How to brief a staffing and warehouse support partner

Start with the workflow, not the headcount

“We need five people in the warehouse” is a useful conversation starter. To shape a solution, the partner needs to know what those people will do and when. Receiving pallets, picking individual items and repacking for dispatch involve different demands. Break the working day into specific tasks and identify where work builds up.

What your initial brief should cover

A short document is enough to start. For each point, record what you already know and what still needs to be agreed.

• Site location, working days and shift times.
• Tasks: receiving, put-away, packing, sorting, dispatch or goods handling.
• Normal workload and expected peaks, preferably by day or shift.
• Required experience, language skills and any task-specific qualifications.
• Systems, scanners and equipment used, and the onboarding process.
• Contact person, responsibilities and handover arrangements.

Separate staffing needs from the service scope

HR consulting focuses primarily on candidate profiles, selection and the recruitment process. A warehouse or handling service also needs a clear description of the work and its handover. Clarify who assigns tasks, coordinates daily activities and checks the outcome. The specific organisational and contractual arrangements should be agreed individually before work begins.

An example of an actionable brief

An illustrative brief might read: “We need support with packing and sorting on weekday afternoon shifts. Mondays and Tuesdays are busiest. The warehouse manager will prepare the workstations and induction. Before starting, we want to agree the scope, capacity and a method for checking shipment accuracy.” This provides a basis for precise follow-up questions. This is an example, not a specific BP Slovak project.

How to review the initial work

Agree a small set of clear indicators: completed workload, processing accuracy, onboarding time and the number of unclear handovers. Review results alongside product complexity and changes in volume. After the initial phase, refine the brief using what you have learned. BP Slovak can discuss both staffing needs and the scope of warehouse and goods handling work.