If there’s one thing we’ve learned during this incredible year, it’s that businesses must be prepared for any contingency. Staffing needs may skyrocket, or plummet, or do both successively within just a few months.

Who would have thought, as recently as this time last year, we’d see statistics like these:

Although COVID-19 was, we sincerely hope, a once-in-a-lifetime event, some of the changes it caused are here to stay. And it’s not unlikely that the future will bring more shifts in economic trends, employment arrangements and buying habits.

HR teams need a robust, sustainable plan for staffing in these rapidly changing circumstances. Some of the issues clients ask us about most often are discussed below.

Surge in Demand

Online retailers experienced such extreme increases in orders that they couldn’t add staff fast enough for timely fulfillment. Brick-and-mortar stores had to man curbside pickup stations and contactless delivery systems. In-house HR departments were overwhelmed. However, few businesses see increasing permanent staff to cope with one short-term situation as a good solution.

Technological Capability

Many new practices for contactless sourcing, interviewing, hiring and onboarding of employees were introduced to mitigate the risks of COVID-19. Having proved to also deliver time and cost efficiencies, these procedures will probably be kept in place after the pandemic. Yet, many businesses don’t have the budget to buy in specialized systems — nor the personnel to implement and guard the security — for remote interviewing, virtual reality office tours and comprehensive applicant tracking.

Employee Productivity

Many of the factors that contribute to productivity were stressed by COVID-19. Shortcuts taken in candidate assessment and new hire training for the sake of speed, had impacts downstream ranging from burnout, low morale and high attrition rates to costly mistakes and safety incidents.

Talent Gap Reanalysis

The staffing plans businesses made just last year were based on “normal” expectations: anticipated volume and timing of incoming projects, skills needed to complete those projects, market competition and economic trends. But nobody could have predicted 2020; and few even imagined that the plan should include a disaster response.

A New Solution

There’s one simple reason why businesses are coming to us with the concerns discussed above: they’re thinking that an outsourced staffing provider is the answer to all these problems. As a leader in the staffing industry, we give clients cost-effective access to high volume hiring capabilities, best-in-class technology and a deep commitment to promoting the success of the associates we send them.

To learn more about our staffing solutions, visit  our website ,  email us  or call 1.888.446.1300.

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