Adams & Garth Blog

Determining the right amount of staff for a fluctuating workflow can be difficult. You don’t want to hire too many employees and not have enough work for everyone. Nor do you want to hamper productivity by having too few employees on staff.

So how do you know when it’s time to hire again? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Are employees calling in sick more and more?
If there’s been a recent rise in sick time at your company, it may be caused be an overworked workforce. Your employees may be doing too much with too little.

• Are employees taking advantage of vacation time?
On the flip side, when employees are not taking the time off they’re due, this could also be a sign of an overworked staff. They may feel like there’s simply too much to do, so they can’t take time off.

• How many times over the past couple of months have you missed deadlines?
If deadlines are missed on a daily or weekly basis, then that may be a sign you’re understaffed.

• Are overtime costs consistently on the rise?
If your overtime costs are going up on a regular basis, then you may be understaffed. You simply do not have a large enough workforce to meet the needs of your workflow.

• Have you turned down new opportunities because you don’t have enough people?
You’ll lose your competitive edge without the right people with the right skills in place.

• Are you using temporary or contract workers a lot?
If you’re using temporary employers in the same departments to perform the same tasks over and over, it may be a sign you need to hire a full-time employee to fill that role.

• Are you following your business plan?
You created a business plan for a reason. But if you’re not following through with it, it may be due to lack of time and resources.

Now that you’ve asked yourself these questions, you should have a better idea about whether or not to hire. If you have questions – or are looking to hire additional full-time or temporary staff – please contact Adams & Garth. As one of Staunton’s leading employment agencies, we can source, screen, and hire, so you can focus on other priorities, like running your company.

When you’re busy focusing on the many responsibilities of running a busy organization, it’s easy to let certain tasks fall by the wayside, like staffing and hiring. But did you know that you could be costing your company money every day that you leave certain positions unfilled? It makes sense when you think about the fact that vacant apartments and open airline seats cost those companies money. Likewise, an unfilled position at your company translates into a similar lost revenue situation.

It’s not easy to assign a specific cost to an open position. However, there are formulas for estimating what an open position is costing your company. Here’s one:

R = Annual Company Revenue
E = Number of Employees

Calculate Revenue Per Employee
R / E = Revenue Per Employee

Calculate Daily Revenue Per Employee
Revenue per Employee/365 = Daily Revenue Per Employee

It’s important to keep in mind that some positions are going to cost you more than others. If you have a position that’s open at your company, and you’re uncertain whether you should fill it or not, ask yourself two questions:

1) Which positions should I be recruiting for now? (i.e., which unfilled positions are costing you the most based on the estimates you calculated?)

2) What will it cost to recruit for these positions?

If recruiting costs are less than the cost to leave the position open, you need fill that position fast. Even if the costs are close, or recruiting costs more, you still may want to consider filling the position. Recruiting costs are temporary, while the cost of the open position is a daily expense.

If you need help hiring for your company’s job openings, please contact Adams & Garth. As a leading staffing agency serving Central Virginia, we can help you hire highly qualified candidates and reduce the impact of an open position on your company’s bottom line.