august2022 - 12

Industry Expert Column
Four Keys for Beginning
and Maintaining a
Staffing Agency Relationship
A key resource, treat staffing agencies as a part of an operation to scale
with a trusted partner when personnel needs arise.
BY RICH GELLER
T
he need for flexible and scalable workforce, especially
in the unpredictable roller-coaster of our
industry, is more important than ever.
Demand and flexibility is the most critical component for
moving air cargo. Over the past several years, I have provided
staffing services for several of the top 20 ground handling
agents (GHAs), fixed based operators (FBOs), air carriers, freight
forwarders and in large warehouse facilities surrounding
the airport.
I have been supporting staffing services for customers at key
air cargo hubs and there are several keys for success in choosing
the " right " supplier for staffing agency labor.
Need
Most companies have a need. Usually it is on third shift positions,
finding experienced fork lift drivers, cargo agents, office
agents, dock or even ramp personnel. This increases during the
busy season, typically at the end of Q2 through Q4 until the Chinese
New Year.
Supervisors and operations managers know what shifts and
positions are lagging and where the internal HR department
may need assistance or an outside company to partner with to
fill the gaps.
This assistance can come from an outside labor supplier
staffing agency. The staffing agency is the basic component of
most successful GHAs. The staffing agency acts as an extension
of your internal HR team. The staffing agency is given the
directive of types and number of open positions per shift and
authority to fill those " open lines " with qualified SIDA (security
identification display area) or STA (security threat assessment)
cleared employees.
As a best practice, work with your team to gather all the
" open lines " needs from the supervisors, operations manager
and HR. Once completed, have the staffing agency create an
excel sheet with time and position types. Partner with the staffing
agency and set the expectation with the supervisors that
each open line will be filled in with a name and start date of
qualified employees over the next few weeks. Set the exchange
of information with the staffing agency to share and report
number of " starts " weekly. Most of the information will flow
though the director of operations, supervisors, HR and, in some
cases, the general manager.
A useful tip to consider is opening all the open position lines
and be competitive with the GHA's internal HR recruiting team
to fill the open lines/positions. Open more positions than you
need to account for normal attrition rates. If your internal HR
team is confident they can fill first shift, then close those roles
to the staffing agency. Let the agency focus on second and third
shifts, weekends and more challenging roles to make the best
use of the associated cost.
Qualifying the Labor Supplier
Does the labor supplier in your area support any customers at
the airport? Does that labor supplier support other airports?
In most cases, there are only a few staffing companies that
Finding experienced fork lift drivers,
cargo agents, office agents, dock
or even ramp personnel can be a
challenge, especially during busy
times of the year.
12 || Ground Support Worldwide || August 2022
are registered to issue badges at the airport. Many companies
are not and, in turn, will not understand your specific needs. A
company that has staffing experience off the airfield at a warehouse
or nearby manufacturing facility, but no experience at the
airport, will not have the knowledge or resources to understand
the complexities of contracting, letter of intent submittal, bonding,
customs, mandatory training, SIDA badging, STA clearance
or staffing requirements for mail
handling agents.
A best practice is to find a company
that can support your company
and badge employees. After
finding a staffing company that is
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTED
august2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of august2022
