The Vetipak site in Zeewolde is home to our successful long-term partnership with Bakker Logistics, part of the STEF group. It’s also where we work for Dynamic Products Factory, which develops creative products for the retail sector. We recently ensured that a multitude of party items in 3,300 displays reached their destinations with a well-known German retail chain. We joined forces to run the whole process from A to Z for D.P. Factory.
Scaling up, the Vetipak way!
The high season is just around the corner, so production is about to go through the roof. That means we need to scale up, and for that, we need great staff. But... how do you find great people in a labour market that’s already under pressure? And more importantly: how do you keep your great people once you have them?
When the labour market is tight, finding good staff becomes a little trickier. Particularly if you - just like Vetipak - need to scale up with 250(!) new production staff in just six weeks’ time! The key is good planning and organisation.
Fortunately, our in-house employment agencies OTTO Workforce and Crown are helping us rise to the challenge. Want to know more? Read on!
1. Timely staff planning
At Vetipak, everything we do revolves around seasons, which means we have to be able to scale up and scale back easily. This requires both flexibility and a good working partnership with our in-house employment agencies.
To facilitate this, our in-house intermediaries are on the ground with us every day, enabling us to hold regular consultations. For example, we hold weekly discussions about our staff requirements based on our schedule, looking at upcoming periods of 12 and 4 weeks and one week respectively. The employment agencies then take this information and start looking for suitable staff.
2. Careful recruitment and selection
The employment agencies frequently recruit staff for us from Poland. This means that they will have to relocate to the Netherlands before starting work with us. The employment agencies arrange transport and suitable accommodation. We all feel that it’s essential for these arrangements to be made properly, so we’ve collectively set a high standard for achieving this.
3. Extensive introduction
Collaboration and equality are high priorities at Vetipak, and we feel it’s important to give our new employees a warm welcome. After all, you only get the opportunity to make a first impression once. For this reason, we’ve established an introduction day together with OTTO and Crown.
Our new flex workers are received by the in-house intermediaries, and they start out with all the practical arrangements, such as obtaining a citizen service number and work clothing. The in-house intermediaries also ensure that all flex workers receive E-card training that covers Vetipak’s hygiene and safety rules. A tour of the factory follows, and then we give the flex workers all of the practical information they need for their first working day.
Finally, the team leader and assistant team leader make a presentation covering additional practical information on working at Vetipak. By the end of the process, the new flex workers know exactly where and with whom they should be for which tasks, and what the rules are.
The first introductions for this year have already been completed. We are now looking forward to welcoming our next group of flex workers!
