For many companies in the Netherlands, working with an employment agency is a necessary condition for a company to be able to function. We can see this especially in sectors such as logistics, manufacturing and warehouses. The problem arises when, despite a signed contract, employees do not arrive on site. September is one of the critical months – seasonal order peaks, returns from vacations, delivery pressure. If shifts are not filled, any gap in the team takes a toll on timeliness, safety and productivity.
According to theOECD International Migration Outlook 2023 report, companies hiring seasonal workers today have to meet entirely new standards – not only in terms of pay, but also in terms of organization and relationships (link to OECD report – PDF). At the same time, data in the EURES special supplement “Labour Shortages in the Netherlands” shows that logistics and manufacturing are among the sectors with the highest staff shortages in the entire European Union, and companies that make last-minute demands face the weakest available resources. (EURES PDF, July 2024).
So before you ask the agency “where are the people?” again, ask these five questions first – and answer them honestly.
1. Do you have specific commitments with the agency – numbers, deadlines, scope?
Cooperation with an agency to provide you with people must have foundations and specific assumptions. You can’t base cooperation on phrases such as “you may need a few people” or “we’ll see how production starts.” That won’t work – especially in the September season, when every day without full staff means real costs. The agency has no way to contract and keep people on standby if it itself has no guarantee that the project will actually take place.
The contract must be precise on the part of the company that works with the agency. This way there is a chance that the agency will organize the right team – on time, with the right people and in the right numbers. Good practice is clear information about: the number of people, the date of arrival, the length of the contract, language requirements and information about the availability of accommodation. The agency can then create a recruitment schedule, select candidates well in advance, and secure a reserve if necessary.
The agency has to act, and if the company doesn’t provide the most important information – it gets to the end of the queue. And in September the queue is really long. Then neither rates nor acquaintances will help – because the available candidates are simply already working somewhere.
2 – Do your conditions allow people to realistically work – and stay?
The obvious fact is that the agency’s job is to supply employees. However, it is the company’s conditions that determine whether they will stay for more than a few days. Predictability is among the key factors in retaining a team. And it’s not the agency that builds it – it’s the company the candidates go to.
Among the most frequently cited reasons for resignation, employees cite the distance of accommodation from the workplace. If it is more than a dozen kilometers away, and no transportation is arranged, this is a big problem. Further reasons include working hours that change from day to day and lack of contact with the on-site coordinator. These are not minor things. These are significant factors that cause candidates to start looking for a new job. For the agency, this is a warning signal: if people don’t want to return there, it’s better to refer them elsewhere.
3. are you reporting the demand well in advance?
Unfortunately, but many companies report to the agency when it’s really too late. The schedule is non-existent, shifts are incomplete, deadlines are looming inexorably – and then the question becomes, “Can you supply people for tomorrow?” In theory, an agency can try. In practice, it is a difficult process with great risks. Feasible, but it will be an emergency recruitment with a high probability of turnover.
The July 2024 EURES Labour Shortages – Netherlands report shows that companies that plan their hiring several weeks in advance have much greater access to candidates and a lower turnover rate in the first two weeks of work (source – PDF). Candidates who know where and when to go are better prepared. The agency has time to select the right people, secure housing and adjust commuting.
Meanwhile, “last minute” clients get what is colloquially speaking, still left. No choices. Without reservations. Without guarantees. If a company wants people on September 2, it can’t wait until August 30. Notifying in July is not a comfort today – it’s a necessity if you want to have a say in who actually comes.
4 Does the agency you are working with actually recruit?
There is a legitimate difference between a recruitment agency and a resume broker. Although it must be admitted that at first glance it may be invisible. In both cases you get people. The problem is that in one model they are matched, reliable and available employees, while in the other they are random people on one assignment.
The recruiting agency runs the process: it collects applications, selects candidates, conducts initial interviews, secures logistics and communicates terms and conditions. Working with such an agency gives predictability – because there is structure, control and the ability to plan. In an agency acting only as an intermediary, there is no such process. You get candidates from an ad or database, without checking and without preparation.
How do you recognize the fact that the agency is not recruiting but distributing employees? Just look at the employees – if every week there are other people who don’t know the position, don’t know who to report to and don’t know where the locker room is – this is a sign. This is not how you build a team – this is how you rotate staff.
5 Does your company give employees a reason to come back?
In many companies, there is an assumption that if someone came to work once, they will automatically want to come back. However, practice shows otherwise. Seasonal candidates, especially those with experience, are making selections – and they are not just guided by the hourly rate. What is equally (and sometimes even more) important to them is the quality of the cooperation and the conditions on site. In other words: they are looking not only for a job, but also for an organization where they can function peacefully for a few weeks.
The OECD, in its International Migration Outlook 2023 report, emphasizes that the most frequently cited factors by seasonal workers influencing their decision to return are a clear work schedule, predictable accommodation and direct contact with their supervisor). In practice, this means that if a worker doesn’t know where he or she will live, which shift he or she will be on and who will pick him or her up from the collection point – he or she won’t even begin to unpack the suitcase.
From the agency’s perspective, the problem is even more serious. When an employee resigns after a week, the agency must not only find a new person, but also explain the loss to the client and candidates. If the situation continues, attempts to salvage the situation will be abandoned. It is more profitable for the agency to refer employees to companies that implement employees better. After several such situations, it will no longer try to save the situation – it will simply refer other people to companies that implement better. The result for the company will be a loss of reputation in the eyes of the agency and the employees. This is the spiral: lack of organization → resignations → lack of returns → even higher turnover → lack of people in season.
The question, then, is not “did the agency do everything to get someone to come?” The question is: has your company done everything to make someone want to come back?
If a company doesn’t offer onboarding, feedback, a welcome on the first day, accommodations that meet SNF standards, and shifts are set the day before – the problem isn’t the employees. The problem is the lack of reasons for anyone to want to stay more than a week.
Conclusion: the problem doesn’t start in recruitment, but in the structure of cooperation
Hiring seasonal workers through an agency is not a solution in itself. It is a process that requires planning, commitments, logistics and – above all – an honest assessment on the part of the client. An agency may have a great base, proven people and a ready-made system. But if the company hasn’t booked dates, secured accommodations and treated candidates as viable team members – the result will always be the same: a shortage of people, even though “the deal is there after all.”
So before a company asks the agency again “where are the people?” it should first ask itself the above 5 questions. Perhaps any of the answers will help locate the problems that are occurring.
