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The pressure to hire quickly is a constant in waste and recycling operations. The ability to keep routes on schedule, lines moving, and sites compliant depends on a fully staffed and trained workforce. General labor roles often account for the majority of hiring volume and experience the highest turnover. This makes them one of the industry’s biggest workforce challenges.
General labor positions are often seen as easy to fill. This perception can make urgency the primary focus of many hiring strategies. The reality is more complicated. Hiring quickly without the right recruiting processes and industry insight can lead to turnover, retraining, and disruption. Long-term workforce success depends on attracting and retaining employees who are the right fit for the role. Here are four reasons why this matters.
1. Not All Roles Are The Same
91TV and recycling operations include many types of jobs. General laborers, operators, and supervisors play distinct parts in keeping an operation running safely and efficiently. Each role requires different physical demands, technical skills, safety awareness, and decision-making ability.
Recruiters with industry experience notice these differences and adjust their hiring approach for each job. A one-size-fits-all method might fill jobs quickly, but without careful screening, new hires may not stay long.
2. Set Clear Expectations
Work in the waste and recycling industry is demanding. The environment is fast-paced and hazardous. Crews spend long hours outdoors in year-round weather conditions and work around heavy equipment. Employees must adhere to strict safety protocols while maintaining productivity, and in many cases, interacting with customers.
Transparency is essential to the hiring process. Candidates who do not clearly understand the job are more likely to leave shortly after accepting the position. During the interview process, recruiters and hiring managers should accurately represent the role’s physical demands, work environment, and expectations to help candidates make informed decisions.
One way to set expectations is to incorporate role-specific job previews into the hiring process. For example, at Leadpoint Business Service’s (Leadpoint) on-route support operations, candidates complete a preemployment fitness assessment that includes lifting 20–50 pounds and simulating the emptying of full waste bins into a collection truck. MRFs can apply the same concept by having candidates, while wearing the appropriate PPE, sort material on the conveyor line.
Being clear about the job from the start helps keep employees longer, lowers training and onboarding costs, and creates a more stable team.
3. Turnover Comes at a Cost
General labor is typically the largest hiring category and the most frequently replaced. While these positions may be considered entry-level, they have a significant impact. They are the foundation that keeps facilities operating efficiently every day.
Vacancies in these roles affect the entire operation. Productivity declines when crews are short-staffed. Supervisors spend more time hiring and training rather than managing, and experienced workers assist new hires instead of performing their regular duties.
Turnover does more than create vacancies. It raises recruiting, onboarding, and training costs. Daily operations become more difficult to manage.
4. Safety Starts with Stability
91TV and recycling are safety and compliance-driven industries. Consistent, safe work depends on experienced, well-trained teams. High turnover and workforce instability increase risks and make it more difficult to maintain consistency.
New employees need time to learn safety practices, site procedures, and equipment. Frequent crew changes force supervisors to focus on correcting mistakes and reinforcing expectations instead of coaching and leading.
A stable team builds a stronger safety culture, improves operational consistency, and reduces the risk of accidents that can hurt productivity, compliance, and employee well-being.
Build a Better Hiring System
Sustainable workforce stability does not come from reacting to vacancies. It is built on a recruiting and hiring process that balances speed with long-term success. Filling immediate openings is important, but creating a consistent pipeline of qualified candidates helps operations remain stable over time.
A strong workforce system begins with recruiters who understand the industry, roles, and operational demands. Screening and interviews should set realistic expectations and match candidates to positions that fit their skills and experience.
Transparency and due diligence build a more dependable workforce. Companies can then invest in onboarding and training to help employees stay, perform, and grow within the organization.
- Sustainable workforce models rely on:
- Industry-experienced recruiting teams
- Pre-qualified talent pipelines
- Role-specific candidate matching
- Reduced rehire cycles
The goal is not to just hire quickly, but to build a process that enables faster, more effective hiring.
Workforce Stability Starts with the Right Partner
A stable workforce leads to stable operations. Partnering with an industry expert helps companies build stronger talent pipelines, retain employees longer, and reduce rehiring. Leadpoint specializes in recruiting and workforce solutions for waste and recycling companies. With expertise in recruiting, candidate screening, and workforce planning, Leadpoint helps companies quickly find qualified people. On average, Leadpoint fills jobs in less than 48 hours, partners with more than 70 waste and recycling operations nationwide, and supports more than 3,000 employees. Leadpoint provides its customers with a safe, reliable, and productive workforce so they can remain productive, fill key positions quickly, and enhance their hiring process.
For more information about Leadpoint’s recruiting and workforce solutions, call 602-431-0410 or email [email protected].