CASE STUDY: DECIDING WHETHER TO USE FLEXIBLE STAFFING
Case Study: Deciding Whether to Use Flexible Staffing
Hannah Wallace
Masters of Business Administration, Liberty University
BUSI 643: Workforce Planning and Employment
Dr. Mary Jo Odom-Dull
January 31, 2021
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CASE STUDY: DECIDING WHETHER TO USE FLEXIBLE STAFFING
Kaiser Manufacturing Company (KMC), which manufactures specialty implements for
use in the crop and dairy agriculture markets, has been approached by Flexible Staff Services
(FSS) to consider the use of flexible staffing within its operations. KMC operates a corporate
office and four manufacturing plants with a combined workforce of 828 employees. All KMC
employees are full time, and the company believes that the sole use of a core workforce has
strongly benefited the company in “attracting and retaining a committed and highly productive
workforce” (Heneman III, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2019, p. 146). However, in recent years
KMC has begun to experience increasingly unpredictable sales as well as steadily rising labor
costs (primarily due to the company’s older workforce and labor shortages in markets
surrounding KMC plants). These two factors combined has KMC reconsidering its sole use of
full time core employees. FSS is offering to provide KMC with qualified employees on an as-
needed basis, which the company stresses will provide significant advantages to KMC in the
long-run. As the HR manager for KMC, I am tasked with preparing a preliminary report on the
following: (1) the possible advantages and disadvantages of flexible staffing, (2) the advantages
and disadvantages of using FSS as a service provider, and (3) any additional information
recommended to use as part of the decision-making process.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Flexible Staffing
The key advantage of flexible staffing is the ability to quickly respond to market changes
through either the increase or decrease of a workforce (Heneman III, Judge, & Kammeyer-
Mueller, 2019, p. 125). This could be incredibly beneficial to KMC as the company has begun to
frequently experience unpredictable sales due to factors such as a large swing in interest rates
and new entrants into the specialty crop and dairy agriculture markets. Flexible staffing can even
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CASE STUDY: DECIDING WHETHER TO USE FLEXIBLE STAFFING
go beyond the provision of extra manpower for daily operations to supply extra staffing for
special projects while still allowing for day-to-day operations to continue (Barrett, 2018, p. 98).
Another advantage to flexible staffing is the competitive advantage afforded an organization
when it comes to advancements in industry practices and employee skillsets as staffing agencies
often provide a wide variety of talent that is not normally available to a client company (Barret,
2018, p. 98; Heneman III, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2019, p. 125). This could be a huge
advantage to KMC as the company is experiencing labor shortages in the labor markets
surrounding its four manufacturing plants. Ultimately, the advantages of flexible staffing can be
summed up as the provision of “flexibility and access to talent and the ability to manage your
workforce more dynamically and responsively” (Barrett, 2018, p. 98).
Despite the remarkable advantages of flexible staffing, a number of disadvantages also
exist. These disadvantages include a company’s inability to control the acquisition process,
which may lead to a discontinuity in staff qualifications (Heneman III, Judge, & Kammeyer-
Mueller, 2019, p. 124). Along with the risk of insufficient qualifications, research indicates that
flexible employees commonly demonstrate less commitment to an organization, which can lead
to poor performance (p. 126). Additionally, the limited amount of control, supervision, and
performance management that a company can give to flexible employees can lead to legal issues
surrounding co-employment. Ultimately, a key disadvantage to flexible staffing is the dissension
that can occur between core and flexible employees, which can ultimately reduce overall
organizational performance and negate the intended purpose of a flexible workforce (p. 126).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using FSS
Advantages of using FSS as a service provider for KMC include the obvious employment
flexibility the agency will provide to KMC as the company continues to experience erratic
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CASE STUDY: DECIDING WHETHER TO USE FLEXIBLE STAFFING
demand for its products (Heneman III, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2019, p. 147). Additionally,
by utilizing FSS’ staffing services KMC will benefit from variable labor costs and the
elimination of staffing and litigation concerns such as payroll and workers’ compensation as FSS
will be the employer of the flexible workforce (p. 147). However, one disadvantage to using FSS
as a service provider is the cost of the agency’s services. FSS charges a 155% markup for its
staffing services while the general market markup percentage ranges from 40%-50% (p. 126).
Additionally, with KMC’s precedence of internal staffing emphasis, switching to flexible staffing
may raise concerns from core staff. These concerns will need to be addressed immediately to
ensure there will be no disruption to KMC’s workforce stability and commitment.
Additional Information
Assuming a flexible staffing strategy requires mutual partnership, support, and a defined
goal that is agreed upon by both the staffing agency and its client company (Barrett, 2018, p. 96).
A staffing agency should be considered a strategic partner to its client, and thus both parties
should be in agreeance on the staffing strategy pursued as well as the intended impact of such
strategy on the overall strategic direction of the client company. Therefore, additional
information to consider in the decision to use FSS within KMC operations is the establishment of
quantitative and qualitative staffing objectives for a prospective flexible staffing strategy
(Heneman III, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2019, p. 121). Quantitative staffing objectives
include determining how many employees will be supplied by FSS and in which job category the
flexible employees are most needed. Qualitative staffing objectives include the quality of flexible
employees determined by criteria such as education level and scoring on skill tests (pp. 121-122).
Additionally, KMC should assess all the alternatives to flexible staffing such as employee
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CASE STUDY: DECIDING WHETHER TO USE FLEXIBLE STAFFING
overtime and outsourcing to ensure that the company is able to attain quality employees within
its desired timeframe at a reasonable cost (p. 124).
Finally, before KMC decides to utilize FSS’ staffing services the company should
heavily evaluate the staffing agency’s reputation and practices (Heneman III, Judge, &
Kammeyer-Mueller, 2019, p. 127). Questions to consider include the following: What does the
agency’s recruitment process look like? Does the agency take time to plan and become familiar
with its client’s staffing needs? Does the agency train its employees before placement? How does
the agency supervise and manage its employees’ work performance? Ultimately, the use of
flexible staffing requires significant planning and insight into staffing needs and should be
considered carefully by any company before assuming a flexible staffing strategy.
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CASE STUDY: DECIDING WHETHER TO USE FLEXIBLE STAFFING
References
Barrett, N. (2018). The pros and cons of flexible staffing: Is flexible staffing the best option for
your firm? Tax Executive, 96-98. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from,
http://bi.gale.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA567549023?
u=vic_liberty.
Heneman III, H., Judge, T., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2019). Staffing organizations (9th ed.).
McGraw-Hill Education.
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