For many of us summer is barely over and thoughts of Christmas, if they do pop up, are quickly banished with a grunt of disgust.
However, for logistics businesses throughout the UK the festive period is front and centre as they race to draft and redraft distribution plans, and ensure staffing levels are adequate to meet the demands of the year’s busiest period.
Christmas presents a huge challenge for logistics businesses around the world. For evidence of this fact, you only have to look at the decision Toys R’ Us made last year to employ former U.S. army logistics officer Marie Robinson to head up their Christmas operation.
The Gulf War veteran traded supplying soldiers with vital supplies like food and equipment, to making sure Furbies and iPads arrived in time for Christmas day.
Of all the challenges presented to logistics businesses at this time of year, staffing is typically the biggest issue.
Companies are required to quickly and efficiently expand their workforce by a significant proportion, which can often result in a swift drain on experienced candidates, particularly in towns and cities where several businesses may all be competing for the same pool of talent.
A recent employment outlook survey supported this, indicating a strong surge in demand for all types of logistics personnel, as organisations race to improve staffing levels.
Jonathan Dobkin, Director of Logistics Recruitment experts Connections – The Recruitment Specialist, said: “We see a huge spike in enquiries at this time of year from logistics firms, who are desperate to ensure that they have enough staff to meet Christmas demand.
“Thankfully we have a huge database of skilled logistics workers interested in both permanent and temporary positions, so when companies do come to us for help with Christmas recruitment we are able to fulfil their requirements.”
“That being said, the later they leave it the smaller that talent pool becomes, so I would definitely advise logistics firms to act now to ensure they’re ready when Christmas hits.”
Connections Recruitment is a Greater Manchester based recruitment firm specialising in recruiting permanent and temporary staff for companies in a wide variety of sectors, including logistics.
Connections Recruitment
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