Last Minute Seasonal Hiring

‘Tis the season for seasonal hiring! Seasonal hiring recruitment should start in late August or early September for the holiday season. However, it is not too late to find talent if you notice that staffing needs are increasing now within your organization. Want a quick fix to streamline your seasonal hiring efforts?

ExactHire Full Service Hiring can jump start the process within a week!

Retail, warehouse/logistics, and food service are the best known industries to utilize seasonal employees. Those industries are faced with an influx of additional sales, events, and distribution around holidays.  In December 2021, US department stores had sales of $17.1 billion dollars (around 13% of total revenue for 2021), according to the United States Census Bureau.

The seasonal need for additional help in small, medium and large businesses cannot be ignored. Businesses need the additional support to not only meet the demand, but to deliver stellar customer service that will leave customers wanting more after the holiday season. 

Here are some tips to help fulfill seasonal hiring needs.

Seasonal Recruitment

Recruiting for seasonal talent takes a slightly different twist. Seasonal hiring is fiercely competitive so check to see what competitors are offering and surpass those offerings if the budget allows. Consider the following:

• When writing the job listing, clearly state that the role is temporary but distinguish that pay is competitive.
• Make sure that job requirements for the seasonal role are realistic. There is no need to require a college degree for specific roles such as delivery or retail associate.   
• Particularly for seasonal full-time employees, consider what benefit options can be afforded to those workers.
• Employees can be loyal customers too. If there is an end of the season bonus or employee discounts, state that.
• Specify the specific times for each shift. If there is an expectation of employees to work overtime, include that in the requirements. Some people can work only weekends while some can only work during the day or night.
• Reach out to schools and universities. High school and college students can help fill weekend shifts.
• Stay-at-home parents can help fulfill staffing needs during the school day while their children are in school.
• Do not ignore retired job seekers who would like extra money in the pursuit of additional socialization opportunities.

Raise Awareness

Get the word out that your organization is hiring. While posting job ads on your organization’s website, social media, and nationally known job boards is common, here are some less common (and often more effective) ways to promote your opening:

•  Ask current employees for referrals, and find a way to reward them for hired referrals.
• Find niche job boards focused on jobs within your company’s industry. 
• Save valuable time and money by automating job postings to multiple job boards. Use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to automatically post job listings to job boards, allowing you to avoid having to manually enter and monitor a listing on each and every job site.

Seasonal Employee Onboarding

After finding seasonal talent that will help your company thrive, extend an offer to new employees and quickly start the onboarding process. You can automate and speed up parts of the onboarding process with the use of employee onboarding software. Here are a few examples of the items that onboarding software can help with:

• Collect essential employee eligibility verification documents efficiently.
• Collect employee contact information.
• Provision employees with needed work clothing and equipment.

But onboarding is not just collecting documents and completing forms; it is welcoming and acclimating new employees. Make them feel welcome and an essential part of the team even though their tenure is limited. Be sure to:

• Provide essential training in a timely manner.
• Solicit their questions and concerns and provide direction to them.
• Response to their needs, and check in with them regularly to make sure they are learning and applying their skills.

Although some seasonal employees go into the role knowing it is not permanent, nothing is certain. It is not uncommon for a seasonal employee who was hired for a temporary role to become the next permanent employee within that organization. This makes it all the more important to provide an efficient and enjoyable onboarding experience.

Seasonal Offboarding  

As with any employee departure, departing employees can share their perspectives with others. Negative word-of-mouth can impact future recruitment and sales. Here are a few tips:

• Be gracious when the employee’s term is up.
• Thank them for their willingness to be a part of the team.
• Identify which seasonal employees are interested in working at your company for the long-term.
• Communicate with the seasonal talent that you would like to work with again.

Consider the value of seasonal talent beyond the season. This is talent that the organization has already seen in action, so invite them to apply when a “right-fit” permanent job opening exists. An added bonus of transitioning a seasonal employee into a full-time role is that the learning curve for the new role is greatly reduced.  

Conclusion

Seasonal employees are a valuable asset to an organization. Hiring seasonal workers reduces overall payroll costs when compared to hiring permanent workers. But more than that, they provide support for full-time and part-time permanent employees which can help reduce stress levels for full-time employee permanent employees and increase company morale. 

In addition to providing essential support, seasonal employees offer new perspectives that can be shared with existing employees and management to enhance viability in the consumer market.

If you need assistance with seasonal hiring needs, now or later, reach out to ExactHire to learn more about Full Service Hiring.  Let our team of SHRM certified strategists write, promote and screen applicants to help you fulfill your hiring needs.