Are you ready for Peak?

As the fourth largest sector employer in the UK of a 2.2million-strong workforce, according to recent Government statistics, logistics plays a vital role in the economy. The unsung heroes of consumerism, our logistics and transport workers operate around the clock under tight schedules to ensure products and services are delivered on time. Without this integral workforce, the UK and its economy would grind to a halt.

With the countdown to Peak Season underway and last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday Christmas sales surpassing a staggering £3.3 billion, the availability of temporary staff will be a key focus, as hirers look to maximise their seasonal returns and critically, keep services running smoothly.

Many logistics companies will be trying to balance the supply and demand of their operations, coupled with the expected shortage in qualified labour and spikes in both pay and margins, set by opportunistic recruitment agencies. With driver availability an issue of paramount importance at this time of year – there was an estimated shortfall of 45,000 drivers in 2015 alone – these problems experienced will persist beyond this year if we don’t do enough to combat this now.

Temporary staffing expert de Poel has advice on how to plan for the Peak Season.


There is no time like the present

If you haven’t already started, now is the ideal time to recruit temporary staff for the Peak Season. Appoint a core team internally and look to a neutral vendor solution like de Poel, able to act as an independent intermediary, manage multiple supplying agencies and oversee the whole planning cycle.

You will need to consider how your current workforce is able to flex, if at all, and start to plan recruitment campaigns, interviews and training working backwards from the desired start date. The trick is to draw on historical data and make forecasts based on last year’s actual figures, adjusting for changing circumstances.

Treat Christmas as a separate project

There are many differences when it comes to hiring at Christmas, over any other period. Inevitably, there will be increased levels of sickness due to winter-related illnesses including flu and the norovirus, so it is essential to account for this. Additionally, there will naturally be fierce competition amongst hirers, looking to attract talent often from the same pool, with recruiters clamouring to offer candidates the best possible rates.


Things to consider when hiring

Start by thinking how long you are likely to need temporary workers for – is there potential to go beyond the Peak Season and Christmas? This will help to determine how you go about attracting this talent and managing this pool of vital workers.

Many organisations ensure a robust system is in place ahead of Peak Season, not only to track how long a temporary worker is engaged but to have full visibility and control of spend, in order to minimise budgets being exceeded. It is also essential to check that sufficient facilities are in place across your sites, to cope with an influx of temporary workers.

It goes without saying, but it is absolutely crucial that you consider legal requirements, including Right to Work documentation, DBS checks and Agency Worker Regulations through your supplying agencies. Failure to carry out thorough pre-screening for example, could result in a spike in customer complaints, accidents in the workplace and potentially volatile workplace relationships.

Build your risk register and contingency plan

In the worst case scenario, if you get these things wrong and take a knee-jerk approach, this could have a catastrophic effect on your reputation, supplier relationships and could even leave you facing legal action. On top of this, as fear kicks in and a number of recruitment agencies increase their premiums, hirers are faced with the decision of potentially making a distressed purchase, with this cost being passed down to the end-consumer.

Through our independent position, we are able to level the playing field and govern uniformed rates and terms from our supplying agencies, so our client organisations don’t have to undergo lengthy negotiations during Peak.

Due to long-standing partnerships with several of the UK’s largest names in logistics and retail, we understand that the ability to respond to sudden surges in demand is the acute success factor. Likewise, we are acutely aware of the vital need to ensure capacity is sufficient, to meet increased demand over the Peak Season – and beyond.

What’s next?

Conclusively, with the increase in online retailing, traffic volumes driven up further and flows harder to predict – compounded with the now chronic national shortage of drivers – it is clear that this year’s Peak Season presents a huge challenge.

Although the countdown is underway, it is not too late to make small changes that can maximise the commercial opportunities for your business in the next few weeks and months of peak trading. Seasonal spikes are a fact of modern life in the logistics world, but with careful planning and considering utilising a neutral vendor solution, they can be seen as real opportunities rather than threats.