How to Build Your Labor Pool

1. Start Using On-Demand Labor in One Work Area

The best way to start building Your Labor Pool is to identify one problem or bottleneck area within your facility. Starting in one place will help you get adjusted to using on-demand labor and it will allow you to easily manage Operators at the beginning stages of your implementation. You will begin identifying star Operators and eventually you will be able to expand into other Work Areas.

2. Identify the Flexibility You Need

If the demand for your products is seasonal, you can use past headcounts of busy seasons as a guide for how big Your Labor Pool should be. For example, if you hired 15 extra people last year for your busy season, then you can anticipate needing approximately 15 Operators instead.

You can also grow Your Labor Pool based on anticipated growth within your company. Utilizing Veryable can help improve KPIs and lead times (to name a few benefits), so if you measure your output per worker and create a goal output, you can calculate how many on-demand workers you want to bring in to achieve that goal!

Note: You can achieve flexibility by utilizing Veryable to scale up and down with your demand. If demand keeps pacing upward, then you can continue to grow without labor constraints as you build Your Labor Pool to keep up with your business's needs.

3. Grow Your Labor Pool Through Good Operators

As you begin to bring in Operators, you will begin to identify the ones that you would like to add to Your Labor Pool. These Operators consist of people that you would like to invite back to your facility. Rating Operators 4+ stars will automatically add them to Your Labor Pool! 

Think of Operators as an extension of your current workforce. These are going to be people who are knowledgeable of your facility and can be called on whenever you need to increase your capacity. Your Labor Pool is a great way to see how much potential extra capacity you have, which can allow your business to take on more orders or projects in the long run!

4. Expand by Posting for Different Days and Times

To get a variety of workers into Your Labor Pool, you should post work opportunities for different times of the day and for different days of the week. This will ensure you train people to work for whatever day and time you might need the extra hands for. 

By having workers trained for each day and time, you will know that your labor pool is full of workers who are truly prepared for whatever is needed.

5. Maintain Your Labor Pool by Adding New Operators Continuously

It is often tempting to stop inviting new Operators and to only use Your Labor Pool. This is not the best way to proceed.

To get the most value from Your Labor Pool, you will need to keep it fresh and built it larger than you might initially think. As a rule of thumb, we encourage you to build Your Labor Pool to be 3x the size of your potential greatest variable need.

For example, if at your busiest time you need an extra 10 Operators, build a Labor Pool of 30 Operators to ensure you have the necessary coverage to manage those swings in demand. 

Note: It is important to build Your Labor Pool and not rely on one Operator. Relying on a single Operator can slow your operations if they are unavailable. Bringing in more Operators will give your business a cushion and more options for the work that you need done.

Examples of Successful Labor Pools

Below is a rough timeline of a successful labor pool development. Adding workers to Your Labor Pool, diversifying their work times and areas, and continually inviting new Operators all typically happen at the same time. You will see that the process of building a Labor Pool typically takes between 7-14 weeks before you will notice its full effects.

To give you some real world examples, we have gathered a few case studies from Veryable customers below that show what successfully deploying a Labor Pool looks like.

Example 1: A Logistics Company Prepares for the Holiday Season

One logistics company built a Labor Pool over an eight-week period in preparation for the 2020 holiday season. They consistently invited new workers through our on-demand labor marketplace during the months of September and October. When November came and their busy season hit, they were ready to ramp up their operations with workers they trusted from their Labor Pool.

This company reported a significantly reduced overtime cost for their full-time employees and eliminated their risk of failure to deliver due to labor shortages. They’ve been able to control labor costs during periods of high demand and can continue to maintain standard on-time delivery targets.

With the flexibility provided by its labor pool, this logistics company has the ability to better manage the periods of high volume and is fully prepared to handle a busy holiday season.

Example 2: An E-Commerce Fulfillment Company Scales Up and Down Quickly

One e-commerce company achieved a 67% labor cost reduction compared to the previous year using an on-demand Labor Pool. The company did this by steadily inviting workers from its Labor Pool to work across different Work Areas. Then when demand rose, the company ramped up the number of workers it called in. 

This e-commerce fulfillment company was able to ramp up instantly to complete its big project, then return to a normal headcount as the work was finished. By building a Labor Pool it could depend on, the company maintained control of its labor costs when demand changed and it reduced its reliance on overtime.