As an HR leader or manager, you have likely faced situations where you urgently need staff, but the recruitment process takes too long. Positions remain unfilled, teams become overloaded, and pressure on delivery timelines and costs increases precisely when stability is most needed. Personnel leasing can be the solution—one that deserves to be integrated into a company’s strategy rather than viewed as a crisis measure.
In Romania, this reality is confirmed by labor market data. Companies report growing challenges both economically and in managing teams, with employee retention and the shortage of suitable candidates being common business issues. According to the HR Insights report published by the Human Resources Services Providers Association, 58% of employers identify adapting to the economic environment as their main challenge, while 50% say that speed of response to market changes is critical. Only 24% of companies use temporary employment agencies, while 39% try to meet staffing needs through internal resources and 31% rely on referrals.
In short, businesses need more flexibility than traditional recruitment can provide, and personnel leasing may be the right solution for your company. However, to adopt it, you may need proven examples—companies that have chosen personnel leasing and the results they achieved.
What You’ll Learn From This Article:
- How large companies such as Amazon, DHL, and IKEA use personnel leasing
- The concrete results they achieve
- The advantages of working with Smartemp
Amazon – How It Manages Millions of Orders Without Permanently Increasing Staff Volume
The e-commerce giant operates one of the most complex logistics systems in the world, and demand fluctuates significantly depending on the season. Periods such as Black Friday, Prime Day, or the winter holidays can double or even triple order volumes.
To avoid permanently overstaffing its workforce, Amazon partners with temporary employment agencies and personnel leasing providers for its logistics centers.
How the Model Works
During peak periods, the company hires tens of thousands of seasonal workers through specialized agencies.
These employees are quickly integrated into warehouses for:
- picking si packing
- Goods handling
- Internal logistics
- Shipping and sorting
Results Achieved
For Amazon, personnel leasing is not simply a fast recruitment method but an essential part of its logistics infrastructure.
The company is able to:
- Reduce recruitment time
- Avoid costs associated with permanent hiring
- Maintain operational capacity without increasing fixed organizational structure
A major advantage is financial flexibility. Amazon is not required to maintain a very large number of permanent employees outside peak seasons.
This model allows the company to respond to demand in real time while avoiding the high costs of oversized teams. The workforce can be increased quickly when demand rises and reduced when volumes return to normal.
DHL – Personnel Leasing for Stability in Logistics
In logistics, one of the biggest challenges is the constant variation in workload volume. DHL frequently uses personnel leasing for warehouses and transportation activities. In many operational centers, temporary staff represent a strategic component rather than a secondary resource.
How DHL Uses Personnel Leasing
The company works with agencies for:
- Warehouse operators
- Goods handling
- Cross-docking staff
- Sorting activities
- Loading and unloading
Results
DHL has achieved:
- Reduced time to fill positions
- Faster adaptation to volume fluctuations
- Predictable costs
- Reduced pressure on internal HR teams
In a logistics warehouse, staff shortages can lead to delivery delays, operational congestion, and bottlenecks in goods handling.
Through personnel leasing, DHL can quickly fill staffing gaps without going through time-consuming hiring processes.
In many logistics centers, volume fluctuations vary greatly from one month to another. Leasing allows the company to maintain operational stability without carrying high fixed costs.
In addition, staff supplied by agencies are often already trained for logistics activities, which reduces onboarding and adaptation time.
In logistics, speed of response is essential. Delays in recruitment can disrupt the distribution flow. Personnel leasing minimizes this risk.
IKEA – Additional Staff in Retail and Warehousing
New home product launches and busy periods throughout the year create spikes in customer traffic that do not always justify permanent hiring.
IKEA uses temporary staff for both stores and logistics centers.
Where Personnel Leasing Is Used
- Cashier services
- Customer relations
- Warehousing
- Product picking
- Internal logistics
- Inventory management
Benefits
Through personnel leasing, IKEA can:
- Maintain a high-quality customer experience
- Avoid understaffing
- Quickly cover absences
- Manage peak periods
In retail, the challenge is not only recruitment but also the time required for onboarding. Leasing provides fast access to staff who are already trained.
Ford and the Automotive Industry – Flexibility on Production Lines
The automotive industry operates according to production cycles and order demand. Demand can increase or decrease rapidly depending on market conditions.
Companies such as Ford frequently use temporary staff and personnel leasing for production-related activities.
How It Is Used
- Production workers
- Line operators
- Internal logistics
- Quality control
- Industrial support
Results
- Rapid adjustment of production capacity
- Reduced fixed costs
- Lower risk of overstaffing
- Operational continuity
In the automotive industry, the cost of production downtime is extremely high. Personnel leasing reduces the risk of workforce shortages.
Samsung Electronics – Rapid Production Expansion
Companies in the electronics sector frequently use personnel leasing to respond to global demand. Samsung Electronics has worked across different markets with external providers for industrial and logistics personnel.
