The Hidden Cost of Waiting Too Long to Hire in Printing & Packaging

By Shannon Polaski-Buchholz, Owner / President of Flexo Finders

In today’s printing and packaging industry, many hiring decisions are made only when the need becomes urgent.

A press operator gives notice. A supervisor retires. Production starts falling behind. Overtime begins stacking up.

Then the hiring process begins.

The problem is that by the time many companies decide they need to hire, the real cost has already started.

And in printing and packaging, that cost often reaches far beyond one open position.

One Open Position Affects More Than One Department

A missing operator, technician, or production leader rarely impacts only one machine.

It quickly spreads across the plant:

• Production schedules tighten

• Other employees absorb extra workload

• Overtime increases

• Setup times suffer

• Quality issues become more likely

• Maintenance gets delayed

A single vacancy often creates pressure across multiple shifts.

This is especially true when the open role involves specialized equipment such as Mark Andy, Nilpeter, Bobst, or digital systems like HP.

Overtime Solves the Problem — Until It Creates Another One

Most plants respond first by leaning on their strongest people.

That works temporarily.

But over time:

• fatigue increases

• morale drops

• mistakes happen more often

• top employees begin questioning how long they want to carry the extra load

Many companies underestimate how quickly prolonged overtime can create burnout.

And when strong employees burn out, turnover risk increases again.

Delayed Hiring Often Means Smaller Candidate Pools

The strongest people in printing and packaging are usually already employed.

They are not waiting for job ads.

When companies wait until production is under pressure, they often need someone immediately — but the best available candidate may need time, relocation, or careful recruitment.

That urgency can force employers into weaker hiring decisions.

Production Delays Carry Hidden Customer Costs

When skilled labor is short, customer impact follows:

• lead times stretch

• reruns increase

• deliveries become harder to protect

• internal teams operate under constant pressure

Customers may never hear the full reason, but they feel the results.

Leadership Gaps Create Long-Term Risk

Waiting too long becomes even more expensive when leadership roles stay open.

A missing supervisor, manager, or lead operator often affects:

• communication

• accountability

• shift consistency

• troubleshooting speed

• training of newer employees

Without leadership coverage, plants often become reactive instead of proactive.

The Smartest Companies Hire Before the Pain Hits

The strongest operations are increasingly doing something different:

They hire ahead of need.

That means identifying talent before a retirement happens, before a resignation creates pressure, and before overtime becomes constant.

This creates time for:

✅ training✅ overlap✅ knowledge transfer✅ smoother transitions

Hiring Is No Longer Just Filling a Seat

In printing and packaging today, hiring is operational strategy.

The companies that protect production best are often the ones that plan talent the same way they plan equipment investment.

Final Thought

A delayed hire rarely looks expensive on paper.

But inside production, the cost builds quickly — often in ways that are harder to measure until performance starts slipping.

The strongest companies understand that filling the right role early often costs far less than waiting too long.

Shannon Polaski-Buchholz Owner / President, Flexo Finders Helping printing and packaging companies nationwide hire skilled talent in flexographic, digital, offset, label, and converting operations.