Seasonal workers are an integral part of the global economy, especially during the summer months and holiday season. And they help organizations bring in a lot of earnings each year—billions, sometimes trillions, of dollars.
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If your organization is currently hiring or is considering hiring seasonal workers, here are a few best practices to keep in mind.
How to Hire Seasonal Employees
Assess Your Seasonal Needs
Before requesting applications and sending out general job announcements, make sure you have a clear idea of what you need your seasonal employees to do on a daily basis. Will they help with customers, placing orders, managing inventory, or something else? Look at your numbers and customer feedback from the previous year to help you assess where you’ll need the most help for the upcoming year. Doing this will also help you write clearer and more targeted job descriptions and announcements.
Share Targeted Job Descriptions on Job Boards
When sharing job descriptions across online job boards, make it clear that you are advertising for a seasonal position, and list the required schedule and demands of the job. This way, there will be no surprises or unrealistic expectations when your new hires show up on their first day of training.
Host Job Fairs
If you want to attract a high number of seasonal employee candidates at one time, host an event where interested parties can come and ask questions and fill out applications. Doing this is a great way to get a lot of applications at once. If needed, you can even host the event virtually online.
Start Your Process Early
Don’t wait until a week or so before the holidays or summer months hit to solicit applications for seasonal work. Make sure to start a month or two in advance. Otherwise, your competition might get the more desirable candidates. Starting early will also give you plenty of time to weed out unqualified candidates and to provide new hires with appropriate training.
Ask Your Current Employees for Referrals
When searching for seasonal employees, your current employees could prove to be an invaluable resource. Ask around to see if anyone knows of someone who’s looking for seasonal employment.
Cater to Students and Retirees
Most of the individuals who are searching for seasonal work are high school students who want something to do during summer break, college students who are in between semesters, and retirees who need some extra cash.
So, cater a lot of your job announcements and descriptions to them. And remember that retirees have most likely had decades of work experience, so they’ll be reliable and bring a wealth of knowledge to the table.
Keep an eye out for tomorrow’s post, which will include best practices for how to train and retain seasonal workers.