Is Understaffed Cheaper?

[MassWineGuy]

I’m no economist. And now that I’ve dedicated my life to helping Swanson and 48 Meeting get the help they so badly need, I have no spare time to get another degree. But…

Seems to me that FedEx wants to keep Express understaffed. It’s cheaper, even with occasional OT, those who quit get replaced for less money and customer attrition is minimal because UPS isn’t any bargain, either.

People quit, those remaining get overworked, leading to more folks quitting, etc.

This has been the norm for so long, the major reason must be that the company still believes it pays well. Does anyone see that changing at all anytime soon? This seems to be the fundamental problem that then cascades downstream.

 

[Cactus]

FedEx only exists to make the Memphis elite rich.

Federal Express died from blunt-force trauma a long time ago.

 

[MassWineGuy]

And I certainly agree. But is what I describe one of its strategies?

 

[!Retired!]

Yes.....it's cheaper

 

[SmithBarney]

Don't know but we've been paying for 50 rentals and only about half get used. And of those half we have fedex branded vehicles that have sit so long the batteries died. Sad part we could have bought at least 10 new vehicles for what they've paid the rental companies for the past year.

Express makes so much money we throw it out the window...

As for staffing, as long as refunds for poor service don't out pace profit, they'll squeak by as needed.

 

[bbsam]

I don’t think they care if it’s cheaper. I think they have a profit margin number to hit and they don’t really care what service numbers are or operations in general. Only when operations affect that profit margin will they address such matters.

 

[MassWineGuy]

I think you’re right on the money, bb.

Of all those who can make a valid refund claim, many don’t. And the company doesn’t publicize the right to make a claim.

 

[shartpost]

In the short term it's definitely cheaper. As time goes on keep factoring in costs of fuel, increased mileage, vehicle wear and OT due to rolling out pee stain to more stations. There's also maintaining the trucks, renting more Fluid vans, insurance and accident claims on top of being understaffed. That's just going to pile up into a giant cluster before peak

 

[McFeely]

I’m curious what the actual financial cost is to get a new hire trained and fully functional vs. keeping an old fart around at $5-10 more/hour but also ridiculously more productive in a day.

They could easily pay some veterans 2x what some of the new hires make and still come out ahead when you’re talking about productivity and vehicle collisions alone. And the crusty old veterans could still map their route in their head and go home by 2.

 

[El Morado Diablo]

I’m curious what the actual financial cost is to get a new hire trained and fully functional vs. keeping an old fart around at $5-10 more/hour but also ridiculously more productive in a day.

They could easily pay some veterans 2x what some of the new hires make and still come out ahead when you’re talking about productivity and vehicle collisions alone. And the crusty old veterans could still map their route in their head and go home by 2.

I did a ride-along with a 30+ year vet last week on a rural route. We did about 10 deliveries and passed a part-timer waiting in a parking lot for outbound. He only took about 10 stops on road. When asked if he could take more he said he couldn't do it and be on time - even though he waited for 1.5 hours.

How much money does FedEx waste putting up with this kind of BS from new hires and part-timers?

 

[MassWineGuy]

That’s quite a gap time.

 

[!Retired!]

They could easily pay some veterans 2x what some of the new hires make and still come out ahead when you’re talking about productivity and vehicle collisions alone. And the crusty old veterans could still map their route in their head and go home by 2.

True...don't forget the cost for health insurance, workers comp, disability, etc etc

That’s quite a gap time.

I waited 2 hours for my 2nd wave freight a few times. It would have taken me only 15 minutes to get back to the station. They told me to wait.....I waited

 

[MassWineGuy]

No question. If they say wait, it’s on management.

Re: Benefit costs: do benefits still take 90 days to start? Or is it immediately? If you could bring in new, lesser paid staff, many of whom might quit before three months, that saves a ton.

 

[El Morado Diablo]

That’s quite a gap time.

Management never bothers to challenge people (especially part-timers) to do more. It's frustrating to see PT's get more hours a day like this than the guys doing 100+ stops every day.

When I asked my manager if the job would get done if all the senior employees didn't show up for work he just shook his head and said, "No".

So that's the state of FedEx today in a nutshell. Keep throwing money to attract/retain new hires and ignore the rest of your team for as long as you can before they quit or retire. Only a fool would think it's ever going to get better.

 

[MassWineGuy]

My PT stop count has been much higher, lately. It just adds 30 to 60 minutes to my day, but I would prefer to work about six hours.

 

[59 Dano]

I’m curious what the actual financial cost is to get a new hire trained and fully functional vs. keeping an old fart around at $5-10 more/hour but also ridiculously more productive in a day.

They could easily pay some veterans 2x what some of the new hires make and still come out ahead when you’re talking about productivity and vehicle collisions alone. And the crusty old veterans could still map their route in their head and go home by 2.

The difference between step 10 and step 1 is $10-$12 an hour (depending on market level). At base level, a step 10 courier grosses $225 for an 8 hour day. A step 1 courier grosses slightly less than that for 8 hours plus 3 hours of OT. There are plenty of scenarios where that's worthy of serious consideration.

 

[whenIgetthere]

That’s quite a gap time.

Not if you're in code 22.

 

[McFeely]

The difference between step 10 and step 1 is $10-$12 an hour (depending on market level).

I certainly don’t know the averages around the entire company, but there aren’t a huge amount of Step 10 employees at my station. I know of only 4.

I’m at Step 5 and I’m sure if the company did the math they’d see that paying me roughly $5 more/hour ($40 a day) will get them further ahead then the new guy who barely got 30 stops done by 2:30. Or the other new guy at my station bringing 50 Dex 01s back every day.

The funny thing is I’m $5 more an hour right now, but I could even shave 2 hours off the guy doing it for $20/hour because I’m not an idiot. And? The customer got the package on the commit day.

 

[MassWineGuy]

Not if you're in code 22.

Is that the code for shuttling freight?

 

[floridays]

The difference between step 10 and step 1 is $10-$12 an hour (depending on market level). At base level, a step 10 courier grosses $225 for an 8 hour day. A step 1 courier grosses slightly less than that for 8 hours plus 3 hours of OT. There are plenty of scenarios where that's worthy of serious consideration.

How many step 10's (topped out) are here complaining and how many topped out are still delivering (employed). If it takes over 20 years to top out do you think most of the veterans that can actually make deliveries without a picture being drawn for them are at top rate?

It's highly unlikely that the hourly savings can equal what a veteran could produce untethered.
You are a control freak, you wouldn't understand.