Natural Disasters: Are Staffing Agencies a Lifeline for Business?

Natural disasters are devastating and unpredictable, and along with widespread destruction, can cause a long-term ripple effect on businesses and infrastructure. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires can disrupt supply chains, force businesses to close, and leave many people with the goods and services they need. When these disasters happen, staffing agencies show up in unexpected ways, giving businesses the support they need to stay afloat until they can get back on their feet. 

In September of 2024, the residents of western North Carolina, northeast Tennessee, and southwest Virginia experienced devastating loss of life and property as Hurricane Helene ripped through the area. Then, just a few months later, Los Angeles experienced weeks of a fast-moving, out-of-control wildfire that caused billions of dollars in damages and dozens of lives lost. 

As the fires took over large parts of the state, many businesses were rushing to find ways to keep their doors open, save their inventory, and avoid devastation. Even companies that managed to stay open employed people living in the impact areas, making it hard for employees to get into work. Power was lost, roads were closed, and the air quality made it unsafe to leave their homes. This meant that many employees were unable to work, and those who could were forced to cope with the emotional and mental strain of witnessing their neighborhoods burn.

The Role of Staffing Agencies in Times of Crisis

When disaster strikes, a staffing agency can offer an immediate solution by providing businesses with temporary or contingent workers to fill the gaps. This can happen in a few different ways, one of which is connecting businesses with temporary workers who can come in and fill vacancies.  Staffing agencies have a pool of talented, experienced, and available job seekers who can come to cover a wide range of essential roles, from admin to tech positions, allowing a business to continue operations until the regular staff can get back to work. This ensures production doesn’t slow down even when the rest of the area is recovering from the disaster. 

Staffing agencies connect businesses with short-term workers to avoid disruption. These short-term workers are already pre-screened and background-checked and have the necessary skills and qualifications to fill these roles. This means businesses already in disaster mode won’t have to spend time training new employees for a temporary position. By providing temporary workers, staffing agencies also help alleviate the financial burden on businesses that may not have the budget or long-term need for a full-time workforce. 

staffing agenies can Help Businesses Rebuild After Disasters

But a staffing agency can do more than connect businesses with qualified, temporary workers while their regular staff is recuperating from a natural disaster. Staffing agencies can play a critical role in the recovery process. During the wildfires, many employment agencies beyond simply filling gaps in the workforce, staffing agencies can play an instrumental role in helping a city recover after a disaster. Once the fires were controlled in LA, the city was in desperate need of construction crews, restoration teams, and cleanup initiatives. Finding and organizing enough people to tackle a huge job like this is no small task, but staffing agencies stepped up and did what they do best.  

Staffing agencies were able to quickly mobilize workers with the right skills and experience, providing the greater LA area with the manpower needed to start the recovery process. This looked like finding temporary employees for roles in construction, debris removal, and demolition. They were able to find qualified workers for administrative roles and logistics management. By tapping into this network of qualified and experienced workers, staffing agencies matched workers with specific skills to the work and recovery that needed to be done, streamlining the rebuilding and clean-up process.  

The Benefits of a Contingent Workforce

One thing we know about natural disasters is that things can change drastically from one second to the next. The unpredictability of nature means we need to be flexible in times of crisis, and staffing agencies are known for their ability to adapt. Working with a staffing agency means businesses can quickly scale up or scale down their workforce based on their specific needs. 

The rapidly changing needs of a workforce during a natural disaster can be overwhelming for businesses that are just trying to stay open, and staffing agencies can step in and take over this process. They can also take over responsibilities like payroll and benefits, allowing leaders and managers to focus on the key aspects of their business as they recover from the disaster. 

One of the benefits of working with temporary workers is that while their time in a specific role might be temporary, they can offer a fresh perspective and expertise at a time when a business needs it the most. During and after a disaster, companies may need to look at their operations in a new way and may need new ideas or solutions to help them rebuild and recover. Temporary workers not only come in and fill in the gaps but can also offer creative options and a different energy for a business when they are faced with uncertainty. 

Conclusion

Once the fires are controlled, the floods have receded and the storms have passed, communities are left with the daunting task of rebuilding. This requires thousands of hours of manpower, and every little bit helps. Staffing agencies show up during and after a natural disaster to fill in the gaps and take some of the burden off of busy business owners so they can get back on their feet. By matching temporary workers with struggling businesses, staffing agencies help businesses stay operational and can be essential partners in the work to rebuild. 

If your business has been impacted by the California wildfires or any other natural disaster and you’re looking for a way to build or maintain your workforce, click here to learn more about how GreatHire can take over some of the responsibility so you can focus on getting back on track