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Quickly find suitable warehouse workers, order pickers, forklift drivers, and other logistics professionals for your organization.
Finding good logistics staff is not always easy. Warehouses, distribution centres, transport companies, and air freight organisations regularly need new employees, while experienced candidates are not always immediately available. Therefore, more and more companies are choosing to broaden their search and use different recruitment channels. A specialised logistics staffing agency can help with this, but what exactly does such an agency do? And when is working with a staffing agency a good option? In this article, we explain how logistics recruitment works and what employers should pay attention to. A specialised logistics staffing agency can help with this.
A logistics staffing agency connects employers with candidates within the logistics sector.
This involves more than simply posting a vacancy. A specialised agency understands the roles, tasks, and requirements within different logistics environments and can therefore search for suitable candidates in a targeted way.
For example, staff for:
The tasks and required experience can vary considerably depending on the environment. This is precisely why knowledge of the logistics sector can be important when selecting suitable candidates.
Logistics involves much more than just warehouse work. Within a single warehouse, several different roles may be needed to keep goods moving safely and efficiently through the process.
Commonly requested roles include:
Warehouse workers
For receiving, storing, checking and processing goods.
Order pickers
For collecting and preparing orders.
Forklift drivers
For safely moving and storing pallets and goods.
Reach truck drivers
For working in warehouses with high racking and narrow aisles.
Logistics employees
For various operational tasks within the logistics process.
Warehouse coordinators and team leaders
For planning, supervising employees and managing daily operations.
For some roles, specific experience or certifications are important. For other positions, reliability, flexibility and attention to detail play a greater role.
Staffing needs within logistics can change quickly.
For example, a warehouse may need extra capacity due to seasonal peaks, a new customer, expansion of activities, or unexpected sick leave.
At the same time, multiple employers are often looking for the same candidates.
This can be especially noticeable for positions that require experience or specific skills, such as forklift and reach truck drivers.
Location, working hours, accessibility, shift work, and employment conditions can also determine how attractive a position is to candidates.
Finding staff is therefore not only about reaching more candidates, but above all about reaching the right candidates for the right position.
Want to know more? Read our 8 effective strategies for finding logistics personnel.
Recruiting staff yourself can work well when an organisation has sufficient time, reach, and recruitment capacity.
Employers can, for example, advertise vacancies through their own website, job boards, LinkedIn, and social media.
However, when vacancies remain open for a longer period or when several employees are needed at the same time, the process can take a lot of time.
A staffing agency typically has an existing database of candidates and uses various recruitment channels. This allows for a broader search.
Which approach works best depends on the situation.
Recruiting yourself may be suitable when:
A staffing agency can be a good option when:
Not every candidate who looks suitable on paper will automatically be a good fit for the working environment.
In logistics recruitment, several practical factors are important.
1. Experience
Has the candidate previously worked in a warehouse, distribution centre, or similar logistics environment?
2. Certificates
For certain roles, valid certificates may be required, for example for forklift or reach truck operators.
3. Availability
Can the candidate work the required shifts, for example early mornings, late evenings, nights, or rotating shifts?
4. Accessibility
Many distribution centres are located on industrial estates that are less accessible by public transport outside regular working hours.
5. Language and communication
Employees must be able to understand safety instructions and work agreements clearly.
6. Reliability
In a warehouse, colleagues often depend on each other. Being on time and keeping agreements are therefore important qualities.
A good recruitment process does not have to be complicated.
It usually starts with a clear assessment of the vacancy. This includes looking at the position, responsibilities, working hours, location, required experience, and any necessary certificates.
The search for suitable candidates then begins.
A practical process might look like this:
Define the vacancy and job requirements → search for candidates → screen candidates → introduction → selection → placement
The clearer the expectations are beforehand, the lower the risk of a poor match.
For logistics positions, the search does not always have to be limited to candidates from the immediate area.
International candidates can also be an interesting option for Dutch logistics organisations.
Good support is important in this process. This includes clear communication about the work, working hours, location, and expectations.
For employers, a broader candidate pool means more opportunities to fill positions for which few suitable candidates are available locally.
Recruitment ultimately starts with the vacancy itself.
A candidate wants to quickly understand what a job involves. Therefore, clearly state:
Avoid lengthy texts with general company information before mentioning the most important information about the position.
A clear job vacancy helps candidates quickly determine whether a position is right for them.
The costs vary depending on the staffing agency and the type of collaboration.
Some agencies charge a fee based on a successful placement. Others work with fixed agreements, temporary employment, or another pricing model.
Therefore, do not only look at the fee.
An unfilled logistics position can also cause indirect costs through overtime, delays, additional workload, and reduced operational capacity.
It is therefore better to look at the total value of the solution: how quickly is a suitable employee found, and how well does that person fit the position?
When comparing different staffing agencies, look beyond just the price.
For example, ask:
Does the agency have experience in logistics?
A specialist has a better understanding of the skills required for different warehouse positions.
Which positions do they recruit for?
Check whether the agency has experience with the positions for which you are looking to hire people.
How are candidates selected?
Ask what checks and interviews take place before a candidate is introduced.
How extensive is their candidate reach?
A combination of national and international recruitment channels can increase the candidate pool.
How quickly can the agency respond?
This is particularly important in the event of unexpected staff shortages and peak periods.
A good partnership starts with clear agreements about expectations, planning, and the profile of the desired employee.
A professional staffing agency operates in accordance with the applicable rules for temporary employment and working conditions. More information about quality and reliability in the staffing industry can be found through the ABU quality mark
NFA Recruitment focuses specifically on recruitment within logistics and air freight.
We support employers in finding, among others:
We consider not only experience, but also availability, practical employability, and suitability for the working environment.
NFA also has separate information pages for warehouse employees, order pickers, forklift drivers, and general logistics personnel, allowing this new page to serve as a central recruitment page.
Why NFA Recruitment?
For employers in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, read more here about hiring logistics personnel.
A logistics staffing agency helps employers search for, select, and present candidates for positions in warehouses, transport, distribution, and other logistics environments.
This varies from warehouse employees and order pickers to forklift drivers, reach truck drivers, logistics employees, and coordinating warehouse positions.
Especially when vacancies are difficult to fill, staff are needed quickly, or specific logistics experience is required.
That depends on the agency. Some logistics recruiters have access to both national and international recruitment channels.
Pay particular attention to experience within the logistics sector, candidate reach, selection methods, speed, and knowledge of the positions for which you are looking for staff.