Coople, a flexible staffing technology platform, has compiled five tips to help businesses save money without sacrificing quality. Coople conducted a recent survey that revealed 96% of UK SMEs expected cost increases after the changes to minimum wage and National Insurance last month. Here are some tips on how businesses can mitigate the cost increase.
Coople recommends that businesses reduce the total number of hours their employees work.
Flexible contracts: Businesses can adjust their staff to fit busy or quiet periods by using flexible contracts. A permanent core team combined with flexible support provided by trusted additional staff is the perfect combination to help businesses achieve their highest performance, regardless of current demand.
Delay hiring spanstyle=”font weight: 400 By delaying hiring spanstyle=”font-weight” 400 Businesses can save money by not overstaffing. Businesses can hire the minimum amount of staff that they are sure they need before adding additional permanent team members and flexible workers. This can be made easier by having a large pool to draw from.
Some businesses prefer shorter shifts. While six- to eight-hour shifts may be the norm, they know that some days will see a rush of customers who arrive within a short period. Some businesses may consider booking some staff for a 4-hour shift to ensure that the rush period is adequately staffed. A smaller team will handle the rest of the workday.
Rehire experienced workers: Businesses can maximize efficiency when they choose to rely on flexible staff by rehiring workers that have been trained and enrolled. A pool of approximately 3x the number of people required for a particular shift will allow businesses to quickly scale up their teams whenever needed.
Use a platform. Registering with a platform such as Coople can help businesses to find flexible, talented workers that use the platform and develop a relationship. The platform will also take care of payroll, administration and paperwork, so businesses won’t need to do it all themselves.
Rufus Hood, General Manager UK at Coople, comments:
Many businesses are under pressure from rising staffing costs. We believe that flexibility is essential for both companies and individuals to be able to access skilled workers as needed.
“Rising costs are a concern, but it doesn’t mean that businesses must compromise on the quality of their service. It’s possible, with the right approach to remain efficient without disrupting daily operations. For example, building a trusted pool of flexible workers that can step in as needed. The Favourite pool feature of Coople makes this easier and helps companies fill positions up to 40% quicker.”
HR News published the first version of this article 5 smart methods to optimize staffing costs.
