staff to assist with training and orientation while you work out staffing sources for each role.

Firm up your PTO calendar

During high-demand seasons, some organizations will require PTO to be finalized well in advance, as this allows them to prepare accordingly. Just like the ramp-up plan, having a general picture of which departments might be shorthanded can help you work with staffing partners to ensure there’s backup available. Knowing that you’ll need an extra machine handler a month or more in advance is preferable to learning a week before.

Build a roster of job candidates

The fastest way to place qualified people quickly is to start building relationships with people and assessing them before there’s an active need.

Now, that’s all well and good when you have more than a few weeks to place people. But when a need is urgent, there really is only one solution: find a staffing partner that has pre-existing relationships with the candidates they’ve already vetted and, in many cases, are ready to start in a matter of days.

A staffing partner can be an indispensable asset for both planned staffing shortfalls and unexpected absences. It also gives you the benefits of a just-in-time hire without the risk of a rushed hiring process.

Decide which metrics you will use to determine staffing needs

It’s helpful to set thresholds to track the relative staffing needs of different sections of the production floor. For example, consecutive weeks of 5+ hours of overtime could trigger an alert and a request for a temp hire, while missed production goals could indicate a bottleneck caused by a labor shortage.

The Key to Staffing for the Summer: Use Pre-Vetted Workers

When your back is against the wall and you need quality people fast without amplifying risk, there’s only one solution: find pre-vetted, compliant, and skilled job candidates.

Working with Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions saves you the hassle of sourcing candidates, freeing you up to focus on running your operation through the busy season. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help, get in touch with us.

 

FAQs on Summer Ramp-Up in Manufacturing

What is ramp-up in manufacturing?

Ramp-up in manufacturing means increasing productive capacity to meet an increase in demand.

What’s the difference between ramp-up and scaling in manufacturing?

Scaling means finding ways to increase your productive capacity without increasing your spending, for example, using new technologies or systems to improve efficiency. It can also mean outsourcing tasks like hiring to specialized vendors who can handle these tasks at a lower cost than if you did them in-house.

Do I still have time to make a summer ramp-up plan?

You have plenty of time to make a plan, especially if you have a clear idea of your potential staffing needs and partners to help you build a roster of temp workers.

What if I don’t have a clear idea of how many extra workers I’ll need?

Part of the advantage of planning is that you are under no obligation to hire beyond your exact needs. Having a plan is an asset to you even if you don’t anticipate needing extensive help, as you might have an unexpected need.

What is the cycle of burnout?

This means that overwork and stress leads team members to be less productive or to quit their role. This can create further pressure on the rest of their department who must make up for productivity loss, which can cause further burnout, creating a cyclical problem.

How do I keep my team from getting burned out?

Setting metrics to track overwork, such as looking at overtime hours, can help you determine when a section of your production floor is being taxed beyond capacity.