ELE-The Case for Labour Hire-Making the Most of An
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Case For Labour Hire MAKING THE MOST OF AN OPPORTUNITY “I was seeing first-hand how labour hire was helping all types of businesses succeed, whether they were small one-man operations or large corporates employing hundreds of people.” WORDS BY BRENT MULHOLLAND Food Manufacturing I have been employed in what is known as Processing the ‘labour hire industry’ for the best part of 16 years. Prior to working in the labour Transportation Packaging hire space, my first leadership role was as Production Manager for one of Firth Industries subsidiaries (Dricon Bagging) in 1990, just Security Warehousing over 30 years ago. From there I moved into ELE GROUP operations management with ADT Securitas PROVIDES and developed a solid career in the security Production ACCESS TO NEW Horticulture industry for over a decade. In the early part INDUSTRIES of 2000, I worked with Tyco Services, who Civil Construction at that time owned Armourguard in New Construction Zealand where I was the National Business Development Manager. Mining Infrastructure SO, WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? Information Logistics Well, up to the point of joining the labour hire/ Technology recruitment industry in 2004, I had no idea that there existed such an industry anywhere near the scale I would soon start to appreciate track of the number of times our plant was felt like there could be a win-win for all – one that was clearly developing momentum shut down for lengthy periods due to age and stakeholders – including their members with businesses of all shapes and sizes. associated engineering failures, maintenance who I had hoped, may one day be our or product line switches – and the staff would workers. I had stumbled upon this business model that loiter around, underutilised, and costing the at the time was delivering workers in 22- and As I saw it, Unions had clients (their business a small fortune. 48-seater buses and 12-seater vans to literally members) who were from time to thousands of businesses nationwide. Not Had I known the benefits of labour hire then, I time impacted by redundancies, just construction, either, where labour hire’s most certainly would have utilised the service often experienced in manufacturing often used; we had workers being delivered for the Dricon workforce and consequently environments where it was – and remains to manufacturing sites, distribution centres, operated the business I ran more efficiently. to a large extent – more cost-effective to production environments, mining operations, contract the work offshore. To me, it made power plants, offices, stadiums and so on. THE CASE FOR LABOUR HIRE COMPANIES sense for us to be working more closely: You name it, we were there in some shape or I remember meeting with a senior labour hire suppliers work across multiple form helping businesses get the job done and representative of a major Union in Auckland industries with literally hundreds of clients, helping people with meaningful employment. several years back. It was at my request; I so it’s easy for us to redeploy people in I was seeing first-hand how labour hire was was General Manager for a company that quick fashion. As a labour hire/recruitment helping all types of businesses succeed, needed workers, and the Union survived on agency, our ability to place people into whether they were small one-man operations membership contributions from individuals work which matches their skill set and or large corporates employing hundreds of and groups wanting to benefit from collective expectations is what appeals to most people. In my early days with Dricon, I lost bargaining and employment support. It clients we work with and those we employ. ELE GROUP. RIGHT PEOPLE. RIGHT PLACE The Case For Labour Hire // Page 1 Learn Meet new work more techniques Adapt & grow people Gain personally additional employment skills Gain multi-site/ organisational Flexible experience hours WORKER Work life balance BENEFITS Secure added Market competitive Move qualifications pay structure & anywhere /certs conditions nationally Freedom to accept or decline work Try before you commit Freedom to choose who you work with Access to new industries WHY DO LABOUR HIRE COMPANIES THEN THERE ARE THE POLITICAL CONTINUE TO GET A BAD RAP? OBJECTIONS “Temporary workers Unfortunately, my Union meeting did not get Some political parties policies from time to the traction I had hoped for. I think it came time seem to be anti-labour hire, which I are often on better down to the negative perception that labour think largely reflects their major constituents’ terms and conditions suppliers did not treat their people well and views. This might be why my meeting with the than they would tended to exploit worker rights. Either that, Union didn’t go so well (or maybe it was just a or I did