CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
April 3, 2020
Dear DWS Partners,
First and foremost, I do pray that my email finds you all healthy and safe. I am happy to communicate that we here at DWS continue to do well. All of our colleagues across the country are healthy and plugging away. The DWS operating hours have remained the same, and we are not experiencing any disruptions to our business and its delivery of services. We continue to work around the clock to support our customers, and remain available 24/7.
We understand that your business may be experiencing some incredible challenges during this Covid-19 crisis. Whether you are in the need of more labor, or reducing labor needs, each have their challenges. However, if you are in need of additional labor and are struggling to meet your demands, please contact myself or your program manager directly so that we can help you resolve this challenge. The increase of unemployment may not translate into more readily available labor to work at your facility. There are factors that you will be competing against that may deter labor from arriving to your building. Here are some strategies that may want to consider to alleviate those challenges:
1. Pay Rates – Make sure that your pay rates are (at the minimum) aligned with the market rates. Employers like Walmart and Amazon have increase pay rates to ensure that they can capture the labor markets and meet the demand. This is not the time to be a penny wise and a dollar fool. Rather, look at what it costs you when you are not able to get the work completed and compare that to the possible increase of pay rates. More than likely, you will find that increase of pay rate will translate to attaining labor, getting the work completed, and saving you money in the process. If you go through the mathematical exercise, you should be able to make a very good business case.
2. On-boarding requirements – Drug testing facilities are overwhelmed because of Covid-19 testing and other business factors. It is taking longer to retrieve results and candidates are not comfortable going to facilities. Consider temporarily waiving the drug test requirements and only test your temp labor staff when their seems to be an issue (the good old eyes and ears test). If you absolutely need to test your temp labor population prior to starting work, consider just testing your machine operators and not your pickers and packers. This strategy will translate into more readily available labor that will show up to work.
3. Promote a healthy work environment and spread the word – People need to know that you are taking any and all precautions to keep them safe. Ensure that you have a crew focused on disinfecting equipment, door knobs, key pads, etc. all day long. Show your temp employees that you are concerned for their safety and that you care. Promote your disinfecting strategies with your suppliers and around your facility. You will be amazed how the positive message will spread, and may translate into more available labor willing to work at your facility.
DWS is here and ready to assist you. We continue to work day and night, and we do not plan on going anywhere! You can count on us no matter what!
Should you need me to personally resolve any issues you are experiencing, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. It is always my complete pleasure to be at your service.
Please be safe and take care of each other. We are in this together.
Warmest,
JP
Jean-Paul Renard
CEO/ Chief Problem Solver
212-683-3300 (main)
212-986-5366 (direct)
