Hiring Seasonal Employees Can Bring Success in Peak Periods

Hiring Seasonal Employees Can Bring Success in Peak Periods

Has your business been experiencing a spike in workload recently? Maybe your peak season is just around the corner and you want to make the most of the increased opportunities.

Adding seasonal employees can bring a much-needed boost to your in-house productivity so you can meet demand and expand your business. In fact, having a flexible temporary workforce available can effectively scale your team’s capability without impacting the efficiency of your full-time staff.

To highlight the benefits of seasonal employees and help you get started, we’ve gathered some key resources to help attract, hire, and retain a valuable temporary workforce perfectly fit for your business needs!

Hiring and Training Candidates at High-Impact Times

Even though having a strong temporary workforce can do a lot for your business, hiring at the wrong time or being unprepared for onboarding can have a harmful effect on your productivity and efficiency.

It is important to note that seasonal employees are not plug-and-play, especially if they are being brought on for the first time. Even experienced temps will need some time to acclimate to your work environment, so it is best to make the best effort you can to properly onboard and train your employees.

Here are four keys to keep in mind when setting up new employees for success!

• Connect with a Top Staffing Firm – Even if you are running job ads in traditional spaces like Indeed or LinkedIn, you may not always be receiving a truly complete list of qualified candidates. Starting a relationship with a scouting or staffing company can remove some of the hassles of the job search, while also acting as an effective way of prescreening other applicants. Taking this step ensures you are always getting the best employees available!
• Hire Before the Season Starts – If your industry requires a significant amount of training, it is important to begin looking for temporary employees early so there is sufficient time to train them. Untrained or inefficient workers can severely harm productivity and quality of labor, posing an extremely high risk to your business. Even if the jobs you are hiring for are not extremely technical, it is best to start the search for temporary employees about two months before peak season. This buffer allows for a selective search for employees while also retaining enough time to allow them to gain proficiency with the work they are doing!
• Train with Top Performers – Do you already have high-efficiency workers? Maybe long-term employees that have become masters of their craft? Training your temporary employees with these top performers can instill good work habits and extra attention to detail when compared to general training. While it may be difficult to remove this high-value employee from the floor at times, the return on investment often consists of a deep roster of well-trained and proficient employees!
• Reward Success and High Efficiency – While a lot of your temporary employees may only stay temporary, creating bonus incentives for certain levels of performance, attendance, or success can encourage a strong level of healthy competition between employees and better to identify a path to full-time employment for the highest performers

The overall goal when hiring these new employees is to make sure they are making the maximum impact for your business while minimizing the risks to quality and productivity. Taking these proactive steps prior to bringing on some new talent will better ensure that you are getting as great of a return as possible!

Working to Retain a Loyal Temporary Workforce

Even after peak season ends, there may be some standouts from the new employees. Working to retain these team members, even if they leave during the slower months, will help build a long, reliable list of skilled workers with high-value experience.

However, it is still important to treat your temporary workers with respect. Although some of them may seem expendable at first, the long-term prospects of a well-trained seasonal employee can bring a ton of value to your company in the long run.

Whether you’re looking to retain or promote some of your most talented short-term employees, here are a few important notes to keep in mind when throughout their term:

• Treat Temps Like Full-Time – Your seasonal hires are performing a great service to your business. While they are not the highest impact members on your payroll, they are allowing you to capitalize on the increased traffic that comes with your busy seasons. Make them feel at home, invite them to team meetings, or provide benefits that your full-time employees also get around these times. Identifying them as valuable parts of your organization will go a long way toward motivating your short-term hires to work hard during their current term and make them more likely to return at another time.
• Offer a Path to Promotion – Depending on your industry, the part-time work you provide may be a valuable resume-building tool for the younger members of your seasonal staff. Allowing them to make the most of this experience over time not only increases their potential for company-wide impact, but also long-term retention and success. You should provide clear and attainable goals that highlight a path to increased responsibility, better pay, and even short-term or full-time promotions. What may originally start as a need for seasonal employees can quickly become career growth and change for any of your temps. Empowering these new team members can make a positive difference in their life while also encouraging some healthy competition with your full-time employees. For more resources on how to get started promoting your seasonal workers, check out our blog on hiring temps as permanent employees!
• Be the Employer of Choice – Just like you aim to be the best in your industry, you should also desire to be the best working environment for all of your employees, especially part-timers. Even though a seasonal employee is not plug-and-play from the start, multiple seasons of experience can forge a truly versatile team member that can continually contribute to your business efforts. To better achieve this goal, you should be seeking out new perks or accommodations that give your seasonal employees a positive experience that encourages and empowers them to return.