Social Recruiting

Make the Most of Your Seasonal Hiring

Make the Most of Your Seasonal Hiring
HireHive Team

HireHive Team

HireHive

Whether it’s winter in the northern hemisphere or summer in the southern, seasonal hiring may be on your mind. Seasonal hiring isn’t only related to just the holidays, though that can be a big time for many businesses. Any time you need a boost to your workforce based on increased production; you can consider seasonal help to get you through. In whatever capacity you need, hiring for seasonal employees generally means short-term, contingent workers. Can you increase your seasonal workforce efficiency through the use of technology?

Seasonal Recruiting Strategies

Seasonal hiring is intended to help your company staff up to meet increased demand due to high volume business during your busiest times of the year. The intention is always that these additional workers will only be short-term hires to enhance overall productivity. Hiring a seasonal workforce can be time-consuming, so it’s best to have a strategy in place ahead of the busy season.

1) Start Early

If you can, start planning for seasonal hiring as early as possible. That’s not to say it’s too late now, but starting early will give you access to the best possible pool of available employees.

2) Review Your Job Posting

Are you using job posts from last year’s hiring blast? If so, take time to read it and revise it before posting it again. What’s changed about your company? What do you offer seasonal staff? Make sure your listing will reach the right audience.

3) Manage Your Talent

When you increase your employee count significantly, that means more back-office work for you. A software system that can help automate much of the process will help you save time and money in the long run. It will also give your team a seamless onboarding experience.

Re-Hire Previous Seasonal Workers

Do you give preference to individuals who worked with you in the past? Reach out to last year’s seasonal team to see if they’re available. They’ll save time and money by fitting into the culture from day one and drawing on their previous experience.

Finding Seasonal Workers in the Gig Economy

This Gig Economy is nothing new, but it has become a much more popular term in just the last few years. With the advent of services such as Uber, many people are accepting short term gigs regularly either as their side hustle or full-time job. That means you can take advantage of this for your seasonal hiring processes. Target people where they are when they’re looking for more work. The best way to do this is to leverage social media. Start by posting your jobs on Facebook and work within a streamlined applicant tracking system manage the flow of your recruiting process.

Make your application process as easy as possible. Most people working in the gig economy want things to be easy to navigate. If your online application is complicated, they may abandon it before they finish. You can miss out on great seasonal talent if they don’t even complete your application.

Employee Referrals

Always remember that good people refer good people. Your current full-time staff may know friends and family looking for short-term or part-time work to make extra money over the holidays. Offer incentives for employee referrals.

Some companies have success with a tiered strategy. They pay a small bonus when the referral is hired. Then, when the assignment is completed or the new employee has worked for 30, 60, or 90 days, another bonus is paid out. It incentivizes your staff to only refer the best possible candidates for the job.

In the U.S. for example, workers are protected by The Fair Labor Standards Act. It provides the guidelines by which an employer needs to create a good working experience for their team. However, it does not define what is full or part-time work.

Compliance is always a key factor in recruiting, so knowing the local guidelines is essential for you. In the U.S., companies can reference the Department of Labor rules. Before you decide how you will tackle seasonal hiring in your area, be sure to review the current requirements for hiring.

Automating Your Hiring Process

Hiring a number of new people will always increase your regular workflow. And in terms of recruiting for seasonal staff, that’s time and effort you can’t spare in an already busy season. You can streamline your contingent workforce by utilizing an applicant tracking system to automate your processes.

Here are some of the benefits of leveraging technology for seasonal hires.

  • Reduced payroll costs. Hiring is expensive. The pay rate is only a part of the cost. Administrative costs can add up, even when someone is just short-term. If you can reduce the cost of recruiting, that can help offset the expense and save your company money.
  • Better Employee Engagement. Employee engagement is an essential part of the seasonal staffing process. If your team isn’t engaged, it will be apparent to the end user. By making the onboarding process as easy as possible, you ensure that your short-term team is engaged and knowledgeable.
  • Less Risk. There is always risk in hiring. Recently, we discussed the high cost of a bad hire. And that is true for short term staff as well. The challenge is, of course, that you may not have the time to determine a solution before your seasonal need is over. Reduce your risk by making the right hiring decision the first time.
  • Experience Top Talent. Seasonal hiring is usually only a short-term prospect for employees. But you may call them back year after year as long as they’re available. You could also discover top talent among your seasonal workforce. Keeping an eye out for a bright star during the holidays is never a bad idea.

Seasonal hiring doesn’t have to be challenging. Working with the right ATS for your company will be your best bet to increasing employee satisfaction, saving money, finding talent fast, and improving onboarding processes.

Do you want to know more about how HireHive can help you improve your seasonal hiring process before the holidays this year?

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