Having too many employees can cut into profits, and having too few can mean losing sales and poor customer experience. The right staffing levels can help you maximize profits and customer satisfaction, so hiring the right people, at the right time, is crucial.
You have likely already seen the holiday hiring events in place. You may have wondered how soon they started planning and when you need to be pulling together your seasonal team to best meet increased demands.
The Long Game
Overall, hiring seasonal staff should be part of your yearly plan. Consider your peak times and who you want to have in place and fully trained in time for your busiest seasons. Seasonal hiring shouldn’t happen in the chaos of the peak, but rather about a month before, depending on your training protocol. When you wait to hire until busy, it’s a disservice to both the employee and the employer. As the employer, you likely won’t get the level of production you want from the employee, who likely won’t receive the time and attention needed for proper training.
When it comes to seasonal or temporary staffing, the long game is year-round planning. Start by asking current part-time employees if they are interested in being seasonal employees and take on more hours for a time. This is effective for a few reasons: first, they are already trained and integrated into the company, meaning there will be no additional onboarding costs. Second, it can build increased loyalty to the employees to be offered additional hours/pay in a time they may be looking for a boost. And third, they may be used in a more senior capacity providing training, mentoring, or supervision of the seasonal staff.
The Short Game
The short game with seasonal staff is to look for more than just a warm body. Find candidates who have the primary skills required. You may choose to do a shortened training with them, if appropriate, getting them acquainted with technology and customer service values, for example. These may be the only focus in training, rather than learning safety protocol for equipment they won’t access, or processes they won’t be included in during their tenure, unlike what a year-round employee would encounter.
Consider areas where you can safely, efficiently, and affordably cut staffing expenses, provide excellent customer service, and meet higher productivity demands and focus on these. Watch seasonal staff with high proficiency and consider adding them to your year-round staff if your demands warrant it. After all, this talent may have just proven to you their caliber of skill through temporary employment- and they already have a jump start.
Looking to hire seasonal staff? Let Colorado Network Staffing (CNS) help you find the perfect candidates for your temporary needs. We have the experience, resources, and top-level management expertise to accomplish the tasks required on any size project. Contact us at 303-430-1441, and we’ll find you the best and brightest team.