an appalling job of convincing them personality clash). achieve elsewhere.” otherwise. I’d argue that flexible employment options I argued that temporary workers are often on break long stretches of unemployment, better terms and conditions than they would and therefore lift the taxpayer burden. What many will come to appreciate, is labour achieve elsewhere. Why, you ask? Because How many businesses would not be able to hire does not just extend to low skilled roles; we know if we look after our workers and continue operating without the flexibility and it is much more sophisticated than that, offer competitive wages and good conditions, convenience that labour hire suppliers offer? delivering services from the highest level coupled with a great working environment As readers can appreciate, a business failing executive on lease, to professional white collar and solid leadership, they will be more likely to can mean an increase in unemployment. workers performing a range of skilled and stay with us. It’s not rocket science! When many businesses fail – as we’re seeing unskilled tasks. Labour supply also covers the from the devastating impact of COVID-19 – you trades-based roles that have underpinned A FEW BAD EGGS TEND TO SPOIL THE have to ask if there’s an industry aside from our vertical and horizontal construction boom BASKET labour hire that’s better positioned to assist with international skilled migrants for nearly a decade. There are other businesspeople who may with short- to medium-term recovery. have had a bad experience with a labour Labour hire operators in New Zealand and INTEREST IN FLEXIBLE AND MORE AGILE supplier once upon a time – factors like poor throughout the world provide opportunities WORK IS A GLOBAL TREND skills and experience matches, wrong fit for for people of all skill levels, diverse the organisation and a host of other potential We’re sure to see flexible, agile work backgrounds, qualifications and preference, factors causing the individual or business to develop more on the back of COVID-19. access to new careers, continual on job lose confidence. Many businesses are finding they can training and upskilling and ultimately the work effectively from almost anywhere in chance to build a career of choice in an I would be the first to admit that unfortunately professional sectors such as accounting, legal, industry of choice. there are unprofessional and dodgy labour IT and administration. hire operators out there, but equally there There’s great potential here to kick-start the are some fantastic and very reputable I expect we will also see a greater trend economy at every level with flexible, skilled organisations supporting SMEs and large toward outsourcing. Companies will look talent, and as we’ve seen, the benefits are enterprises in New Zealand every day. No toward future proofing and mitigating risk, many-fold. Ultimately it is labour hire that matter your industry, you will experience cutting back fixed overheads where they will help companies deal with ebbs and flows good operators and not so good ones. Don’t can, developing their operating models and by utilising flexible resourcing to rebuild consider the entire labour hire industry structures to be nimbler and more flexible as and ultimately contribute to New Zealand’s tainted by a few bad eggs. they operate under new conditions. economic recovery. ELE GROUP. RIGHT PEOPLE. RIGHT PLACE The Case For Labour Hire // Page 2 THEN WHAT HAPPENS? scenario, and now find themselves short of capability and capacity in key areas. § They realise that the world is still rotating, “The COVID crisis has and customers still need their products and § They have accepted there will be certainly dealt the services. compliance gaps and not everything will operate as well as it did pre restructure. economy a blow. But I § They’ve let go the people they need to take There simply is no room for fat in the advantage of a market recovery, albeit an reckon there’s a huge business. potential to contribute to unknown and inconsistent rebound. New Zealand’s economic § They have now lost the momentum to cope THIS IS WHERE LABOUR HIRE COMPANIES with any significant increase in client orders COME INTO THEIR OWN. recovery with skilled, but understand it is not best practice to turn In a downturn like we’re now experiencing, flexible labour hire.” away good business there are literally thousands more people § They become reluctant to take on any new than normal in the market looking for work. people in the short to medium term, reinforced Unlike in boom times when it is more difficult to find great workers, and organisations have WHAT DOES A TYPICAL BUSINESS LOOK by the fact that they have recently made to look offshore to supplement their needs, TO DO DURING A MAJOR RECESSION AND people redundant. Employing permanent people within a period (normally six months) the opposite is often true in a recession.