Short-term casual staff provide flexible option

Smart businesses in the warehousing and logistics sector that aim for high productivity are increasingly turning to reliable short-term casual staff. They are doing this in order to optimise cargo handling turnaround times and to avoid unnecessary standing time charges. This is the current trend in the staffing sector according to Darren Palmer, founder of Clydesdale, a national cargo and personnel management firm that alleviates the pressure on business managers by connecting them with thousands of unskilled and skilled short-term casual staff that can step in as a team and professionally take over the entire cargo off-loading process on a per project basis. Palmer said flexibility was key to assisting businesses to optimise productivity as they required staff on short notice, such as general labourers, forklift drivers and site supervisors, to be available day or night to load or offload cargo on site. “We have a turnaround time of two hours to get staff working on site. We run a smooth conduit between casual staff and business. It takes all the stress away from the client because they can now outsource labour-intensive activities,” he said. Palmer said the move to short term casual staff improved productivity and business budgeting as owners were guaranteed to pay a fixed per project fee and did not have to concern themselves with managing fluctuating variable costs. He added that businesses were increasingly demanding the services of casual staff, together with outsourced equipment, to expediently decant bulk materials and repackage them on site. Palmer said personnel management firms also handled the legal aspects of staffing such as occupational health and safety requirements, workmen’s compensation and wages, allowing business owners to focus on their core services. INSERT & CAPTION We have a turnaround time of two hours to get staff working on site. – Darren Palmer