Running head: FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 1
Flexible Staffing Analysis
Richard S. Stainback Jr.
School of Business, Liberty University
Dr. Odom-Dell
Author Note: I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence regarding this work should be addressed to:
Richard.stainback@advance-auto.com
FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 2
FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 3
Flexible Staffing Analysis
Flexible staffing is the integration of temporary workers from either a staffing agency or
as independent contractors (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2022). Organizations can benefit from
the use of flexible staffing when the demand for employees fluctuates (Kabalina et al., 2019). An
example of this fluctuation is in retail businesses during the holiday seasons. The demand for
inventory increases thus creating a systematic demand across the supply chain. The
manufacturers and logistics providers may use a staffing agency to satisfy increased demand for
the short period. Retailers will hire temporary employees just for the holiday season. The
purpose of this analysis is to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of flexible staffing,
the advantages and disadvantages of Kaiser Manufacturing Company (KMC) using Flexible
Staffing Solutions (FSS) as a service provider and assess further information to be considered
before deciding to use FSS.
Flexible Staffing Advantages and Disadvantages
One of the largest advantages of flexible staffing is the ability of an organization to shift
workforce labor in response to varying demand levels from internal and external factors (Dong &
Ibrahim, 2020; Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2022; Kabalina et al., 2019). This process is
extremely beneficial during new product launches and when manufacturers implement new
technology or production processes. An example of this is found when a manufacturer decides to
produce a widget in house that previously was outsourced from a supplier. The organization will
need to staff the new production unit quickly in order to remain productive and competitive in
the market space. A staffing firm would be able to supply the new workers to either fill the new
production jobs or backfill the transitioned positions.
Another key advantage of using flexible staffing firms is that the staffing agency is the
actual employer and responsible for all human resources management (HRM) functions for the
FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 4
employees. This alleviates the expense of recruiting, retention, benefits, and various other HRM
related cost. This also means that the staffing agency bears responsibility for any legal
ramifications such as EEO, Workers Compensation, and any legal actions generate by the
employee (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2022). Organizations benefit from the flexibility and
ease of access to employees by using flexible staffing and staffing agencies.
There are disadvantages to using flexible staffing models in organizations. Judge and
Kammeyer-Mueller (2022) detailed these disadvantages as limited supervisory and performance
management capability and lack of employee engagement from temporary workers. Employee
engagement is a key factor in organizational success and often measured as a component to
competitive advantage. A disadvantage of flexible staffing is delineated employee engagement.
Gnanlet et al. (2021) found that in the healthcare field the level of care that patients received
varied by whether it is provided by a permanent worker or temporary worker. Temporary
workers did not provide the level of care that is expected by the host employer. This plays into
both disadvantages of lack of employee engagement and inability to performance manage
temporary employees. One caveat to these disadvantages is when the positions being filled are
temporary to permanent positions where employees that desire the permanent work will try and
display the cohesiveness of the host employees in an attempt to standout.
FSS Advantages and Disadvantages
FSS is a flexible staffing firm that KMC is entertaining as a staffing option for their
manufacturing plants. The main advantage of KMC using FSS as its primary staffing supplier is
the flexibility to fill slots quickly based on demand forecast. Another advantage is that FSS
retains most of the HRM responsibilities to the employees it provides. Another key point
FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 5
supporting FSS is the availability of personalized recruitment and selection processes geared
towards KMC’s operation.
The disadvantage for KMC to use FSS depends on the future staffing model of KMC.
Currently KMC employs all full-time workers and the HRM administrative staff to support this
labor force. While FSS could save KMC the recruitment cost to add part-time or temporary
workers, the savings from the remaining HRM administration is negligible compared to the cost
presented by FSS. This is because the structure is already in place. Simply put the fees charged
by FSS are too high given the information present. FSS is proposing a fifty-five percent markup
on each hour an employee works; not including the nominal fee per labor hour for specialty
selection. This assumption is made based off the information available and not knowing KMC’s
current fixed labor cost per employee. Furthermore, KMC will still have to complete some
specialty training for all sourced employees.
Recommended Additional Information
As with any vetting process for an outside service company KMC should ask to see data
including heat maps for current staffing levels around their four factories. This will validate FSS’
ability to deliver on KMC’s needs. KMC should also seek competing quotes for these services
from other vendors. KMC’s HRM should analyze what the cost and efficacy of hiring the needed
staff in house would be for comparison. Look at the next two years projections for KMC’s
production to see how often FSS would be utilized based on production trends. After gathering
this data, KMC can determine the cost effectiveness and ROI on using FSS services. The cost
from FSS for specialized temporary to permanent employees is excessive and KMC should have
HRM analyze which positions will require permanent employees and staff those internally.
Conclusion
FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 6
Flexible staffing serves as a safety blanket for organizations that allows them to react to
internal and external factors that disrupt their production. The advantage of flexibility is
paramount in the use of this type of program. It is imperative that flexible staffing is integrated
into the organizations strategic plan. This will allow for proper vetting and budgeting for the
expense. In an organization that uses flexible staffing either internally or from an external
provider should be part of the HR departments balanced scorecard and measured frequently.
Reference
FLEXIBLE STAFFING ANALYSIS 7
Dong, J., & Ibrahim, R. (2020). Managing supply in the on-demand economy: Flexible workers,
full-time employees, or both? Operations Research, 68(4), 1238–1264.
https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2019.1916
Gnanlet, A., Sharma, L., McDermott, C., & Yayla-Kullu, M. (2021). Impact of workforce
flexibility on quality of care: Moderating effects of workload and severity of illness.
International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(12), 1785–1806.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ijopm-04-2021-0247
Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2022). Staffing organizations (10th ed.). McGraw
Hill.
Kabalina, V., Zelenova, O., & Reshetnikova, K. (2019). Contemporary Human Resource
Management Practices in Russia: Flexibility under uncertainty. International Studies of
Management & Organization, 49(4), 422–440.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.2019.1646490
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