Addressing Staffing Issues in a Post-Pandemic World

Auto Supply Chain Prophets

From the staffing crisis to the current economic recession, the manufacturing industry has experienced a whirlwind of changes in the past several years. How can manufacturers ensure they’re in a healthy financial position while meeting the high demands of their customers?

Michele Vincent recommends temporary staffing agencies like MADICORP, where she has worked for the past 15 years. Unlike other staffing companies, MADICORP sources experienced talent from all across the country and offer compensation packages attractive to high-value employees.

“We’ll go in, bring the labor, help them get caught up on that backlog, and ensure that those parts are moving from the supplier sites to the manufacturing plants while keeping their manufacturing plant on schedule,” Michele explains

Don’t miss this episode of Auto Supply Chain Prophets as Michele explains the benefits of experienced temp workers and how staffing in supply chain manufacturing has shifted throughout the pandemic.

Themes discussed in this episode:

• What makes MADICORP’s staffing model different
• How COVID-19 changed the demands of temp agencies like MADICORP
• Why experienced temp employees are worth the higher cost
• Why the manufacturing industry hasn’t experienced a severe impact from the economic recession
• How to attract the right talent for your company

Featured on this Episode

Name: Michele Vincent

Title: Senior Director of Marketing and Sales, MADICORP

About: MADICORP is a national temp staffing agency that specializes in bringing manufacturing talent from across the country to the companies that need it most. In addition to marketing and sales, Michele is responsible for strategy development, business growth, and innovation. She recently launched the U.S. Manufacturing Workforce Podcast, which features conversations with business leaders about issues impacting the country’s manufacturing workforce today.

Connect: LinkedIn

Episode Highlights

Timestamped inflection points from the show

[1:52] An atypical model: Today’s guest, Michele Vincent, explains how MADICORP’s model for providing manufacturing talent differs from others and why it works.

[4:17] The pandemic shift: Ever since the start of COVID-19, MADICORP has seen an unusually high demand for unskilled labor, a trend that persists today.

[5:13] Knowing your audience: Did you know that Gen Z is more interested in manufacturing jobs than millennials? Michele explains why — and how MADICORP has leveraged this trend to attract more workers to the industry.

[6:53] Attracting the right talent: Michele talks about some of the creative ways she has recruited talent from across the country, from traditional job boards to industry-specific Facebook groups.

[9:38] High demand, high pay: In the current market, experienced, high-value temporary factory workers are few and far between, which means a higher paycheck than most companies will usually pay off.

[11:47] Endless opportunities: Amid the current recession, are companies getting rid of the temporary workers they needed only recently to fill vacancies? Michele discussed why the manufacturing industry hasn’t seen a massive impact. Check out this recent Newsweek article for more.

[13:48] The one thing: Michele tells us why the best thing supply chain leaders can do for themselves in this precarious economy is to educate themselves about temp labor services like MADICORP.

Top quotes

[3:26] Michele: “For suppliers that have a backlog — that aren't getting the parts to the manufacturing plant — we’ll go in, bring the labor, help them get caught up on that backlog, and ensure that those parts are moving from the supplier sites to the manufacturing plants while keeping their manufacturing plant on schedule.”

[6:16] Michele: “When it comes to your job ads, when it comes to what you're posting on social media, when it comes to your jobs page, you want to understand what's of interest to all these different categories so that you can speak to that. That's going to help you attract labor. If you're unsure, the simple way to do it is to go to your employees. You can look to your employees and ask them why they applied with your company, why they stay with your company […] and then leverage that information and translate that into your content.”

[8:11] Michele: “In this talent market you need to be creative. It's important to try different things. What's going to work for a small manufacturer in the Midwest might not work for a large manufacturer on one of the coasts. And so to be successful at finding talent, you need to try new things. You need to keep up in terms of technology and onboarding.”

[11:29] Michele: “We're providing opportunities for people that may not have access to work with these types of companies. And so, not only are we providing value to our clients, but we're providing awesome opportunities to our employees. ”

[14:28] Michele: “So if there's one big takeaway from this pandemic, it’s that you need to be prepared for just about anything. And I think that that applies as well to staffing. So if you're turning away business, if you are just sort of surviving your busy season at this point, consider different options.”