One of your goals this year may be to hire good seasonal employees to help get through a more hectic schedule.
Job candidates are thinking about what they want to do months before seasonal breaks. If you need seasonal workers, you should develop a plan. If you need additional help during busy seasons, then hiring temporary workers may be what is best for your business.
Hiring seasonal employees isn’t difficult, but you should start planning early to ensure you get the best for your small business.
In this article, we will explore what seasonal employees are, how to find them, why companies choose to hire them, and legal considerations to keep in mind.
What are Seasonal Employees?
To begin with, seasonal employees are workers hired specifically to meet the demands of seasons or periods of increased activity. Typically, these individuals work for a limited time. They are often tied to events such as holidays, summer vacations, or harvest times. For instance, industries that frequently hire seasonal workers include:
- Retail: Stores often ramp up hiring during the holiday season to accommodate the surge in foot traffic.
- Agriculture: Farmers typically employ seasonal workers during planting and harvest times.
- Landscaping: In the summer season, landscapers hire more workers to grow and maintain lawns.
Also, these workers provide businesses with flexibility. This ensures a business can run smoothly during peak periods.
Why Do Companies Hire Seasonal Workers?
How would hiring seasonal workers help your small business?
It is important to know why businesses hire them. There are several key reasons:
- Seasonal employees allow businesses to adjust their workforce based on demand without the long-term commitment that comes with full-time hires.
- Hiring seasonal staff can be a cost-effective way to manage temporary spikes in workload. This helps with payroll concerns.
- Seasonal positions can serve as a trial period for potential long-term employees. This allows a manager to review an employee’s performance.
Best Practices for Hiring Seasonal Employees
Determine Your Exact Needs and What May Change During the Season
You should know your budget and know how many you will be hiring. When posting your job, be very clear with your wants and needs. Also, put the required hours and what benefits this job will offer. Additionally, add any other information that your candidate should know.
It is important to be very detailed and clear about your hiring needs.
Write a Good Job Description
Your job description should align with your company’s vision. Also, it can be the foundation of your hiring and recruiting strategies. Additionally, your job description should list:
- The essential functions of the job
- Experience wanted and required
- Education required
- Specialized knowledge
- Working conditions
- Physical requirements
Also, you may want to include information about your business. Once a new employee starts their new position, they should receive a copy of the job description. Furthermore, they should sign a copy and return it to you with their new hire paperwork. This indicates they understand the duties of the position.
Conduct Effective Interviews
During interviews, focus on candidates’ availability, reliability, and willingness to learn. Also, seasonal employees should be flexible with their schedules.
Onboarding and Training
Develop a detailed onboarding process to add seasonal workers into your business culture. Also, provide training to ensure they understand your business and customer service expectations.
Understand Your State and Federal Laws
You should research pay regulations, benefit requirements, and anything else that may affect how many people you can hire based on your budget.
From a legal standpoint, understanding the IRS’s classification of seasonal employees is crucial. According to the IRS, a seasonal employee is someone who works during a specific time of year when there is a temporary increase in demand for labor.
Federal laws are clearly defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Each state is different and knowing your state laws can help you determine what is best for your business.
Stand Out from Others
If you are competing with other employers to hire workers, consider standing out in your job posting. Don’t be afraid to list your perks. For example, if you offer flexible scheduling or an end-of-season bonus, then you should list those on your job posting. This can help you with your recruiting efforts.
What can make you stand out? Why would someone want to work for your landscaping business over others? Post what will make your job opportunity more appealing.
When hiring seasonal workers, use different places to advertise your job. Be creative when thinking about where to post your job.
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How to Find Seasonal Employees
Here are some ideas on how to find good employees to hire:
Referrals From Customers and Current Employees
For example, if you own a landscape business, consider giving your recruiting information to your best customers. Place your hiring needs on a flyer and give it to them when you collect payment or send an invoice.
Think about starting an employee referral program as well. Offer your current staff a bonus if they suggest someone you hire, and the new employee stays for a certain period of time.
Conduct an Open House
Are you hosting a job fair or open house? Advertise locally and post on your social media. Spread the word. This is a great way to get applications and speak to potential job leads. By having an open house, candidates can get a sense of your business needs and understand your requirements better.
Post Your Job at Nearby Colleges
Many college students are looking for a summer job. Every college has a career center, and the jobs posted are not just for graduates. They are for every type of job available to help the student earn money. You should contact all colleges around your area to post them. Post early. Students start thinking about what they are going to be doing on their summer or winter break early in the semester.
Post The Job at Your Local Career Center
Every state has a local career center that is run by the U.S. Department of Labor. Ensure you post your job there because anyone who is laid off from a job is referred to the career center.
Use Social Media
By using social media, you can show off your business. It can be a way to show the fun side. Instagram is a great way to show pictures of what working there is like. It can help you establish your brand to help fulfill your hiring needs. Think about capturing your company events and putting those pictures on your business Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. On those sites, you can use hashtags which are important to get your information in front of an interested audience. Don’t be afraid to put your hiring needs on your social media pages.
Post On Other Online Job Boards
Some jobs can be posted on Indeed for free. There are others that you may want to look at such as Snagajob.com (which is for hourly workers) or seasonaljobs.com. These may give you a different audience if the postings aren’t expensive. Also, they help you reach a wide group of potential candidates.
There are many great tools and job boards to help you save time and get the best exposure. You can also look for a job board for your particular niche.
When posting your job, think about out-of-the-box ideas and determine ways that are low-cost or free. There are many options which aren’t expensive to get job candidates. Also, get recommendations from your friends, work associates, employees, and customers. People want to see small businesses in their area succeed so don’t be afraid to ask for help to get candidates.
Conclusion
Hiring good seasonal employees can greatly benefit your small business by ensuring you have the right talent to meet demand. By understanding what seasonal employment entails, knowing where to find candidates, and implementing best practices for hiring, you can build a reliable team that helps your operations.
If you have never hired an employee before, make sure you consult your federal and state laws. Review best practices for hiring so that you will not have to deal with turnover.
Don’t forget to put your perks in your job posting. Consider offering a seasonal bonus for those who work the entire busy season. It doesn’t have to be much, but it can help reduce job hopping and turnover for your seasonal staff.
Remember to keep your communication open with your seasonal workers. They are just like other employees and want to feel included in any company communications. Also, consider hiring those with little or no experience. You may have to spend more time training, but you will be training them your way.
You may want to keep your good seasonal workers when you need full-time help.
Finally, consider using a timekeeping app like ezClocker. It can help you manage remote workers and their time. ezClocker makes it easy to track hours for seasonal workers. They can clock in and out via their phones. Accurate time tracking will help your workers be paid correctly and on time. Also, the app allows your business to create and manage schedules easily. You can easily see where you have gaps in your workforce.
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