FEWER AGENCIES, MORE STAFF: providing a comprehensive and competitive on-site recruitment service.
Exel is the global leader in supply chain management, providing customer focused solutions to a wide range of manufacturing and retail industries. It is a UK listed FTSE 100 company, has a turnover of over £4.5 billion and employs more than 60,000 people worldwide.
THE CHALLENGE
The management of Exel’s site at Bawtry asked Blue Arrow to provide a dedicated and reliable on-site service to increase the availability and calibre of temporary staff. The site had previously used 12 agencies to fulfil temporary staffing requirements.
Exel Bawtry is a multi-site operation situated in a rural location. With varying demands in production from their own clients, Exel are reliant on the provision of temporary staff to meet these demands and be able to increase their workforce during busy periods as required.
There is strong competition for reliable staff in the area, with companies in the town centre recruiting for similar positions. These companies sometimes offer a higher rate of pay, alongside the benefit for the applicant of not having to commute to work every day.
THE SOLUTION
With agreement from the Exel management team, we appointed an on-site manager to release the team from time spent on non-core tasks. This gave the Exel managers a single point of contact who handled all agency requirements.
The manager quickly established working relationships with the Contract management team, who were initially sceptical of how successful the on-site operation would be, and had little confidence that one agency could fulfil all of their requirements.
We handled all of Exel’s recruitment functions from dedicated marketing campaigns and candidate attraction through to the interviewing and placing of candidates. Part of the campaign involved designing, organising and distributing specific vacancy flyers and advertising, to target available labour from the local village population, to highlight the fact that it was easier for them to travel to Bawtry than to the town centre. Mobile Recruitment Centres were also used to attract candidates from remote areas.
As a short-term solution we also provided a minibus to transport temporary workers to and from work, which helped to keep the workforce stable, whilst the implementation of other activities generated an additional labour pool.
THE RESULTS AND BENEFITS
- We provide 85% of the labour requirement delivering a stable and flexible staffing solution to the site, and have agreed a plan for this to increase to 100% within the next three months
- Rapid resolution of temporary staff issues has led to a reduction in turnover and training costs, which has allowed the Exel management to focus on core tasks
- Daily checks are conducted on site and no-show replacements are arranged immediately
- The management of holidays and absenteeism is dealt with by us on-site. Continuous improvement reviews are held to monitor service performance, identify enhancements and meet in the client’s requirements
- Informed decision-making – Blue Arrow Management Information provided to the client allowing them to monitor the costs and headcount according to the trends of their business
- One point of contact – having a dedicated on-site manager has simplified the recruitment process
- Targeted campaigns – dedicated marketing and advertising campaigns are more cost-effective and ensure Exel get the calibre of staff they require
- Simple ways to save – invoice administration is now far simpler, leading to financial savings across the recruitment process
What Exel said about us
"Blue Arrow has become an additional department to our business, helping to provide the adequate amount of resource during our peaks and working closely alongside management to overcome any potential issues moving forward. The role has won the confidence of all our Contract Managers on our multi-site operation, and although not yet complete, has allowed them to concentrate on their core duties of day to day management of the Distribution Centre."
Shay Dorgan
Exel Site Manager, Bawtry
