Rock Your Seasonal Hiring

By John Hawkins

It’s that time of year when certain industries start thinking about hiring seasonal employees. Restaurants, retail companies, hotels, ski slopes, and other organizations need more help in the winter months, especially around the holidays.

If you’re an HR Professional needing to hire seasonal employees, buckle your seatbelt and get ready for a wild ride. With the unemployment rate hovering under 4%, it may seem more like the Hunger Games than a hiring process!

How can you rock your seasonal hiring and not get stuck with, well, big duds as employees? Read on.

First off, set your hiring process up for success by putting everyone involved on notice that this will take their best efforts. This means:

Starting Early. The big companies are progressing with their hiring process for seasonal workers earlier than in past years, and you should, too. Identify the areas of business where you’re sure to need help and make an action plan to secure good-quality hires to fill those roles. Every day you wait is a day that other companies snap up seasonal employees, and the talent pool gets smaller.

Paying Well. This year won’t be the year people will agree to work for minimum wage. Expect to pay a premium for seasonal workers who are well-qualified and experienced. An extra dollar or two an hour may be just the incentive that entices a seasonal jobseeker to accept your job over all others.

Responding Fast. Be ready to make decisions fast and move candidates through the process quickly. Plan on harder-hitting interview questions and less lag time between advertising and hiring. In addition, prepare your background screening vendor that you will be hiring for seasonal workers and make it clear that, while you still want accurate and thorough screening performed, they need to return your reports as fast as possible. Don’t accept your screening partner delaying the process, which would delay you in making the candidates you want an offer.

After your team’s in place and ready to roll, plan on where you’re going to look for these seasonal hires. You must:

Mine Your Current Employees. Happy employees are great resources for finding other productive workers. Offer attractive incentives when a current team member refers someone to be a seasonal employee, with a bonus if you end up hiring that person. Another great place to look is your previous employee database. Quite often folks who have retired, needed a break, or took jobs that didn’t work out would be more than happy to come back on a temporary basis.

Tap into Alternative Talent Pools. Our booming economy may require looking further down the path than your typical applicants. Older workers, for example, are frequently seeking part-time or temporary work to supplement their incomes. Another segment to not pass over are those who have criminal records. While you don’t want to hire someone who could be dangerous to your workplace there are many positions that those with a record could thrive in. Don’t automatically discount people who have records, especially if their crime was a long time ago or isn’t relevant to the jobs.

Take Advantage of Job Boards. Strategically use technology and keywords to locate your best job candidates. The majority of people look for jobs online and this is a tactical way for you to reach applicants who you may otherwise never connect with.

Finally, put a succinct process in place that gives you the best chance of snagging those good seasonal hires.

Nail the Job Description. You’re not going to have time to mull through mountains of useless resumes of people who don’t have the experience or qualifications the position requires. Clearly describe the nature of the job, the requirements, and even the unattractive components of the job. While being brutally honest may lose some candidates on the front end, it maximizes the chances that the ones you spend valuable time interviewing are seriously interested in the position you can offer.

Move Like You’re on Fire. While you’re reading this, there are companies already interviewing seasonal employees that YOU would have loved to hire. Put your plan in motion and move through it deliberately, but rapidly. Seriously, don’t dawdle or you’ll miss out on this season’s highest-qualified people and be understaffed for your big season.

Communicate Clearly and Often. One of the biggest things turning today’s candidates off is that they feel out of the loop during the hiring process. Explain the timeline at the first point of contact and keep them informed at every step. Tell them when to expect a decision and let them know if that will be delayed. This way they don’t feel “ghosted” and take another job before you make an offer. Hiring is never a cake walk, and seasonal hiring poses even more challenges. This is especially true in this year’s low unemployment marketplace. By getting your plan together, rallying everyone involved, and communicating clearly with your candidates, you can woo well-qualified people who will perform well. Start today and you’ll set your company up for success during your seasonal boom.