Areas Where Personnel Leasing Is Used
- Production
- Packaging
- Logistics
- Product inspection
- Testing and quality control
Benefits
- Rapid adaptation to market demand
- Reduced hiring time
- Operational flexibility
- Efficiency during product launch periods
Results Achieved by Companies Using Personnel Leasing
By analyzing how companies use personnel leasing in practice, a clear pattern of benefits emerges regardless of industry—whether logistics, manufacturing, retail, or services.
These results aren't only related to costs but, more importantly, to the ability of companies to operate consistently in an unpredictable labor market.
1. Significantly Reduced Time to Fill Positions
In traditional recruitment, filling a permanent role can take weeks or even months due to advertising, selection, and onboarding.
In personnel leasing, the process is much shorter because providers already maintain candidate pools and standardized recruitment procedures. Companies can fill operational roles within days, reducing periods in which teams function below capacity.
2. Reduced Pressure and Administrative Costs
An important advantage is outsourcing a significant portion of HR activity.
Contracts, payroll, and taxes are managed by the leasing provider, resulting in:
- Reduced workload for the internal HR team
- Standardized administrative processes with fewer errors
- More predictable personnel costs
- More time for strategic activities and employee engagement
3. Operational flexibility
Personnel leasing allows you to quickly adjust team size according to workload. Instead of hiring permanently for peak periods, organizations can scale teams up when needed and reduce them afterward without complex restructuring processes.
The result is better cost control and greater adaptability to seasonality or fluctuating demand.
4. Fast Access to Available and Verified Staff
In many industries, the main issue is not only a lack of candidates but a lack of immediately available candidates. Personnel leasing provides access to workers who are ready to start quickly, significantly reducing the time needed to fill roles—an essential advantage in sectors such as logistics, manufacturing, and retail, where delays directly affect operations.
5. Risk Reduction
Staff shortages affect company performance. Even a few unfilled positions can lead to delays, lower productivity, or overloading the existing team.
Personnel leasing acts as a stability mechanism:
- Reduces dependence on internal recruitment
- Ensures operational continuity
- Minimizes the impact of workforce turnover
How SMARTEMP Helps You Reduce the Costs of Hiring and Managing Temporary Workers
SMARTEMP, companie cu 14 ani experienta in leasing de personal si 11 ani de colaborare cu multinationale, asigura un pachet complet de servicii (recrutare, administrare personal – contracte, acte aditionale, salarizare, beneficii, declaratii), toate integrate intr-un tarif lunar transparent per angajat, care include:
Gross salary
Tailored to your requirements and market standards, in line with legal minimums or agreed pay scales.
Legal contributions and taxes
All statutory contributions (pension, health, work insurance, income tax) are paid by SMARTEMP as the legal employer, ensuring:
Full compliance with labor law
No risk of penalties or lawsuits
Admin and operational costs
The SMARTEMP personnel leasing offer covers everything you would otherwise handle internally:
personnel file management, contracts, Reges Online
Tracking attendance and payroll
Legal assistance and continuous HR support
Recruitment and selection services
SMARTEMP takes care of:
Job ad promotion
CV screening and pre-interviews
Interview scheduling and onboarding
All these processes are expensive to run internally — from job post fees to recruiter time — and a bad hire can cost up to 30% of the employee’s annual salary, according to Forbes. Forbes.
Ongoing coordination and management
You also benefit from:
A dedicated project manager
Monthly reporting
Fast staff replacement (covering absences, leave, turnover)
Request a personalized personnel leasing offer at office@smartemp.ro or call 0727 500 366.
Personnel-related challenges are no longer limited to finding suitable candidates. Time, costs, workforce fluctuations, and pressure on results mean that every unfilled position directly impacts a company’s pace of operations.
The examples in this article show that personnel leasing is not used only when recruitment issues arise but as part of a broader business strategy. Companies such as Amazon, DHL, IKEA, and Ford choose this model because they require flexibility, speed, and operational continuity.
In a labor market where needs change quickly and traditional recruitment can become a slow process, personnel leasing offers a simple but valuable advantage: faster access to people, reduced administrative pressure, and greater control over costs.
Sources:
- American Staffing Association – Staffing Employment and Sales Survey
- Staffing Industry Analysts – Americas Contingent Workforce Report
- International Labour Organization – Temporary Employment and Flexible Workforce Reports
- Reuters – Reports about staffing market and contingent labor trends
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Temporary Help Services Employment Data
- Harvard Business Review – Workforce Flexibility and Talent Strategy
- McKinsey & Company – Future of Work and Flexible Staffing Models
- Deloitte Human Capital Trends – Alternative Workforce Strategies
- World Economic Forum – Workforce Transformation Reports
- Gartner HR Research – Contingent Workforce Management
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