Seasonal employees can be vital to some businesses. Whether you need temporary staff due to the increased demand during the holiday seasons or you are a seasonal business looking to hire, making sure that you find the best personnel is crucial. And, for that to happen, you need to have a good hiring strategy in place.
So, here’s a short guide to help you find the right seasonal employees for your business.
Plan Ahead
Reports show that the average time to hire new personnel was 38 days in 2018. While you may not be as thorough with your temporary staff as you are with your regular employees, hiring managers need to be aware of the average time it takes to find someone and plan ahead. If you need temporary staff for the holiday season, for example, and you post the ad in mid-November, you may not have enough time to find good-quality employees.
Planning ahead isn’t only about when you post the ad, but your recruiting strategy too. For example, when it comes to seasonal employees, flexibility is highly important, so you want to make sure that your temporary staff will have the availability you want. So, ask pre-screen questions on your job ad so that you can easily sort through the applications.
Make Your Time to Hire Short
Ask yourself the following questions:
- How long does it take you to find a seasonal employee?
- How long does it take candidates to move through the recruiting process, from applying to the job to being called for an interview, and so on?
If the time to hire is too long, this will mean not only higher costs and lost business for you, but you may also lose more quality employees who are moving faster than you are. For example, if it takes about two days for candidates to send you the resume, but your HR department follows up in 5 days, then you need to find ways to reduce the screening process and maximize the efficiency of your hiring managers. This can mean anything from asking pre-qualifying questions to automating the interviewing process.
Make Training Simple
It’s important to note here that “simple” doesn’t mean superficial or sloppy. After all, in most cases, temporary employees are needed for the busiest, most hectic time of the year, and they need to perform to help your business keep up with the sudden influx in demand. So, training is necessary, but you need to be smart about it.
Set up the training sessions in the week before the actual job begins and run them through how everything works, from the specific skills and knowledge they will need for the job to the people they will work with and the tech they will be using. This way, it will be easier for your temporary staff to understand their responsibilities and embrace their new roles once the actual job starts.
Another smart way to make training simple is by partnering them with “work buddies.” This way, they get to learn the kinks of the job from experienced employees while also having someone to help them feel a bit more comfortable.
Are You Looking for Temporary Staff? We Can Help
Finding seasonal employees can be a daunting task. At Laborjack, we can connect you with reliable workers with just a few clicks. It doesn’t matter what type of job you are looking for or what industry, our mission is to help you find reliable labor, no matter how big or small.